Best Tubes for Ceriatone Super Lead 100W 1968

[TremoJem]

What would be the best power and preamp tube compliment for this amp?

Thanks

 

[Racerxrated]

Since it's a Marshall circuit, I would search out Winged Cs, vintage Mullards, Siemens 34s. Preamp tubes I'd use Chinese 8th/9th gen, vintage Amperex -Mullard-or Telefunken. Tungsrams can sound good too. These are all out of production tubes though, but you can find them used but still strong for reasonable prices here or eBay, Dougs tubes or KCA are also good. NOS will cost you, that's why I search out the used ones. I don't have any advice for newer production since I stay away from them.

 

[Chester Nimitz]

Since it's a Marshall circuit, I would search out Winged Cs, vintage Mullards, Siemens 34s. Preamp tubes I'd use Chinese 8th/9th gen, vintage Amperex -Mullard-or Telefunken. Tungsrams can sound good too. These are all out of production tubes though, but you can find them used but still strong for reasonable prices here or eBay, Dougs tubes or KCA are also good. NOS will cost you, that's why I search out the used ones. I don't have any advice for newer production since I stay away from them.

Thats $1500+ bucks of tubes.

Tungsol EL-34B's & Tungsol 12AX7's will do nicely for $150 bucks.

 

[FourT6and2]

Yeah, the other day I looked at getting 5 NOS preamp tubes and a quad of NOS RFT EL34... was like... $1,000. Hell no. I have 5 amps. I'm not dropping $5,000 on tubes!

For new production, I like Tung-Sol reissue in V1 or V2 of some amps. Chinese 9th gen for low-noise. JJ ECC803S in V2 of bright amps. And NOS Ei in the PI slot.

For power tubes, I like the EH EL34. Sound very nice and musical and close to the NOS RFT/Siemens.

 

[TremoJem]

Great information here.

I have been a Mesa guy for many years...eh, well really only since 2004, so I guess that is not a long time.

But anyway, I did some tube rolling and found that after alot of fooling around, (except for the =C= Power Tubes, that are not in production anymore) Mesa tubes were the best, heavily tested, reliable and great tone.

So, having said that I am not really familiar with "9th gen for low noise"...what are those and what are the Ei?

Racerxrated, thanks for the great tips, I think I might dip into the savings account for one roll or at least for V1, as it has the most impact, unless you have other ideas.

I have two Mesa Tremoverbs and love them for what they do.

And now I am going to have my first Plexi Clone, and I really do want to get the best out of it, as I really love that Marshall tone, so any advise to get there is very much appreciated, thank you Racerxrated,

Thanks

 

[FourT6and2]

Great information here.

I have been a Mesa guy for many years...eh, well really only since 2004, so I guess that is not a long time.

But anyway, I did some tube rolling and found that after alot of fooling around, (except for the =C= Power Tubes, that are not in production anymore) Mesa tubes were the best, heavily tested, reliable and great tone.

So, having said that I am not really familiar with "9th gen for low noise"...what are those and what are the Ei?

Racerxrated, thanks for the great tips, I think I might dip into the savings account for one roll or at least for V1, as it has the most impact, unless you have other ideas.

I have two Mesa Tremoverbs and love them for what they do.

And now I am going to have my first Plexi Clone, and I really do want to get the best out of it, as I really love that Marshall tone, so any advise to get there is very much appreciated, thank you Racerxrated,

Thanks

For power tubes, Mesa-branded could be a lot of different things. Some of the Mesa tubes were, in fact, RFT/Siemens EL34s, which are pretty great.

9th Gen Chinese (Shuguang) = Ruby 12AX7 AC5 (HG, HG+, etc. are just different noise ratings).

Ei 12AX7 = NOS, pre-war, Yugoslavian tubes. Some are hit and miss regarding reliability. But I like 'em in certain positions.

For Marshall circuits, check out the old-school '80s, Chinese Beijing 12AX7s 6N4 if you can find them. Also, RFT 12AX7 for V1/V2.

 

[Racerxrated]

Since it's a Marshall circuit, I would search out Winged Cs, vintage Mullards, Siemens 34s. Preamp tubes I'd use Chinese 8th/9th gen, vintage Amperex -Mullard-or Telefunken. Tungsrams can sound good too. These are all out of production tubes though, but you can find them used but still strong for reasonable prices here or eBay, Dougs tubes or KCA are also good. NOS will cost you, that's why I search out the used ones. I don't have any advice for newer production since I stay away from them.

Thats $1500+ bucks of tubes.

Tungsol EL-34B's & Tungsol 12AX7's will do nicely for $150 bucks.

That's why I said 'buy used but test strong' tubes. Never have I paid NOS prices. I have a nice collection of USED tubes, pre and power and the only failures I've had were new production. Now, I don't gig much (9 this year) so I'm not putting a lot of hours on them, even with daily playing. But all the tubes I have, maybe 3-400 bucks worth. I don't buy NOS.

 

[gtrwun]

Since it's a Marshall circuit, I would search out Winged Cs, vintage Mullards, Siemens 34s. Preamp tubes I'd use Chinese 8th/9th gen, vintage Amperex -Mullard-or Telefunken. Tungsrams can sound good too. These are all out of production tubes though, but you can find them used but still strong for reasonable prices here or eBay, Dougs tubes or KCA are also good. NOS will cost you, that's why I search out the used ones. I don't have any advice for newer production since I stay away from them.

Thats $1500+ bucks of tubes.

Tungsol EL-34B's & Tungsol 12AX7's will do nicely for $150 bucks.

That's why I said 'buy used but test strong' tubes. Never have I paid NOS prices. I have a nice collection of USED tubes, pre and power and the only failures I've had were new production. Now, I don't gig much (9 this year) so I'm not putting a lot of hours on them, even with daily playing. But all the tubes I have, maybe 3-400 bucks worth. I don't buy NOS.

what he said^^^^^^^^ I've been slowly buying up a good collection of strong used 12AX7's (Mullard/EI Telefunken copies/Amperex) and it doesn't have to cost a fortune if you do your homework. These tubes in certain amps make a huge difference to my ear, more so than the power tubes. In Marshall's I've always tried to use older stock tubes. Some newer preamp tubes are ok in some amps (Mesa) but I personally haven't had great luck with most newer stock preamp tubes. I just got these pre-war EI's from this seller the other day and they test stronger than all of my brand new preamp tubes I've tested right out of the box. Check out this guys e-bay store.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/252145022991?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

 

[Racerxrated]

Exactly.^^^^^ You can find older pre/power tubes if you are patient and have the time to look on eBay. Another way is to learn what the re- branded tubes might look like, you can get those cheaper. Amperex, Mullard and others were sold under different names but are the same tube. Use google, lots of good info on how to find these.

 

[TremoJem]

So I checked out the Tubeshop, as they seem to have a great selection of used tubes.

Not really cheap, but I am new to buying used tubes...so there it is.





Thanks guys.

 

[Chester Nimitz]

Exactly.^^^^^ You can find older pre/power tubes if you are patient and have the time to look on eBay. Another way is to learn what the re- branded tubes might look like, you can get those cheaper. Amperex, Mullard and others were sold under different names but are the same tube. Use google, lots of good info on how to find these.

Yes i stick with new Russian power quads & NOS Amperex/Blackburn Mullard for voicing in Marshalls.

IDK about other amps.

Ive seen crappy "pulls" advertised as "NOS" for $100 bucks each or more and ive bought NIB NOS $600 bucks of tubes for $130 cash.

It just depends.

 

[TremoJem]

O.K. so I fired up the new Super Lead.

It is loaded with JJ tubes.

It is odd to me, but there does not seem to be as much squonk or treble as I imagined.

It could be the Marshall 1960B cab loaded with G12T-75s.

I don't know, it just seems that the tone knobs only affect the tone a little and not drastically, as I am used to with my Tremoverbs.

It sounds great, but I know it can sound better, but then again it is new to me, so it may take some time to get used to, so this is just the initial thought I have.

 

[Chester Nimitz]

T75's are scooped and a bit dark for me.

Try an EQ in the loop or after your dirt pedal and push the mids.

 

[TremoJem]

Cool, thanks.

 

[Racerxrated]

75s should be bass and treble heavy, unless you have an old school 80s version that has more mids. JJs can darken up the tone, but that's just what I've read. Being a Marshall clone it should be bright enough to rip your face off lol..try to find some of those tubes that were mentioned above ^^^. They make a shit ton of difference.

 

[sjk]

T75's are scooped and a bit dark for me.

Try an EQ in the loop or after your dirt pedal and push the mids.

Not a whole lot of need for pushing mids with a Super Lead. Should have mids covered lol.


To original poster....I'd just use tubes that you got now and spend a little on some different preamp tubes. JJ's sound fine in a Super Lead Circuit, got some in one of mine now. But do what you think you can afford, if your curious. Speakers and Cab will have far more effect on your tone. If it's a good amp it will sound good with decent tubes imho. Proper speakers and cab to mate well with amp is extremely important.

 

[TremoJem]

I spoke to a friend of mine who has had one of these for a few years.

He said it will take some time for the caps to open up and the amp in general.

A quick and cheap experiment, would be to throw three Tung-Sol preamp tubes in it, as I have them in my possession.

I will let you know what happens with that.

I gave some thought to the speakers, and hate that it may be contributing to the problem.

I could always plug the head into one of my Tremoverb combos, as they have two V30s in them.

If it sounds drastically different, as I imagine it would, then I might need to go down that path.

Tone is a money pit...but a good one.

What speaker suggestions would you have to get the tone in the video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZBWayUpmpc

 

[Racerxrated]

One thing about GT 75s, even newer ones..when you push some volume they do sound better. They're scooped a bit to allow for the extra mids a Marshall naturally has. When you run V30s typically the mids are turned down on a Marshall...as the V30s add even more. My mids are at 2-3 when I run my 2204 with V30s.

 

[TremoJem]

It is really amazing how speakers are overlooked.

Glad someone reminded me, although I had it in my head that I was a little reserved about this cabinet, I never considered I'd actually buy new speakers.

What are your opinions of the Greenbacks for this application?

 

[FourT6and2]

One thing about GT 75s, even newer ones..when you push some volume they do sound better. They're scooped a bit to allow for the extra mids a Marshall naturally has. When you run V30s typically the mids are turned down on a Marshall...as the V30s add even more. My mids are at 2-3 when I run my 2204 with V30s.

lol all my amps have the mids pretty much maxed out with any speaker, including V30s.