Preamp tubes

[Roland GR 88]

Good day, I use an ART Pro Channel in my studio for vocals and acoustic guitar and would like some advice on what tubes to use in it. There is a preamp, compressor and eq all driven by 12ax7's. A friend replaced the stock tubes 10-12 yrs ago for me and I'm not sure what lifespan they may have. It sounds good to me, but I'd like to experiment a bit and see what I can come up with. I also use an ART VLA -with stock tubes - that takes keys and synth to tame the monitor flapping lows that I like Thanks

 

[Jim C]

See what tubes he installed.
There is a reasonable chance that what he used 12 years ago might be better than what is available today.
I am using Telefunken 12AX7's that I stole from an old stereo pre.
These tubes were made in the 60's, test perfectly, and sound better than most.
Some prefer used Mullards or Amperex tubes from the same era.
Many older US made tubes are also good possibilities.

What you also want to search is posts that might give a clue as to weather this unit is sensitive to different tubes. Some units offer very little tonal difference.