Looking for tube recommendations for VH4

  • Thread starter Thread starter O731
  • Start date Start date
fusedbrain":12ikowdw said:
This is copied from Peter Diezel :

Diezel Stock tubes 16.01.2017
V1: 12AX7-B High grade selection on B-side 678 or CV4004 High grade
V2: 12AX7-B High grade selection on B-side 678
V3, V4, V5, V6 (V7, V8, V9): 12AX7-B
Click to expand...
^^^This^^^
Go here for the tubes: https://store.valvequeen.com/shop-by-tube-type/12ax7
You want the Ruby 12az7HG+ 678 (Diezel selected ) OR the Mullard CV4004 12AX7 for V1
Ruby 12az7HG+ 678 (Diezel selected ) for V2
RUBY 12AX7 AC5 HG for all the other pre-amp spots.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot! What exactly is the 12-AX7B? I'm looking at valve queen and they don't seem to have a "B", they just have 12AX7 HG/HG+, and 12AX7 AC5 HG/HG+ ?

Also, i'm just curious as to why the HG+ tubes aren't recommended for all preamp slots? I'm still new to tube amps, and my inner metal guitarist thinks "High gain plus=more metal!" . If you could elaborate it will be very much appreciated.
 
12-AX7-B is the generic term for the Chinese 12ax7's that we are talking about. All the Chinese 12ax7's @ Valve Queen are the "B" variety.
The Shuguang factory makes 12ax7-A & 12ax7-B tubes, among others. The "B's" sound the best for our application ( high gain guitar amps ) but, as mentioned earlier, they need to be screened as the quality control off of the production line can vary widely, and we need the highest grade, least micro-phonic tubes for our amps.
The "HG" is not high GAIN, it's high GRADE
 
fusedbrain":11hx2gan said:
12-AX7-B is the generic term for the Chinese 12ax7's that we are talking about. All the Chinese 12ax7's @ Valve Queen are the "B" variety.
The Shuguang factory makes 12ax7-A & 12ax7-B tubes, among others. The "B's" sound the best for our application ( high gain guitar amps ) but, as mentioned earlier, they need to be screened as the quality control off of the production line can vary widely, and we need the highest grade, least micro-phonic tubes for our amps.
The "HG" is not high GAIN, it's high GRADE
Click to expand...

I sincerely appreciate the help. So would the 12AX7-B's for by V3 and the rest be just these: https://store.valvequeen.com/tubes/ruby ... ac5-hgplus

and the HG+ for high grade?
 
That link is for the "plus" tubes that are pretty much the same high grade as the "Diezel selected 678" tubes, and you don't really need that high a grade for V3 and on. If you want to save $2.00 per tube, you could use the Ruby AC5HG that are $18 per tube. https://store.valvequeen.com/tubes/ruby-12ax7-ac5-hg
I would still be inclined to put a "plus" tube in the last ( phase inverter ) spot, but that's just me.

Also, if budget is not an issue, you could order 1 of these as well:
https://store.valvequeen.com/mullard-cv4004-12ax7
and try swapping it into V1 with the "Diezel selected 678" tube, to see if you prefer it.
In the worst case, at least you will now have 1 spare 12ax7 that you can use in any position in the amp, if you have issues. It's always good to have at least 1 known good 12ax7 on hand for trouble-shooting if the amp acts up.
 
fusedbrain":pcskkbbi said:
That link is for the "plus" tubes that are pretty much the same high grade as the "Diezel selected 678" tubes, and you don't really need that high a grade for V3 and on. If you want to save $2.00 per tube, you could use the Ruby AC5HG that are $18 per tube. https://store.valvequeen.com/tubes/ruby-12ax7-ac5-hg
I would still be inclined to put a "plus" tube in the last ( phase inverter ) spot, but that's just me.

Also, if budget is not an issue, you could order 1 of these as well:
https://store.valvequeen.com/mullard-cv4004-12ax7
and try swapping it into V1 with the "Diezel selected 678" tube, to see if you prefer it.
In the worst case, at least you will now have 1 spare 12ax7 that you can use in any position in the amp, if you have issues. It's always good to have at least 1 known good 12ax7 on hand for trouble-shooting if the amp acts up.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... thank you. What kind of tone differences would I expect from using a Mullard as opposed to the Diezel select at V1? Also, is a Sovtek LPS a good idea in the PI, or should I stick with the Chinese Ruby, or even a Mullard in the PI?
 
Well... the tone differences are not that big, but I would say that the Mullard is smoother and not quite as aggressive as the Ruby's. Same with the Sovtek LPS. I find it adds a smoothness to the tone vs the Ruby chinese, which are more aggressive.

It's all a matter of taste at this point. If your budget is tight, stick with the Ruby's, as that is the proven formula. If budget is not a concern, then you can get a few extra tubes such as Mullard and Sovtek, and see what you think. All tubes mentioned are high quality and will work fine.
 
fusedbrain":197l09zx said:
Well... the tone differences are not that big, but I would say that the Mullard is smoother and not quite as aggressive as the Ruby's. Same with the Sovtek LPS. I find it adds a smoothness to the tone vs the Ruby chinese, which are more aggressive.

It's all a matter of taste at this point. If your budget is tight, stick with the Ruby's, as that is the proven formula. If budget is not a concern, then you can get a few extra tubes such as Mullard and Sovtek, and see what you think. All tubes mentioned are high quality and will work fine.
Click to expand...


Nice, that sounds like a solid plan actually.

I actually wanted to change the subject to power tubes. I currently use JJ KT77's and they are awesome. I was looking to get some other power tubes just to play around with. I heard that EL34's are no longer recommended for the VH4, but I hear Winged C's are pretty good. Have you had experience with the winged C's?

Also, random question: Let's say my power tubes happen to have similar mA readings, would I need to bias them every time I change them, or would the fact that they had similar mA readings at the beginning (unlikely, I know...) mean I wouldn't have to rebias since the amp is already biased for that particular mA rating.
 
I haven't tried too many power tubes in my VH4.
So far I've tried JJKT77's, JJE34L's, Svetlana ( not =C= ) EL34's, and Chinese Shuguang EL34B-STR's.
The JJ KT77's sounded the best to me, and I guess they sound the best to the Diezel guys, because that's what comes in the amp stock.

I've used =C='s before, and still have them in my Wizards. They are great EL34's, but they don't make them any more and what's still out there are very expensive.
There is no reason why you can't use EL34's in the VH4, and I think Diezel is using KT77's more for the tone, and to a lesser extent, reliability. I find the KT77's more open sounding, and a little brighter than EL34's, which seems to work better with the VH4's core tone. Again, this is all subjective, and you may like something completely different.

With the ma ratings: yes, once you get the amp biased for a particular ma rating, you can switch to another set of the same type of tube, with the same rating, and you don't need to bias the amp. (EL34's and KT77's are the same type of tube in this case)
BUT.... and this is VERY important..... the rating #'s that tube vendors use are not standardised, and you can only do this with tubes from THE SAME VENDOR!!. This is because you need to know what plate voltage was used in the test that generated the current draw number. Changing the plate voltage will change the current draw of the tube.
 
I missed alot here but wanted to chime in, dont pay for balanced triodes. Pointless.
 
rickenbacker198":20gm1mrd said:
As for powertubes , The GL KT77s are well liked in the amp,
IMHO they are better than the JJs, (more complex sound) and very reliable.
Personally I prefer 6L6’s a bit more.
Click to expand...


GL kt77's do have a nice complexity. However as far as reliability, not so much. I got a quad, and in less than 6 months they went way far out of match from one another, rattle, and are microphonic.

For $200 i expected much better reliability. I think the modern GL line up is built for Hi-Fi, where they don't get subjected to anything other than sitting on a padded shelf.
 
OK i'm late i know ...owner of a VH2 i have always wonder which differencies with the VH4 and before order one to compare ( before returning it if he does not correspond to my taste ) i want to optimize my VH2 : so i want to change my KT77 with 6L6 in the power tube section ( i'm sure of that because i want to articulate the second channel ) but my question is which preamp tube should i go with ( not necessarily too much hi gain search, more clarity ) and which preamp tube should i change - V1 of course but which one is for the distortion or second channel ...V3 ??? )
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top