Damn Mullards

[gnugear]

Wow, they sound really good. I forgot that I had a quad sitting in an old Dynaco Tube amp that I got last summer. I popped them in along with a Bugle Boy in V1 and Mullards in V2/V3.

All the fizzy, high end garbage present in newer tubes is eliminated and replaced with a really robust midrange. Lots of punch. Damn, I wish the power tubes weren't so dang expensive.

I also got my new greenback loaded 72 cab and it sounds truly wonderful.

[LeftyStrat]

Yeah, I've yet to find a production tube that comes close to my stash of Mullards. However, I have found a production tube that matches the sound of my NOS Telefunkens. Not right for all amps, but the Teles sound great in V1 in amps where you're going for that high end chime. The JJ EC803 (long plate 12ax7) is so close to my Telefunkens that I couldn't pick one from the other.

As far as power tubes, I tend to stay with new production simply because it gets so expensive. Preamp tubes last forever compared to power tubes, so I don't mind blowing some cash for NOS preamp tubes. But I'm not going to pay $$$$ for something that will wear out in a year or two.

I can't wait to get my hands on a set of JJ KT77's. I've heard a lot of good stuff about them.

[Funkalicousgroove]

Just as an experiment i threw one of my Telefunken ECC83's into V1 of my Express and LOVED it!! I also tried the new Tung-sol, a GT12AX7M, and a short plate Mullard. Obvoiusly the Mullard sounded the best, but the difference was so small and the Tele sounded SO good I left it in.

[LeftyStrat]

Just as an experiment i threw one of my Telefunken ECC83's into V1 of my Express and LOVED it!! I also tried the new Tung-sol, a GT12AX7M, and a short plate Mullard. Obvoiusly the Mullard sounded the best, but the difference was so small and the Tele sounded SO good I left it in.

That's good to know. You should try one of the JJ ECC803's. In my JTM45 the JJ sounded almost identical to my Telefunkens in V1. Of course, I only have two NOS Telefunkens to compare it to, but it's close enough for my ears that I'll gladly pop $11 for it over any more Telefunkens.

The ECC803 is supposedly about 10% less gain than a regular 12ax7, and with the longer plate more susceptible to microphonics. But I love the chimey high end.

[gnugear]

What do you guys like best for current production power tubes. I don't care for the Svetlanas that much. I tried the JJEL34Ls briefly before I popped the Mullards in and they seemed better. I have a set of EH6CA7s that I need to try ... anyone try the regular EH EL34s?

[BluzMike]

Very unfortunately, nothing compares to real Mullards in my 60ies Marshalls. Siemens come second, but I never tried the old Teslas many people rave about.

The current production tubes do a good job, but never come close to the real things. I prefer JJ E34Ls due to their good tone, great stability and acceptable price tag.

Regarding preamp tubes (ECC83/12AX7), it is the same game again. After many tests I have to admit to prefer Mullards by large. Original Telefunkens can also sound great in some amps - but keep in mind that Telefunken also sold tubes produced by EI in Yugoslavia and other manufacturers, and the latter are definitely not up to the originals.

From current production I liked the EH12AX7 and Sovtek 12AX7 LPS (very similar) in blackface Fenders very much, but still have to try them in Marshalls. So far I chose JJ ECC83s for the metal panel lead Marshalls I sold and liked their slightly warming up character.

[Allynmey]

Hi all, I just tried one of those GT mullard re-issues in V1. I did notice a difference immediately. I will buy 2 more for V2 and V3 to check out. The wreck has been out of it's cabinet from before the camera cooled down taking final shots. I been trying a lot of tube combo's. The siemans sound the best NOS/NIB but one redplated I have some Winged "c" el34's in there now and they sound pretty good. I'm looking for some NOS Mullards( bend over!). The Mullard re-issues sound pretty good too but, thet are russians.

Allynmey

[Mark]

Dear Allynmey, BluzMike, gnugear, LeftyStrat, Funkalicousgroove

Good stuff, working out which of the new production valve work well with this amp.

As we all know, in a perfect world we'd buy NOS Mullards, but that's not going to be a real option for all that much longer.

I was experimenting with valves this week and I found the GT Mullard 12AX7 ri tube compared favourably to a GE 5751 I have, I was also comparing the GT 12AX7 tube to an RFT 12AX7 tube I bought from KCA sometime ago (and never used) the tube caused the amp to hum which was a real let down.

Thus I decided to stick with either the 5751 or the GT tube.

I know a lot of the guys at the 18 watt site say the EI 12AX7 sounds very close to the Mullard sound but can be microphonic, has anyone tried one of these tubes in their Express clone?

I should point out that I'm not dishing out flack to KCA, the tube was more than likely okay when he sent it, but it may have been damaged through post or something unforseen happened to it at my place. To be honest I don't know, but the point is if this had happened to a $90 NOS Mullard 12AX7, I'd be well and truely annoyed. New production for this reason is the way to go.

I'll look forward to hearing more about your findings.

[BluzMike]

Dear Mark,

As you refer to 18Watt: I have made several blindtests with my good buddy Wannatone for pre-amp and power tubes, caps and transformers in the 18W circuit, using both original/NOS parts and current production.

I am not as exited about the tone of current production EIs as some others, but this might be a question of personal taste. And even if you like their tone they are much too microphonic. BTW: Groove Tubes used to sell selected EIs which might still be found, maybe even cheaply as pulls.

I heard rumours that Dumble used JJ ECC83s in his late builds, whilst having used NOS Mullards and GEs earlier.

Cheers,
Michael

[Allynmey]

Update!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well boys, I've been testing boxes of el34's trying to find the perfect tube. I went on Ebay and found about a hundred matched Mullard NOS pairs for sale. While a lot of them went for between $100-200, I bid on about 20 sets for around $30-40 and thought maybe someone will be caught sleeping. they did! I won! I won 3 sets of Mullard matched pairs. One set was NOS, and two were tested new used. For less than $100.00 I got three matched sets of Mullards. (2) xf2 sets and one xf4 set. My God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I believe now! This thing sounds incredible. It's like getting extended hearing. Not only am I getting good clean sounds, the blooming harmonics are there and now fully compressed high lead notes. I tell you truthfully. I never was one to believe the hype. I didn't think layout mattered...I was wrong. I didn't think using only the original parts mattered...I was wrong. I also didn't think using only Mullards mattered...again, I was wrong! Surf Ebay...the deals on Mullards are there. Just don't do it until I buy another 10 sets!

Allynmey

[Noel Grassy]

How old are the prs you bought? I've seen the EH-Mullards going for $#)) a quad and these are f#%king new! Are yours the black or brown based ones? The EH-Mullards stsrted out as brown based and are only gonna be black from now on. I don't have any idea how much this affects tone,BTW.But I'm envious and it sounds like you scored mightily.

[robkeeler]

I just put in some NOS Mullard 12ax7s and NOS Siemens EL-34s in my Express clone. The difference this makes is amazing. I had some Tung Sol 12ax7s and SED Winged C EL-34s in before. I find those are the best current production tubes, but they don't hold a candle to the Mullard/Siemen tubes.

What has changed in terms of sound?
-Not as hissy - The Express has a lot of gain in it so some hiss is to be expected. I bet the hiss could be tamed by putting in a PPIV Master volume, but this would take away from the Express' "thing".
-The Treble is still there (no loss really) but it doesn't have that annoying buzzing quality.

If you can swing the money I'd really suggest investing in some really good tubes. I warn you though.........Once you hear what a good tube can do.....It's hard to go back to the regular stuff.

[Allynmey]

How old are the prs you bought? I've seen the EH-Mullards going for $#)) a quad and these are f#%king new! Are yours the black or brown based ones? The EH-Mullards stsrted out as brown based and are only gonna be black from now on. I don't have any idea how much this affects tone,BTW.But I'm envious and it sounds like you scored mightily.

Noel, these are not re-issues. I have some of those too. I pair is '60's two pairs are early'70's. I can check the production codes etched into the glass but in the time I spend looking up codes I could probably score another set or two on Ebay.

Allynmey

And yes, If you do use these tubes, it will be hard to go back!

[gnugear]

"bloom" is the perfect description. They're so much more 3-d than current production tubes.

[jelle]

Hi Guys,
I started believing in the xf 2's I had lying around when I put a new power trannie in my superlead 100w. This thing really started to breathe with 560 V on the screens! It's pretty loud though, I guess about 150 W...
The xf s's are in there for more than a year now. Which current production EL-34 can stand this voltage?

Jelle
The Netherlands