JJ tubes

barricade

barricade

Giggity Geschmougen
Oct 31, 2007
803
1
16
Hey!

I know there are a lot of threads about JJ tubes... but i rly don't know whic of thes two JJ tubes do you guys use in your 5150's... here is the URL:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/jj.html

And which tubes do you use on your power amp?

TNX!
 
JJ ecc83s in the preamp and JJ 6l6 in the poweramp.

JJ preamptubes seem a bit darker then other brands, low end is pretty tight too, i like those alot.

don't get em at thomann, tubetown is cheaper
 
Jeffy Daumor said:
use EH12ax7 (electro harmonix) there high gain low noise
Click to expand...

C'mon, what do you need hi-gain 12ax7s in an amp like 6505 for?!
Like its design doesn't have more than enough gain already...
Maybe it'd be better using moderate gain preamp tubes or even some NOS/JAN like this one:
http://thetubestore.com/sylvania5751.html

At least for V1 position...
It's not even that expensive, I reckon it would be worth trying out.

JJ tubes are cheapest at www.eurotubes.com, especially if you're doing full retubing
 
I've tried a few combos in my 6505, including all JJ ECC83's and I'd highly recommend NOT putting all JJ's in your preamp, very dark tone, need to dial in massive amount of treble to get a decent sound and to me ended up with a brittle-ness to it I didn't like, also a very large loose low end. My personal recommendation is a Tung-sol 12AX7 in V1, and the rest 9th gen chinese 12AX7's, I had a lot of people recommend this combo and finally went with it after doug from dougstubes.com also advised me to, and I've never been happier, I now run my preamp gain on 1 or 2 max on the lead channel to achieve gain equivalent to 6 or 7 with all JJ's in there, the low end at first I thought had disappeared until I realised how much tighter it was with an enormous amount of punch and growl in the low mids, fucking screams now!
 
Potshot said:
I've tried a few combos in my 6505, including all JJ ECC83's and I'd highly recommend NOT putting all JJ's in your preamp, very dark tone, need to dial in massive amount of treble to get a decent sound and to me ended up with a brittle-ness to it I didn't like, also a very large loose low end. My personal recommendation is a Tung-sol 12AX7 in V1, and the rest 9th gen chinese 12AX7's, I had a lot of people recommend this combo and finally went with it after doug from dougstubes.com also advised me to, and I've never been happier, I now run my preamp gain on 1 or 2 max on the lead channel to achieve gain equivalent to 6 or 7 with all JJ's in there, the low end at first I thought had disappeared until I realised how much tighter it was with an enormous amount of punch and growl in the low mids, fucking screams now!
Click to expand...

Interesting post. I have all JJ in my 6505 and can't get a tone I am totally happy with. I might try this. Are the Tung-sol 12AX7 also ECC803S or ECC83? I see both of these listed on ebay. I am assuming ECC83 are the higher gain version.

EDIT: nevermind I understand the difference now.
 
know you are looking for 5150 input, but just thought I'd add my 2 cents. I have all JJs in my 2-ch Dual Rec, and I have no problem whatsoever with the tone being dark in any way. I actually boost my treble less than I did with the stock tubes. Here's my setup right now.

GP (gold pin) seems to give a little bit more mids than the normal version, also seem a bit smoother in the high end.

V1: ECC803S GP: A nice warm & round clean w/ a nicer sparkle
V2: ECC83S Std GP: Enough gain for orange, but still nice and warm
V3: ECC83S HiGain GP: Only gives a bit more gain, but I have to use the gain knob less for the same saturation.
V4: ECC83S Normal - for FX loop
V5: ECC83S Balanced - phase inverter

Overall this setup really improved the clean, and added a much nicer mid section and smooth the fizz compared to the stock tubes. I also have the JJ 6L6GCs in the power section which I think sound great, my fav 6L6 tube out there.

Some people use the Higain in all V1-V3, but I really only wanted the gain boost for red channel, so I only have it in V3. After using the standard and gold pin versions, I think the V1 is really the only spot that truely benifits from the gold pin. It's not worth the extra dollars for V2-V3. But i think the ECC803 is def my fav V1 tube at the moment.
 
I agree with the guy who said to not put JJs all accross the preamp. I had on mine, and then i tried a Tung Sol on V1 and it opened the amp a lot. Much better. Now i think i'll try something else to use on V2 and V3 on my SLO/Recto clone to open it a bit more, as i need to use the treble on '6' or more to make it usable.
 
i would recommend going to www.eurotubes.com and emailing bob and explain to him what you're looking for. he's always been extremely helpful any time i've ordered from them. i'm sure a lot of people here know what they're talking about, but this guy definitely knows his shit and probably has a lot more experience and expertise in the matter. he only sells JJ's so he's definitely the man to talk to.
 
hey got a small question about tubes: what´s up with those preamp tubes with gold contacts? does it really make a diference? and what about matched balanced pairs? why is this, what does one gain with this?
sorry for the Noobness in this matter
 
Pot said:
hey got a small question about tubes: what´s up with those preamp tubes with gold contacts? does it really make a diference? and what about matched balanced pairs? why is this, what does one gain with this?
sorry for the Noobness in this matter
Click to expand...
I have used the Gold Pins and regulars, and the only spot that I could really notice an overall difference is in the V1 spot. The gold pins are suppose to be a bit more rich in mids, more harmonic content and smoother high end. I am using one in my 2ch Dual Rec, and it did smooth out the top a bit and the mids seem richer. Did nothing for harmonics though. Maybe I don't know what I should be listening for.

Overall it's not a big difference to really warrant the extra $$. Stick with the standards. As for the balanced tubes, I know you want to use those in the FX loop - I figure because both the FX send and return run off the same tube as the buffer. Have no idea though. I'm sure if you email Bob @ Eurotubes he'll explain it in depth.
 
Totally go to Dougstubes over Eurotubes, what could Bob possibly recommend to you except different variations of the same thing?

Also, I would highly recommend AGAINST EH 12AX7's, I found 'em really shrill and unpleasant in my old 5150 combo - I've heard better things about their power tubes, though...
 
wishtheend said:
know you are looking for 5150 input, but just thought I'd add my 2 cents. I have all JJs in my 2-ch Dual Rec, and I have no problem whatsoever with the tone being dark in any way. I actually boost my treble less than I did with the stock tubes. Here's my setup right now.

GP (gold pin) seems to give a little bit more mids than the normal version, also seem a bit smoother in the high end.

V1: ECC803S GP: A nice warm & round clean w/ a nicer sparkle
V2: ECC83S Std GP: Enough gain for orange, but still nice and warm
V3: ECC83S HiGain GP: Only gives a bit more gain, but I have to use the gain knob less for the same saturation.
V4: ECC83S Normal - for FX loop
V5: ECC83S Balanced - phase inverter

Overall this setup really improved the clean, and added a much nicer mid section and smooth the fizz compared to the stock tubes. I also have the JJ 6L6GCs in the power section which I think sound great, my fav 6L6 tube out there.

Some people use the Higain in all V1-V3, but I really only wanted the gain boost for red channel, so I only have it in V3. After using the standard and gold pin versions, I think the V1 is really the only spot that truely benifits from the gold pin. It's not worth the extra dollars for V2-V3. But i think the ECC803 is def my fav V1 tube at the moment.
Click to expand...

I read all about these tubes you are using and i think i'm going with that too!
The only ting i need to know is... so... the V1 tube is for the clean chanel and effects only the clean chanel? The V2 is for crunch, V3 is for higain...and so on?

Thnx
and tnx to all other guys for the input!:worship:
 
barricade said:
I read all about these tubes you are using and i think i'm going with that too!
The only ting i need to know is... so... the V1 tube is for the clean chanel and effects only the clean chanel? The V2 is for crunch, V3 is for higain...and so on?

Thnx
and tnx to all other guys for the input!:worship:
Click to expand...
V1 is the input stage. It overall affects how the guitar input signal is received into the amp. And while it will make the clean tone most, it has an effect on all channels. The Mesa manual has a diagram which shows all stages of amps and what their roles are. I would suggest checking with Peavey or in the manual of your amp to see if there is a similar diagram. A single 12AX7 can be used to run a single, or two sections of preamp tone, so it really varies on the amp.

But as mentioned above, mine was in a 2-channel Dual Rec. How that is going to translate into a 6505 is totally different as the amps are just different beasts. I have ordered through Eurotubes 4 times now, trying different sets each time and just thought I'd drop my 2 cents in.
 
In the 5150, unlike the rectifier or soldano SLO (which are all similar designs), every tube affects everything, as both green and red channels use almost the same signal path (the same tube triodes...) and the tone difference happens by switching some minor things before the gain pot. But, as a general rule, V1, followed by V2, have the biggest effect on how the tone is shaped.
 
We'll... it would be very nice if somebody who knows a lot about tubes post a guide to tubes... and the admins could make it a sticky... anyone?

:danceboy:
 
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