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DFBurst
04-21-2009, 11:58 AM
Question: What is the tonal difference between smooth plate 12x7's and ribbed?

I just put 2 vintage 12ax7s into my '74 50w Marshall (position 1 and 2) and kept an EH in the P.I. position, and it sounds so much better than the Tung-Sols that I had in there. It is a much better match with the '71 Basketweave bottom.

Thanks...
DFBurst
04-21-2009, 08:22 PM
Anyone?
DFBurst
04-21-2009, 10:27 PM
Thanks BK....
SatelliteAmps
04-22-2009, 03:18 AM
The tonal difference is not just a matter of ribbed or smooth plates. It's a bit more involved than that. Both can sound great.
DFBurst
04-22-2009, 06:15 AM
The tonal difference is not just a matter of ribbed or smooth plates. It's a bit more involved than that. Both can sound great.


Adam, do tell more :D I was not sure what the tonal difference would be.....As you know, every amp has to "tell you" what tubes it likes. I would imagine you can have 2 very similar amps (i.e. another '74 50w) which may like cheap Chinese tubes but the other demands Mullards...they are very similar to women in that regard....Some do not mind a burger while others want lobster on that first date
Timbre Wolf
04-22-2009, 06:51 AM
Ribbed is for her pleasure


As Satellite Amps mentioned, there is no tonal character generalization associated with smooth vs. ribbed plates. If you want relative tube character comparisons, you have to be specific about which version of what tube you're considering. The only tube manufacturer I know of that even had both smooth and ribbed plates to compare was Telefunken.

- Thom
SatelliteAmps
04-22-2009, 03:27 PM
Ribbed is for her pleasure


As Satellite Amps mentioned, there is no tonal character generalization associated with smooth vs. ribbed plates. If you want relative tube character comparisons, you have to be specific about which version of what tube you're considering. The only tube manufacturer I know of that even had both smooth and ribbed plates to compare was Telefunken.

- Thom

And both (more than that actually) versions of the Telefunkens sounded amazing compared to a lot of newer tubes. Somewhat similar to each other though. It would be hard for someone to be able to tell whether it was a smooth plate or ribbed plate preamp tube in a high gain amplifier. Someone could tell the difference between a harsh grainy sounding tube and a smooth sounding one.