[SlinkyString]

Does it matter wich brand you buy when you are gonna change tubes in your amp? i mean if a amp got 12AX7 tubes can i then use wich tubes i want if it is 12AX7? i have seen tubes like 12AX7 EH, 12AX7C and so on

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by SlinkyString

Does it matter wich brand you buy when you are gonna change tubes in your amp? i mean if a amp got 12AX7 tubes can i then use wich tubes i want if it is 12AX7? i have seen tubes like 12AX7 EH, 12AX7C and so on

I wouldn't be too concerned when it comes to pre-amp tubes. A lot of people like vintage tubes but I've had great luck with Electro-Harmonix pre-amp tubes. On my Fender tube amps I've always used 12AY7s in the first pre-amp position for lower gain and more clean headroom.

[SlinkyString]

Originally Posted by Synchro

I wouldn't be too concerned when it comes to pre-amp tubes. A lot of people like vintage tubes but I've had great luck with Electro-Harmonix pre-amp tubes. On my Fender tube amps I've always used 12AY7s in the first pre-amp position for lower gain and more clean headroom.

is it the same for power tubes?

lets say i got 12AX7 in my amp can i then use 12AX7C in it? or does the C mean something?

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by SlinkyString

is it the same for power tubes?

It gets a little murkier with power tubes so I would suggest consulting a tube substitution chart. In many cases the letters just specify some variant of the same basic tube, maybe larger plates, etc, so you're probably pretty safe if you bias the amp. Pre-amp tubes don't require biasing but in many amps power-amp tubes do.

[SlinkyString]

Originally Posted by Synchro

It gets a little murkier with power tubes so I would suggest consulting a tube substitution chart. In many cases the letters just specify some variant of the same basic tube, maybe larger plates, etc, so you're probably pretty safe if you bias the amp. Pre-amp tubes don't require biasing but in many amps power-amp tubes do.

see if i get this right, do i always need to bias the amp or is it just when i change the current tube to a diffrent one?

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by SlinkyString

see if i get this right, do i always need to bias the amp or is it just when i change the current tube to a diffrent one?

I wouldn't worry about it unless you change the power tubes.

[SlinkyString]

Originally Posted by Synchro

I wouldn't worry about it unless you change the power tubes.

yeah but i guess the power tubes will wear out sometime too?

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by SlinkyString

yeah but i guess the power tubes will wear out sometime too?

You'd be amazed by how long they can last. The OEM Groove Tubes in my Twin are 11 years old and test better than the new, $100 per set, RCA Blackplate replicas I bought to replace them. Both of my main amps have OEM power tubes, both date as 2001 Fender Reissues and both have power tubes that test well. I'd have a hard time finding a healthier tube set for either. BTW, both amps sound great, no microphonic issues, hums, howls or screeches.

[SlinkyString]

Originally Posted by Synchro

You'd be amazed by how long they can last. The OEM Groove Tubes in my Twin are 11 years old and test better than the new, $100 per set, RCA Blackplate replicas I bought to replace them. Both of my main amps have OEM power tubes, both date as 2001 Fender Reissues and both have power tubes that test well. I'd have a hard time finding a healthier tube set for either. BTW, both amps sound great, no microphonic issues, hums, howls or screeches.

so they doesnt wear out that often then, i just wounder one more thing. what would happen if you dont bias the amp? will the amp take serious damage or what will happend?

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by SlinkyString

so they doesnt wear out that often then, i just wounder one more thing. what would happen if you dont bias the amp? will the amp take serious damage or what will happened?

It would depend upon how far out of bias the tubes were. The tubes would probably suffer the most but if a power tube were to blow violently it could take out a resistor.

[SlinkyString]

Originally Posted by Synchro

It would depend upon how far out of bias the tubes were. The tubes would probably suffer the most but if a power tube were to blow violently it could take out a resistor.

so it can be that bad, i just dont understand why i need to bias when i change the tube to a tube thats exactly the same, well i guess you cant understand everything hehe.

think of all old tube players back in the days, those who played bassman and stuff like that, do you think all of them did bias when change a tube?

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by SlinkyString

so it can be that bad, i just dont understand why i need to bias when i change the tube to a tube thats exactly the same, well i guess you cant understand everything hehe.

think of all old tube players back in the days, those who played bassman and stuff like that, do you think all of them did bias when change a tube?

Tubes vary greatly, even if they have identical specs. If you swap tubes the amount of current used by various components can vary enough to alter the bias.

Now, back in the '60s a lot of players probably did not bias their amps but, then again, back then there were a lot more people that didn't wear seat belts. My point is that setting bias is always better than not setting bias. In spite of all the complex methods published on the web for setting bias it's a fairly straightforward process and just setting it simply with a volt meter does wonders. You can get even closer with an adapter that allows you to measure current but I don't see the need. A friend that used to calibrate electronic equipment for the University does it with a volt meter and I promise you, this guy forgot more about tube electronics than most people will ever know. Setting bias takes a matter of seconds once you know how to do it.

[stevo]

Not long ago, you could find nice 12AX7 NOS tubes for $20-$30 each. And man do they last. I used to only get 4-6 months from current production 12AX7's but my NOS ones have lasted 10 years!

BUT - they don't sound as good as a current production Tung Sol 12AX7 which is by far my favorite sounding preamp tube. They still wear out in about a year, but the sound has been worth it.

That being said, there are stages of your amps where the tone of the tube isn't a factor like phase inverters, reverb recovery, etc. In those positions I look for reliability. In phase inverter, I make sure the triodes are well matched.

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

With respect to tube swaps - what I have been reading is tube brand DOES matter with respect to tone.

While I didn't announce it here I did get a Bugera V5 for Father's Day! Happy NAD to me a week ago!

It's a fine amp but my son's comment was "Never thought you'd buy a Marshall" - he is right - it is Marshall style tone so I need to figure out how to get brighter and more bass tone out of it. Tube swaps are a place to start. But which ones?

Anyway depending on the amp you have you may not need to bias it at all if it has cathode bias - just swap tubes.

See this link for the Bugera where it says it is cathode based.

http://thetubestore.com/bugera-v5.html

Anybody know how to brighten a Bugera V5 other than a equalizer pedal?

-Ed-

[stevo]

Originally Posted by SlinkyString

Does it matter wich brand you buy when you are gonna change tubes in your amp? i mean if a amp got 12AX7 tubes can i then use wich tubes i want if it is 12AX7? i have seen tubes like 12AX7 EH, 12AX7C and so on

I *think* the suffix is somewhat of a manufacturer designation. For instance, I've seen 12AX7LPS which were long plate 12AX7 tubes. And the military spec ones often had a "wc" suffix. Generally, any 12AX7 will work.

[stevo]

Originally Posted by EasyEd

Hey All,

With respect to tube swaps - what I have been reading is tube brand DOES matter with respect to tone.

While I didn't announce it here I did get a Bugera V5 for Father's Day! Happy NAD to me a week ago!

It's a fine amp but my son's comment was "Never thought you'd buy a Marshall" - he is right - it is Marshall style tone so I need to figure out how to get brighter and more bass tone out of it. Tube swaps are a place to start. But which ones?


Anybody know how to brighten a Bugera V5 other than a equalizer pedal?

-Ed-

Congrats on the new amp!

Tubes are tricky for tone. I've owned 3 EL84 amps in the past and noticed significant differences between tube brands. I've tried TAD (dark), Sovtek, (OK, but not superb) and Electro Harmonix. The EH was my favorite of the three. However, I found some NOS RCA tubes that were excellent. All that being said, it could be that your amp is voiced a little dark.

[Crooner]

Yet another example of a thread here on G-T that I’ve saved as a PDF for future reference. Great info.

[WATThouse]

Try a JJECC803S. Pretty amazing. I have Demeter Tube Direct Box that uses one tube output through a Jensen transformer. I use that box to isolate and listen to a clean signal through them. If you feel like getting picky, try one in the first position. As has been covered above, it does not matter as much when you get down the line in the gain stages or the inverter, driver etc. But get a good one up front because it will be exponentially increased down the line junk, glory and all. The gold pin stuff is a bit of hype in my opinion. This one is my fave.

[cybermgk]

Originally Posted by EasyEd

Hey All,

With respect to tube swaps - what I have been reading is tube brand DOES matter with respect to tone.

While I didn't announce it here I did get a Bugera V5 for Father's Day! Happy NAD to me a week ago!

It's a fine amp but my son's comment was "Never thought you'd buy a Marshall" - he is right - it is Marshall style tone so I need to figure out how to get brighter and more bass tone out of it. Tube swaps are a place to start. But which ones?

Anyway depending on the amp you have you may not need to bias it at all if it has cathode bias - just swap tubes.

See this link for the Bugera where it says it is cathode based.

http://thetubestore.com/bugera-v5.html

Anybody know how to brighten a Bugera V5 other than a equalizer pedal?

-Ed-

Stock speaker keeps it very dark. Google on speaker swaps, lots o folks have done swaps. Also, on that amp, I liked the EH 12AX7 with a JJ power tube (and I am usually religious about Tung Sols in V1).

[Michiel]

I agree with Stevo's observations on preamp tube characters.

From the current production tubes I tried so far I strongly prefer the Tung Sol (reissue) ecc803s; this is intended to be a replacement for the 7025 RCA tubes that traditionally go into Fender amps.
They sound a lot brighter to me than the original RCA 7025s though.

I don't really care for JJ tubes (preamp AND power tubes). While they might sound good for rock (no experience there), the ones I've tried turned my jazz chords into a garbled muddy mush.

EHX are OKish, but haven't really excited me yet. I'd prefer the 'middle of the road'-edness of the sovteks then.

What brand of tube works best in which amp is a matter of experimentation. The bright character of one brand may help liven up an amp that sounds dark by design, while a darker sounding brand may help a bright amp sound less icepicky.

Changing and trying preamp tubes is very easy an relatively safe to do by yourself.
Swapping power tubes will take a little bit more knowledge and experience (and money).