What's your favourite 12AX7/ECC83/7025 ?

[jefrs]

What's your favourite 12AX7/ECC83/7025/etc ?

Pick one bottle only. What amp, which position, why ?

A sort of straw-poll. What does the panel think... choosing a replacement preamp tube from the sales blurb is a complete lottery, received wisdom needed. TIA. J--)

[Paul G.]

Not a valid question. Different amps, different players, need different things.

A clear bright tube in a Super Reverb may be a shrill whistler in a Marshall.

Name your amp, talk about what you're looking for, and then you can get advice.

Asking "what is the best..." anything just makes no sense. At least not to me.

P.

[gpower]

Check out eurotubes.com. There are a number of offerings for each of the tubes you listed. Accurate descriptions of each and how they should affect your tone are listed. Customer service is exceptional. You can email Bob with guitars and amp your using, tone you're seeking and he will make recommendations, tailoring sets to your specific want.

[ce24]

actually...5751 in V1

Cheers
ce24

[jefrs]

Originally Posted by Paul G.

Not a valid question. Different amps, different players, need different things.

A clear bright tube in a Super Reverb may be a shrill whistler in a Marshall.

Name your amp, talk about what you're looking for, and then you can get advice.

Asking "what is the best..." anything just makes no sense. At least not to me.

P.

Quite right. That's why I said "What amp, which position, why ?" Do pay attention at the back.

I'm interested in other peoples' opinions of good preamp tubes, and what makes a tube good in particular amps for different styles of playing. With enough responses, the data can be collated.

Try again. You get to choose one tube and say why it's right, where, in which amp.

The idea is to get your opinions, not that of the sales guy at JJ Tesla.

And no, it makes no sense unless you also state the amp and why you chose the tube.

[Axis29]

I like the JJ ecc83 (12ax7) in V2 of my DRRI. I find it breaks up nicely around 4, is very musical when the volume opens up. At higher volumes, the breakup is not ridiculous or unruly at all, but notes bloom nicely. I describe them as very musical... I don't know how else to describe them. Much nicer than the GT and EH 12ax7's I tried in there before. Still looking for some NOS Mullards, Telefunkens or RCA's to try (at a reasonable price!).

[Brent Hutto]

My favorite is any 12AX7-type tube that won't rattle and go all zingy on me after an hour in my combo amp. Hanging upside down an inch and a half from a 12" Neodym speaker can render the finest RCA blackplate (or any old multi-hundred dollar tube you like) into an expensive noisemaker.

[TexGoneNW]

The GE NOS JAN 5751's that Mr. Hullet sold for $5 each on the old Telecaster Discussion Page. I use 'em in place of the V1 in Pro Juniors and they sound great.

Telefunken 12AX7 in the Silvertone 1482.

[candh]

Mullard in V2 of pretty much every amp I have.

[skeksis]

V1 in my princeton reverb is Telefunken 12ax7 - high gain, tames the bright character of the amp a bit, and complements the Brimar 6v6 output tubes for some lovely overdrive...

runners up:
V1 in my silvertone 1482 is stock 12ax7a, looks like RCA ribbed gray plates
V1 in my airline 9015a is Raytheon 12ax7a w/ black plates

I keep a small handful of RCA, Mullard (7025) and Telefunken on hand. Can't go wrong with USA or European old stock... just varies a little based on your tastes.

[sjhusting]

Another vote for the GE 5751 in V1 of any multi-preamp-tube amp. Unless it's a 5e3, then it goes in v2. It's not always right, but it usually is.

steven