Tubes ?

Richard Tipple · From: Ohio, USA

I am thinking of trying some NOS 12ax7,,RCA tubes in my Revelation & Was wondering ,,what ,if any, difference does the ,,Long Plate,,Short Plate,,Grey Plate,,Black Plate,,stuff mean.
Im just not all that up on tube Specs.

Thanks
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Godfrey Arthur · From: 3rd Rock

Tubes have been discussed on the forum. Do a search.
Basically what you would be doing is "tube rolling" trying different brands, types, vintages to see what you like best. In short it takes time and money if you're so inclined. The vintage tubes made during the 20th century are the best bet.

Hey homes, were you or were you not..tu-be, ese?

The plate designation meant something over time and came from trial and error tube rolling as years went by and way after tubes were not made anymore in America and Europe, unless a specific plate was assigned to a mil-spec tube which would mean it was supposed to be heavy-duty to withstand vibration and use but not necessarily make any circuit sound good off the bat.

Tube plate color when they were being made, they found that a black plate would operate cooler in circuits where a cooler tube was desired. They would carbonize the plate before assembling the tube. Many tubes were made of nickle alloy plates but WW2 cut into that and cheaper solutions were mandatory. As far as sound, it is subjective really and would need to be tested with your rig among the different plate types/colors. Tubes were made with available materials and profit without really focusing on "sound" per se. Tube affects on sound came long after tubes stopped being made.

Your particular gear, with your particular style of playing and your ears will weigh in on what any one tube you place in the 12AX7 position will sound like. Hence tube rolling is the go-to method of finding that grail tube.

I would start with a Telefunken 12AX7.

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Jordan Beyer · From: Ohio, USA

I was able to purchase a Raytheon tube. The Older ones that were made in the United states, and all I can say was it was the right one for what I wanted. Some others I tried, not so much. Try a few, as you can when you get the opportunity and have the money to. One day you'll find that right tube and if anything gappensvyou will have a few spares

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

There are articles in online guitar sites, magazine sites and on tube seller sites that provide all comparisons of tubes.

But some of your question involves older model types - not new tubes. So you would need to do a LOT of reading about both new and "NOS" (new old stock) tubes made in the 50's,60's and 70's - and new ones are almost all great; even many "pulls of old RCA, GE Mullard and others are superb.

But you need to decide if you just want to compare reasonably priced, new replacement tubes or LEARN about tubes - hue difference, and the latter involves not just th tubes - but how they function and how the circuits function.
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Len Amaral · From: Rehoboth,MA 02769

Brad Sarno mentioned Shunguang 12AX7B preamp tubes in another post. I ordered some of these tubes and they are price friendly and sound very good. I retubed my Duel Showman with these preamp and 6L6 power tubes. At my age, I wonâ€™t have to worry about retubing this againðŸ¤“

Mark Draycott · From: Princeton, Ontario, Canada

I really like the Genalex Gold Lion Premium.
They sound as good or better than NOS tubes. These are a bit pricey, but worth every penny for me.
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Bobby Nelson · From: North Carolina, USA

I just replaced a preamp tube in my Twin. My amp guy said that he really like the sound of the Chinese tubes the best. He said he didn't really see enough (if any) difference in tone to justify spending the $$ on new old tubes. I take his word because, in 30 or more years, I have never gotten an amp back from him that didn't sound great.

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