Vintage tubes everywhere!

[1bmf]

Sup! I was at my amp techs house today and we started talking about preamp tubes, specifically vintage preamp tubes. I asked him what he had for vintage tubes and he got kind of sneaky looking and informed me real quiet (as if someone could be listening) that he has lots of NOS tubes. He then told me he would be willing to sell some of them to me because I'm a fellow tone snob and would actually appreciate the tubes. Unfortunately I have very little knowledge of old tubes so I'm hoping you guys could let me know which brands and such I should look for when I go back. He has about 100 preamp tubes dating from the 50's till the late 80's and out of that 150 their are probably 20-30 different brands. As always thanks in advance.

Matt

[ziess]

Tung Sol. I've never heard an old Tung Sol that's been anything short of amazing.

You might ask if it's ok to bring an amp and experiment a bit as they can all sound a bit different.
Enjoy!

Tommy.

[1bmf]

Thanks! He told me I can bring them home and try them out but their were so many I figured I would ask you guys which ones to try first. Plus I didn't think he would be amused if I raided his entire tube stash.

Matt

[Wilko]

Most of the big brands are pretty well respected.

I like Mullard, Tung Sol, Sylvania and RCA. Look for JAN tubes (that's a "Joint Army-Navy" spec for tighter tolerance and longer life)

For more drastic tone changes with preamp tubes, you can even try the different values.

12AU7, 12AX7, 12AY7 and variants, 7025 ECC83

[ziess]

What kind of amp are you looking to put them in?

[1bmf]

I have a SRRI and a Marshall Jubilee. If he ends up having some good ones I might buy quite a few just to have them. I remember seeing JAN on quite a few and I know he had some RCA's and Sylvania's. Several had GE on them and he had a box that said "Army Spec". He also had 2 12ax7's in original Fender boxes that he claimed were from the 60's. All they said on the tube was "Fender 12ax7".

Matt

[ziess]

I like the '60s Fender labelled 12ax7s. The ones I've tried have been identical to GEs FWIW.

[1bmf]

I should also mention his prices were $20-$30 depending on the tube. He wanted $25 for one of the Fender 12ax7's and $30 for one of the JANs. Is this good or bad? Thanks.

Matt

[58reissue]

Get either RCA,Bugle boy or some good old Mullards.

[Cygnus X1]

If you see any telefunken AX7's for that price, try them and buy them.

I have only four, but I love them.
I've seen them go for over 100 bux, and I know why.
Sweet.

[Kap'n]

I like the '60s Fender labelled 12ax7s. The ones I've tried have been identical to GEs FWIW.

I'm pretty sure the Fender labeled stuff was RCA in the 60's. GE stuff was mostly 70's, although I'm sure there was overlap one way or another.

[JJ Gross]

My faves ::
GE for 12a*7 types in Fender amps
RCA & Sylvania for the same thing right behind the GEs
Telefunken, Mullard or Amperex for any EL84 power tubes
RCA, GE, Westinghouse, Sylvania, Motorola, Conn, Wurlitzer or any other USA made EL34, 6L6 or 6V6 power tube

Uhhhh, can I get this guy's number?

Cheers,
- JJ

[Don]

I know a guy with a huge collection. We spent an afternoon auditioning tubes in my tweed Deluxe clone.

I was in heaven and my amp never sounded better!

[yankeerob]

Another brand worth mentioning are Brimar - not likely he has any of those as their pretty much a European delicacy but for my money they're the dog's danglies (very good) - have fun and unless you're willing to scout around for 'good pulls' yourself I 'spose the price range is fair...

[1bmf]

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Matt

[ric480]

Big, big thumbs up on the Brimar 6V6's. They've become very pricey of late - I guess the secret got out !

I get many compliments from other guitarists who can't believe that all I use is guitar-cord-amp.