patriotplayer90
TDPRI Member
When I began venturing into the tube amp world, it seemed that JJ tubes were the most highly recommended. It seemed almost too good to be true, a tube which compares favorably and is even preferred to some of the more expensive tubes out there, but about as cheap as they come. It turns out, for my purposes, that was a correct assessment.
I would rather stick any other tube, even one of the cheap Chinese variety, into the V1 or Power Tube section of my amplifier. When I put a JJ tube in one of my amps, I find myself immediately yanking it out and searching for another, any other, tube to put in its place.
I'm really not great at describing sonic characteristics. But I recently purchased an amp, which I love, but just had a really difficult time EQing the thing, found it a bit cold, and was extremely underwhelmed by the clean and lower gain tones. Low and behold, I realized that there was a JJ tube in V1 (the rest were Ruby).
I used a Jan Phillips 5751, Tung Sol, and Mullard in V1 in its place, and they all completely transformed the amp. It sounded much more open, organic, warmer, and really more balanced, especially with the gain dialed back. Much more appropriate for the "classic" sound that I was going for. In the past, I've noticed that other tube brands gave me the sound that I was looking for, which the JJ could not provide.
I will say that the JJ actually sounded good with the gain dialed up, maybe a bit more focused, tamed some of the unwieldy highs and cleans up some of the other issues you get from cranking the gain. But it was not really why I purchased that particular amp, and I found them quite limiting . I can stick them in any other socket without noticing any adverse effects, but I simply cannot play an amp that has them in V1 or in the power tube sections.
Someone back me up.
I would rather stick any other tube, even one of the cheap Chinese variety, into the V1 or Power Tube section of my amplifier. When I put a JJ tube in one of my amps, I find myself immediately yanking it out and searching for another, any other, tube to put in its place.
I'm really not great at describing sonic characteristics. But I recently purchased an amp, which I love, but just had a really difficult time EQing the thing, found it a bit cold, and was extremely underwhelmed by the clean and lower gain tones. Low and behold, I realized that there was a JJ tube in V1 (the rest were Ruby).
I used a Jan Phillips 5751, Tung Sol, and Mullard in V1 in its place, and they all completely transformed the amp. It sounded much more open, organic, warmer, and really more balanced, especially with the gain dialed back. Much more appropriate for the "classic" sound that I was going for. In the past, I've noticed that other tube brands gave me the sound that I was looking for, which the JJ could not provide.
I will say that the JJ actually sounded good with the gain dialed up, maybe a bit more focused, tamed some of the unwieldy highs and cleans up some of the other issues you get from cranking the gain. But it was not really why I purchased that particular amp, and I found them quite limiting . I can stick them in any other socket without noticing any adverse effects, but I simply cannot play an amp that has them in V1 or in the power tube sections.
Someone back me up.
