mic pre tubes

[MetalJonesy]

hey yall,

looking to replace the 2 12AX7 chineese tubes in my new art pre, but ive never really looked into what a good set of replacements would be! i know about gtr amps but this is new territory!!

i was thinking electro harmonix or something similar?

 

[Erlend_]

http://www.gearslutz.com

This has been discussed alot here.
Just do a search.

 

[TheWinterSnow]

I beleive its ultimately down into the tone of the clipping you would want, as different brands will have different characterisitics. I think it would be wise to use a tube that distorts evenly but is still smooth. unlike amps you want to run darker 12ax7s for that reason, so I would personally say Penta Labs, JJ, and stay away from EH or Sovtek, as they would lack the warmth you would need for that application, unless that was what you were going for.

You're other option is a bright 12at7 although the saturation can get sloppy right off the bat they are way darker.

Anyway, it all depends on your prefereance and what you are looking for tonewise in a preamp, but just remember the gerneral consensus from mic pre tubes is to get a warmer even saturation

 

[KeithTidd]

there are dudes on gearslutz who discussed it in length and posted some clips. General concensus was that NOS mullards, jan phillips, tung sols and some JJ 12ax7s were all great choices. The jj's being the most reasonable price.

 

[colonel kurtz]

yea dude...if the jj's sound anywhere close to the others mentioned, that's probably the way to go - those NOS tubes can be pricey as fuck all!

 

[MetalJonesy]

interesting about choosing a darker sounding tube, hence my initial gut instinct going for something a bit brighter like the EH! but jjs are decently priced so that looks a good option to start with! how about mullard reissue tubes? http://thetubestore.com/mu12ax7.html

ive had a peruse on GS, but didnt manage to mind much :s

 

[MindKEYS]

I have a ART MPA GOLD and i replaced the original tubes with Tung-Sol 12AX7 (13€ each) and i noticed a big improvement in noise, the pre makes less noise and the tone seemed better but i barely tried the CHINA 12AX7 that came with the MPA...

From what i have read Tung-Sol are very good for the money but the tube that get's more love in the MPA GOLD is the Telefunken 12AX7 but at 60$ each i'll have to pass it for now...

 

[MetalJonesy]

dude, thanks very much for your info!! the tungsols seem to be a good option then! the stock tubes arent that bad like when in a mix, its just nice to have the better option!!

 

[TheWinterSnow]

I would say that Mullard Reissue would do a pretty bangin job. If you really had the money though, the telefunken I think would be really wherer its at.

 

[MetalJonesy]

considering the difference in price between nos telefunkens and mullards compared to that mullard reissue is like £80, think ill get a couple of those mullard reissues

however ebay seems to have a few nos mullards and telefunkens s/h that are in greta working order etc!