Re: Tung Sol 12ax7's---post gig review!
- From: Lord Valve <detritus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2005 16:33:28 GMT
How *dare* you like anything I recommended you buy?
BAD lefty! Bad! Bad! ;-)
Next up: Some lawyer with a tube tester will tell you
that you can't possibly be hearing what you heard,
used-up Mullards will sound way better, etc.
I can't wait. ;-)
Lord Valve
Glass Hustler
Mike Pritchard wrote:
> I've finally had time to test and evaluate the pair of Tung
> Sol 12ax7's I recently purchased from LV. I've played
> around with my amp at home, and then gigged with it on Friday.
>
> I'll say this, right off----holy COW! These tubes ROCK!
>
> Here are the details, for anyone interested...
>
> My rig consists of a Soldano Atomic 16 (tube head--3 12ax7's
> and 2 "JJ" brand EL-84's), running into a Sonic vertical 2 x
> 12 cab, loaded with Celestions (G12-L70 on bottom and a
> Sidewinder on top).
>
> I play an old (well...25+ years) Gibson Flying V and Fender
> American Standard Strat. The only effect I use is an MXR 10
> band EQ (for lead/soloing).
>
> My musical style is classic/hard rock and the tones I'm
> looking for are powerful and crunchy. For lead/solo, I like
> high gain, with nice attack and an edge.
>
> I replaced the v1 & v2 tubes with the Tung Sols (I've been
> using JJ's). I left the JJ/Tesla 12ax7 in the v3 socket.
> The EL-84's are biased a little on the hot side, set at
> about 16-17 watts (pair/idle).
>
> No other changes were made to my rig.
>
> Testing at home revealed the Tung Sols have a smoother
> midrange response, at least compared to the JJ's I've been
> using. The JJ's seem to have a fairly narrow upper-mid
> peak. This is not a bad thing, and in fact, I liked the way
> they responded to my lead/solos. Smooth and "in your face."
>
> The Tung Sols do not have this peak. In fact, I found that
> I wanted to boost my mid control from 5.5, where I'd been
> running it. I settled on 7. (for those not familiar with
> soldano amps, all controls go to "11" and the EQ sections
> are very effective...even small adjustments can make a huge
> difference.)
>
> Using the mid control to get the mids to what I like works
> better, overall, too. It's a wider range of frequencies,
> rather than the narrow "peak" provided by the JJ's. The amp
> really jumped to life and "barked" with real authority!!
>
> Also, the Tung Sols have more gain than the JJ's. I was a
> little surprised by this....as I was impressed by the gain
> of the JJ's, when I first began using them! I ended up
> reducing my preamp gain setting from 9, down to 7 3/4.
>
> I also increased the presence from 5.5, to 6.5.
>
> Everything else stayed the same. Here's how I run things now:
>
> pre--7 3/4
> bass--8.5
> mid--7
> treble--5.5
> presence--6.5
> master--7.5 (average)
>
> The main difference I noticed, is that these tubes are thick
> and meaty sounding! My rhythms were powerful & rich, with
> excellent note definition. I was quite surprised by the
> difference, to be honest!! Powerful sustain was easy on
> both rhythm and leads. Chords played anywhere on the neck
> (including open) sounded *great.* No....that's not right.
> They sounded *incredible.*
>
> For example, we do Grand Funk's "We're An American Band."
> I'm sure most know that tune....on the chorus, I'd hit the D
> and just let it sing....then drop to the C, let that one
> sing...then the B flat and let it sing. Absolute solid
> *power*, almost as if I was using a compressor/sustainer.
>
> Yikes!!
>
> I liked my rig before, but I can honestly say, this is the
> best it's ever been!!!
>
> For my lead/solo stuff, the only change I made to the EQ
> pedal, is that I boosted 2.5k a little, just to give it a
> bit more of an edge. (I also use a boost at around 800 and
> 1k. Otherwise, it's flat.)
>
> My solos were cutting, smooth and again, note definition was
> excellent. Sustain was effortless. I really like the way
> these tubes "growl" when you play near the middle register
> of the neck. Nice!
>
> Both my Flying V and Strat sounded good. I did find myself
> backing the volume control down on the Strat, as the extra
> gain in these tubes was a bit much for some rhythm parts on
> the Strat. Solo tones were just fine, however. Very smooth
> and again, lots of sustain.
>
> To sum things up, I am *very* impressed with these tubes.
> Much more so, than I expected. I mean....I fully expected
> to notice a difference. But, I was not expecting to be so
> blown away!!
>
> Through the course of the gig, I was approached by *3* guys,
> all local players of varying levels. All 3 were impressed
> by my tone and talked to me about my rig. Not to sound
> cocky, but it is not unusual for me to have people comment
> on my tone at gigs....but, 3 in one night *is* unusual!
>
> The funny thing is....I was even more impressed by my tone,
> than they were! No....I didn't tell them that! (grin)
>
> So, if you are looking for a fresh "boost" to your tones,
> and in particular, if you like hard rock/high gain tones, I
> can't recommend this tube strongly enough!!
>
> I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor....
>
> Regards to all,
>
> Mike
.
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