SG John
Ambassador of Cool Guitars and Amps.
Since the mailman was so nice to bring me a couple of Amperex 12ax7s today, I thought that I would do my own test in my JTM45 build.
This is what I did: I set up the amp pretty much as is, sounding very nice with my blue SG Standard with Classic 57 and Classic 57+ pickups. No pedals. Basically blasting the Mama Kin riff, and some of my own songs. The inputs were jumped, and both volumes were set at five.
In V1 was a JJ ECC83.
In V2 was an old USA Tung-Sol 12ax7
In V3 was a JJ ECC83 that gave me a 7.0 volt difference between pins one and six.
I finally chose the 1960s General Electric 12ax7.
What I found:
JJ - It was loud and gainy. I went back to it a couple of times for comparison, and to be sure of what I was hearing. I also tried three others. Of the four, only one was not harsh sounding. I really didn't like the sound of the other three.
Amperex - I tried one "Bugle Boy" and one "Made in Holland" 12ax7. Both were not as loud, and very clean. These were the only two tubes to not break up at this volume, which was high. I really liked the sound. If I was recording in a professional studio, this tube would be a no-brainer, and at the top of the list.
Sylvania - I tried two "Baldwin" badged Sylvania 12ax7s. They were still loud and gainy, but much smoother than the JJs. The sustain and feedback were very nice, and they were nowhere near as harsh as the JJs.
GE - It had a little less gain than the Sylvanias and JJs, which resulted in a very tight and articulate sound. It still had some crunch, and would feedback nicely when holding a note and giving it a bit of vibrato. I found it to be very easy on my ears.
I had a couple of more old Tung-Sols, but they were fighting me going into the socket, so I didn't bother. I don't feel like doing a repair on this amp already.
In the end, I really liked the sound of the GE in this amp. It gives me a lot of tonal options, as I do like to ride the guitar's volume knobs all the time.
Now back to actually playing a bit....
:dood:
This is what I did: I set up the amp pretty much as is, sounding very nice with my blue SG Standard with Classic 57 and Classic 57+ pickups. No pedals. Basically blasting the Mama Kin riff, and some of my own songs. The inputs were jumped, and both volumes were set at five.
In V1 was a JJ ECC83.
In V2 was an old USA Tung-Sol 12ax7
In V3 was a JJ ECC83 that gave me a 7.0 volt difference between pins one and six.
I finally chose the 1960s General Electric 12ax7.
What I found:
JJ - It was loud and gainy. I went back to it a couple of times for comparison, and to be sure of what I was hearing. I also tried three others. Of the four, only one was not harsh sounding. I really didn't like the sound of the other three.
Amperex - I tried one "Bugle Boy" and one "Made in Holland" 12ax7. Both were not as loud, and very clean. These were the only two tubes to not break up at this volume, which was high. I really liked the sound. If I was recording in a professional studio, this tube would be a no-brainer, and at the top of the list.
Sylvania - I tried two "Baldwin" badged Sylvania 12ax7s. They were still loud and gainy, but much smoother than the JJs. The sustain and feedback were very nice, and they were nowhere near as harsh as the JJs.
GE - It had a little less gain than the Sylvanias and JJs, which resulted in a very tight and articulate sound. It still had some crunch, and would feedback nicely when holding a note and giving it a bit of vibrato. I found it to be very easy on my ears.
I had a couple of more old Tung-Sols, but they were fighting me going into the socket, so I didn't bother. I don't feel like doing a repair on this amp already.
In the end, I really liked the sound of the GE in this amp. It gives me a lot of tonal options, as I do like to ride the guitar's volume knobs all the time.
Now back to actually playing a bit....
:dood:
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