[1]

Anyone try these?

I'm on the hunt for some sexy tubes for the Roadster, just for the sake of trying different things with it.

Winged "C" (SED) EL34

 

[Drew]

Those are supposed to be pretty good - IIRC, Crooks swears by them.

I've got a quartet of Groove Tubes EL34M (Groove Tubes' take on a Mullard xf2)in my Roadster - you should swing down and do some A/Bing with your Mesa 6L6 set, or compare these clips here.

 

[sami]

Winged C's are the fav of a lot of people. When I had a Marshall DSL50, I liked these the most. Don't know how it'll be in your Mesa though.

 

[Max]

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Sed is basically Svetlana, which are great tubes. Probably the most reliable new tubes on the market

Fwiw, I really liked the extra glass that ehx tubes imparted in my rectoverb.

Also, remember that "Mesa" tubes are just JJ preamp tubes and ruby poweramp tubes with the correct current draw. I dunno if they ended up switching the rectifier tubes from sino to ruby or not.

 

[Josh]

Try a bunch of 12AX7s in V1 too. Noodles swears by the Tung-Sol 12AX7 for MOAR GAINZ, and I really like the lower-gain gold pin JJs.

 

[Max]

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Daves thing with the Tung sol isn't more gain, it's that tung sols are pretty smooth, which in v1 helps tame some of that recto fizzle that a lot of people take issue with. Gold pin anythings are typically a bit smoother than their standard counterparts, so you're actually probably getting a very similar result from it

 

[Drew]

Gold pin anythings are typically a bit smoother than their standard counterparts, so you're actually probably getting a very similar result from it

I thought the gold was mostly hype, that it has no impact on conductivity, but is a little more corrosion-resistant, which is sort of a moot point given the conditions tube amps are normally exposed to?

 

[1]

I thought the gold was mostly hype, that it has no impact on conductivity, but is a little more corrosion-resistant, which is sort of a moot point given the conditions tube amps are normally exposed to?

You live in New England, you care about corrosion resistance. :yesway:

It's kind of funny, remember way back when I replaced the metal-looking pickup rings in my reverse headstock RG with some dark satin ones? I actually found the rings in a case the other day, and despite being brand new they were corroded as a motherfucker. They've been in a case, in my basement, for well over a year.

 

[Drew]

:lol: That's probably a good point. :lol:

BTW, I do dig EL34s in a Rectifier, but for you dude I'd think you'd want 6L6s. They're just a little deeper and fuller in the low end, and you seem to like huge thick chuggy rhythm tones.

 

[Kim]

basements aren't for storing stuff, it's for storing prisoners.... Fritzl style :squint:

 

[budda]

Chris, try KT77's too :yesway:

part of me wants to try EL34's next, but I think I'll be putting KT77's in next.

 

[Stitch]

I thought the gold was mostly hype, that it has no impact on conductivity, but is a little more corrosion-resistant, which is sort of a moot point given the conditions tube amps are normally exposed to?

Gold does have better conductivity as it has a lower electronegativity value than most metals and has fewer - and is less liable to form - impurities.

 

[Josh]

I definitely noticed a big gain increase with a Tung-Sol over the standard JJ 12AX7. So much so I went back to a lower-gain tube because i liked the feel of being able to run my drive knob a bit higher.

Also this sentence took a long time to type because i'm durunk and there are a lot of Koreans here.

 

[406]

I think i will never touch a powertube again that is not SED Winged C. I've been through some manufacturers meanwhile, and seriously - the =C='s are the first that do not disappoint me!

Well....yet. :ugh:

 

[Drew]

Also this sentence took a long time to type because i'm durunk and there are a lot of Koreans here.

:rofl:

 

[Toshiro]

I definitely noticed a big gain increase with a Tung-Sol over the standard JJ 12AX7. So much so I went back to a lower-gain tube because i liked the feel of being able to run my drive knob a bit higher.

Also this sentence took a long time to type because i'm durunk and there are a lot of Koreans here.

I think you just got a really hot one, typically the Tung Sols I have are medium gain. Chinese 9th gens and JJs are hotter.

I have SED 6L6s in my Fireball, love them. If I was gonna switch from KT77s back to EL34s these are what I'd get. :yesway:

 

[7deadlysins]

Never tried the Winged C's, thats probably what i'll try next. (Bookmarked) I've got 2 Mullard EL34's in my Rect right now, and I love them. A Lot better than the stock 6l6's. :yesway:

 

[Max]

I thought the gold was mostly hype, that it has no impact on conductivity, but is a little more corrosion-resistant, which is sort of a moot point given the conditions tube amps are normally exposed to?

theres an audible (subtle, but audible) difference between standard ehx tubes and gold pins. Now, I suspect that its not so much the gold pins making the tone difference, and more the tubes they choose to use for the gold pins

 

[Josh]

theres an audible (subtle, but audible) difference between standard ehx tubes and gold pins. Now, I suspect that its not so much the gold pins making the tone difference, and more the tubes they choose to use for the gold pins

This was kind of my thought... more that they used better tubes for them, rather than any particular quality within the gold itself.

However, right now I've got a Mesa "premium" low-gain 12AX7 in V1 and it sounds great :shrug:

 

[406]

"Gold pin" versions were released for 2 reasons as far as i know - one of them is better conductivity, as already mentioned, second one is as for some years the legal situation about vacuum tubes (besides MANY other electronic parts) in Europe wasnt clear, because of the ROHS compliance law. Because of this, many electronic components (mostly stuff with leed-pins, as f.e. DCDC converters which need to be soldered into an application etc.) were offered with gold pins, to keep an application leed free even if the internal structure of this one component is not 100% ROHS compliant.

Per my opinion - any difference in sound, is not due to the gold pins.