Ashdown ABM 500 Evo tube comparison (gauging interest)

Ninja>Pirate · #1 04-30-2011, 12:24 PM

I recently purchased some tubes to try out and see if I could "taste the difference" in the pre-amp section of my ABM 500 Evo. I bought these tubes from thetubestore.com in Hamilton On.

JJ ECC83-S/12AX7
Electro-Harmonix 12AX7-EH
Mullard 12AX7/ECC83

and the stock one is:
Sovtek 7025/12AX7WA

I wanted to gauge interest in a review/walkthrough of the process and see if anyone had any specific requests.

(FYI I ended up liking the Mullard the best, which I did not expect)

Sparky Mark · #2 05-01-2011, 06:48 PM

A genuine NOS Mullard (I think there is a Chinese reissue by EH or GT) is like the Holy Grail of pre tubes, and a lot of players first choice. They are very rare nowadays however.

Jim C · #3 05-01-2011, 07:04 PM

Never tried tube rolling with an Ashdown but have spent many hours with Mesa and Ampeg. To me, both amps sounded best with the following original, used, tubes (no reissues) in this order:
1. Telefunken
2. Amperex
3. Mullard

These are not hard to find as they were rebranded; for example Dynaco and Fischer used Tele's and Eico used Mullards. About $40 ea used on eBay. These tubes have very long life spans and I have no issues with used tubes assuming they test well.

JoshuaTSP · #4 05-01-2011, 07:07 PM

don't use the tube circuit.

OlSkewl56 · #5 05-01-2011, 07:22 PM

@ Ninja, what was the difference you liked about the Mullard over the stock tube?

xplorer · #6 05-01-2011, 07:25 PM

Were you hearing a difference only when using the tube drive knob on the amp? or was there a difference in the clean sound as well?

smithjcx · #7 05-02-2011, 03:25 AM

Never even thought about swapping the tube on mine (ABM500EvoIII), so I guess I'm still on the standard one and it sounds ok to me. I do like having a little bit of the tube sound dialled in when I play so would be interested to read a bit more about the differences you noticed between them.

spufman · #8 05-02-2011, 06:49 AM

Cool. I have a very early ABM400. Different tubes sound very different in this amp (when using the tube side of the preamp). I tried stock (or at least what came with my used amp), an NOS RCA and an NOS Sylvania. Both old tubes were higher gain and richer sounding than stock, the difference was very noticeable. For me, the Sylvania was the clear winner with the fullest overall tone and most abundant hair available of the three. Total win with that tube, just what I was hoping for.

Ninja>Pirate · #9 05-02-2011, 11:23 PM

The Mullard was a remake, not an original, the company was bought by Sovtek. Thanks for the interest, I'll see what I can do about a review later.
The JJ seemed to be missing something in the mid range (I did notice the glass was unevenly formed at the top but this shouldn't have affected it, as there was still a perfect vacuum inside.
The EH was close, but not quite as clear and sparly when not driven hard and not rich enough when warmed up and driven hard.
The Mullard was just the best, it added this warmth and richness that I'd never heard from my amp when the tube preamp was on full. I know it's supposed to be a hi-fi audio tube but it was nice.
Overall not a huge difference really, but if you feel like tinkering it's worth the tiny bit of money and effort.

lesmarshall · #10 05-08-2011, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ninja>Pirate

The Mullard was a remake, not an original, the company was bought by Sovtek. Thanks for the interest, I'll see what I can do about a review later.
The JJ seemed to be missing something in the mid range (I did notice the glass was unevenly formed at the top but this shouldn't have affected it, as there was still a perfect vacuum inside.
The EH was close, but not quite as clear and sparly when not driven hard and not rich enough when warmed up and driven hard.
The Mullard was just the best, it added this warmth and richness that I'd never heard from my amp when the tube preamp was on full. I know it's supposed to be a hi-fi audio tube but it was nice.
Overall not a huge difference really, but if you feel like tinkering it's worth the tiny bit of money and effort.

How difficult is it to change the tube? I have a Evo II in a head case. How do I change the tube? Thanks

JimmyM · #11 05-08-2011, 09:21 PM

open the lid, pull the old one out, push the new one in. done.

boristhespider7 · #12 03-04-2012, 09:11 AM

The stock tube in my ABM 500 is a little noisey so planning on switching it out to either a:
Tung-sol
Electro harmonix
Sovtek
JJ
Mesa boogie

JJ's seem to get a bit of love round here (but not on this post), anyone else got experience with any of these? BTW, the stock tube in mine was just an unbranded chinese 12Ax7. Tones alright, but noisey

WillyPop · #13 03-25-2012, 05:51 PM

Just swiped mine original with NOS Sylvania as recommended by Spufman and... wow. Great difference. I loooove it. Gets my sound more "vintage" so their seems to be a little bit of lost in some really High def treble but holy cow did my sound became warm and creamy. I was thinking before installing it to buy other tubes but I cannot imagine my ashdown sounding better.