Whats the differences in tone/gain between differnt tubes

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metalj

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Whats the differences in tone and gain between differnt tubes. Im talking brand names.

Will a JJ el34 sound the same as a groove tube el34 as a RUBY el34.

I need to retube a head and I am wondering what my options are.

My head is a Hughes and Kettner Duotone, 100 watts. The manual says it ships out with RUBY el34's and 12ax7's.

Just wondering what my options of tone is. Will a differnt brand of those tube types give me anything better sounding as far as more gain, or more low end, more sparkle or whatever?

thanks
 
My friend, there are thousands of articles, forums, opinions etc about the best sounding tube brand type etc. Way more than can be covered here. www.eurotubes.com or www.dougstubes.com are just a few sites that contain some info and helpful links about tubes. I have a 5150 head with the bias mod and prefer JJ's in it. They just seem to have a 'rounder' feel. I liked the Ruby tubes in my preamp but they didn't seem to last, for whatever reason. I didn't like the Mesa's I had because they seemed a little harsh and brittle to me.

You'll literally spend hours on the internet trying to answer your question in "The quest for perfect tone". Good luck and happy surfing!
 
metalj said:
Whats the differences in tone and gain between differnt tubes. Im talking brand names.

Will a JJ el34 sound the same as a groove tube el34 as a RUBY el34.
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Yes and no.

They will sound different to a degree, and one may or may not sound better than they other to you. But that doesn't mean it will be night and day. In fact, a lot of people can't even tell the difference between tube types, let alone tube brands of the same type.

So basically, YMMV.
 
Stay away from the Chinese Groove Tube stuff. It ain't worth shit.

In fact, I'd like to get my $100 back that I sunk into those shitty tubes. 2 out of 5 were microphonic right out of the box and the other three didn't last 2 months.

Suck on that, Aspen Pittman. Price-gouging shit dealer.

The new Tung-Sols are good, and of course NOS JAN/Philips rules Fender tones.
 
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metalj said:
Whats the differences in tone and gain between differnt tubes. Im talking brand names.

Will a JJ el34 sound the same as a groove tube el34 as a RUBY el34.

I need to retube a head and I am wondering what my options are.

My head is a Hughes and Kettner Duotone, 100 watts. The manual says it ships out with RUBY el34's and 12ax7's.

Just wondering what my options of tone is. Will a differnt brand of those tube types give me anything better sounding as far as more gain, or more low end, more sparkle or whatever?

thanks
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I prefer the JJ's for my power and sovtek for my 12ax7.Thats how my amp came from rivera,and I bought it cause I liked it.
I've heard the same rig you use live,and it is definitly a monster.Just stay clear of the Goove tube shit and you should be O.K.
 
There's a decent tube forum over at the Boogie Board (in my sig.)....
 
Old RCA's are nice and last a long time. I don't know why the older tubes sound better. Maybe they used better materials then.
 
c7sus said:
Stay away from the Chinese Groove Tube stuff. It ain't worth shit.

In fact, I'd like to get my $100 back that I sunk into those shitty tubes. 2 out of 5 were microphonic right out of the box and the other three didn't last 2 months.

Suck on that, Aspen Pittman. Price-gouging shit dealer.

The new Tung-Sols are good, and of course NOS JAN/Philips rules Fender tones.
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Did they use to make groove tubes in the U.S.? The carvin I have has groove tubes in it, and that's what they shipped with back in 92'.
 
capnkid said:
Did they use to make groove tubes in the U.S.? The carvin I have has groove tubes in it, and that's what they shipped with back in 92'.
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GT doesn't make tubes; they buy tubes in bulk from a manufacturer and screen and rebrand them.
 
The tube thats in the first stage of the preamp is the one that most affects the tone of the amp. It's the one that's closest to the guitar. Power output tubes can also make a pretty dramatic difference, but usually only when driven real hard. For the preamp I like the cryo treated Electro Harmonics for new, but I prefer a nice vintage tube. I love 'dem telefunkens. I've had good luck with JJ power tubes.
 
ggunn said:
GT doesn't make tubes; they buy tubes in bulk from a manufacturer and screen and rebrand them.
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You might wanna double check that. ;) That hasn't been completely true for over a year or two.
 
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I have two tube amps an use EH (power) and GT(pre) in both. no problems between yearly changes...and I like the sound.
 
c7sus said:
Stay away from the Chinese Groove Tube stuff. It ain't worth shit.

In fact, I'd like to get my $100 back that I sunk into those shitty tubes. 2 out of 5 were microphonic right out of the box and the other three didn't last 2 months.

Suck on that, Aspen Pittman. Price-gouging shit dealer.

The new Tung-Sols are good, and of course NOS JAN/Philips rules Fender tones.
Click to expand...

My brother just bought a Fender Vibrolux and it came loaded with Groove Tubes.

Sounds great.
 
Outlaws said:
You might wanna double check that. ;) That hasn't been completely true for over a year or two.
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You are correct, sir, though apparently it's been more like 5 years. From their website:

"Groove Tubes bought it’s [sic] present building in August of 2000. The new GT home has close to 12,000 feet of office, lab, and manufacturing space and is located in the small town of San Fernando, California. The new building has allowed expansion into actual tube production, and Aspen was blessed to be able to acquire the entire production line from the old G.E. company upon it’s closing. This line will produce the original GE 6L6 and 6CA7 power tubes to the original specs and sound. Actually, at NAMM 2002 in Anaheim GT proudly introduced the first effort from this adventure, showing the new GT6L6-GE to rave reviews...it was generally confirmed this new GT tube is the exact equal of the famous 6L6. Jimi Hendrix recorded may of his hits with this tube in his Fender Twin Reverb."
 
You have 3 choices:

Sovtek

Svetlana

Chinese


Every (new) tube is one of these three rebranded...... dont kid yourself. The rest is marketing hype. Your first piece of wisdom is to avoid the chinese tubes.....

After that you are pretty much left with JJ, ElectroHarmonix, Sovtek, and Winged C......and I'm not 100% sure about the JJ's, although I'm fairly sure they are made by Tesla and are Russian?? But there are many articles claiming that Tesla and JJ are two different animals! I was led to believe that the EHX are actually Sovteks, and the Winged C's are actually Svetlanas. I'm not convinced anybody in this town knows the whole truth.

GT's are chinese, and I'm pretty sure Ruby's are also.....

Rule of thumb: Buy Russian tubes.

If you can afford NOS RCA or Sylvania, THEN you will start hearing audible differences that make your hair bristle.....nothing sounds quite like a good old fashioned USA made vacuum tube.
 
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