V1 12ax7 to darken amp?

[droptrd]

i've got a mullard 12ax7 - which i think sounds like a tung sol with a little bit lower gain - in V1, a tung sol in V2, and jj's in the other two pre-amp slots, and KT77 power tubes, and i really like the way it sounds.
i think the KT77's sound more chunky, and less bright than EL34's do. i could be wrong though lol.

My results with the mullard RIs are much different. Ive found them to be the gainiest tube of any current ax7 by alot. I find them to be very well balanced and crunchy sounding. My current V1 fav for my Mark III

 

[Audioholic]

Tung sols are on the bright side and will add bite. I would not reccommend them to darken an amp. JJ's will but I usually think they smear everything and generally don't like them, but in some amps they work well. Had some Ruby's a while back and they seemed to be just a tad on the darker side in comparison, worked well for beefing up a brighter thinner amp for me then.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

Tung sols are on the bright side and will add bite. I would not reccommend them to darken an amp. JJ's will but I usually think they smear everything and generally don't like them, but in some amps they work well. Had some Ruby's a while back and they seemed to be just a tad on the darker side in comparison, worked well for beefing up a brighter thinner amp for me then.

"Smear" is a good description of the qualities I didn't like about the jj.

 

[9ball]

i've got a mullard 12ax7 - which i think sounds like a tung sol with a little bit lower gain - in V1, a tung sol in V2, and jj's in the other two pre-amp slots, and KT77 power tubes, and i really like the way it sounds.
i think the KT77's sound more chunky, and less bright than EL34's do. i could be wrong though lol.

My results with the mullard RIs are much different. Ive found them to be the gainiest tube of any current ax7 by alot. I find them to be very well balanced and crunchy sounding. My current V1 fav for my Mark III

if you're talking about the new production mullards that's interesting because that's what i have and i've directly A/B'd it with the marshall branded, the "chinese" i have(which are the same thing i've read?), the tung sol and the jj, and it's the lowest "gain" sound of them all except the jj, but the jj was too "muffled" sounding in V1.
i don't know what "RI" means.
i thought the chinese and tung sol were more gainy.

 

[droptrd]

Re-issue

 

[richedie]

+1

I don't find the TungSol to be dark at all. It's certainly brighter and more midrangey sounding compared to the Sovtek 12AX7-LPS and JJ 12AX7.

Bump for old thread. I am looking to darken and also lower the gain of my PWE Event Horizon 2 channel head. Great amp, but I am looking to try something different in using darker preamp tubes and less gainy tubes.

 

[Crunchtime]

I also feel the Tung Sol is bright. I think a Mullard RI may work for you. Don't know if it's true but I heard the Mullard RI and Sovtek 12ax7LPS are the same tube.

 

[glip22]

RFT's are darker.

 

[cheftie]

You may also want to try the Sovtek 12AX7WB.

 

[Crunchtime]

RFT's are darker.

Yes, killer tube. Had a Mark III with a Tung Sol in V1 and an RFT in V2 and that amp was magic. My biggest regret as far as selling gear was that MK III. My buddy is a Mark III fanatic and said that weas the best he ever heard. Got stupid and sold it to give family a good X-Mas.

 

[rusty1070]

RFT will help tame some brightness and breaks up early as well.

 

[FourT6and2]

Old thread is old.

But Tung-Sol are not bright to me. Neither are the JJ ECC803S. The JJ ECC83S are darker, though.

Darkest sounding tube I've ever tried was RCA 12AX7A (grey plate).

 

[acalaf]

Tung sol pres are the brightest I have ever tried. They are bit bloated in the lower mids and can make the amp sound fat. this could be good or bad depending on the amp, but they definitely bright. No new production tubes have come close to their brighteness, except the chinese pres. JJ's will darken your amp, but will also make you want to sell it.

 

[rupe]

Old thread is old.

And tired cliche is tired

 

[FourT6and2]

Old thread is old.

And tired cliche is tired

You're right. How about this one, cupcake?

 

[rupe]

Old thread is old.

And tired cliche is tired

You're right. How about this one, cupcake?

You promised you'd never let "cupcake" slip out in public. I'm disappointing in you, pincushion

 

[FourT6and2]

Old thread is old.

And tired cliche is tired

You're right. How about this one, cupcake?

You promised you'd never let "cupcake" slip out in public. I'm disappointing in you, pincushion

Pincushin? That's a new one.

 

[joepete77]

Any suggestions on how to brighten up a freidman b.e. ? Is there a 12ax7 that will brighten up the amp enough to make a noticeable difference or is it basically just voiced dark?

 

[FourT6and2]

Any suggestions on how to brighten up a freidman b.e. ? Is there a 12ax7 that will brighten up the amp enough to make a noticeable difference or is it basically just voiced dark?

Turn the treble knob up a bit. If that doesn't work, try the presence. If that doesn't work try a Ruby AC5. Or a Tung-Sol in V1 or V2.

 

[GJgo]

I've rolled in my Diavlo RD20 the stock Ruby, JJ, Tung Sol & Mullard (all new production). The Mullard was the ONLY one in V1 that darkened it enough to be usable- the others were all way too bright to be standing in front of the speaker with any volume. I ended up with Mullard in V1 & TS in V2-3. I do like the TS tone but I had to kill the sunbeams.