Suggest preamp tube (12AX7)

[überfuzz]

Just by a whole tub of them. There's bound to be one you like.

I'm a poor student at the moment. I don't wanna stress things with my girlfriend. ;-) Low budget!!!

[daz]

I'm a poor student at the moment. I don't wanna stress things with my girlfriend. ;-) Low budget!!!

Bit late to the thread, but i have some observations. I've used sovtek WA and WB, the old 80's chinese, (which till now were my fav) EH, tung sol RI, both the russian and GT mullard RI, JJ 83 and 803, to name a few. Now granted, i play a very different amp, a marshall style homebrew. But all the tunes i used in it can be described relative to each other which i think could be helpful to you. If you're still here that is.

Anyways, i just tried the JJ803. The rest i have tried and used to some extent for a long while. But i think the 803 is going to be my new fav, and heres why. They not only have a spongier smooth feel to them, plus a more harmonically complex tone then some and as good as the previous best, but they sound BIG ! They are also smooth without losing cut and punch and bright enough without being too bright or harsh. In a word, i feel they are closer than any other AX7 i have used to being flawless. Not flawless, but as close as i have heard in this amp.
Which brings me to YOUR amp. In a fender the things i would be looking for in a preamp tube are just what these have. Fenders tend to be bright and/or harsh in the top, the tone has little give till they are cranked and distorting, and because they are generally bright one thing they can always use is more body. The 803's do all those things better than any tun=be i have tried. They are also long plates which i think is a big reason why, and long plate AX7's supposedly are great for PI especially. Now if you have tried the JJ83 or any other JJ preamp tube, don't be judgmental about the 803....i HATE the other JJ AX7's ! And when i say hate i mean they are one of my least favorite if not THE least fav AX7's ever. The 803 is looking like it may be my fav !

Anyways, i think they'd be fantastic in a twin even more than other fenders due to the twins loud clean rep. They sound great overdriven, but i think clean may be even better. The tung sol RI's are pretty good too and have a rep for being good, but i feel the 803 is easily better. Thats opinion. But i really feel that opinion aside they ARE smoother than any other i've used, are spongier feeling than any other i've used, and are bigger sounding than anything i've used. Some may hear those things differently. But i feel listening to all those tunes that they simply are smoother spongier and bigger sounding. They're priced typically for new tubes, IE: cheap. So there not much to lose and everything to gain. Try one and see, if you feel the same grab more.

[überfuzz]

daz - Thanks for the suggestion. The day I have to get new preamp. tubes will come. My stash of old precious junk is more or less empty now.

I tried the winged C in my twin reverb. The are actually very good, in my ears. Compared to 6L6EH (electro harmonix) and RUBY 6L6CMSTR they are much more defined throughout all frequencies. The break up seems smoother and more controlled, both EH and RUBY were quite harsh and fuzzy while breaking up. My 6L6 tube of choise for now.

[daz]

yeah, the winged C's are great. The EL34's are great too and they are the tube of choice in my EL34 amp. But for 12AX7's those JJ803's are just so smooth rich and big sounding i can't imagine finding better. Surprising to me because i just don't generally like JJ's at all cept the EL84's, and only because when i had EL84 amps they were the only game in town except for sovteks, which were garbage. The tung sols like i said are pretty good, but i find them best in the PI. Better even than the 803. But in the gain stages i prefer the 803 easily. Of course a lot of times it's amp dependent, then you have taste differences, so YMMV of course.

[bud]

I managed to dig up some of my old tubes, but they're running scares. Sooner or later I have to start using new fabricated tubes, it seems. Is there someone here using new made tubes that can shed some light on the matter. Pointers, dos, do nots and shit.? I feel completely lost... :-/

Are you speaking of preamp or amp tubes? An old stock USA made preamp tube will last about 22 to 28 years played 8 hours a day, everyday, mean time before failure...accordring to the Department of Defense who did the tests. Power tubes, like a 6L6GC about 2500 to 5000 hours depending on the bias.

If you want a loud USA preamp tube that sounds great a green label Sylvania 12ax7a ( still reasonable), creamy are GE (still reasonable), all purpose are RCA. The old Yugo 12ax7 beat telefunken hands down (like white wall paint), but if played to hard or over driven they get microphonic in a few months. New manufacture, the JJ are nice, the Wing C are damn near a Mullard 8137 but are bass strong so adjust accordingly. Stay away from RTF from East Germany, time bombs. Mazda gray plate 12ax7 are very loud too, but way to expensive now when a tad more volume can do the trick, or that Sylvania.

Amp power tubes, well...the housewives on ebat have driven up tubes to the point that only TBTF bankers can afford to bid or buy ( and 4 out of 5 I have to send back because of leakage that these TV-xx and Hickoks don't pick up at 500K when 2 to 3 meg is max for guitar...or else they test like crap). But the 6L6GC that JJ, Ruby STR, and Wing C are very good to excellent with maybe the Wing C being the best.