New prod. Shuguang 12AX7B tubes: decent?

[Zado]

Anyone tried these? Price is interesting, aligned with Pussvane and JJs, maybe a lil better sounding (tho JJs never let me down in ages, and always sounded quite good)?

https://www.tubeampdoctor.com/en/shuguang-12ax7b-ecc83/12ax7a

 

[Alpha Stryke]

Look just like every Jina pre ive ever seen. cept for 90's.
P S vain is the JJ tube of Jina. Nothing special.

 

[Music&Chaos]

Probably as good as a JJ with a slightly different EQ. I have some of the old ones floating around here and they are solid in some darker and bassier amps.

 

[glpg80]

I’m running them currently in Abaddon.

All of them that I own are highly microphonic though. I like the voicing of them but damn do they suck as a V1 tube. You can hear the heaters ringing. They are not a tube I’d recommend honestly not because they sound bad but rather they just don’t do well in super high gain amps. I love the tone of them but hate the microphonic attitude of them. I plan to switch to JJ.

 

[Michiel Kemper]

It depends: I bought them directly from Shuguang and I like them, they are decent and have a nice mid bump and enough gain.
I do think the tested versions from TAD or Ruby are better sounding as they select the best ones out of the batches.
I do prefer a mix of the old square getter Beijing ones (the ones Mesa sold in the 90’s) and some tad of ruby ones.
Mostly in V2-V4 but not in V1 or the PI. I use something different there.
And they also mix well with JJ’s.

 

[motorboy1]

They are ok. Sort of flat sounding. I have a Splawn that came loaded w them. Better to mix and match w others.

 

[glpg80]

It depends: I bought them directly from Shuguang and I like them, they are decent and have a nice mid bump and enough gain.
I do think the tested versions from TAD or Ruby are better sounding as they select the best ones out of the batches.
I do prefer a mix of the old square getter Beijing ones (the ones Mesa sold in the 90’s) and some tad of ruby ones.
Mostly in V2-V4 but not in V1 or the PI. I use something different there.
And they also mix well with JJ’s.

I’d agree here too - get them from a company that resales and can validate they aren’t microphonic.

They have a pretty big low mid emphasis to my ears but their top end is crystal clear too.

 

[Michiel Kemper]

I like them better than the ehx 12ax7, those have a bit too much high end going on.
I just buy 10 shuguang 12ax7 and pick the best for V2 and the rest for V3 or V4 and if needed I get TAD/Ruby for V2 and V3 but I do think the current prices are absurd so I buy everything directly from shuguang.
They are little bit more dull but are fine in certain positions.
The new shuguang 7025 is pretty dull as well imho and the psvane I have not a lot of experience with only that that one also sounded dull and broke in a week.
I use preamp tubes as I would season a dish: sometimes I need a bit more low mids (jj’s), or more upper mids (Chinese) or general a bit darker sounds (rft) or more clarity and punch in the PI (Sovtek LPS/JJ ecc803s).
Older peavey and Mesa Chinese tubes are generally good picks but hard to find.
Especially unused versions/NOS.
This is very personal but this is how I tend to set up my preamp.

 

[Music&Chaos]

Go with your flavor of NOS. I find the end results are more pleasant, though you have to find reliable sellers, etc.

 

[CDawg]

中国一代
Zhōngguó yīdài
First generation Chinese 12AX7

 

[Michiel Kemper]

They have square getters but not the foil over the getters. They look like Mullard copies or 7025 versions but they aren’t that great is my experience.
These are great (especially the Mesa boogie branded ones) https://www.gad.net/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/80s-Chinese-12AX7-Getter1_800.jpg

Notice the shorter plates with the silver sides but also the square getter.

These are pretty decent but not as good as the old Beijing ones:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EI1Z5GI