Tube Rolling in my new JJ100

wahoo":3h2qhm6f said:
Do you have some link where are you ordering tubes ?
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As supplies dwindle it's getting harder to find quality true NOS tubes so you sometimes have to settle for ANOS. I've bought quite a bit on ebay (mostly ANOS) and taken some risks which paid off big time and some that were a bust. I've also bought from the popular online dealers and got some gems and some duds. It's a crap shoot and it's not cheap. You will pay more from the online dealers, but the quality is "usually" better. I like the Mullard sound, but there are most definitely cheaper NOS option out there that will still sound better and last longer than the new production stuff (which I personally find to be generally garbage, but there are plenty who disagree). The US made tubes, GE, Raytheon, and RCA are much more accessible for us here (if you are in the US). Even GE, which people often turn up their nose at, are still an improvement over current production.

There is a great list of dealers in a sticky post in the amps and cabs forum over at the gear page. I suggest starting there once you get a feel for dealer prices you can also look on ebay. Audiotubes.com is a great place to start. Brent Jesse has a good selection. Prices are at a premium, but you pay for piece of mind that you are getting quality that has been tested and guaranteed.

My recommendation would be to start with one of those dealers and buy a few quality tubes you know you can trust. A/B the difference in your amp. The V1 position will make the most difference. If you can hear a difference that you appreciate, then you will start down a slippery and expensive slope of tube hoarding. If you don't hear the difference, you can call me a cork sniffer and I won't be offended. Not everyone feels the tonal differences are worth the investment.
 
What about the new tubes, is really JJ at the moment best quality tube on the market. I would not like to spend a fortune on tubes. ;)
 
IMHO - High gain amps and NOS tubes = a waste, but whatever.

Friedman designs his amps around JJ EL34's and chinese preamps. Use those killer old tubes for your old Fenders.

The closest I'd get to a NOS tube in a high gainer is an Ei in the phase inverter but you could easily use a Sovtek LPS there instead.
 
I don't have problem in high gain channel it sounds great, I just think that Plexi-ish first channel have some space for improvements on lower gain settings by being more open vintage sounding ... Any suggestions would be appreciated, I have some Sovtek, EH and Ruby tubes on stock. I think it comes really alive when having gain set to max, with lowering a gain it loses life. I tried also with volume set to max and gain set to 2 and it comes lot better to my ear, but then it doesn't accept the pedals so well becoming to harsh. I am talking for Smallbox since I tried only this but by reading DG335 posts, same would pretty much apply to BE. Anyone knows which preamp tubes are in Dirty Shirley ?
 
lester":1rp62fuz said:
IMHO - High gain amps and NOS tubes = a waste, but whatever.

Friedman designs his amps around JJ EL34's and chinese preamps. Use those killer old tubes for your old Fenders.

The closest I'd get to a NOS tube in a high gainer is an Ei in the phase inverter but you could easily use a Sovtek LPS there instead.
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That's exactly how I feel. NOS tubes haven't ever seem to make a difference in the high gain amps, BUT really sweet in my Fender blackface :D

Mike at KCA is one place I've always got good tubes from. And those EI's are great if you can find good ones, many are microphonic but the good ones rip in high gainers.
 
Personally I do hear the difference even at high gain, but I don't find the marginal improvement there worth the investment. I use my JJ for everything. I use the JBE channel for my own personal music and I use the BE channel for cover band work and even blues jams. I specifically bought it for it's range, so I could use one amp for everything. In my case, the vintage tubes are a marked improvement when using the BE channel, especially at low to mid gain settings. The improvement there was well worth the cost of a few NOS tubes. You've got a $3700 amp with $13 tubes. In the least I'd want to get some GE's or RFT's or Ei's. Shoot even the 80-90's Beijing military 12AX7's are better than the current production stuff.

If you want to try some vintage tubes without investing much, pick up a few ANOS (lightly used) RCA or Raytheons labeled for organ companies. You can usually score these cheap and many of the organ companies selected their tubes for low noise. RCA and Raytheon don't have the same mid focus as Mullards (which was characteristic of the Plexi growl), but they will improve the natural harmonics and sweetness of the tone and you can get one of them for about the cost of two new production tubes.

And what does it mean to design an amp around new production tubes. I never understood that justification for modern tubes. My Wrangler was designed around a crappy paper air filter, but it sure as heck runs better with the K&N I dropped in.

In no way am I trying to insinuate that the amp sounds bad with the stock tubes. It sounds freaking fantastic. That's why I bought it... but I personally hear an improvement with the tube set I've settled on.
 
Necro Bump: I'm pretty sure I need to change tubes in my JJ100. Just seeing if everyone still using EHX EL34s and what preamp tubes you're liking?
 
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