Generallux gold pins???

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Fastforded

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OK so im listening to a jcm800 amp and it sounded like it had way more gain than my old jcm900.

i asked the guy if it was modded.. he said "nah, I swapped in "General lux (or generallux?) gold pin tubes" he had laying around.. He changed the 4 tubes in the pre-amp stage.

i asked him 3 times what the name of the tubes were and all 3 times he said "General lux gold pins" think he was pretty drunk at 10 am in the music store wailing away to ACDC :)

wow that amp sounded really bad @ss. I wanted to try those tubes in my Mesa amp if I can find them. this amp sounded that good.

i was thinking maybe it was modded, but he said he bought it new, and he didn't want to mod it..

any one ever heard of anything similar? i was thinking maybe he was trying to say general electric? deluxe tubes? with gold pins?

any clues anyone?

thanks
 
mesaboogie6L6 said:
Genelex/Gold lion

Yep thinking that's them... So anyone know anything good or bad?

Getting a set of factory ones (as close or oem)
And then a set of extras to try and see how the tone changes...

Previously I would just use replacements without thought so I wanted to try and experiment...

These things sounded really crunchy to my ear but was it the amp? Or was it
Just because we were in a sound room that they sounded sweet?

I have a mark 3 combo and it has

Shipped with 

Outside pair: 2 valve art EL34 OJ made in china

Inside Pair: 2 sovtek 5881wxt
Made in Russia 09/06

So this would be my baseline for now...


Is this just tube hype or do the tubes make a difference?
And that big of a difference? I swear tht jcm800 was way crunchier
Than my old jcm900...

That much extra crunch Just from a tube change is kinda hard to believe??
 
I read in another thread that Marshall amps have a much heavier influence in tone from the tubes than Boogies do. It's got something to do with the way the inputs are wired, I believe. I'm no expert, just relaying something I'm pretty sure I read. That being said, the tubes may not influence your sound as much as it might in that Marshall. Have fun rolling those if you get them though! Sounds interesting.
 
OamrG said:
I read in another thread that Marshall amps have a much heavier influence in tone from the tubes than Boogies do. It's got something to do with the way the inputs are wired, I believe. I'm no expert, just relaying something I'm pretty sure I read. That being said, the tubes may not influence your sound as much as it might in that Marshall. Have fun rolling those if you get them though! Sounds interesting.

Interesting. Thanks for the info... I'll keep that in mind.. Haven't really decided yet what kind to get..
 
Fastforded said:
I read in another thread that Marshall amps have a much heavier influence in tone from the tubes than Boogies do. It's got something to do with the way the inputs are wired, I believe. I'm no expert, just relaying something I'm pretty sure I read. That being said, the tubes may not influence your sound as much as it might in that Marshall. Have fun rolling those if you get them though! Sounds interesting.

I have both a Marshall and a Mesa and they were both affected pretty equally by preamp tube changes. But anyway, saying one brand of amp responds different to tube changes than another is a wild generalization.

Either way - Genelex=overpriced, gold pins=not worth the money either, IMO.
 
Something that many people might not realize, is that the gold pins are not the only difference on those tubes. The gold pins are used for special tubes, whether they are higher gain, or very low noise, or something else special about them. :idea:

Some Genalex Gold Lion are made in Russia, some are made in China. Hard to say what the guy meant, simply "Gold Lion", or "Gold pin", or maybe both? In any event, there is no such thing as "Generalux Gold Pins".
 
I have both a Marshall and a Mesa and they were both affected pretty equally by preamp tube changes. But anyway, saying one brand of amp responds different to tube changes than another is a wild generalization.

Either way - Genelex=overpriced, gold pins=not worth the money either, IMO.

I was talking about the power tubes though. Not the pre-amp tubes. I was under the impression the input in Marshalls went through the power tubes before the tone controls, whereas the input in Boogies went through the tonal controls before the power tubes. This was the basis of the "Marshall's are more influenced in tone by the power tubes than are Boogies" thing. Again, something I thought I read in another thread.
 
OamrG said:
I was under the impression the input in Marshalls went through the power tubes before the tone controls, whereas the input in Boogies went through the tonal controls before the power tubes.

You can't route the input gain stage and tone controls before the power section, because they're part of the preamp. Make sense?

What you probably meant is that typically, Mesas have a pre-gain tone stack, while Marshalls have a post-gain tone stack. It's just two different approaches to shaping tone, it has little to do with how preamp tubes affect tone - in both cases, the tubes amplify signal and/or distort it.
 
I like Genalex Gold Lion preamp tubes. IMHO, they are the absolute best non-NOS preamp tube that you can buy. They are pricey, but I've had success using them for cleans and for distorted stuff.

I've only used their gold pin versions though. I don't know how the ones with "standard pins" work.
 
Jackie said:
OamrG said:
I was under the impression the input in Marshalls went through the power tubes before the tone controls, whereas the input in Boogies went through the tonal controls before the power tubes.

You can't route the input gain stage and tone controls before the power section, because they're part of the preamp. Make sense?

What you probably meant is that typically, Mesas have a pre-gain tone stack, while Marshalls have a post-gain tone stack. It's just two different approaches to shaping tone, it has little to do with how preamp tubes affect tone - in both cases, the tubes amplify signal and/or distort it.

I realized afterward that the Genalex were preamp tubes anyway, so I whiffed it there from the get go. But yeah that makes more sense than what I said haha.
 
Somewhere I have seen the odd name Genelux, usually it is misspelled Genelex. I have come across this name on Ebay once in a while. Even the Chinese can spell it correctly if they can copy the tube. There are Gold Dragon tubes similar to Gold lion, but Generallux is more than likely a mental issue.

I have a matched quad of the Gold Lion KT77 and they kick *** in the Mark V. Not as much as a beast in the RA100 where the EL34's seem to provide best overall tone. Have not tried the Genelex 12ax7 Gold pin, just could not justify $43.00 for a tube that looks like the Mullard reissue or the Sovtek LPS tube. I have found that the Long plate tubes do not do so well unless it is used for PI or current driver circuit. Long plate tubes tend to be mechanically noisy especially in the gain stages. If you hear any tube rattle while playing, and if you have an LPS preamp tube, it may be that tube making the noise and not the power tube, especially if the noise was not there before. All of the three Mullard re-issues I bought are noisy in that regard. So are all of the Sovtek LPS tubes (I rolled them in V1 just for S & G) just changing channel with no guitar input and you can hear the rattle and sometimes oscillation of the internals (typically short lived but could lead to feedback depending on gain). Despite their mechanical issues they work best as PI tube even if they are noisy elsewhere they are quiet when used as a current driver.) Mesa (JJ) tubes are not immune to noise either. I have a few that rattle and sound more like a broken light bulb due to the stamped halo getter. (these were used in the driver circuits in my Mark V). They did not sound all that great anywhere else.

I have some experience with Tung Sol Gold 12ax7 compared to the standard 12AX7, not the same tube by any means as the characteristic is quite different between the two. The Tung Sol Gold pin 12ax7 is a bit more mellow in tone and gain character than the standard TS 12ax7. I was not satisfied with it in my mark series amps but worked okay in the RA100 V4 (primary for the clean channel). I found a home for it in my Carvin amp. As for Mesa, I am currently running all Mesa preamp tubes except for PI which is either Sovtek LPS or Mullard.
 
OamrG said:
Jackie said:
OamrG said:
I was under the impression the input in Marshalls went through the power tubes before the tone controls, whereas the input in Boogies went through the tonal controls before the power tubes.

You can't route the input gain stage and tone controls before the power section, because they're part of the preamp. Make sense?

What you probably meant is that typically, Mesas have a pre-gain tone stack, while Marshalls have a post-gain tone stack. It's just two different approaches to shaping tone, it has little to do with how preamp tubes affect tone - in both cases, the tubes amplify signal and/or distort it.

I realized afterward that the Genalex were preamp tubes anyway, so I whiffed it there from the get go. But yeah that makes more sense than what I said haha.

Only the Mark series have pre and post tone controls (via the 5 band eq). Just thought I would add my dollar to the jar.
 
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