I own an Eden WT-400 head and all this talk from people saying "it doesn't matter what 12AX7 tube you put in there cause they all pretty much sound the same" is a bunch of crap. I've tried dozens tubes (Sylvania, Mullard, Telefunken, GE, Raytheon, Sovtek, JJ, Ruby, RCA, Mesa) with some being new and most being NOS. My stock Ruby sounded THE worst compared to all the other tubes I tried.
My advise is to go with an older manufacturer NOS tube like Sylvania, GE, RCA, etc. Bass player's opinions on tubes is just like the "which strings are the best" type question. It depends on everything else in your bass rig setup (instrument, amp, cabinet(s), cables,) the style(s) of music you play, and what your ears want to hear. I'm just saying from experience the NOS seems to be the way to go for most folks. Seems that the new Chinese tubes don't have the desired sounds that most people are looking for like the old tubes that were mostly made in the USA, Great Britain, Holland, and Russia.
I would say if you aren't a tone slut (like me
) then go with whatever you want, whether that would be a new tube that is available at your local music store or shop around for the best deal on the internet.
I will say from experience that tubes are similar to reeds for a reed instrument like a clarinet or saxophone: you can buy a box of 10 reeds, play them all and each one will sound and play different than the next even though they are all technically the same, but maybe 5 of those reeds will be good enough to be deemed performance quality. Granted, we don't go through tubes nearly as fast as a sax player will go through reeds, but I have found through my own trials that tubes work the same way. I bought 4 of the same tube NOS, tried all of them in my amp, and each one was similar BUT they all had their differences that made them sound unique. I played through all the notes on my bass guitar and each tube responded differently. From tube to tube I could tell a difference in clarity especially in the E string. The main thing I did was let my ears hear the differences and pick out what I liked the most. I also heard more differences at higher volumes than at low volumes, though I didn't turn my amp up any louder than I would at a gig. Me personally, I like the sound of a Sylvania Jan 12ax7wa best with my setup. Many others would agree it's a good tube and many others out there would say there is something better out there. They are opinions and everyone's choice to digest them how they choose.
With you having an Eden amp, if you haven't already, do read the instruction manual on how to set up your amp settings properly. I've run into musicians that tried to run their Eden amp like the amp they previously owned and after I showed them how Eden recommends you set your amp up they were amazed at how much better it sounded. Your EQ should be pretty much at 12 o'clock for each knob, enhance at about 11 o'clock, gain at about 1 o'clock, and then master volume up as much as it needs to be based on the room size.
#1 Do what you are financially able to do. Don't overextend your budget. Many times cheaper does not mean better, but if that's all you can afford then you make do with it.
#2 Do what sounds best (better) to your ears. If you have guys asking you after your gig about what you are using in your bass setup it's because it sounded good to them and they want to find out how you did it so they can do it too! Sounds like you have a nice setup already and a better tube will enhance what you already have. Good luck my friend!
