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Post subject: Re: EHX tubes.
Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 4:23 am
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arth1 wrote:
...The Svetlanas I recently bought were allegedly made in St. Petersburg - same plant as one of the two Winged Cs (the one who didn't close down, but can't call themselves Winged C in the US).
If I understand it correctly, that is. It's enough to make anyone's head hurt.


Yeah, some time ago, the Svetlana Winged C tubes were made in St Petersburg, Russia by the company known as SED (Svetlana Electron Devices?). At some point, they lost the right to use the Svetlana name, but still could use the Winged C brand. As of now, and for awhile (not sure how long), the Svetlana branded tubes are made in Saratov, Russia at the Reflector plant where the EH, Tung Sol, Mullard, Sovtek tubes are made, and as you can see, this factory has acquired the Mullard and Tung Sol names as well. Obviously, NOS tubes branded Mullard and Tung Sol were British and US made tubes, respectively. It is unclear, but seems that the St Petersburg factory is not making some tubes, like the Winged C, but rest assured that any tubes branded with the Winged C logo are/were definitely made in the SED factory in St Petersburg.

You are correct, it can be difficult to know where current production tubes are made these days, with names/brands shifting around, factories closing, etc.

On a related note, despite the false advertising, JJ is not "Formerly Tesla", they never were Tesla, and Tesla had nothing to do with JJ except that Tesla sold the equipment to make 12AX7 tubes to JJ when Tesla stopped making the 12AX7. JJ made/makes their own style of tubes on Tesla's old equipment, and the two companies tubes are similar, but not the same.

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Post subject: Re: EHX tubes.
Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 4:28 am
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Buxom wrote:
Amp sounds totally different, noticable boost in volume and gain, not to mention feedback :P


Buxom wrote:
I love this amp now.


Did you go with the EH?

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Post subject: Re: EHX tubes.
Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 7:26 am
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I'll give you guys a nice little nugget of advice that will blow your mind if you try it.

The single greatest 12ax7/ecc83 ever made for breakup and gain is a NOS RFT. There's not any other tube like it. It breaks up early and turns your gain into a smooth creamy hi-fi high gain monster.

If you REALLY want to hear your amp scream, here are a few suggestions for you in the NOS world.

RCA 12ax7a or 12ax7: Like an RFT, RCAs break up very well. But it's important to note that the "12ax7a" and "12ax7" are two different animals. The 12ax7a is a short plate, and the 12ax7 is a long plate. I prefer short plates for V1, and Long plates for everything else. The long plate had a thicker bottom end sound, but both breakup the same. You can get them for around $30 and well worth it. Don't buy too much into the black plate versions. The cut side mica versions are all that's needed.

Amperex ecc83: there are different versions of Amperex according to dates and makeups. But one thing you can count on is a sizzling high end bite when overdriven. Amps that tend to thrive on the darker side match very well with Amperex.

RFT ecc83: The king of the mountain for high gain. Before ever trying an RFT, I didn't think it could get any better than the two previously mentioned tubes. Up until then , the RCA 12ax7 (long plate) had broken up and provided my amps with the most powerful gain breakup.

But by comparison, an RFT breaks up with what I would perceive as about 20% more breakup, clipping, compression, gain, however you want to describe it. It's not overly bright, it's not overly dark. It hits every aspect of a gain channel right in the sweet spot.

To put it in perspective, if I put an RFT in my Peavey Delta Blues gain channel, I can make it sound very similar to one of their high gain models (Ultra 120, 5150, 6505). Not exact, but very close. Something none of my other tubes are capable of.

I thought I'd give a few suggestions since not every amp benefits from an RFT. Different amps take to different tube models their own way. For example, the Heidkamp doesn't benefit from an RFT. There's not a 12ax7 made that could ever send that overdrive channel into high gain territory. That being said, I put an RCA 7025 in it to keep the white noise down and give it a great RCA breakup sound.

My favorite modern tube for a hybrid amp is a Sovtek LPS. It's really the only modern tube I ever liked enough for a recommendation. Very well rounded. I think it provides the greatest bass tones of the modern tubes and not in an overbearing way. Breaks up much like an RCA, and sings very well in a clean channel.

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Post subject: Re: EHX tubes.
Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 8:04 am
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shimmilou wrote:
Buxom wrote:
Amp sounds totally different, noticable boost in volume and gain, not to mention feedback :P


Buxom wrote:
I love this amp now.


Did you go with the EH?


Yes, I did.

I just turn the volume and gain all the way up and leave the tone at 0.

The amp cranks now.

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