CP Tube Help, Please?

[The Ballzz]

Hi Folks,
I have an order for a bunch of crap for my next amp build on hold at CE Distribution and it's big enough to have free shipping. I need to gather up some 12AX7/7025/5751 style tubes and don't have the patience, time or budget to deal with NOS rolling and testing on new builds. I'm looking for some suggestions within the selection at CE (AKA: Amplified Parts/Tubes And More/etc) to throw onto my order. Ideally I'd like to end up with a couple high-ish gain/low noise units for V1 duties and a few good dependable "utility" types for other positions. I have a wide variety of Marshall & Marshall style amps, from 1 to 30 watts. I also have a 5E3 Tweed Deluxe and the new build will be a 5E4 Tweed Super preamp with a 5E3 Deluxe power section. I already have a fair selection of 12AY7 & 12AT7 for monkeying around. Here's a link to the CE list:

https://www.cedist.com/products/vacu...3DPreamplifier

I'm not adverse to trying Chinese and already have two of these in my cart:

https://www.cedist.com/products/T-12AX7-MUL

Thanks Folks,
Gene

[xtian]

I rely on JJs.

[The Ballzz]

Well Sir,
I certainly like their durability and consistency, however...... The only ones that I actually LIKE the tone and response of are the red Marshall logo ones that Marshall often puts in V1 on many models. I believe it's an ECC83S numbered 00066 or 00066S. Many others just seem a bit dark to me.
Thanks Sir,
Gene

[Firestorm]

I use the Tung Sol Russian. Chinese are good too. I forget who sells the gold pins. JJ maybe. Buy those. Nothing special about the gold, but they plate them after the fact. The best tubes get the gold pins. The rest of us buy the culls.

I don't know how much good NOS CE still has, but you could once get Mullard GZ34s.

Years ago I placed an order for NOS 7025s. Asuumed they would be lesser known US manufacturers. They were Blackburn Mullards. Won't happen again.

With Svetlana gone (never made good pre's) we have to get used to what there is. Mike Matthews and Chinese. Before Aspen Pittman sold to Fender, there was a great 12AX7 tube, but only half the time. Chinese. Sounded like a Mullard. 50% reject rate was too hard to take.

Face it. None of us are making TVs or radios. The market is a small population clinging to their Bibles, guns and amplifiers. (Apologies, Hillary).

We have to design around what there is.

If you don't have an XF2 to compare it with, modern EL34s sound pretty good. I took the '59 Jensen out of a Vibolux to protect it. The Italian one was almost indistinguishable.

My point is Leo, and Ken Bran and even Ken Fischer made the most of what they had.

Buy the Russians, buy the Chinese. Sort them and use where appropriate.

[JazzGuitarGimp]

Svetlana is out of business? Don't they make several "brands": TungSol Reissue, EH, Sovtek, Gold Lion, etc?

[cbass]

I dont think so .Svetlana was a different factory than New Sensor

[Firestorm]

Svetlana was in St. Petersburg. They failed to protect their North American tradename. Matthews grabbed it. Pittman did worse. Matthews, against all odds, held out against local Russian "interests" and kept the XpoPul factory, equipped with Soviet era pipelines of gasses only a tube manufacturer could love. I doubt Mike is singlehandedly responsible for Svetlana's downfall. Lack of market.

[TUBEDUDE]

The real Svetlana tubes (St. Petersburg) had to be sold here as SED,, after the.theft of the Svetlana name. They made big transmitter and radar tubes also so they weren't relying on the relatively small audio market.

[TUBEDUDE]

Those tubes can be recognized by the "Winged C" logo.

[martin manning]

Back-story and picture of SED logo from the horse's mouth: http://www.wingedc.com

[Firestorm]

SED 6L6s and EL34s were the real deal. A shame really. There are still some out there but caveat emptor.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Back-story and picture of SED logo from the horse's mouth: http://www.wingedc.com

True 'nuff, and the late-made =c= can be dodgy. One customer had a quad of EL34 sent from Moscow. Two are matched, one is 30% over the matched ones in emissivity, and the last one shoots sparks.

Tubes marked Svetlana from New Sensor may or may not be good, but they're NOT =c=.

Some mid-late 90's realSvet's I've put in amps for customers still working fine.

Real Svet also made 12AX7's. Spotty reliability, they either made a helluva racket or worked well, and the ones that worked sounded super sweet. Huge flat plates, very primitive looking.

I'm a fan of the current JJ 12AX7. If they're "dark" sounding, it's because they don't jingle or almost whistle at hi frequencies like Shuguangs. I prefer the "fade to black" between notes & haven't had any complaints from customers. As far as JJ's gold plate "premium" 12AX's, just last week I had to remove one from an amp for the noises it was making. So much for "premium." Granted, it was a sample size of one unit, but for the price I'll take the ordinary ones thankew veddy mush.

[gui_tarzan]

I found a bunch of NOS mid-60s RCA black and silver plate 12AX7s and 5751s at a ham fest. Look and see if there is going to be one nearby you in the near future.

Otherwise, I bought a bunch of Shuguang 12AX7s and most of them sounded decent.

[gui_tarzan]

It's funny how we can have different experiences with the same brand tubes, isn't it?

[Structo]

I loved those Winged =C= 6L6GC tubes

Should had bought a boatload but who knew.