Jan Philips reissues?

[boobtube21]

Looking at getting some new some new 12AT7's for the ol' SF Vibrolux.

I came across some Jan Philips 12AT7WC's for $13 (I assume these are reissues) and might order a couple...has anyone else here tried em? Worth the extra $2 over JJ's?

I would just spring for it and try them out but I had a bad experience with some "other brand" tubes where I paid an extra $4 per tube for "low microphonics".....they turned out to be the most microphonic tubes I had ever put in the amp!! Just want to make sure they're not total duds or something. Thanks!

[Gravity Jim]

I've got a (supposedly) NOS JAN Phillips 5751 in VI of my Egnater Rebel 20, and while it performed its primary function of taming the gain, I was surprised at how it played "smoother" than the Egnater branded JJ tube it replaced. Don't care if it's really a reissue or not, it works real well.

[Kap'n]

Not reissues. The real thing. Mojo has them.

[Gravity Jim]

Kap'n, I got mine at Tube Depot, and they said they were NOS. I had no reason to doubt them. (I bought two, so I'm ready when this one burns.)

[Kap'n]

Yep. The US Government dumped a lot of stock of their spares back in the late 90's. That's where all those JAN Phillips 6L6WGB tubes came from too.

[boobtube21]

Great! Thanks guys.

Kap, I couldn't find them on the Mojo site, but Tube Depot had them for a few bucks cheaper than Tube Store. Plus, the Tube Store is in Canada which more than tripled the shipping cost.

Too bad the Tube Depot is the place that charged me that extra $4 a tube!! Oh well I'll give them another chance ;)

[Kap'n]

Kap, I couldn't find them on the Mojo site

http://www.mojotone.com/amp-parts/va...T7-Vacuum-Tube

They're out of the 5751

[boobtube21]

Doh! I tried it in the search box just now and they came up. Not sure why I couldnt' locate them yesterday...

I thought they were reissues because I was under the impression NOS = big bucks. I ordered 3 so we'll find out how good of a deal this is.

Side note: I was just playing around with the Tube Store's tube gain factor/replacement widget, and it seems you can't replace a 12AT7 with an 12AX7...but if your amp came with an AX7 you can substitute an AT7? Why is that? I've had an AX7 in V1 in place of the intended AT7 for a year or so and it sounded alright. Could I have fried something?

[Kap'n]

A 12AX7 doesn't have the same plate dissipation rating as a 12AT7. The higher power capability is why it's used as a reverb driver, which is essential a small power amp.

You could swap it in some circuits, depending on how hard it's being run.

[boobtube21]

Gotcha thanks Kap'n. I'll assume since it's been ok thus far it probably isn't hurting anything.

Either way though I think for what I play these days a 12AT7 is better. If I need more gain for something else I'll either use the Fuzz Face or maybe someday install the PPIMV kit I ordered like a frickin year ago.....

[stratcat55]

I've got a (supposedly) NOS JAN Phillips 5751 in VI of my Egnater Rebel 20, and while it performed its primary function of taming the gain, I was surprised at how it played "smoother" than the Egnater branded JJ tube it replaced. Don't care if it's really a reissue or not, it works real well.

+1 I did the same thing to my Rebel 20 because of Jim's recommendation. I had the same results. The gain on the Rebel was a bit more than I needed. Mine said NOS too. I also found the gain smoother. It was a nice surprise.

[Cygnus X1]

Glad I got some before they ran out!
They are in storage at the moment.

[boobtube21]

Well they arrived today, and they sound great so far! Very smooth with guitar and pedal steel. THanks for the input everyone.

[chuckocaster]

You can always send them my way if you need a second opinion...

[Gravity Jim]

This thread inspired me to order a couple more. The Tube Depot sill has them, but other places I looked (The Tube Store, Mojo, etc.) said they were gone/unavailable.

[boobtube21]

Really? Crap, maybe I should have gotten more than 3.

Chuck, email me your address and I'll send you one to try out.

[chuckocaster]

I don't currently own any tube amps that take that type of preamp tube... Everything is octal at my house. I really appreciate the offer though amigo!

[Gravity Jim]

boobtube, this will give me 3 in reserve, which I think ought be enough for a while. But I think Tube Depot still has some.

With the extras, I'm going to try my Rebel with 5751s in V1 and V2.

[chuckocaster]

I LOVE 5751's!!! I think you're gonna dig em mute jefe.

[Gravity Jim]

Just got my backups from The Tube Depot. $29.95.

[Gravity Jim]

With the extras, I'm going to try my Rebel with 5751s in V1 and V2.

And today I did. I think I really, really like this even better. Need to spend a little time with it to make sure I'm not hearing a bit more brittleness in the highs, but the sound was very satisfying to play this afternoon. Well see... I also thought I perceived a loss of sustain fom what I'm used to, and that probably does make sense with less gain in both V1 and V2. I'll play it a while. It sounds great, that's for sure... Accidentally got a massive "20th Century Boy" rhythm sound out of it that swiveled my head around.

[boobtube21]

I never thought of using a lower gain tube in a high gain amp (if that's what a Rebel is?). I always figured if you wanted more gain, you used a 12AX7. I can imagine it would smooth it out quite a bit though, maybe give it some more clarity and punch.

[stratcat55]

I don't know if you would call the Rebel a high gain amp. Mine just had a bit more gain than I liked. It has a good amount of gain in stock form, but not like Mesa or Marshall gain.

[Gravity Jim]

Medium-High gain. I still like ti better with the gain lowered in each stage... getting me a lot closer to that "singing & burning but not breaking up thing" I'm going for.

[chuckocaster]

I like to use AT7s or 5751s in the V1 slot of my amps (even if they aren't gainy) as it is easier to get those "in between" tones and I can turn the amps up more to get more juice rolling with the power tubes. Clean to mean is more gradual.

[buckaroo]

I would just spring for it and try them out but I had a bad experience with some "other brand" tubes where I paid an extra $4 per tube for "low microphonics".....they turned out to be the most microphonic tubes I had ever put in the amp!!

What you describe above may be more of a "tube vendor" issue rather than the tube "brand". Especially if the tube was a long plate pre amp tube. Overall, The JAN tubes seem to be very reliable performers but there can still be some bad apples out there (as with many products on earth today). To me, your post describes something more vendor related. The best NOS tube vendors really check the tube out for noise before hand. But some "seem" to charge the low noise fee as more of an insurance policy/hedge in case you send it back. They may not even check the tube for noise much, if at all!

NOS tubes are great. Noise and microphonics are always a risk with tubes new and old. Often a tube that has noise in one position in the amp can do just fine in another position or another amp.

Just sayin', and good luck!

[boobtube21]

What you describe above may be more of a "tube vendor" issue rather than the tube "brand".

Yep Buckaroo, I agree. Especially when the vendor charged extra to eliminate the problem, and they were literally the worst I had ever encountered. Lots of people seem to like EH tubes though so I figured they can't all be bad. Maybe TD just got the "extra microphonic" and "low microphonic" bins mixed up, I dont' know.

I did find it a little irritating though when I emailed them about it and their response was something along the lines of "we're sorry you were not satisfied" Uh, not satisfied with being ripped off??? yeah, thanks for being sorry about that...

Oh well in this case the one tube I installed so far seems great. I guess I should try the others too before it's too late for a refund!