MGL Red: NOS square getter 12ax7 vs Silver dragon preamp tubes

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

I wanted to make a before/after clip of taking out the NOS preamp tubes and putting some silver dragons in their place. NO Boots were used for this comparison

I made it a really simple riff that has some sustained open chords and palm mutes to give an idea of the difference.

Tell me which you prefer

 

[VonBonfire]

2nd clip. Much more open and clear sounding.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

2nd clip. Much more open and clear sounding.

I feel the same way. I absolutely love silver dragons

 

[harddriver]

What preamp tube position are we hearing here? V1? I also preferred the 2nd clip, it was warmer had more clarity but still some bite to it. The first clip was kinda harsh and that has been my experience using RFT 12AX7's in V1 in my amps. They are great workhorse tubes for the cathode follower and Phase Inverter.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

What preamp tube position are we hearing here? V1?

All

 

[VonBonfire]

I feel the same way. I absolutely love silver dragons

Are they expensive? A kind member here just hooked me up with some sweet JJ 803s' which have been my favorite preamp tube so far.

 

[DanTravis62]

I probably prefer the 2nd, but I'm curious if you turned the treble/presence slightly up on the NOS tubes if it wouldn't make up for the difference

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Are they expensive? A kind member here just hooked me up with some sweet JJ 803s' which have been my favorite preamp tube so far.

They are cheap as shit. But i dont think they would be for you. The only benefit of silver dragons is how quiet they are in high gain amps...very low microphonics

 

[glpg80]

2nd clip is more full in the low mids and sounds more even in the gain profile.

Amp sounds great - that’s got some big balls

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

I probably prefer the 2nd, but I'm curious if you turned the treble/presence slightly up on the NOS tubes if it wouldn't make up for the difference

Probably, but it would change the noise floor

 

[DanTravis62]

Probably, but it would change the noise floor

I guess you don't have clips of the ambient noise with both

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

2nd clip is more full in the low mids and sounds more even in the gain profile.

Amp sounds great - that’s got some big balls

Thanks bud. It is fun to play for sure

 

[VonBonfire]

They are cheap as shit. But i dont think they would be for you. The only benefit of silver dragons is how quiet they are in high gain amps...very low microphonics

Low microphonics is great tho tbh. The Twin can shake itself to pieces at volume. I had ordered more of those JJ's during the pandemic and they arrived microphonic out of the box. I hadn't had that issue with previous batches. I'm guessing the quality dropped around 2020-21.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

I guess you don't have clips of the ambient noise with both

My ears are ringing just from how loud i recorded these. The clips don't really give the bleed through as much as the room or a phone mic would

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Low microphonics is great tho tbh. The Twin can shake itself to pieces at volume. I had ordered more of those JJ's during the pandemic and they arrived microphonic out of the box. I hadn't had that issue with previous batches. I'm guessing the quality dropped around 2020-21.

I have heard that silver dragons have dropped in quality also. These i just put in are newer ones i bought and never used about two years ago. But i have a ton of 5-7 year old silver dragons. They are my go to.

The mgl always sounded so good, i never really got around to switching til now

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

I guess you don't have clips of the ambient noise with both

Another thing about this..it is more of a bedroom guitar thing. The noise floor is so little that it wouldnt really matter in a mix, or live with a band. It is just something that I notice because I am playing so loud solo

 

[VonBonfire]

I have heard that silver dragons have dropped in quality also. These i just put in are newer ones i bought and never used about two years ago. But i have a ton of 5-7 year old silver dragons. They are my go to.

The mgl always sounded so good, i never really got around to switching til now

Maybe we need to do a tube swap so we can both try some new stuff next time we meet up. The 803s' are pretty clear and hi-fi sounding kinda like those silver dragons. I really like them, I just want to burn through what I got in there now before I toss a new tube in.

 

[7704A]

First clip has some sorta springy ringing sound in the background? Prefer the 2nd.

 

[MGL AmpWorks]

Smash, I’m not sure what you’re comparing. You say NOS RFT. Did you put those in the amp? Our amps come stock with NOS Chinese square getter 12AX7’s. And most that I have bought over the years were military grade. So had you replaced those with RFT? The silver dragon are also Chinese, correct? What show is the getter on those?

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Smash, I’m not sure what you’re comparing. You say NOS RFT. Did you put those in the amp? Our amps come stock with NOS Chinese square getter 12AX7’s. And most that I have bought over the years were military grade. So had you replaced those with RFT? The silver dragon are also Chinese, correct? What show is the getter on those?

Now i feel like an idiot. The first one is what came in the amp. Lmao