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The Sushi Box FX Secret Society
- Thread starter kranahan
- Start date
Since I have an Edison, I am considering swapping my March Westinghouse order for Space Heater. What's the deadline for that? End of Feb?
Yup, I cut off changes the first day of the month your order is in, so you have until March 1.
I'm really curious as to where the Westinghouse will work best in the chain. I understand putting it as the last pedal before the amp as a preamp tube type thing, but I always imagined putting it first in the chain before everything else to condition the tone before hitting anything else. Some experimentation will be in order when it gets here. 
I like having a relatively neutral tube pedal before all of my dirt. It adds more dynamics and really opens them up. I’m using a power stage or archetype for those duties. I like having colored pres like the SPX or P15 near the end. Although you could use the WH right in front of a colored pre to push it a little bit.I'm really curious as to where the Westinghouse will work best in the chain. I understand putting it as the last pedal before the amp as a preamp tube type thing, but I always imagined putting it first in the chain before everything else to condition the tone before hitting anything else. Some experimentation will be in order when it gets here.
Same, I've been using a Bugcaster for that currently. I keep it set very clean, not used for overdrive or distortion at all, so I think the Westinghouse will be perfect. I really should try my London Underground in that position as well, but I was intending for the Westinghouse to replace my Bugcaster as a front end tube stage. Using it to push a tube pre at the tail end also sounds like a good idea. I also have to imagine it'd be great to goose up something simple like a clean Radial JDI as well. So many things to try! lol
Sorry to all those who've been waiting on my report of the London Underground. My playing time has been very limited recently due to ongoing home renovations and just general Covid lockdown blahs. I just haven't taken the time to really put it through its paces enough to provide detailed commentary.
What I hear is you need two Westinghouses, one for the start and one for the end
With the Edison it makes a great tube boost at the front. It sounded brighter at the front of my chain than at the end, so I personally placed mine at the end to hit with effects. It's amazing with effects going into it. A little secret with it is, if you use a solid state amp, put the Edison (Westinghouse) in the effects loop of your amp. Instant tube front end. Suuuper happening.
Some good info. Is there a general consensus on the best place to find NOS tubes at a decent price? Just hope to get lucky on Ebay? I've only really explored The Tube Store and Tube Depot, on advice from the Great Preamp thread.
What I hear is you need two Westinghouses, one for the start and one for the end
What I hear Sushi telling me is I need both the Westinghouse and Space Heater. lol But I *am* leaning toward the Westinghouse. Maybe a Space Heater down the road sometime.
5sg.
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The Tube Depot is a great place to get tubes..
This is the one that the builder of the Edison uses and suggested for me. A bit darker than the standard, but cleaner and more even from top to bottom. I loved that tube in the Edison, had just wanted less compression (as I talk myself into a Westinghouse....).
NOS Tesla EF86 Audio Tubes - www.thetubestore.com
This is the one that the builder of the Edison uses and suggested for me. A bit darker than the standard, but cleaner and more even from top to bottom. I loved that tube in the Edison, had just wanted less compression (as I talk myself into a Westinghouse....).
NOS Tesla EF86 Audio Tubes - www.thetubestore.com
I have bought tubes from upscale audio in the past. They have a nice selection of preamp tubes. Preamp Tubes
No affiliation
No affiliation
So I got the NOS EF86 fron eBay today, and was extremely disappointed to find that only one of the five tubes is actually Mullard, the other four are Sonotone from West Germany. Still NOS, probably still sound good, but definitely not Mullard and definitely not worth what I paid. I reached out to the seller to see what to do about it.
That's a rotten surprise. I hope the seller makes it right.
That's annoying. Hopefully you get a hefty amount back.
I’ve got a barely used German RFT and a vintage Amperex Bugle Boy EF86 testing strong if interested. I prefer both of these to Mullard EF86. My early 1960’s GEC is my holy grail (and also very expensive) but the Bugle Boy and RFT are right up there.
I also have a Flying C EF86 if interested.
I also have a Flying C EF86 if interested.
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If they don't offer a partial refund I'm going to return all of them. I want a Mullard, but I not enough to fight someone over it.
I've never tried RFT, but I have a couple Amperex Bugle Boy of other model tubes and they are amazing. I'll let you know if I can't get this figured out.
Could they be Mullard tubes branded Sonotone? If they have Mullard etch codes that would be the case.
I thought about that, as I've heard Sonotone weren't manufacturers but were distributors of other tubes. The 4 Sonotone tubes are stamped West Germany, which makes me wary, but apparently Mullard produced some tubes there as well. I'll wait to see what the seller says about it.
So I just looked up the codes and it turns out these are Valvo tubes made in Hamburg in 1951. Apparently Philips bought Valvo shortly after buying Mullard, and according to some people these are every bit as good. It sounds like they may be worth keeping, but I'm still interested in what the seller has to say.
