Judging from the popping, buzzing and occasional squeal it appears I've finally lost a valve in my Vox AC15CC1x. I'm guessing it's one of the preamp valves, as I'm still getting some amplification albeit limp-wristed and extremely noisy.
Anyway, I thought I'd take the opportunity to replace all the valves including the powerstage, the complement being 2 x 12AX7 and 2 x EL84.
Could anyone recommend me a particular flavour and say why? Sovtek, JJ, Harma etc?
Thanks in advance!
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:16 pm
by Justin J
i put jj 6v6s in my deluxe and they started rattling like crazy after a few weeks.
i've been having really good luck with electro-harmonix and sovtek tubes lately.
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:19 pm
by Mike
I'm a Sovtek user, or Svetlana.
They're reasonably priced and I have never had an issue. I had some bad JJ's take out my 6100's HT fuse, which is the sum of my tube related issues.
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:04 pm
by laterallateral
Sovteks have never let me down. I use them in the power stages of my amps.
My favourite preamp tubes are vintage Phillips and RCAs which I salvage out of old radios.
I generally pay 5 to 10 dollars for a non functional unit and end up getting 4 or 5 useable tubes out of them.
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:10 pm
by chisa
have you seen the golden lion repros? i think i may try some of them when the time comes
I'm a JJ fan personally. Sovteks have always sounded a little cold to me. Can't speak for Svetlanas.
The guys at Eurotubes are cool, and they know their stuff. They bullseyed the setup I wanted for my Fender HRD and my H&K Tubeman pedal. Maybe give them a look www.eurotubes.com if you haven't already.
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:16 pm
by robroe
IM FUCKING DRUNK RIGHT NOW AND GOING TO TEAR APART MY AMP TO SHOW YOU MY SOVTEK
VACATION RUALEZ!!!
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:21 pm
by jamieb
Well thanks for all the input, chaps.
I asked a few other people (with AC15s) what they'd found, and JJ came out on top so I've gone with them.
Please feel free to laugh a lot if it they go horribly wrong. I'll let you know!
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:25 pm
by chisa
jamieb wrote:Well thanks for all the input, chaps.
I asked a few other people (with AC15s) what they'd found, and JJ came out on top so I've gone with them.
Please feel free to laugh a lot if it they go horribly wrong. I'll let you know!
i have jjs in my dsl. they are ok, bit expensive though
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:36 pm
by robroe
THE GOLDEN LION !!!!
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:37 pm
by robroe
WHAT THE FUCK IM STILL TAKING PHOTOS OF THE COUGAR1000 ?
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:00 pm
by purplehaze19x
When i bought my TSL 100, it had the stock Marshall pre-amp tubes and Svetlana in the power section,
Just out of curiousity, i switched them to JJ's in both power and preamp, and i really like the way it sounds.
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 2:29 pm
by benwalker
I can never tell much of a difference.. swapped the stock 12AX7's in my deville for 12AT7's from watford valves.. (supposedly they break up sooner owing to lower plate voltage or summat...) always dubious about these sort of things though.. bit like snake oil or eric johnson..
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:59 pm
by dots
i've been a happy jj user for like 7 years or so.
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 9:07 am
by Bacchus
This thread made me go and look this up. It's been posted before, but what harms a repost, when it's something this brilliant: