Tweet
Hey All,
I've got a guitar amp build in the planning stage. It's based on an amp I actually had once but ripped apart when I was young and foolish. The power section is a Williamson type topology that used 12AU7s for the gain/concertina and diff amp. Part of the preamp also used one 12AU7 tube.
For my build I'm trying to use NOS tubes for reliability and long life. Hopefully sound quality will be in there somewhere.
Since these tubes are pretty different from each other in many ways other than mu, I pretty much have to decide which one to start my massive amount of tweaking and experimenting with.
12AU7s are pretty straight forward. Buy from the reputable guys and get the lower priced tubes. I might even be able to get really good low-use pulls down the road at radio swaps, etc. Maybe ebay, who knows? The advantage of 12AU7s is that the demand is not high like 12AX7s (relatively speaking).
6N1Ps are cheap, but where to get them? I have been over many, many posts over at the asylum using the search function and can't quite get a handle on quality for these tubes and source. Many vendors on ebay selling these, but what are they? Junk? Any reputable dealers? Are there any *good* 6N1Ps in the area of ruggedness, reliability, sound quality, etc.?
OK, we're talking about a guitar amp. Linearity doesn't count or matter. I'm aware of both tube specs regarding plate resistance, gm, cathode current, etc. Ruggedness, reliability, consistency, price, availability are the big factors, not necessarily in that order.
So I'm looking for feedback and opinions on two questions.
1. Which tube would you use and why?
2. If you chose the 6N1P route, how would you go about getting them and from who?
Thanks for any help.
I've got a guitar amp build in the planning stage. It's based on an amp I actually had once but ripped apart when I was young and foolish. The power section is a Williamson type topology that used 12AU7s for the gain/concertina and diff amp. Part of the preamp also used one 12AU7 tube.
For my build I'm trying to use NOS tubes for reliability and long life. Hopefully sound quality will be in there somewhere.
Since these tubes are pretty different from each other in many ways other than mu, I pretty much have to decide which one to start my massive amount of tweaking and experimenting with.
12AU7s are pretty straight forward. Buy from the reputable guys and get the lower priced tubes. I might even be able to get really good low-use pulls down the road at radio swaps, etc. Maybe ebay, who knows? The advantage of 12AU7s is that the demand is not high like 12AX7s (relatively speaking).
6N1Ps are cheap, but where to get them? I have been over many, many posts over at the asylum using the search function and can't quite get a handle on quality for these tubes and source. Many vendors on ebay selling these, but what are they? Junk? Any reputable dealers? Are there any *good* 6N1Ps in the area of ruggedness, reliability, sound quality, etc.?
OK, we're talking about a guitar amp. Linearity doesn't count or matter. I'm aware of both tube specs regarding plate resistance, gm, cathode current, etc. Ruggedness, reliability, consistency, price, availability are the big factors, not necessarily in that order.
So I'm looking for feedback and opinions on two questions.
1. Which tube would you use and why?
2. If you chose the 6N1P route, how would you go about getting them and from who?
Thanks for any help.
Comment