Since im new in valves territorry im trying to gather information on what are the best valves for the pre section on my bugera v55 combo.
Ive been suggested with Jan Phillips 5751 for the phase inverter and a good 12at7 to V1 which controla the cleansound onde this AMP.
Would i BE good with a jan philips 12at7 for v1 and a jan philips 5751 as the phase inverter, or should they both BE 12at7?
Im aiming for very good cleansound Sound with good headroom.when using distortion Will use muff type of fuzz.
You want a balanced tube for phase inverters -- these are tubes with matched triods. There's absolutely no reason to get a NOS tube for that. Just get a 12AT7 with matched triodes and it'll do what it's supposed to. Places like the tube store will guarantee matched triodes for a small fee. A 12AT7 is indistinguishable from a 5751 and it's modern production. Also, it's not like Jan tubes are particularly great. They're more durable, but we're talking about preamp tubes here, not power tubes. They're already likely to outlast you.
I also happen to think that most modern tubes sound as good as any NOS tube I've heard,* with some exceptions for old power tubes (some Phillips 6v6 I tried were lower output, which is cool, but the EHX sounded better in my amp) and the preamp tubes in Voxes (which are actually made different because the manufacturing process for the old ones is illegal due to serious environmental hazards).
*But I'm a guy who basically hates mojo, so what do I know?
Totally agree with Jon on the NOS tubes. I wouldn't waste cash on them for a modern production amp. If you had a hand wired restored JTM or blackface Fender maybe - but even then, I think the benefit is minimal unless you're in a studio scenario.
I would look at thetubestore.com or dougstubes.com and email them with what you're looking for tone-wise. They should be able to help out.
So, at the moment I have two JJ's ECC803s and a Sovtek 5751 that I've ordered.
I guess then that I should get maybe a JJ 12at7 goldpin for the Phase inverter and a plane 12ax7 83s from JJ for V1!?I might just sell the Sovtek and the other ecc803jj.
In that way I would have: Ecc83sJJ for V1; ecc803JJ for V2 and 12at7 gold for V3.
I'm into clean sparkle yet fat clean sound, It will get pretty heavy when I use the pedals, it will go into Kyuss/Tool/Smashing Pumpkins territory.
Quote from: garfo on April 28, 2013, 10:16:25 AM
So, at the moment I have two JJ's ECC803s and a Sovtek 5751 that I've ordered.
I guess then that I should get maybe a JJ 12at7 goldpin for the Phase inverter and a plane 12ax7 83s from JJ for V1!?I might just sell the Sovtek and the other ecc803jj.
In that way I would have: Ecc83sJJ for V1; ecc803JJ for V2 and 12at7 gold for V3.
I'm into clean sparkle yet fat clean sound, It will get pretty heavy when I use the pedals, it will go into Kyuss/Tool/Smashing Pumpkins territory.
Gold pin has nothing to do with being balanced -- I wouldn't waste even a dollar there. All the gold coating does is prevent the pins from being coroded if they are stored for a very, very long time in damp conditions. You have to actually have a human being measure the triodes in the single tube for a close match, just like buying a matched power tube set.
Somewhat hilariously, NASA's soldering instructions being with removing the gold coating from whatever you are working with.
oups, I ment JJ 12at7 gold and balanced.In Europe I can get from Banzai, they have them matched and balanced.So, Gold doesn't make that much aof a difference, I guess.
I Have a Dr Z Maz 18, and i have A/B'd modern valves (JJ's, EHX, GrooveTube) against a set of early 60's Blackburn made Mullards (which i have in there) and even just changing the V1 valve, makes a massive difference, due to the plate length, and the quality of the materials used then (these days the materials used aren't as good as back then, due to the massive drop in demand compared to the 60's, according to my amp tech.). I tested with a JJ a EHX and a '61 Mullard (ECC83's) in the V1 slot, and with the modern valves the amp sounds more brittle, and thinner, it also breaks up a lot earlier with the modern valves, and is not as nice sounding breakup. With the mullards, it sounds much more cleaner, fuller, warmer and much more touch responsive. That particular mullard wasn't even NOS, it was about £10, and bought it on the off chance that it wouldn't be dead, it is still in V1 now!
Telefunken ECC83/82/81
Always.
Raytheon also.
Even though the 12AT7 and 5751 have similar gains, their characteristics are otherwise very different. The 12AT7 can handle about 10 time the plate current of the 5751 and so is best suited as a driver tube, like in the PI or reverb driver slot. The 5751 is most like a 12AX7 albeit with reduced gain. You certainly won't harm anything by using a 12AT7 in a regular gain stage, but if you're looking to reduce gain, try the 5751 or 12AY7 (or even 12AU7) for better tone.
I can actually find NOS JAN 12at7 for the same pice as a new production, so I might just give it a try.
Quote from: oldhousescott on April 28, 2013, 07:41:32 PM2AY7
I use these in V1 in both of my amps.
The T tends to sound a little bassier to me. There are some amps where I could see that being beneficial, but you're absolutely right that the AY7 and 5751 sound much closer to an X with lower gain.
How did it turn out? I have the v55hd infinium.
I've been looking into changing v1 to a 5751 or 12at7 as suggested above.
Did you change any other tubes from 12ax7 and are you using 6L6 or find a alternative?
BTW, can anybody from USA tell me WTF is that "mojo"?
Quote from: midwayfair on April 28, 2013, 10:32:20 AM
Somewhat hilariously, NASA's soldering instructions being with removing the gold coating from whatever you are working with.
That is correct, gold disolves in the molten solder and makes an alloy with it. This new alloy with the gold is quite brittle and cracks easily, especially with vibration. This is why NASA forbids using gold plated PCBs, anything for that matter...
In all honesty, I don't know why PCB manufacturers use gold plating, it's not good. It certainly looks pretty but in my opinion, it opens up more problems than benefits.
Quote from: Zerro on September 26, 2021, 04:37:28 PM
BTW, can anybody from USA tell me WTF is that "mojo"?
A magic charm, talisman, or spell.
Basically something special, a good feeling or funk about it.
I was hoping to find out how the tube swap went, but I'll just try it out I guess with a 5751 in V1.
Quote from: Zerro on September 26, 2021, 04:37:28 PM
BTW, can anybody from USA tell me WTF is that "mojo"?
It's a special voodoo magic luck charm
Thanx, now I can finally die without feeling of guilty...
Quote from: redkurn on September 26, 2021, 12:07:23 PM
How did it turn out? I have the v55hd infinium.
I've been looking into changing v1 to a 5751 or 12at7 as suggested above.
Did you change any other tubes from 12ax7 and are you using 6L6 or find a alternative?
I'd give two configurations a try: 2 12AY7 into a balanced 12AX7 PI and keep the 6L6s OR 3 x 12AX7 into 5881s (rebiased, of course) ... if it were a head instead of combo I'd probably opt for the long plate 12AX7s and the 5881s
Quote from: thesmokingman on September 28, 2021, 11:53:19 AM
I'd give two configurations a try: 2 12AY7 into a balanced 12AX7 PI and keep the 6L6s OR 3 x 12AX7 into 5881s (rebiased, of course) ... if it were a head instead of combo I'd probably opt for the long plate 12AX7s and the 5881s
Mine is just a head, V55HD.
The Infinium is supposed to automatically bias the tubes, would I need to do any mods to make the 5881 tubes to work in place of the 6L6?
As far as I know only the power tubes are biased automatically, the only two that have an LED on the back of the amp.
I'd get a matched set then ...