Its function is to equalize pressure across the tympanic membrane. This topic could apply to other areas, but for me mostly applies to guitar amps.The eustachian tube is the communication between the middle ear and the nasopharynx. JJ Tubes delivers an excellent quality sound with clear and smooth, clean tones with well defined, sparkling fat and high-end bass.I'm curious if some of you that have experience with tubes over the years can chime in on what is really behind the current name-brands for vacuum tubes. These tubes are durable and perfect for players who are not always gentle with their guitar. JJ Electronics is known for the power tubes and can be used for heavy use due to its high plate voltage up to 475 Volts.Are they all made in the same factories (New Sensor Corp) to different specs? Is there really any difference between the names imprinted on the glass?I have recently purchased tubes from Mesa, JJ, Sovtek, Tung-Sol. Mullard, Svetlana, Tung-Sol, Sovtek, JJ, etc.Some of our amp vendors and others, even re-brand the tubes as their own: Mesa/Boogie, Bugera, Groove Tubes, etc.My question is: Are any of these tubes actually replicas or close to replicas from the past. Porter had all the makings of another proud US Navy ship when it arrived during World. The drain helps to reduce the risk of infection and seroma (a build up ofSo currently, there are tubes available with different brand-names, some revitalizing the glory-days of the past:The US Navy's unluckiest ship almost killed a president, and things only got worse from there. The drain is designed to collect serosanguineous fluid by way of suction. Serous fluid and blood mixed together is called serosanguineous fluid.
The ones in my AC15 actually sound great and Ill probably just replace em with those when they go.As already said, Mesa's (just like Groove Tubes and Ruby) are just rebranded tubes from the New Sensor factory (or theyre using JJ's now apparently?). They were top notch, and Im gonna be sad when I have to replace the pair in my JCM800 because they are already shooting up in price pretty ridiculously.Shugang's are made in china, and are actually what the majority of new amps today are designed around. Electro Harmonix actually owns all of those names I believe so theyre all basically EHX tubes.JJ's are made in Slovakia, not sure if its still the old Tesla factory or not.The REAL Svetlana, aka SED stopped making tubes a couple years ago. Basically the same tubes with a different label slapped on em for whoever's paying for the name. The best vintage tubes were made in the USA (GE, RCA, Philips, Sylvania, etc), UK (Mullard, Brimar,etc), and Western Europe (Mazda, Marconi, Telefunken, RFT, etc).Mullard/Tung Sol/Svetlana/Sovtek/Electro Harmonix are all made by New Sensor. I like the new Mullard reissue 12ax7's for some things, but they have absolutely nothing to do with the old ones.There are some good new tubes out there these days. Any similarity is at most one of design, and not actual performance. Are they all made in the same factories (New Sensor Corp) to different specs? Is there really any difference between the names imprinted on the glass?No, they're not really replicas. Back in the day, if you wanted more power or fidelity, you'd just build a 6L6 amp instead. It's not surprising, as the 6V6 was always built for budget applications in the first place. In generaly, old 6V6's are mud in comparison to anything new. They've been redesigned to take the high plate voltages that guitar amps tend to put on them, which used to eat the old 6V6's alive. I like the Tung-Sol 6V6's better than most old 6V6's I've used, and I've used everything. Mesa has always selected and rebranded their tubes. It's interesting that someone said Mesa tubes are rebranded JJ's, because Mesa still sells great tubes. I really have no idea why some people think they're great, or even good. The Groove Tubes Black Plate GT-6L6-CHP's are also very good tubes.OTOH, I've never played a JJ that I thought was anything but dead and lifeless. ![]() I've tried tons of tubes in it, and that one happened to be good there - even beating out some old Mullards, GE's, Sylvanias, Phillips, and whatever else I pulled from my shoebox of tubes. One day, I stuck it in my ZenDrive 2, and it was a great solution. I had a GT silver 12ax7 that sounded like crap in everything. Man, I wish I had kept all the old ones, tubes were so cheap we would do it once a year or so, and I bet most of the replaced tubes were fine.However, I did a couple tests recently and was kind of surprised on what I found.I have couple RCA short plates, various new ones, a few other old ones.Now, my recording computer is down right now, so this is from memory.Here is what I did. I remember in the 70s, we used to go down to this old electronics store, you could retube a twin for like 20-30 bucks with GE tubes. However, as I pointed out, sometimes a new tube, even one that's generally not great, will work out well in a particular application.First, I want to say I LOVE old tubes. I'm more likely to go NOS on a preamp tube, as they last forever. As great as some of the old power tubes sound, they're just too expensive. As in, I've never had a NOS fail, or even age perceptibly, ever, and I have had new rectifiers fail.When I find a set of new manufacture power tubes that are good, I tend to stick with them. It was really hard to hear, Or see any difference. And looked at it with span and other tools.In listening, I would loop a single lick, and switch back and forth, sometimes even within the lick, to see if I could hear any difference.What I heard and what I saw was interesting -The RCA and Tung Sol reissue were almost identical. The amp was on 666, which is gigging volume for the DR for me.I listened (grado headphones). I then ran it through a SFDR and recorded with a ribbon mic. But - listening from the other room to it live, to it recorded and looking at the recording, even zooming it, It was very surprising that this was so little difference.I also did power amp tubes a while back, 6v6s. I think I could hear a little bit in some them, I especially did not like the JJs, they seemed to be missing something in the high end.Not a perfect test, there is the mic and pre to deal with (the pre is a LA-610 - which I replace the first tube, a JJ, with an RCA a while back and thought that made a Big dif). I honestly didn't hear a huge dif. I don't remember exactly how.They all sounded good, and since I was recording at full volume, I would go stand in the other room. These I remember Very well, as I went over and over them, since I expected some bigger difference.A NOS GE and Jan Phillips were a little darker. Someday.So, as much as I love NOS tubes, I am wondering if that is what I will be doing in the future. I have a Mullard in there now, and from my just playing it, I certainly like what I hear, but I haven't done a "scientific" test on that yet. I tried some others, Jan Phillips, and such, too, though I don't remember all the results of those, and as I said, the computer is down, so I can't check.I do plan to do a PI tube test. The RCA has a little bit more "air". Real fake 4k terminatorLike old classic effects, take the mythical Univibe, just because you find an old one still working it has to be a grail pedal right? So wrong, back in the day no two of them sounded the same and few were really great sounding. In the golden age of "all things better better than they are now", there was little if any quality control on components and devices and hardly any two things came out the same. Making tubes in old days was not rocket science and some new versions are superior in design and microphonics, noise. Tube manufacturing is old tech and we simply have lost all our manufacturing ability, so it falls to the lower tech countries. However, I am wondering if it makes all that much dif.So much yada about tubes from NOS overpriced lore to outright nonsense.I find these ratings to be solid. True, a lot of "brands" are just relabeling.Tung Sol very good, Mullard reissue, etc.I have used several of the upper listed and I find their assessment to be more dealing with reality than the usual hype and lore of the lost golden age. If you want to pay a fortune for old NOS rare tubes, be my guest, they get worn and bad like the rest.One hears stuff about "JJ" all the time but one of the more poorly rated (see bottom of chart). We lost 90% of our manufacturing ability thanks to selling us out so we have to make the best of what is out there and rate it accordingly. Gold Lion, very good.Nice vendor and source thetubestore. Russia makes a better tube. Worse 12AX7, Chinese for my view a lot of pedal and amp makers buy gross of the cheapest Chinese bulk they can get. Best I have used 7025s, 2nd Tung Sol, didn't care as much for the Mullard 12AX7, but loved their power tubes. If you run them at high plate voltage and gained up they wear. Never had a set I didn't feel needed changed out at least one a year.
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