choosing tubes

Sebastian

hi guys, i recently managed to get myself my first tube amp (a laney 20w lionheart head)

so, in terms of when i'll need to replace tubes etc, how do i go about choosing from the seemingly limitless amount of tubes on the market? would a good amp tech such as Durban's Dave Oxborrow be able to help me in choosing?

and just HOW MUCH of a difference do tubes make???

i hope this isn't an old topic. i'm simply too lazy to sift through old topics ?

thanks guys

Heath

All i am gonna say is , when that day comes , pay the shipping and send it to matta whos on the forum ....... He like the guru on amp mods .

TomCat

Your decision will be based on what is in the amp now and how you feel about it's tone.....The whole subject of tubes and tone is a long and debatable one.....

Personally I'm liking the JJ's Ive used in my amp as they give a richer tone with slightly more low end and a more rounded midgange.

The three main brands that most people are using are JJ, Sovtek and and Electro Harmonix. I know Matta uses JJ's as well.

AlanRatcliffe

Any amp tech worth his salt will have personal preferences - usually worth your while to listen to them. They do make a difference and can turn a good amp into a great one.

I'm a fan of the NOS stuff for preamp valves (mostly Telefunken/Philips) and especially rectifier valves, but go new production for power amp - mainly for cost reasons. New production stuff is getting better every year though. I've gradually built up a stock of different preamp valves and will sit and swap them in and out of an amp until I find a combination that works best to my ear for that specific amp.

There aren't as many choices on the local market as you might think. JJs are great for new valves, but some of the others have specific models that are nice too. Sovteks are inexpensive, reliable and predictable (which is why so many manufacturers use them as stock valves). One brand you don't see here, but are very good are the TAD valves - I have a pair of their EL84s in my Vox and am very pleased with them. Far better than the stock Sovteks and less middy/muddy than the JJs.

inflames

It depends on the sound you are trying to get.
For instance if you play metal I would suggest the JJ's. I have them in my JCM2000 and they are perfect!

I would not suggest JJ's for blues, but this is only what I've heard from others.
In my Teisco Checkmate 25 I have Electro Harmonix, and they sound sweet for Blues, Jazz and easy Rock!

AndyD

Yes I Agree .JJ 's al the way.I recently got a pair of matched jj 6l6's,From Matta ( for my '65 Bassman Head) and the sing! Matta is your man when it comes to tubes.
Cheers

matta

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the kudos, much appreciated. As fellow forumites (is that even a word?) have shared I like JJ's. For me it is not just a tone thing, but a reliability thing. I've had more come backs from competing brands and I do love the way they sound... though all valves will sound DIFFERENT in amp to amp, but JJ's to my ears are brighter and tighter than say Sovtek's or EHX, which are darker, though not necessarily warmer, irrespective of the amp itself.

I LOVE NOS valves, but the fact it they are unobtainable for most these days. A Telefunken NOS 12AX7 can fetch up to and in some cases over $150 USD PER valve vs a JJ @ $10 USD, heck a GOOD QUALITY (Amperex) GZ34 rectifier valve NOS is around $130-$150USD vs a $15 JJ, generally speaking JJ's are a few bucks more than Sovtek/EHX... but it gives you some kind of idea of the price differences.

Lean, RE JJ's not being good for Blues, each to their own. A while back I serviced Bluesman Dan Patlansky's DR Z EZG-50 and replaced ALL his valves with JJ's (some needed replacing as it is truly a gigging mans amp, a preamp valve and the verb recovery valve where extremely microphonic, his rectifier also went up in smoke when one of output tubes went in the wrong way at a gig because the keyway broke off etc.). I was only going to retube the damaged valves but Dan had me put in a FULL SET and called me a couple days later to say the amp never sounded that good... so take the comment of JJ's not for blues with a pinch of salt.

Again I WILL say that JJ's might not be the best choice for SOME amps, for example I wasn't a big fan of them in a late Silverface Bassman I worked on, the circuit and components themselves where BRIGHT to begin with, it just made the amp sound brittle when it distorted/broke-up so Sovteks were a better match in that case to compensate for the bright tone.

Tone is a subjective thing as Tom mentioned, we each find our own. I don't believe that there is a holy grail piece that is the be all and end all for tone, be it valves/caps/transformers, they all play a part, and you need to experiment.

Often the choices I make come down to longevity MORE than tone. I like Sprague Atoms, they are expensive, but Mallory Caps have been in Fender amps for 20-30 years and are still running, who knows how long some cheap no name brand will last? Do the filter caps of the SAME value make the amp SOUND much better, Hmmm, not sure, will the help the amp LAST/RUN longer? I'd hazard a guess, Yes.

Cheers

Matt

Sean

Gearhead and I put JJ's into my AC15 about 3 weeks back. I'm happy with 'em ?

tonerider

I'm no valve expert but here's my 10cents worth. I found this very dependable web store on eBay a few years ago and they have given me excellent service. I must have purchased 10 to 15 sets from them for various amps, but mostly the orange base Svetlana 6L6GC's, since they are guaranteed to work faultlessly in an inverted position (Fender Combo's) for an extended period of time, unlike the usual Sovteks that I've used in the past. If you are willing to buy online and can afford it just go to http://stores.ebay.com/SRS-Webstore and see what they've got. You'll find a lot of real good quality stuff here.

Always be careful to buy tubes from stores that sell them in white boxes since these are usually re-packaged from larger boxes of surplus valves and although sold as "matched set" are in fact not at all and fall into the D, E & F (and worse) categories.