What to do with my Art MPA Gold

  • Thread starter Thread starter BeniRose
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My Mullards say made in Russia....is that just a deception?
 
Monkey Allen said:
My Mullards say made in Russia....is that just a deception?
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New Sensor Electronics has revived the Mullard brand name, but these are made in Russia like all their other products. As I understand it, new-production Mullards have nothing in common with the old British variety.
 
Am I better off getting that AX7 or the AT7 NOS I originally posted? I'm weary to get something with less gain, because I'm often turning things up to between 1/2 and 3/4 of the way, but it's not like I have any expensive or vintage mics that need high gain.
 
Try the Tung-Sol 12AX7's.
Not too expensive and they make a noticeable difference.
 
I had a Digital MPA for a while (sold to make room for a UA LA-610), and got a noticeable improvement over the stock tubes with a pair of JJ 12AX7s from www.eurotubes.com. I never got around to trying other tubes, but a LOT of people have commented on the further improvement found in NOS tubes. The JJs are pretty budget-friendly.
 
GAH! You had to throw a 3rd tube into the mix didn't you!!! =D

While I appreciate your input studioguy, I really just need opinions on whether I should get the NOS Mullard AT7s or the new production AX7s (whether they are JJs, Mullards, Jans, Tung-Sols, etc will be a separate discussion).
 
Make a decision beni...if it's wrong...buy some more...keep the economy moving. That's the most important thing
 
BeniRose said:
GAH! You had to throw a 3rd tube into the mix didn't you!!! =D
While I appreciate your input studioguy, I really just need opinions on whether I should get the NOS Mullard AT7s or the new production AX7s (whether they are JJs, Mullards, Jans, Tung-Sols, etc will be a separate discussion).
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A number of years ago I had a conversation with the head teach guy at ART about this same topic and posted it here or on Gearslutz (I bought one of very first GOLD MPAs released).
The Tech guy said that putting a lower gain tube in the GOLD MPA other than the 12AX7 will introduce more noise into the overall signal because you will need to increase the overall gain of the unit to make up the gain difference between the AT7 and AX7 and by doing so you also increase the inherent noise.

Nonetheless, there are folks who have put in 6072s and AT7s in their MPA "just because" and there are some folks who change out tubes for different projects or different sounds and there are folks who will have an AX7 in once channel and an AT7 or 6072 in the other.
It's all in what you want and what you are trying to achieve.

You could get a nice pair of Mullard AT7s and a pair of whatever AX7's you like and you'll have the capacity to change the color of your signal giving you more flexibilty and a broader sound pallette.

I put the Tung-Sol 12AX7's in mine and it made a world of difference over the originals. No fuss, no muss.

PS=with your RODE NT1a being a fairly bright mic you might want to consider a Mullard or something a little darker and smoother to soften up the NT1a edginess.
 
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It says those are getting made in Russia. I think a good solution would be to get the NOS Mullard AT7s AND the New Production Mullard AX7s, that way I have both options to play with, and it's only an extra 30 bucks to get the AX7s! Most of my mics are pretty bright (Samson C02s are my SDCs for overhead at the moment, saving up for some Rode NT5s, which are also reasonably bright) so that should tone things down a bit. However, I prefer my recordings to be a bit more bright, so like you said, if they aren't what I want, I can always get the Tung-Sols down the road, since they're pretty cheap, I think the main question was should I get the NOS or skip it, but I think I'm gonna get them and get the AX7s as well. Thanks for all the advice guys!
 
They are made in Russia, so if it is cheap crap, it's cheap Russian crap. :)

Tubes are cheap enough that you should just get a handful and see what you like. This one is made by the same company that builds Sovtek and Tung-Sol tubes. Based on that, I'd expect it to be a very good tube, though I couldn't begin to guess how close it sounds to a NOS Mullard.
 
I was under the impression that Russian made was better than Chinese made. I doubt that bid's gonna stay under 100 dollars for very long and I can't afford spending that much on tubes (at least not right now). It seems all NOS 12AX7s are a bit expensive, so my only options are to go with New Production AX7s or NOS AT7s, neither of which seem to be great options according to some people here. Should I just give up on recording all together!?!?! :D

Seriously though, should I not even bother with either of those Mullards, I was pretty well set on getting both until mamm rained on my parade. Are the Russian Mullards just as bad as the Chinese? Should I go with Tung-Sols? Aren't those gonna be just as cheap? Are they both really just as cheap as the stock tubes? Is an AT7 a bad idea (I still haven't gotten a straight answer on this one)? Am I just as well off not replacing the tubes unless I can get NOS AX7s (a.k.a. spending at least 150 to replace both tubes so it seems).
 
BeniRose said:
Should I just give up on recording all together!?!?! :D
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No.

BeniRose said:
Seriously though, should I not even bother with either of those Mullards, I was pretty well set on getting both until mamm rained on my parade. Are the Russian Mullards just as bad as the Chinese? Should I go with Tung-Sols? Aren't those gonna be just as cheap? Are they both really just as cheap as the stock tubes? Am I just as well off not replacing the tubes unless I can get NOS AX7s (a.k.a. spending at least 150 to replace both tubes so it seems).
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Mullards have gotten better in the last couple years. Tung-Sols are actually really good tubes for the price; they surprised me and my audiophile friend. You could get some NOS AX7's, but there is a less expensive alternative that is just as good. On that note...

BeniRose said:
Is an AT7 a bad idea (I still haven't gotten a straight answer on this one)?
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I say no. Now, if you asked about putting AU7's or AY7's, I'd say THAT was a bad idea.

Putting the AT7 in isn't a bad idea, but they may not be the best choice for your preamp. In December, when I emailed the different tube vendors for recommendations, the ones who mentioned 12AT7's said they wouldn't recommend it because of their very low gain. 12AT7's aren't the best substitute for 12AX7's since they only have about 50-60% of the gain of the 12AX7's.

I have two NOS Mullard CV4024-ECC81-12AT7's and one NOS RCA Blackplate which I use for guitar amps. Last night I put one of each in my MPA Gold to see how they'd sound. Both tubes sounded great, but the gain was too low. When the gain was high, so was the noise level.

I'd replace your tubes with either different 12AX7's (recommend the Tung-Sol Gold Pins), and if you'd like to reduce your gain, grab some 5751's. I highly recommend NOS JAN Phillips 5751's, which actually have only 15% less gain than typical 12AX7's as opposed to the typical 25-30% gain reduction of your typical 5751's. I think my JAN Phillips' sound excellent. They give me great lows, nice mids, and a high end that isn't strident.
 
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OK, fwiw, yeah NOS tubes DO sound "better" ie less harshness, better microphonics, etc. BUT, the unit is not UNUSEABLE without them. Go to www.eurotubes.com and get a couple of matched JJ ECC83 (12AX7). I started with these and for $12.00/tube or so, they are definitely better than stock and you may even prefer them to some NOS depending on what your sonic preferences are. I love my NOS Mullards BUT, it's a somewhat darker rounder sound and I like that you may not. I still think about throwing my JJ's back in every now and again, but I like them too much in my Blues Jr.
 
Metal Marc said:
I have two NOS Mullard CV4024-ECC81-12AT7's and one NOS RCA Blackplate which I use for guitar amps. Last night I put one of each in my MPA Gold to see how they'd sound. Both tubes sounded great, but the gain was too low. When the gain was high, so was the noise level.
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Dude, thanks so much for not only directly responding to the NOS Mullard question, but even telling me about how it sounds in this exact pre. I'll steer clear of those now, glad someone tried this before I wasted money on the tubes. I'm short on cash, so if it comes to the NOS JANs and the gold pin Tung-Sols, I'll probably choose the JANs cause they're cheaper. I also like the "creamy" description of it. It seems most people tend to use them in guitar amps, but if you say they'll be alright in the MPA, I'll take your word for it, and then get ready to start saving up for the Tung-Sols so I can have a second option to play with down the road. Cheers!
 
Actually, I don't know if I'd "like to reduce my gain" or not, since I haven't gotten to try the unit with either set of tubes yet. Do you recommend I save up for the Tung-Sols first and then if I think they're too hot or sharp, get the NOS JANs? Or will I be ok to start off with the JANs?
 
I would also seriously consider the long plate GE 12AX7 tubes at $30
 
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