Groove Tubes or JJ 12AX7 preamp tube set for Fender Red Knob Twin (hi gain)

[jalexquijano]

Would you recommend Groove Tubes, JJ or Sovtek 12ax7 short plate preamp tubes for a Fender Red Knob twin combo? Which ones are less prone to microphonics and achieve the best gain and clarity? Long time ago i used to have Marshall ECC83 red label for a former red knob and they sound great.

[Danglin' Fury]

I've had a lot of luck with Ruby 12ax7... Particularly the HG branded tubes.... That stands for High Grade but it should be High Gain as, to my ears, they crunch better... The Ruby branded Russian 12ax7's will darken the tone and the Chinese will be brighter... My $.02

[Enzo]

Keep in mind that each small tube does a different job, in fact each rube is dual so each half of each tube does a different job. So the idea that JJs or Sovteks or whatever will do thus and so in an amp is over simplified. So whatever differences there may be between tubes, it will matter whether it is the input stage or the phase inverter for example.

And it is also quite possible to find two JJ 12AX7s that sound less alike than a JJ and a Sovtek 12AX7.

I would recommend trying as many different brands and models of 12AX7/ECC83/7025/etc in each socket individually.