Should I drop more coin on my v2 pre amp tube or my power tubes?

[dan-electro]

Sounds kinda weird, I know... most people are probably scratching their heads saying "duh, power tubes"...

That being said, I'm a bit of a pedal whore and have found that =C= SED 6L6GC's get the job done and then some...

It is getting to be time for a retube on the Super Reverb and I currently have mullard CV4024's in v3 & v6 and tung-sol RI 12ax7's in the other slots...

I've read that the V2 spot is mega-crucial in terms of "tone", and may actually impact your overall tone (if you are a pedal user) more than pricey NOS power tubes... True? False? Blasphemy?

Should I drop some coin on a stellar 12ax7 for v2 or put that to some slightly better NOS power tubes (otherwise, I'm going for the SED's again).

Any fender amp users have a favorite 12ax7 (new prod or NOS?)

Thanks, valve gurus!

 

[WesKuhnley]

Pre-amp tubes. Always. The first amplification stages are critical, the power stage is less so.

 

[gldtp99]

I agree---- i like RCA 12ax7a's best in BF Fenders...............gldtp99

 

[tommytomcat]

V2 is the effects channel preamp (input jack > V2A > tone stack > V2B > on to the effects circuits). So yes, it is crucial. If you don't use the normal channel, there's no need to even plug a tube in the socket. (btw, I'm a fan of the SED 6L6 in AB763 type circuits.) Personally, I think the power tubes are equally crucial to good tone. you can't have one without the other.

Are you unhappy with the way your SR sounds with the Tung Sol's and Mullard 12AT7's? You're always going to get lots of folks who will tell you that NOS tubes are the bomb.. If I spent $30 to $??????? on a preamp tube and it sounds ok/normal/good, I'm going to unknowingly inflate my opinion of the tube to justify my spending the extra coin. But I can't imagin a NOS preamp tube sounding $20-$100+ better than the Tung Sol RI 12AX7. My amps loaded with TungSol, EH and JJ tubes are used at a weekly jam and they all sound and perform great.

Note: don't spend big bucks on V1 if you don't use the normal channel, leave it empty. Also v5 is the tremolo driver and the signal path does not go through it. A $10 EH or JJ 12AX7 will do fine there...

 

[dan-electro]

Are you unhappy with the way your SR sounds with the Tung Sol's and Mullard 12AT7's? You're always going to get lots of folks who will tell you that NOS tubes are the bomb.. If I spent $30 to $??????? on a preamp tube and it sounds ok/normal/good, I'm going to unknowingly inflate my opinion of the tube to justify my spending the extra coin. But I can't imagin a NOS preamp tube sounding $20-$100+ better than the Tung Sol RI 12AX7. My amps loaded with TungSol, EH and JJ tubes are used at a weekly jam and they all sound and perform great.

Note: don't spend big bucks on V1 if you don't use the normal channel, leave it empty. Also v5 is the tremolo driver and the signal path does not go through it. A $10 EH or JJ 12AX7 will do fine there...

The Tung Sol RI's are definitely the best new production 12ax7 tube I've tried... that being said, I found the sound I got from them so much better than a few other new prod tubes I've tried I figured an additional upgrade to an RCA 12ax7 or an amperex long plate, etc. certainly wouldn't hurt... it would be fun to A/B at the very least.

I think I had just been in a bad habit of buying "retube kits" and dropping fresh 12ax7's / 12at7's in the pre amp every time I retubed. I now know this to be a little wasteful

I don't use v1 but keep a tung sol in that spot that I know to be quiet "just in case" the second channel goes kersplat (though if one channel goes the other probably will do the same).

I just figured I could get a nice 12ax7 and a new duet of SED's and see what happened Just wanted to confirm what I had read/heard about the v2 making a palpable difference.

Thanks guys!

 

[anais]

When I had a BF super I found the TAD STR WGC (the shorter ones) were a great fit. Make sure they are the Russian ones and NOT Chinese... they obtain from both sources apparently.

As far as V2 goes, depending on the style you are going for- you cant really go wrong with an RCA 7025/12ax7a- the preamp tube this amplifier was designed with. I was always digging an Amperex or a Telefunken in the V2 when using the vibrato channel and an RCA 5751 in the reverb return (V4).. RCA or GE 12at7 in V3 and the Phase Inverter..

Some guys will give you the argument that NOS preamp tubes dont make a difference.. these are usually people who dont depend on using their ears for a living.. Any pro player familiar with a BF circuit would be able to tell 9 times out of 10 a NOS over a new tube in the V1 or V2, depending on the channel you are playing obviously, over a new production tube. The internet is a cruel place when it comes to this topic because you dont know if you are talking to a Lawyer or a Musician about the subject of the matter.

Best of luck!