what 12AX7 for rectoverb?

Hi boogie owners,

I've read every post I could on this forum and still couldn't find the answer to my question. This is my very first post on this forum so... hello to everyone

I need to replace my pre-amp tubes in my rectoverb.
I play heavy metal and what I need is plenty of gain.

What kind of 12AX7's would you recommend?
I'd use them with Mesa 6L6 STR440.

I heard that ECC83s JJ are a good solution, but if you don't mind please write what you know.

Thanks.

Welcome to The Board.

IME a full set of JJ's will darken the tone of the amp.

A great tube to try in the V1 position is the Tung-Sol reissue. It's a nice clear sounding tube with good gain qualities. The Electro Harmonix is also good in this position.

In V2 you can try a JJ or an EH. Another Tung-Sol RI may start to thin out the tone when following one in V1.

V3 is a "cathode follower" position ( read more here: http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=25102&start=19). Any Russian (read: Sovtek) tube here is likely to fail or cause intermittent problems. Stay away from the Tung-Sol Reissue, EH, and Sovtek branded tubes. Use a Penta/Shuguang (chinese) or JJ and you should be fine.

V4 is the FX Loop buffer and also the second cathode follower position in the amp and the same rules apply as V3.

V5 is the Phase Inverter and will effect the "feel" and clarity of the amp. A great tube here is the Sovtek LPS. The EH and JJ will also work well here.

Tube selection is really a matter of personal taste, what works for some may not work well for others. The Doug's Tubes "Metal" preamp tone kit is a great choice containing most of the tubes I mention above.

I'm sure other will chime in here as well.

Hope this helps,
Dom

domct203 said:

Welcome to The Board.

Click to expand...

Thank you.

IME a full set of JJ's will darken the tone of the amp.

A great tube to try in the V1 position is the Tung-Sol reissue. It's a nice clear sounding tube with good gain qualities. The Electro Harmonix is also good in this position.

In V2 you can try a JJ or an EH. Another Tung-Sol RI may start to thin out the tone when following one in V1.

V3 is a "cathode follower" position ( read more here: http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=25102&start=19). Any Russian (read: Sovtek) tube here is likely to fail or cause intermittent problems. Stay away from the Tung-Sol Reissue, EH, and Sovtek branded tubes. Use a Penta/Shuguang (chinese) or JJ and you should be fine.

V4 is the FX Loop buffer and also the second cathode follower position in the amp and the same rules apply as V3.

V5 is the Phase Inverter and will effect the "feel" and clarity of the amp. A great tube here is the Sovtek LPS. The EH and JJ will also work well here.

Click to expand...

I understand you have some wide knowledge about the position of the tube in a rectoverb. Could you tell me which position is which when looking at back of the amp? I have the second version.

Tube selection is really a matter of personal taste, what works for some may not work well for others. The Doug's Tubes "Metal" preamp tone kit is a great choice containing most of the tubes I mention above.

Click to expand...

Right now I have all used up tubes named Ruby 12AX7AC5 HG in all positions (at least I think they're used up - very little gain, a sound is kinda flat and has no harmonics in it).

I'm sure other will chime in here as well.

Click to expand...

I'd appreciate all the opinions and suggestions.

Thank you.
Pawel.

From page 16 of the manual:



This shows position and explains each tube's function.

Dom

Thank you for fast reply.

I have a combo and I guess all the tubes position may be reversed casuse when I look at the back I can see on the left hand side two tubes than this grey big thingy in the middle (which is actually black) and then 3 tubes on the right. So assuming that a head and a combo are almost the same in construction, it must be it.
If I'm wrong please correct me. And sorry for being lame in naming stuff, but I don't know pretty much anything about the construction of the amplifiers.
If anyone else has some suggestions what tubes to buy for a rectoverb I'd be glad to read them.

Thanks,
Pawel.

Combos are usually mirrored because the circuitry and tubes and whatnot are upside-down.