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

[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?

I dont know anything techincal about the silver dragon, but i will take a picture. Just know they are chinese 12ax7 B

 

[MGL AmpWorks]

I dont know anything techincal about the silver dragon, but i will take a picture. Just know they are chinese 12ax7 B

View attachment 463202

Those came later. They have the same construction but with a round getter instead of the original with the square getter. I just sold 10 of those round getter tubes. We tested them compared to the military grade square getter and did not care for than as much. We prefer the square getter. The round getter had less gain and were more noisy. Looks like your amp got some of the Mesa labeled square getter. Those were all tested for high gain use in their amps. But you can still get ones that have ring or on the edge of microphonic. Try one of the other 2 originals in the 1st position.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Those came later. They have the same construction but with a round getter instead of the original with the square getter. I just sold 10 of those round getter tubes. We tested them compared to the military grade square getter and did not care for than as much. We prefer the square getter. The round getter had less gain and were more noisy. Looks like your amp got some of the Mesa labeled square getter. Those were all tested for high gain use in their amps. But you can still get ones that have ring or on the edge of microphonic. Try one of the other 2 originals in the 1st position.

Yeah. Definitely nothing wrong with the square getters. They definitely sound great in the MGL. That is why I never thought about changing them. I was talking to Dan travis last night about making a comparison clip to see what the difference would be

 

[glpg80]

I hate 12AX7B’s. They sound great but are completely useless for how microphonic or on the verge of ringing they all are.

I think I’m using an old Mesa STR-12AX7 in V1. It’s the only tube I have that is graded for high gain and low microphonics.

 

[MGL AmpWorks]

Yeah. Definitely nothing wrong with the square getters. They definitely sound great in the MGL. That is why I never thought about changing them. I was talking to Dan travis last night about making a comparison clip to see what the difference would be

The round getter tubes will sound more open and a little tighter with the gain on the amp set the same due to the tube having less gain. You can probably get to about the same place by lowering the gain on the amp with the square getter tube.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

I hate 12AX7B’s. They sound great but are completely useless for how microphonic or on the verge of ringing they all are.

I think I’m using an old Mesa STR-12AX7 in V1. It’s the only tube I have that is graded for high gain and low microphonics.

The str12ax7 are the first in the clip. The 12ax7b was the second clip.

They are both great tubes. Just depends on what you are playing. I have always been of the opinion that preamp tubes aren't really huge in the big scheme of things. I was always getting 12ax7b (silver dragons) because they always seem to behave in high gain circuits and quiet the "Shhhhhh"

 

[Polski Młot]

The old square getter Chinese tubes were the "magic" with the original Block Letter 5150's...

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

The round getter tubes will sound more open and a little tighter with the gain on the amp set the same due to the tube having less gain. You can probably get to about the same place by lowering the gain on the amp with the square getter tube.

That makes sense.

 

[midnightlaundry]

Fizz gets lost in the mix.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Fizz gets lost in the mix.

I read about how much work dimebag out into quieting his rig and then in studio, they had to pump in white noise

 

[thegame]

I like the fact that even on a recording, the differences with the tube swap are readily apparent.

 

[midnightlaundry]

The old square getter Chinese tubes were the "magic" with the original Block Letter 5150's...

I'm sitting on a bunch of them.. It was just stock stuff in the 90's, and now it's NOS..

 

[glpg80]

The str12ax7 are the first in the clip. The 12ax7b was the second clip.

They are both great tubes. Just depends on what you are playing. I have always been of the opinion that preamp tubes aren't really huge in the big scheme of things. I was always getting 12ax7b (silver dragons) because they always seem to behave in high gain circuits and quiet the "Shhhhhh"

The fact you have 12ax7b that aren’t completely useless is shocking to me - I’ve had no luck out of them. Like I mentioned though they do sound great when they work.

I prefer STR myself but only in V1 where it matters most. Now that you mentioned it I can hear some similarities to the high end that I love.