best band for buck new production 12AX7?

[JDW3]

I am refurbishing a couple amps and need to buy a bunch of 12ax7s. Not looking for NOS but something that sounds decent. I have tried EH and had a bunch of failures. Just looking for the best tube for the money.

thanks,
Dave

 

[hw2nw]

The GT Mullard Reissues are EXCELLENT.

check em out here on KCA tubes...my new favorite tube shop.

 

[riffmeister]

EH failures?

Where are you buying your tubes?

I've never had a new preamp tube fail.

 

[JDW3]

I was working on a friends Marshall and I noticed one tube not firing. That was last summer. Replaced them all just to be sure. Just 2 days ago we opened up a Reverend and the stock EH was at half power in the first position. Owner thought he had fried the x-fmr.

 

[Boogs]

I LOVE the Tung Sol reissue 12AX7's - the high end is to die for. I had one go microphonic on me (out of three purchased and used), but even if they went belly up at that rate (and I have no reason to think they will), I would continue to buy them. That high end...wow.

I like the high gain JJ ECC83S's...just for the sound, I could get buy with standard gain. They are a bit grainy in comparison to the awesome Tung Sol's, but are more solid at the same time. My second fav.

 

[rockon1]

Tung Sols are well recieved though Ive yet to try them-Im going to soon though. Of the NP Ive tried my favorite is the JJ ECC803s. (not to be confused with the ECC83s which I find to be a be dull) Scared away from the GT-"mullard" as Ive heard of a very high failure rate. Funny about the post concerning the EH failures as Ive not heard of any problems with those. Of coarse different amps will react differently to the same tubes. For instance I found the Ei's to be to brittle in my JSX yet sounded great in another amp.

 

[Blue Strat]

I am refurbishing a couple amps and need to buy a bunch of 12ax7s. Not looking for NOS but something that sounds decent. I have tried EH and had a bunch of failures. Just looking for the best tube for the money.

thanks,
Dave

The Tung Sol Reissues have been very consistent in gain and low microphonics.

 

[Luke V]

I've found the EH to be excellent. Do a search on the Mullard reissues and you'll find pretty much all negative reviews. I've had good luck with JJs 12ax7s, but I don't like them in my Orange amp. I really like JJ el34s. Different amps like different tubes.

 

[Red Planet]

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/97254&highlight=gt+12ax7m


https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/47994&highlight=gt+12ax7m

Her are a couple threads.

All my GTM's motorboat. These are from First run and over a year later run. I would be extremeley glad to have some that didnt.

 

[JDW3]

Thanks guys. Looks like Tung Sols are the one to try so far. Who has the best price on those?

 

[aleclee]

GT-M and Tung Sol when I can hear the difference. In other tube positions, I'd be inclined to go with 9G Chinese tubes.

 

[rockon1]

GT-M and Tung Sol when I can hear the difference. In other tube positions, I'd be inclined to go with 9G Chinese tubes.

Yeah I forgot about new Chinese. Very nice also.

 

[Guinness Lad]

The GT Mullard Reissues are EXCELLENT.

check em out here on KCA tubes...my new favorite tube shop.

I would have to strongly disagree with you on this one. These tubes are not worth $10 let alone the $25 they ask for them. There was review on this forum about these tubes and the vast majority of people who have tried them either experienced premature failures, microphonic tubes or just plain bad tone. There were afew people that liked them but most did not. I'm glad you like them but I personally would never buy them again.

 

[Argonaut4]

Another vote for Tung Sols.:AOK I was sceptical but tried them anyway. I am very happy with them. IMO, the best current production AX7.

 

[markp]

GT-Ms are not that bad.I would call them differant and that is why I like them.
In the Flexi ,I like them in V3 and some times V1 andV3.They sound very clean, good bottom and nice chime up top.

I would not buy a crate of them and stick them in everything.
But I would recomend buying one to try out.
I would like GT-M more if they sold in the $12 to$15 range.

I have three each of tungsol RI and JJ803 coming,so that should be fun.

 

[jaymeister]

I like the EH tubes, but am also using the regular GT 12AX7 (not the mullard). They cover all types of ground pretty well, from cleans to high gain. I had trouble with microphonic ruby tubes. And the Mullard reissue might work well in some amps, but not mine.

 

[trisonic]

The Tungsols, Dave Z. put them in the Maven Peal Ganesha, very,very nice.

Note to self: Order some more from Blue Strat......

Best, Pete.

 

[baron55]

The JJ ECC803 is a nice sounding tube as someone else has stated earlier, not to be confused with the ECC83 S.

It is lower in gain, but has a nice clear tone and is very round with nice harmonics. Also pretty nice highs for a JJ preamp tube. I like them in the V2, V3, etc posistions. In v1 tends to be not as strong.

Of course my NOS stash is my fav!

 

[DownByLaw]

I had a bad experience recently with the EH's as well. Bought 5 from The Tube Store, all sounded bad with low output, splatty and 2d. (will not be buying from them again) Really a shame since I loved the ones I bought last year. (from Torres, no less) I noticed the top of the bottle is a slightly different shape on these new ones compared to the old. More of a round peak, where as the old ones had more square shoulders and less of a peak. Have they changed the design, or did I just get a bad batch? I too could use some recommendations, these are going in a VHT clx, so I have concerns about microphonics. If a tube has a tendency to go micro, this amp will push it there in no time.

Patrick

 

[wyldefan]

I just tried the new Tung Sols and I was blown away with how thick and creamy they were in my Marshall JMP. They had a bit less output but just a huge tone.

In my opinion the Tung Sols and the 9th gen Chinese are hard to beat!