N.O.D.
263 posts
Oct 12, 2010
8:00 AM
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Bro's I'm going to buy new Tubes for my Fender Blues Junior 2 have failed so I need a new set up :/
It had original made in Russia Fender tubes
I havn't got a Rats ass Idea of what is the best Brand tubes to Buy :/
So Bro's Whats your Fav Brand and Why? what combo's do you Run for Harp Playing in your rig ?
Are Vintage NOS Tubes a load of Wack? do they realy make that much of a Diference in Tone Compared to Vavles Produced today that i can buy over the counter at Local muso Shop :/
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Cheers Bro's :)
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HarpNinja
688 posts
Oct 12, 2010
8:06 AM
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Are you running the regular 12ax7 tubes? The JJ brand of tubes tend to work well, especially for your power tubes.
Otherwise, the Tung Sol RI is a nice tube - not as dark as the JJ. If you end up running a 5751, or 12at7, then I suggest NOS. The JAN 5751 is sweet and the Mullard 12at7 is the best there is.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Amp for Harp Blog
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toddlgreene
1896 posts
Oct 12, 2010
8:27 AM
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In general, I'll second Mike's recommendations on the JJ and JAN tubes. Most of the Groove Tubes and Electro-Harmonix/Sovtek tubes you'll buy at the big box music stores seem to have a harsh breakup and are a bit too 'tinny' sounding. Tube Depot and EuroTubes and careful Ebaying are your friend. I got ahold of some RCA gray plate tubes on Ebay for a really sweet price(no where near what the boutique tube dealers sell them for), and they're the bees knees...whatever that means.
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Crescent City Harmonica Club
Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
Last Edited by on Oct 12, 2010 8:31 AM
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5F6H
323 posts
Oct 12, 2010
8:29 AM
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As Mike says, for 5751 & 12AT7 NOS are great, affordable & plentiful, I like the GE5751 (round, soft) and also the Phillips JAN 12AT7. JJECC81 (12AT7) is OK, but a bit stiff sounding.
New production - 12AX7s and I think that the JJECC83 is hard to beat, the EH12AY7 is a good tube too, you can cherry pick a lot of NOS before you find something as good.
Which tubes are failing? Blues Jr's are typically running a LOT of plate current (even so they are pretty reliable - it would be good to check out why tubes are failing), you should get the amp rebiased when changing EL84s...JJ will undoubtedly sound good but you don't want them running oodles of current (30mA per tube would be good), you may be able to find a tube vendor who preselects sets for popular amps. If "bias" & "plate current" means nothing to you, then it's probably best to try the Russian military E84L/EL84M, they have an additional 1.5W plate dissipation limit (13.5W per tube) which gives a little margin for error.
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Greg Heumann
811 posts
Oct 12, 2010
8:45 AM
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NOS RCA, JAN, Philips are good, Mullard are better.
JJ tubes are OK but have an exceptionally high early failure rate compared to other tubes.
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/Greg
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HarpNinja
689 posts
Oct 12, 2010
8:58 AM
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Greg,
That depends on the source. Personally, I've had no issues with JJ's and have with other brands. I know some dealers insist that the high fail rate is true and other that have had no issues.
I *think* it might be an issue of the fail rate being relatively low, but people who have complaints being much more vocal about it online than the majority of people with no issues.
That is an issue with some Line 6 prodcuts. They sell thousands and thousands, but it is the couple dozen with issues that end up posting about it everywhere.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Amp for Harp Blog
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Swezey8
6 posts
Oct 12, 2010
9:07 AM
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Yeah, I like the Tung Sol for the 12ax7. Nice low end and low microphonics. A little more forward than JJ's in the upper end, but I favor that. Less experience with a variety of power tubes, but NOS, if you look around and through a reputable dealer, are nice. Second 5f6h on rebiasing too.
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5F6H
324 posts
Oct 12, 2010
9:07 AM
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I only buy JJ 12AX7s nowadays, because they fail LESS than an other 12AX7 current production tube I know of...except the Sovtek 12AXWA, which is bullet proof, but generally has no tone (still always worth keeping one around, there is the odd amp/stage where they can work well).
The JJ 6L6 is pretty bullet proof (but it's not really a tube I recomend for harp, unless you have an amp design that can run it hot, around 50mA per tube).
JJ have had issues with undersize pins (intermittent, crackley) on both 6L6 and the ECC83S, but these have been addressed. I still would buy from someone who gives a warranty period.
Last Edited by on Oct 12, 2010 9:08 AM
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hvyj
700 posts
Oct 12, 2010
10:04 AM
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I like JJs. Don't know about the failure rate.
I think the stock tubes that come with the Blues Junior and the Princeton Reverb Reissue sound a little harsh for harp--maybe ok for guitar, but I don't play guitar. IMHO, JJs sound warmer and fatter. But, YMMV.
I've never tried any NOS tubes, though
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toddlgreene
1897 posts
Oct 12, 2010
10:31 AM
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On the JJs, I do like the 12ax7 I'm running(ECC83)-but I had two EL84s in a row crap out in my Epi. Plate voltage? Maybe. Never bothered to have it checked yet. Stock tube worked fine, as do the gray plates. Several hours on both as a test. I'm certain the JJs had no hairline cracks before installation, either. My uneducated conclusion is that I won't run those particular EL84s in my particular amp. I know a couple other folks who run the JJ EL84 in B Jr amps without any issues. If you did go that route, Bob Pletka at Eurotubes is a stand-up guy.
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Crescent City Harmonica Club
Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
Last Edited by on Oct 12, 2010 10:35 AM
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N.O.D.
282 posts
Oct 17, 2010
5:03 AM
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Hi Bro's thanks i think my best bet is to sart out Non NOS, and go with the JJ's befor experimenting with NOS this would only confuse me :/
My Slant is to Have a ground base tone to work from buy JJ's get used to the tone and voice of the amp for some months 12 or more who knows:)
Then i can start experimenting with NOS Tubes by this time i will know my amp Voice and base my observations from there, wether NOS Tubes have made a considerable change in Tone do i like it,ect ect :/
Ok there has been a wealth of info on the Forum about Tube Swaps for the FBJ mostly just swapping out 12AX7 in V2 socket a few other values,
12AT7
5751
12DW7
12AY7
12AY7
Again i think i will play it safe and get a 5751 for V2
So i guess it will look something like this JJ's
V1-12AX7
V2-5751
V3-12AX7
2 x EL-84's
PS Why is it that you only Change the valve in V2
and not say V1,V2,V3 All 5751's ?
I don't ever here of the EL84's Being swaped out for other value Tubes, is there an equivilant value Tube
or that i wouldn't make a difference in tone, what come out has already been determined by the tube swap in V2?
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Thanks Bro's:)
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hvyj
719 posts
Oct 17, 2010
9:48 AM
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You know, on a BJ if you put a 12DW7 in V3 (the phase inverter slot) it will fatten tone for harp. The 12DW7 has unbalanced triodes and makes the phase inversion (push-pull) of the power tubes asymmetrical which sounds pretty decent for harp.
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Joe_L
716 posts
Oct 17, 2010
4:33 PM
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I put a 12DW7 in the phase inverter in my Pro Jr and in a Bassman. LTD. I couldn't hear any difference.
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