The micro doesn't have a thru. Their standard DI does, as does their muting DI.
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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison
- Thread starter chadhargis
- Start date
None that I know of...but there are 12AX7 tubes on Tube Depot's site that sell for that much. I just get the new Mullards. They appear to be high quality and they have been an improvement over the typically JJ tubes you see in most applications.
I never ran a Mullard in my Noble or Shaw. The Noble sounded fantastic, and the Shaw had a octal tube which isn't manufactured anymore. Kevin had a supply of them and even gave me an extra one. I did, however, but a Mullard in my LeBass, SLO, and Oracle. My LA-1A has a three Mullards in it. They may not be the best in every application, but they are a known good to me, so I stick with them.
Concerning hi-priced vintage tubes, I fully agree with friend33's points. I have a box full of beautifully labeled Mullard, Brimar, Telefunken, Amperex, and RCA tubes that look nice, could pass for NOS or "almost" NOS, and are microphonic and should not be used in a critical preamp signal stage. A lot of what is sold on ebay are, I believe, reject brand name vintage tubes that look great but don't perform that well. When you are paying $25 or less, as I did when I bought these tubes years ago from various sources, it's easier take the risk that some will be duds. But with vintage tubes from the 1950s - 1960s priced at $100+, you are taking a lot of risk unless you buy from a very reliable, established seller who properly screens tubes for performance.
Thanks to the helpful people at TubeDepot I finally have a better understanding of how this all works and my thinking was backward.
The Genalex GL is actually a hotter tube than the JJ and that's why it's breaking up earlier in the gain stage. I described the Oracle to them and the application and they recommended the Tung Sol for something different than the JJ.
I also removed and re-seated the Genalex and the little bit of noise I was hearing is gone. Going to mess around with it a little more today now that it's quieter and I have a better understanding.
Just thought I'd share my newby journey in case it helps anybody else.
im very familiar with it, i just thought it belonged in this thread. and perhaps another on that's around here somewhere....
A Mesa Subway D800 Plus preamp showed up at my door yesterday, replaced a NuX and Ictineo.
Have only had it on for a short time but so far I like it a lot, running it into a Quilter 802 but bypassing the 802 pre. This thing has really wide tone possibilities. HPF and Voicing controls are like icing on the cake, still early days yet and lots of exploring to do.
ok that is what I was thinking logically. "Higher Gain" would be less headroom.
There's another tube to roll. At least the Tung Sol is inexpensive!
jacoby75
Supporting Member
- Mar 11, 2010
- 5,661
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- Endorsing Artist: Mike Lull Custom Guitars, DR Strings
What? No tube in your tuner? Lame. And you could totally duct tape some tubes to those 2020's.
Haha. For sure. They said the new production Tung Sol would be a great fit for this application.
They also provided this info from my last email I sent them to make sure I had my head wrapped around it correctly. They've certainly earned my biz. Nice when a company will patiently educate their customers.
"Glad to help! And yessir your thinking here is correct! If the jj 12ax7 still seems to be too much you can also try a 7025 in that spot as it only has about 70% of the gain of a 12ax7 and will give you a bit more range of clean tone before breaking up."
Seems like a 7025 would give the most amount of clean head room. So lots more tube rolling/experimenting to come! Not like I have gigs to worry about rn. Lol...but at least we are rehearsing.
If you search tubedepot for 7025 there are some pricey options, and an inexpensive EH. Did they recommend a specific 7025?
FWIW, here is a decent reference for NOS tubes. I haven't found it to be wrong yet.
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Not yet...I shot them back an email asking for a rec on that but based on what I saw I'd start with the EH. I liked what I read in the description as well. Most likely pick one of those up and the TS they recommended.
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I did a longer explanation in the Ambient thread, but I figured I'd share here too. Much of my want for the Sol Invictus was flexible signal routing. Combining it with a Boredbrain Terminal, I've got a bunch of routing options without rerouting many cables.
The Sol sends an instrument level signal of channels A/B/A+B to the cab sim. It also has jacks for sending balanced and line level outs. The Sol also has available jacks for A and B to go separately to the mixer or interface.
The Terminal allows for additional send/return inserts, and sends a copy of the signal to the Empress Echo and Reverb pedals.
This gives me quite a bit of flexibility for playing and recording.
The Sol sends an instrument level signal of channels A/B/A+B to the cab sim. It also has jacks for sending balanced and line level outs. The Sol also has available jacks for A and B to go separately to the mixer or interface.
The Terminal allows for additional send/return inserts, and sends a copy of the signal to the Empress Echo and Reverb pedals.
This gives me quite a bit of flexibility for playing and recording.
TBH, kind of a strange link. This is an hi-fI/audiophile guy, not a musician. They prioritize the key characteristics of tubes a bit differently. (And more obsessively...)
Just one example - all the classic 12ax7/ecc83 tubes "suck" because they are "too furry"? That would not be the consensus of guys cranking amps.
Or guys/girls listening to guys/girls cranking amps.Red Flag - "Bugle Boys are the best." There were no "Bugle Boy" tubes. If a tube was made in Heerlen and has an etched delta code, it's the same Heerlen tube that was produced and sitting around etched-but-naked with its buddies/clones before being stamped for marketing purposes with a whimsical cartoon character blowing a trumpet or a Hammond or Zenith logo or with an unknown logo that is now worn off.
But, guess which one will cost you multiple times more, especially if the logo is crisp and fully intact?
(Yes, I have a handful of BB's, and yes I would sell them for more. But that's due to myths/collectors, not sonic pixie dust.
)A great/classic resouce for all tube types and characteristics is Brent Jesse:
12AX7 Tubes in Stock
Also, I'm confused about someone marketing a 7025 tube as "less gain" than a 12ax7. A 7025 is a 12ax7 - just a ruggedized version produced by the military (think - putting them in rattly aircraft, old-school missiles, other equipment subject to shock and vibration).
Military (or industrial) versions exist for most every tube, and will use numbers (efficient for cataloguing and storing), sometimes combined with a JAN (joint army/navy) prefix or WA suffix. Ruggedized elements can include triple mica spacers (rather than the normal two), thicker glass, etc., which also then give them less hum/noise when used for civilian purposes. But their gain rating will be the same as their commercial production counterpart. If you want lower gain, you need a different tube type. Mu ratings:
100 = 12ax7/ecc83/7025/CV4035
70 = 5751
60 = 12at7/ecc81/CV4024
45 = 12ay7/6072
19 = 12au7/ecc82/5963
Not every amp/preamp accepts switching between different mu levels, and if they do, not necessarily in all valve positions. Not every amp/preamp that accepts switching sounds good doing it - if it's designed for a 12ax7, going lower reduces gain/breakup but sometimes also loses other mojo/sounds "lifeless".
Maybe they feel that specific 7025 breaks up less easily? Not sure...to my ears, they may be just a hair smoother, but break up with the best of the 12ax's...
Bottom line, if you're happy with the new production Mullard, I would totally stick with that. (Well, I wouldn't, since I already have a bunch of tubes that can be rolled through! But I wouldn't recommend buying a big random assortment. Talk to the builder first and see if they have a couple things they like. Then, at some point if you like, go for one of those. Then you'll know if it's worth it or not.)
