Dr Tony Balls wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 10:32 am

tommy wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:22 am 2) for new production 12AX7 the Tung-Sol has been my go to in recent years - for V1. The glass is a little larger though so they don't fit in everything.

This is probably the result of a bad batch, but this past summer i had a number of them fail catastrophically. I bought like 6 or 8 for a few amp projects and more than half of them die via some sort of failure where they lost vacuum and the glass cracked. I got real good at removing tube-halves by poking them out from the bottom side with a wooden skewer. Replaced em with JJs and moved on.

Oof. That is a BUMMER.

Dr Tony Balls wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 10:32 am

tommy wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:22 am 2) for new production 12AX7 the Tung-Sol has been my go to in recent years - for V1. The glass is a little larger though so they don't fit in everything.

This is probably the result of a bad batch, but this past summer i had a number of them fail catastrophically. I bought like 6 or 8 for a few amp projects and more than half of them die via some sort of failure where they lost vacuum and the glass cracked. I got real good at removing tube-halves by poking them out from the bottom side with a wooden skewer. Replaced em with JJs and moved on.

You know, my midlife crisis, tone dentist purchase of a Dr. Z amp came with a microphonic Tung Sol. I went through 3 tubes and now it's at its best but still seems on the edge. The first 2 we're utterly useless. That guy insists on Tung Sols. Probably because at their best, they're good but it seems quality control with tubes is a growing problem.

FWIW I see JJs get slogged online a lot and I've never had a problem with them either. same with Sovtek or EH Power tubes

TylerDeadPine wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:01 pm FWIW I see JJs get slogged online a lot and I've never had a problem with them either. same with Sovtek or EH Power tubes

I had a tech tell me that Sovtek and JJ are from the same factory but JJs are actually tested so their hit to miss ratio is better. Maybe someone on here can prove/disprove that.

losthighway wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:14 pm

TylerDeadPine wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:01 pm FWIW I see JJs get slogged online a lot and I've never had a problem with them either. same with Sovtek or EH Power tubes

I had a tech tell me that Sovtek and JJ are from the same factory but JJs are actually tested so their hit to miss ratio is better. Maybe someone on here can prove/disprove that.

Sovtek, Svetlana, Electro-Harmonix, Tung-Sol and anything else made in Russia in the last I think 15 years are all from the same factory. Svetlana used to be independent.

JJ uses the old Tesla equipment. Anything current from the Czech Republic is made by JJ.

I only fuck with this stuff if I'm having an issue with an amp or circuit, like swapping tubes to isolate a problem. I've got some 60s Mullards, but I leave them in the WEM Copicats that they've been in for 50 years. I feel like that's where they belong. Likewise, the remaining Silvertone branded tubes in my 1483 will stay there until they die. If I have to start from scratch, I'll usually do JJs for power tubes and try and find something nice and old for the preamp. I was having problems with both 12at7 tubes in a Fender amp recently. One was clearly no good, the other tested well but I suspected it was the cause of excess noise in the reverb circuit. I got a box of 5 NOS GE 12at7 military spec tubes for a very reasonable $30. Two went into the amp and they performed perfectly and solved my noise problem.

I guess I think of tubes more as parts, components, potential 'problem solvers' rather than brushes and paints. Does an old RCA sound better than a cheap Chinese tube with no QC? I have no doubt that it does. If you've got a mic pre and it sounds noisy or has a squeal or static, of course try swapping tubes. It's the easiest place to start. If something is clearly shit, I'll try to improve it, but I'm of the mindset that if it's not broke, I'm not gonna try "fixing" it. When it comes to any equipment, I just want it to work. I don't wanna sniff the cork. I've also hung on to pretty much every tube I've come across in an old radio or console stereo or something from the junk pile for like 25 years, so if I can swap a noisy tube for one that I've already got, I'm very happy to do so.

In this modern tube market, I suspect that you pay for the brand name and that may not always live up to practical expectations. Tubes seem to be another rabbit hole to disappear into, which is fine if that's what you want to do, but I'd rather work with what I've got and not worry if a $400 12ax7 is gonna make it sound more punchy.

Should you use quality components? Yes.
Should you agonize over them? No.

biscuitdough wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 5:00 am

losthighway wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:14 pm

TylerDeadPine wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:01 pm FWIW I see JJs get slogged online a lot and I've never had a problem with them either. same with Sovtek or EH Power tubes

I had a tech tell me that Sovtek and JJ are from the same factory but JJs are actually tested so their hit to miss ratio is better. Maybe someone on here can prove/disprove that.

Sovtek, Svetlana, Electro-Harmonix, Tung-Sol and anything else made in Russia in the last I think 15 years are all from the same factory. Svetlana used to be independent.

JJ uses the old Tesla equipment. Anything current from the Czech Republic is made by JJ.

All of those Russian ones are New Sensor products that come out of the Reflector plant. Modern Mullard falls into that category as well. Svetlana was actually an entirely different company before. Mike Matthews started using the Svetlana name in the US when their TM or whatever ran out. The older "real" Svetlana stuff is also sometimes called Winged C due to the different logo.

No idea who makes TAD, which is another common newer brand you'll see.