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Which preamp tube would you choose?

Which 12ax7?

  • Tung Sol

    Votes: 25 40.3%

  • Mullard

    Votes: 14 22.6%

  • JJ

    Votes: 23 37.1%
  • Total voters
    62
#82
ThisBass said:
Besides the frame grid Telefunken ECC803S there had been the Tesla E83CC which is also a frame grid (NOS) tube.
The only frame grid tube currently in production is JJ ECC83s.

Any other 12AX7 / ECC83 tube (even the JJ ECC803s) are of usual design type.

Interestingly the JJ ECC83s is the frame grid tube while the JJ ECC803s is not.

Just have reread the history of the ECC83 frame grid tube.

In 1972 the Telefunken machinery park was shipped to Tesla in Czechoslovakia. Tesla continued the production of the frame grid ECC83 but unfortunatelly labeled the tube with a different identifier which reads E83CC.

Tesla sold her tube devision to Mr. Jan Jorgo who is the founder of JJ. The current production frame grid JJ tube is made on just the same assembly line that once was used for the TFK ECC803s.

All of this information can be read on a German language website.
Click to expand...

Cool. I have read a fair amount of the history on English web sites as well and find it interesting. Just because JJ bought the tube making equipment, doesn't mean proper clones can be made to the original specs. Much of the critical knowledge, techniques, and materials needed to make a true clone are lost to time. I don't argue that the JJ ECC83S is not a frame grid tube, only that it is not an equivalent to vintage Telefunken ECC803S or Tesla E83CC. If you look carefully at photos you will see similarities for sure, but you will also see obvious differences in construction.
 
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#85
So the JJ's sounded awesome, definitely a huge tone difference, but they pooped out after a few practices, got some Tung Sol's that I'll be putting in within the next few days now
 
#86
JN8642 said:
So the JJ's sounded awesome, definitely a huge tone difference, but they pooped out after a few practices, got some Tung Sol's that I'll be putting in within the next few days now
Click to expand...

Hopefully the vendor will replace, exchange, or refund the purchase price. Several threads suggest JJ occasionally produces bad batches of tubes, so there may be high incidence of failures from time to time. Did you experience multiple failures? Is it possible a tube just came unseated? JJs tend to have small pins, so when possible, it's a good idea to retension the tube sockets when you install them.

FYI, I have installed more JJ803S in my amps than all other small signal tubes combined, and I have not had a single JJ 12AX7 failure. I buy from tube vendors who claim to test tubes before sending them out, rather than music stores which do no testing. Maybe this helps, or maybe I have just been lucky.

I have had to reseat the JJ 12DW7s in my CTM300 at least once a year. The symptom is reduced gain and a tendency to distort at low volume levels. I have cleared the fault twice by simply removing and replacing V1 and V2 a couple of times. The tube sockets are high quality, but I don't see any way to access the pins for retensioning. Eventually I'll put in some NOS tubes that have bigger pins. I already rolled NOS GE and Raytheon through the amp and the difference in tone and volume was almost imperceptible, so I put the JJs back in.

The only current production small signal tube failures I have experienced was a Tung Sol and a Mesa branded 12AX7. Only 1 of each, so I don't draw any conclusions from the failure. I have a hand full of Tung Sols in my collection ready for rolling. The Mesa's are just selected Shuguangs and Sovteks, so I have those covered as well.

Once you get the Tung Sols in, please tell us about any gain, feel, or tonal differences you note.
 
#87
Wasnex said:
Hopefully the vendor will replace, exchange, or refund the purchase price. Several threads suggest JJ occasionally produces bad batches of tubes, so there may be high incidence of failures from time to time. Did you experience multiple failures? Is it possible a tube just came unseated? JJs tend to have small pins, so when possible, it's a good idea to retension the tube sockets when you install them.

FYI, I have installed more JJ803S in my amps than all other small signal tubes combined, and I have not had a single JJ 12AX7 failure. I buy from tube vendors who claim to test tubes before sending them out, rather than music stores which do no testing. Maybe this helps, or maybe I have just been lucky.

I have had to reseat the JJ 12DW7s in my CTM300 at least once a year. The symptom is reduced gain and a tendency to distort at low volume levels. I have cleared the fault twice by simply removing and replacing V1 and V2 a couple of times. The tube sockets are high quality, but I don't see any way to access the pins for retensioning. Eventually I'll put in some NOS tubes that have bigger pins. I already rolled NOS GE and Raytheon through the amp and the difference in tone and volume was almost imperceptible, so I put the JJs back in.

The only current production small signal tube failures I have experienced was a Tung Sol and a Mesa branded 12AX7. Only 1 of each, so I don't draw any conclusions from the failure. I have a hand full of Tung Sols in my collection ready for rolling. The Mesa's are just selected Shuguangs and Sovteks, so I have those covered as well.

Once you get the Tung Sols in, please tell us about any gain, feel, or tonal differences you note.
Click to expand...
Definitely! I'll write up a review of the JJ's when I have some time as well
 
#88
Okie dokey so I was able to return the JJ's, I bought some Tung Sol's, dropped them off at the space and put them on the desk that's there cause I forgot a screwdriver to open my amp and found them the next evening smashed against the wall by one of the bands bass amps who we share the space with (Yay?), tested them and as expected they were all of the broken, returned those, picked up four more and those were good.

Honestly, to my ears, the JJ's wiped the floor with the Tung Sol's. The JJ's were thick, cutting, punchy, and were filled with ''character'', the Tung Sol's to me were flimsy, weak, and very lacking but they had a decent breakup. I know everyone's ears are different, and preamp tubes sound different with different amps and in my opinion, the JJ's aren't even the kings, they're the galactic rulers when compared to the Tung Sol's. Perfect clean tone to my ears.

Gonna go and order some JJ's at a place that says they test them so I don't have a repeat of last time.
 
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#90
Back in my tube rolling days, I got quite a bit of useful information here:
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I suppose a lot of the recommended tubes may have slipped into unobtainable status; but, you may be able to find a few of them. Worth the read anyhow.

Also, you have to be careful; because, some amps, like the Demeter preamp, are designed with specific tubes in mind. So, there's that as well.
 

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