JJs high gain tubes

[boogie291]

I've heard enough about these JJs high gain tubes so I decided to try it and it was a big frustration my sound won't cut trough the mix, its too dark and too compressed at high gain. I changed it to 9th generation chinese tubes by Ruby tubes and it was a big difference.

[Duke of Metal]

I've heard enough about these JJs high gain tubes so I decided to try it and it was a big frustration my sound won't cut trough the mix, its too dark and too compressed at high gain. I changed it to 9th generation chinese tubes by Ruby tubes and it was a big difference.

I liked the Highgain Graded JJ tubes..  until i tried the RI mullard 12ax7s.  lets just say that I never went back to using JJs after that.

[Dante]

Boogie-

I've heard enough about these JJs high gain tubes so I decided to try it and it was a big frustration my sound won't cut trough the mix, its too dark and too compressed at high gain.

I felt the same way. Too muddy for my taste. Then, I tried some Sovteks with the same results - not clean enough & not a smooth distortion either. Tubes are like speakers, subjective. What sounds good to some may not sound good to another.

FYI: I ended up using a combination of Tung-Sol and TAD 12AX7s in each of my MP-2s.

[one4rich]

I've heard enough about these JJs high gain tubes so I decided to try it and it was a big frustration my sound won't cut trough the mix, its too dark and too compressed at high gain. I changed it to 9th generation chinese tubes by Ruby tubes and it was a big difference.

I liked the Highgain Graded JJ tubes..  until i tried the RI mullard 12ax7s.  lets just say that I never went back to using JJs after that.

I bought a pair of Mullard RI 12ax7s from Mountain King, hoping to *love* them. I went back to the JJs in my MP-1.

[Mythos]

Hi. I have tried almost everytubes on the market in ALL my MP-1´s and realized ONLY one brand fits the best: JJ Tubes. The next brand to JJ that fits my MP-1´s are Engl, but JJ will always stay inside and glow in the dark

[Black_Haus]

JJ's do the trick for me!  I've got a pair of Hi-Gain 12ax7's in the MP-1 and KT-77's in the Marshall 9005

[Systematic Chaos]

JJ's do the trick for me! 

+1

I run a JJ High Gain (115/115) in V1 and a JJ Gold Pin High Gain (117/117) in V2 for (subjective, at least to my ear) a little more creamy depth.
My Boogie Fifty/Fifty has JJ 6L6GCs and 3 Gold Pin JJ ECC83S....all tubes supplied by eurotubes.com

[Hellusinit]

I really Dig JJ's In a Positions.  I also liked Sovtek WA's in V1 & V2 and a good Groove Tube or EH in V3.  I just depends what type of sound your after. The JJ's  have the Best Harmonics for the MP-1.

[BeerBottleSlide]

Hey Guys, I went with a pair JJ ECC83S from Doug's Tubes and I have been using them for few years now.  I've got to tell you, I've become disappointed with the sound of these tubes.  At hi gain these tubes seem harsh and shrill IMHO.  Also, I couldn't get a good clean tone out of them with my Tele (I'm not a metal player, more Rock/Country).  Recently these tubes started going microphonic at high gain and the tubes are only a few years old!  I didn't think it was the tubes so I did the noise mod (battery mod as well while I was at it ) and went with an OP2604 in U4 thinking that might be the problem.  In spite of that, it still sounded about the same.  So out of frustration, I switched back to the 20+ year old stock tubes that came with my MP-1 and man, I had forgotten how good the originals sound, nice warm sustain at lead gain and the clean tones are sweet!  So the JJ tubes were definitely the issue for me.  I sent Doug some close up pics of the original stock tubes and he recommended the Penta 12AX7's as the best match for the stock tubes (thanks Doug for the quick response on the match!).  I just ordered a pair of those from Doug, I'll give them a try and report back on how they sound. 

Here are the pics of the original tubes that came with my MP-1:



Here is what Doug recommended as the closest replacement for the stock tubes (current generation Chinese production 12AX7 from Penta):

[Dante]

I have those exact same Penta Lab tubes (from Doug's) in my MT100 (with matched triodes). They sound WAAAYYY better in my power amp than the GrooveTube 12ax7r2 tubes I had in there. Much cleaner, and (I'm not totally sure but) they seem a bit warmer.

Oh BTW: Those stock tubes you have look exactly like the stock models from my old MP-2.

My preference for the tube mix in both of my MP-2s is:
V1: TAD 12ax7a-c
V2: Tung Sol 12ax7 (tested for low noise & harmonics)

[shwing]

looking at the preamp from the back which is VI and Which is V2
what is the function of each tube?
I just got my amp back from Voodoo (deluxe mod) and they shipped it with :

12AX7EH PLATINUM SERIES, "BURNED IN AND TESTED/SELECTED BY VOODOO"

AND

12AX7WA/7025 Sovtek Platinum Series "BURNED IN AND TESTED/SELECTED BY VOODOO"

[WickedBlade]

IMHO, "burning in" is just nonsense. A tube works or it doesn't, there's no point in burning it in.
Anyway, so you have 2 Sovteks: 12AX7EH (an Electro Harmonix branded tube which is actually made by Sovtek) and 12AX7WA.

The short answer to your question is: try both, it won't hurt and you can keep the config you like most.
Aside from that, IIRC, V1 is the tube closest to the front plate, and V2 is obviously the other one. You guys correct me if I'm wrong.

On the subject of chinese and all, I'd mention that the original tubes in the MP-1 seem to be chinese tubes. I don't know the Penta brand up close but they do look very similar to the TAD tubes, which figures since they very probably come from the same manufacturer. Now, one point in favor of the TADs is that I know for sure that they are hi-gain tubes.

I personally went with TAD in V1 and 12AX7EH in V2. In which case V1 gives some 'hair' and V2 tames the ugly highs for more 'body'.

[BeerBottleSlide]

That's a good point WB.  There are only a handful of factories in the world that manufacture tubes and a ton of companies that QC, relabel and resell tubes.  The best way to identify the make of a tube is by close examination of the internals (hence the close-up pics of the tubes).  The Chinese tubes are characterized by the shiny brace that is attached to the plates, it kinda looks like a backwards letter F.  That clearly identifies the original ADA tubes as being Chinese tubes.  The Penta Lab tubes are the latest generation 12AX7's from Shuguang factory in China.

[WickedBlade]

My friend Google tells me that TAD tubes are made by Shuguang too. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that TAD and Penta are the same tubes, because they can have slight design changes, and, most important some screening test that makes them fit to be labeled as one or the other, but they're probably very similar anyway.

[shwing]

IMHO, "burning in" is just nonsense. A tube works or it doesn't, there's no point in burning it in.
Anyway, so you have 2 Sovteks: 12AX7EH (an Electro Harmonix branded tube which is actually made by Sovtek) and 12AX7WA.

The short answer to your question is: try both, it won't hurt and you can keep the config you like most.
Aside from that, IIRC, V1 is the tube closest to the front plate, and V2 is obviously the other one. You guys correct me if I'm wrong.

On the subject of chinese and all, I'd mention that the original tubes in the MP-1 seem to be chinese tubes. I don't know the Penta brand up close but they do look very similar to the TAD tubes, which figures since they very probably come from the same manufacturer. Now, one point in favor of the TADs is that I know for sure that they are hi-gain tubes.

I personally went with TAD in V1 and 12AX7EH in V2. In which case V1 gives some 'hair' and V2 tames the ugly highs for more 'body'.

Thanks mate, I will do some experimenting now that I know a little more about the valve positions