Preamp Tube Comparison (JJ, Tung-Sol, Telefunken, TAD, Genalex, Groove Tubes, Mullard)(13 Tubes)

[@markn4526]

Great comparison! To my ears, the JJ ECC83s sounded the darkest and the Tung-Sol sounded the brightest, while the Mullard CV4004 was right in between them. The JJ E83CC sounded like a beefed-up (more low-mids) CV4004. Comparing the JJ ECC803s to the ECC803s Gold Pin version, the Gold Pin version seems to add back the low end that the long plates attenuate compared to the ECC83s. The ECC803s Gold Pin seemed to have the fullest range and was the loudest of all the tubes. I believe there are some structural differences between the standard JJ ECC803s and the Gold Pin version as well making them quieter and more durable.

[@vasiliymiller]

Ending: Genalex 2:33 Mullard 2:51 Tung-Sol 3:09 JJ ECC83s 3:26 JJ E83CC 3:44 JJ ECC83s Gold 4:02

[@mrbaiser4133]

This just tells us, how the tubes sound in this pedal. Things can be completely different in an amp, and the results are extremely dependent on the position in the circuit. Many use a low noise (and/or lower gain) tube for the input stage, a balanced and maybe long plate tube for the phase inverter and so on...

[@SisterSandoz]

Interesting. I have allot of Euro and American NOS and about 100 assorted newer production. I have found quite by accident a tube listed as 6N4-J being my favorite. More research led me to these being China made 80s 90s tubes made in the Beijing plant before closing in 1996. 2 idetifiers are the square foil getter supported by 2 leads also the middle spacer is round. I have been finding these marked as Mesa 12ax7a, fender, GT, National, ARS, Peavey Super 7. I have been shocked by the way my Mesa gear has responded. I have several China 12AX7B and C with Octagon shaped middle mica spacer and halo getter and they sound nothing like the early square getter version. I can see why in the 80s and 90s these came equipped in the famous amps from Mesa, 5150, Soldano etc. Even installed some in a Carvin 120 and Peavey Ultra Plus. Great hidden gem. I was running Genelax Gold Lion CV4004s for quite a while now they are in my stash of tubes. Running a red dot 6N4J in V1, ARS 12ax7a in V2. An International Service Master 7025/12ax7a in V3, Mesa Acid marked 12ax7 in V4 another Mesa Acid Marked in V5 and a balanced Philips Miniwatt in V6. Unreal. Ive collected about 30 extras and test each one and listen to them in V1 of an 84 Mark IIC+ then grade them.

[@TheNocturnalEvil]

That was strange. The TAD 7025/E83CC are just rebranded JJ E83CC but for some reason they exhibited lesser noise between the notes than the normal JJ E83CC, I think it has something to do with their screening and selection. Compared to the Tung-Sol 12AX7 the Mullard CV4004 had deeper bass, but brighter and cleaner mid range, it sounds more similar to old short plate Brimar 12AX7 tubes than to a Mullard. The mid-range response of the Tung-Sol 12AX7 was dark and fat almost like an old RFT 12AX7, it actually sounds very similar to the old RFT 12AX7 tubes in many ways. Genalex Gold Lion B759 was excellent, it was smooth as well as detailed, in some ways it reminds me of the lesser known CBS Hytron 7025 tubes. The JJ ECC803S and ECC803S Gold Pin sounded the similar, but the Gold Pin variant had substantially lower noise between the notes and hence sounded tighter, their tone was bright, almost like the old long plate Sylvania tubes.

[@rodrigomanzan841]

Tung sol for me

[@DemonKingOFFICIAL]

I’ve been tube rolling for a while, and I honestly keep coming back to using combos of the JJ ECC83s normal and gold pin editions in my amps. If a stage seems a little too dark, I’ll just substitute a normal one for a gold pin. It seems to be a pretty nice approach. You get a really full yet balanced frequency response on both clean and lead channels this way. Really for the money, it seems like the best way to go.

[@johnmorris3776]

I think the Genalex Gold Lion stood out nicely.

[@rickt.8866]

Put a TAD 12AX7-c in the V2 and Genalex Gold lion in the V1 of my Blackstar HT Club 50 MKII with Gold Lion KT77’s, just wow! The tone I was searching for! Amazing! Also running through a Orange PPC212OB.

[@mmagoon67]

Gold Lion tubes are really something else.

[@TheBossTides]

They all sound too similar with distortion. A clean comparison would have been helpful

[@Ricardo-dl3fn]

Exactly! Video nonsense

[@mazklassa9338]

Amp sounds incredible.

[@GT-yw8ue]

I got advice to try tung sol gold pin in v1 and JJ’s for the rest of the pre-amps. Just arrived in the post if only my daughter wasn’t asleep 😂

[@nicolasb3660]

My personnal choise for my DSL20HR V1 Mullard CV4004 (fully and good in middle) V2 Tung Sol 12ax7 (Very middle territory) V3 Sovtek 12ax7 LPS (not here but very awesome in this place)

[@mmagoon67]

I honestly have zero experience with Sovtek tubes. They're on my list of tubes to check out.

[@jojitpineda9076]

Is the V1 preamp tubes only replaced only in the demo?

[@mmagoon67]

I'm not sure entirely what you mean. The tube that is used is the only one running. The tube going through the H&K is the only tube in the whole setup.

[@patreidcocolditzcastle632]

cant really hear much difference twoi reasons.two much gain for a tube shoot out you need to play with dynamics from loud to soft.this way you hear the break up when hitting soft etc..also a good room mic

[@marksulkanon2363]

That is a super cool looking guitar

[@lushkordz6643]

Gold Lion really kick ass as usual ^^ in V1 in my E530 with a TAD 7025S in V2 to bring some creamy mids N smooth out the tone ......the Gold Lion has a really unique flavor...... TungSol rocks too !!!!!

[@jenesuispasrisitas3588]

Tung sol is very good and tight

[@DarrenPrice333]

Tung-sol 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@Luna25174]

Escuse me do you know if I are any difference between use a tubes with different gain than ones with the same gain??? I bought separately two tubos, But I don’t know if can I use them like this or maybe those can affect my sound quality one is gain A: 94.7 gain B 97.5 and the other is gain A: 104.4 GainB 94.1.

[@mmagoon67]

Higher gain tubes will break up sooner. Depends on your channel. If you like the gain where it is try to get one with similar gain. If there's too much saturation use a lower gain tube. As far as I have been able to tell even a 30% gain reduction doesn't seem to affect my channels all that much. So a tube that's slightly higher or lower may not make much of a difference. I do know that I like high gain tubes. I'd be willing to guess that you might perceive a bigger difference in lower gain channels.

[@Luna25174]

@@mmagoon67 ok that’s very interestering, those are some good points that I will keep in mind in my next purchase, thank you 😊

[@criot1124]

Good test but whats with the 1980 camera quality?

[@mmagoon67]

You do what you can with what you've got.

[@criot1124]

@@mmagoon67 I get ya, but it's kinda weird watching videos in 2022 with 144p quality and it kinda throw ya off your loop.

[@mmagoon67]

@@criot1124 Unfortunately, 2022 doesn't mean everyone owns the latest HD camera. I used my laptop camera in dim lighting.

[@davidleach4811]

As an average just getting into amps and how tubes work/sound kind of guy, I can tell you the only ones that stood out were the Golden Lions. I liked them better as I would expect after looking at how much they cost. I swapped in a set of Tungsol's to replace defective jj's in my used supro amp I bought recently and they are different than the jj's but like I said the jj's were worn out or bad etc...... I liked the jj's sound better for the week they lasted but apparently tubes sound better after a break in period so maybe the Tungsol's will sound better soon.

[@mmagoon67]

I actually sold that Gold Lion to my friend in this video because he liked it so much. Definitely the best tube for this pedal. To me the Tung Sol is more hollow in the midrange. I don't like them in many applications. If your JJ started sounding different out of the blue then it may be that the tube was bad. But I can tell you cost is not how you should select tubes. I sold him the Gold Lion because it was way too over the top thick in my Triamp MK3.

[@davidleach4811]

@@mmagoon67 I just ordered a set of Mullards for this supro. I don't care for the tungsols at all. If these don't work out I have a Marshall they should work well in.

[@mmagoon67]

@@davidleach4811 Which Mullards specifically did you buy? I'm hoping you won't have a similar issue.

[@davidleach4811]

@@mmagoon67 I bought 12ax7's for the pre amp to replace the tungsol's I had from another amp deal...

[@davidleach4811]

@@mmagoon67 been reading more and apparently 85 percent of these tubes com from the same company in Russia eh? Understand why you asked about them now. Well I may have a extra set of similar sounding tubes.....

[@djbigleg3228]

tbh its hard telling when its digitally mastered but to my ears i liked the telefunken the genelex & tung sol i dont really like jj although the gold pin version clearly sounds better than the standard.for me might be 3 telefunken tung sol 2 but i pick the 1 spot for the genelex great post peace...

[@JaredSchumaier]

1) Tung sol 2) Genalex 3) Telefunken

[@heythere6983]

What do you mean when you say a low gain pre amp tube will affect how the amp operates? I thought the 5751 gold pin jj sounded pretty nice. Seemed smooth and clear. Is that how it was in person? I also like the 803jj since it seems big and open .

[@mmagoon67]

The 5751 can affect it. This in not my own info, but from Eurotubes. If the circuit needs a certain amount of gain to do what it's supposed to do then lowering your gain with the tube might make it act strange. I did not have this experience. I didn't like the 5751 because it was a little too smooth. I felt I lost some of the picking dynamic in channels that had any distortion. The attack of my picking was smoothed and dulled. The breakup itself seemed normal. The 803s sounds good until you start turning it up. It can get a little too much in the upper mid range. The gold pin version helps with that but they aren't very good with low gain breakup since the gold pin tubes create a nice smooth breakup, which I love for higher gain.

[@heythere6983]

Oh interesting. I know my bogner uses the 803 as a phase inverter . So which did you like for picking dynamics/clarity/crunchyness? I felt the ecc83s sounded fuller than the ones I mentioned and figured they’d be more compressed. I think my marshall has some of those . It’s definitely a darker amp , I noticed all the tubes it uses are rather dark, but then it has a weird fizz spike at times . Any stand out to you personally? I actually order a few 5751 before you responded lol I figure less gain will make it feel more open and punchy. But yes, frok your experience which did you prefer the most , any others to consider outside of these? Thanks!

[@mmagoon67]

@@heythere6983 Keeping in mind I don't use any of the gear in this video, in my Triamp Mark 3 I typically go for the JJ ecc83s gold pin. I like the smoothness, midrange, thickness...but I like the 803s standard for my clean channels. Brighter and less bottom end. My friend who owns this H&K pedal loved the Gold Lion because it was the thickest. I'm sure the 5751s will do you just fine. You might find you're able to drive the gain harder in your Marshall depending on what you have.

[@heythere6983]

Oh really? Gold lion el34? Or kt77? I like a nice low end that isn’t super stiff. But Iv dreaded from kt77 because I don’t necessarily need more highs . I have a jvm hjs. That one has el 34 power tubes , not sure which version, Chinese 12ax7 and ecc83 Oddly I only saw 3 pre amp tubes and one phase inverter . From what I had read I thought there would be another tube . And my bogner goldfinger is pretty interfering sounding . I basically wanted atleast one backup the same as what I have and then curious about different versions of tubes to mess with . I tend to lower the gain quite a bit on the jvm. I like the idea of articulate but also not super bright. But either way the goldfinger is fairly thing and bright, atleast with the one cab Iv used it with . But it gives it a prettt crispy crunchy thing . It also has a rubgsol 12ax7 in v1 along with that 803 in the phase inverter , along with Chinese 12ax7’s and a jj ecc81 . I haven’t yet heard a jj el34L anywhere was curious

[@mmagoon67]

@@heythere6983 So you're starting to bring in power tubes. They are a totally different ball game. If your Amp only has a few tubes that's totally normal. It's not that more is always better, but typically with one circuit using multiple tubes you get a layered sound with several different sounds working together. Are you liking the darkness? And are you liking the crunchiness? I find crunchiness can take away from that articulate sound. With Marshalls it could be a volume thing also or a presence thing. More ultra high frequencies can create crunch. Marshalls are usually meant to be driven which can help smooth out the breakup. 5751 tubes give about a 30% gain reduction. The 12au7 gives an even higher reduction. I've watched a video of someone using a Marshall experimenting with gain reduction and he liked the results. With the phase inverter I use it like the power tubes. I change it out to change the flavor of the whole Amp. If the whole Amp needs to be darker I use a ecc83s Gold, if I want brighter I use an 803s, if I want a scooped sound I use a Tungsol. Same with the power tubes. If I want a natural sound I use 6L6, if I want a boost in upper mid I use EL34, if I want a thick scooped sound I use 6CA7. I have never used KT77s before. I usually like a tight bottom end so in that case I use the JJ E34L.

[@svendtveskg5719]

Can a tube really run on 9V?

[@mmagoon67]

Are you referring to a 9v battery?

[@svendtveskg5719]

@@mmagoon67 Yes, or adaptor. I mean, doesn't your preamp pedal run off an adaptor?

[@mmagoon67]

@@svendtveskg5719 Ohhhhh, I see what you're getting at. I don't remember the current of the adapter, but yes. Technically speaking plugging into an outlet can give the same power it needs to function as your amp plugs into the same outlet. There is no place for a battery on the H&K. If there was I'd bet you'd have to change it VERY frequently. I'm pretty sure there isn't a lot of power required to run a preamp. It's no different than plugging into any other preamp you may have used like a channel strip in a recording studio. Obviously the pedal by itself can't be loud by itself and that's why its only a preamp pedal and needs amplification from something else.

[@svendtveskg5719]

@@mmagoon67 Ah, ok, thanks.

[@OTTOAUDIO]

Love the videos! Grab a Panasonic g85 for higher quality video , your video looks like it was filmed in 2006. Idk just ideas keep the content coming!

[@lieutenantdan2217]

Nice

[@paweg4321]

It is a pity that the test is not pure sound. the big difference was only at 70 25.

[@YruamaZepol]

they all sound the same XD

[@alecboyyes]

With that much distortion and compression you'd be hard-pressed to hear much in the way of dynamics. I did hear some minor differences but only enough to say buy whichever ones are cheap and reliable.

[@schubiduba1]

Then hear it with studio monitors and not your smart phone

[@mmagoon67]

I agree with Felix, but I also agree with Zepol. Unfortunately, this was just an instance where the differences didn't come out as well as i'd hoped. Studio monitors are always the best for playback, but in this case I wasn't able to capture the sound very well. I will probably be deleting this and redoing it but using the V1 position of my Triamp.

[@YruamaZepol]

@@schubiduba1 I did listen with studio monitors though...

[@guil_juliao]

Tung sol for sure. You can hear the details more clearly with more openness and good low end.

[@wingsofsilver9349]

Really ???? The quality of a PA or PWR Tube is not in the overdrive or FUZZZZZZ!!! It's in its clean quality. Clean full spectrum sustain with crunch is the rarety. Not the constant garbage that any cheap amp can produce !!!!! Want rare quality then go for a JJ803CC or sub a TAD5751.

[@mmagoon67]

I have no idea what you are talking about. Could you try and be clearer?

[@CryptoTonight9393]

Leave it to audio guys to can a video because it didnt sound good, but put out this horrible looking video. Sounds great though lol.

[@mmagoon67]

Gotta admit this made me laugh because it's true.

[@beatlejuice5951]

02:53 03:14