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Post subject: Vintage Tube Cache Acquired
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 8:47 am
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My younger brother is a vintage tube amp aficionado- vintage Hi-Fi tube amp aficionado, that is. He recently purchased a large mixed lot box of vintage tubes at a flea market for cheap, and sent me the ones he couldn't use, or had multiples of. Most seem to be pre-amp tubes, most in original boxes, and all appear to be unused. My guess is that these date from the '60's and '70's.
I'm posting to ask if any of these tubes are particularly desirable. I'm planning on holding on to them anyway, but I'm wondering if any might be worth switching out for the more modern Russian tubes that constitute most of my amps' tube components. Here's a list:
1) (JAN) Sylvania 5Y3WGTA. USA
2) Tung-Sol GZ34 5AR4. Great Britain
3) Telefunken ECC83/12AX7. West Germany
4) Amperex 12AU7A. Great Britain. 2 of these.
5) Dynaco ECC83/12AX7. West Germany
6) Philco 6CG7. USA. In GE 6CG7 box.
7) GE 12AU7. USA. In CBS 12AU7 box.
8) Dynaco 7199. USA. In ICC 7199 box.
Any thoughts from you vintage glass experts is greatly appreciated!. Thanks, O...


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Post subject: Re: Vintage Tube Cache Acquired
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 9:12 am
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The Telefunken is a rare gem. The Dynaco 12AX7 is also probably a Telefunken as well. If you look at the bottom of the tube, there might be a diamond impressed in the glass identifying it as Telefunken. A good one runs $80-$100.
They are low noise and smooth out the tone. Put the Telefunken in the V1 position.
I'll warn you though, once you put these in your amp, you will be spoiled and you'll never be satisfied with modern tubes again.
The 12AU7s will work in Ampegs or in the reverb driver of a Fender.
The 6CG7s are reverb driver tubes for old Silvertone and Ampeg amps.
The rectifier tubes are useful, but not valuable.
The 7199 is mostly for Dynaco amps only. It is a preamp on one section and a driver in the other section.
It's a great flea market find.


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Post subject: Re: Vintage Tube Cache Acquired
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 11:22 am
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TimsAudio wrote:
The 7199 is mostly for Dynaco amps only. It is a preamp on one section and a driver in the other section.


The 7199 is often found in several vintage Ampeg models as well.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Vintage Tube Cache Acquired
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 1:52 pm
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Thanks for the speedy replies, Tim and Arjay. I knew this site was the place to go for this kind of information!
Tim, I did look at the base of the Dynaco 12AX7, and there is indeed a small triangle with the Telefunken name spelled out inside, identical to the logo printed on the side of the Telefunken labelled tube. Thanks for the hint!
You also mentioned placing that tube in the V1 position. Since I almost exclusively use the 2nd (reverb/trem) channel in my Fender 2 channel amps, do you think I would notice a significant difference if I placed one in the V2 slot, and possibly the other in the V4 (2nd gain stage and reverb return for channel 2)?
One other question: do the Amperex tubes labelled "12AU7A" differ at all from regular 12AU7 tubes, or is it purely a marketing/branding/labeling sort of situation?
Thanks again, Gentlemen!


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Post subject: Re: Vintage Tube Cache Acquired
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 4:18 pm
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Yes, your plan for V2, V4 sounds like the ticket.
I'm not sure about the 12AU7A. Maybe someone else will...


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Post subject: Re: Vintage Tube Cache Acquired
Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 6:54 am
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Tim, thanks again. I thought the Telefunkens in the V2 and V4 spots was probably the way to go. I'm gonna try switching them out later today. I'll let you all know if I notice a marked sonic improvement. As ever, this is the Forum for all things Fender amp related. You guys are the best...O


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Post subject: Re: Vintage Tube Cache Acquired
Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:10 am
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Can't say with certainty about the 12AU7A but I know that the "A" at the end of a 12AX7A's designation indicates that the tube is optimized for low-noise operation. It may be a similar case with the 12AU7A.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Vintage Tube Cache Acquired
Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:31 am
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Tim, thanks again. I thought the Telefunkens in the V2 and V4 spots was probably the way to go. I'm gonna try switching them out later today. I'll let you all know if I notice a marked sonic improvement. As ever, this is the Forum for all things Fender amp related. You guys are the best...O


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Post subject: Re: Vintage Tube Cache Acquired
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 11:01 am
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May want to try that Amperex 12AU7 (ECC82) in the phase inverter position (usually V6). Little less gain, but it would be interesting to hear the difference between it and the OE 12AT7.


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Post subject: Re: Vintage Tube Cache Acquired
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 10:32 pm
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BMW2002Ti wrote:
May want to try that Amperex 12AU7 (ECC82) in the phase inverter position (usually V6). Little less gain, but it would be interesting to hear the difference between it and the OE 12AT7.


The 12AU7 will manifest *significantly* less gain than the specified 12AT7 -- likely insufficient to drive the output stage into saturation and compression.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Vintage Tube Cache Acquired
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2015 12:21 am
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Yeah. Won't hurt to try, as some amps react well to this mod.


Retroverbial wrote:
Can't say with certainty about the 12AU7A but I know that the "A" at the end of a 12AX7A's designation indicates that the tube is optimized for low-noise operation. It may be a similar case with the
12AU7A.

Arjay



Yes, the 12AU7A is a special version of the 12AU7. Selected for low-noise.


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Post subject: Re: Vintage Tube Cache Acquired
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2015 1:20 am
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I thought it might be.

I remember seeing a couple hundred of those tubes in the old Sperry and Burroughs computers that the AF used for everything from processing air defense data to military pay records. They were pretty prolific. By contrast, the Honeywell systems used mostly 12AX7's and 12AT7's. I used to hang around with the airmen who worked on the Honeywell gear.

A lot......

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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