Have the new tung sol 12AX7's been de-bugged?

[iknowjohnny]

I bought six of them over time and of the six, four of them hummed badly. (no, not used in CF slots) Has anyone bought them lately and is this still an issue?

[Structo]

No but I have been meaning to try some
How long ago did you buy yours?

[neon333]

i've never had any issues with my ts re-issues even in the CF position of an 18watt tmb.

[dynaman]

The one I had worked OK but it was a fat bastard and I had to gently open up the top of a tube's shield base to get it to fit. My tool slipped and I wound cutting my finger deeper than I care to remember.

[iknowjohnny]

No but I have been meaning to try some
How long ago did you buy yours?

About a year or year and 1/2 thereabouts. Fav preamp tube i ever used, but the one i had left fell and broke. I suppose i should just buy a few and hope one works.

[JamesHealey]

I've had 9 of these in the past twelve months. All now stopped working or hum real bad!

They sound great but don't last!

[boldaslove6789]

Its a shame, when these new Tung sol's are good they sound great IMO. They die like fly's though. If they could debug them they'd be my 1st pick of new production AX7's every time . I've switched to using new production Mullard 12ax7's (which are new sensor I think).They're super consistent and they sound great.

[Richie]

For current tubes, try the new Svetlana 12ax7. These are nothing like the first ones they made years ago. I've had really good luck with them,and they sound good too. And cost is about the same as any others of current made tubes.

[Super_Reverb]

Thanks for the info on Tung-Sol 12ax7s. I guess I have been lucky. The four that I bought are still working with 150-200 hrs on them. Based on y'all's input, I'll give the reissue mullards a try.

cheers,

rob

[Firestorm]

12AX7s labelled Tung Sol, Mullard, Svetlana, Gold Lion, Electro Harmonix and Sovtek are all made by New Sensor at Reflektor in Saratov. Most share the same plates, but are supposed to have different topology and (maybe) cathode chemistry. (Although, since they can't seem to put the same size pins on two in a row, I've often wondered if they don't just test each new batch before deciding what label to silkscreen on them. ).

Considering the rash of positive reviews AND negative experiences, it might make sense to bite the bullet and pay the upcharge to buy them from Lord Valve or someone else who screens them and will take them back. And no, I don't have any relationship to Mr. Whitaker.

[iknowjohnny]

The new russian mullards are what i've been using, but i have 3 and they all hum ! they sound great, albeit very different from the bright tung sols. the mullards are dark. But both sound great in thier own way. The hum in the bad tung sols i got was intolerable. The hum in the mullards is tolerable if you just use one, which i find is best anyways because more than that and it gets too dark. i find a mullard in V1 works real well to give it a smooth right slightly dark tone. then i use brighter tubes in V2 and 3. I thing the mullards would work really well with a tung sol in V2 or 3 or both. But with the unreliable state of the tung sols i guess i will have to pass. either that or buy 5, send back the hummers till i have 5 good ones and replace them as they die and hope i get one that holds up. Pretty pathetic, but i DO feel they are the best AX7 i have ever used. You gotta wonder why they haven't fixed them. I figure they aren't fixable w/o ruining the tone that makes them desirable in the first place. Why else would they leave them like that?

[selloutrr]

The new Tung-sol Power tubes seem to work fine, or at least as longer then Chinese tubes. I stopped using the preamp tubes all together. I placed an order last year for (30) 12AX7's. 4 of them were able to be used, a couple tested lower then the spec., most where microphonic, or tonally just fizzy and bad. I sent all of the tubes back. Paid restocking fee's and return shipping. I'm in NO hurry to try them again!

Which plant are the preamp tubes produced?
Does the same plant also make the Power tubes?

[Firestorm]

Same factory for everything I think, but presumably different teams. Huge place. Former government site. Their "utilities" include massive amounts of power, plus pipelines for arcane gasses and liquids.

[iknowjohnny]

yeah, the EL34's are fine. I prefer SED's and EH tonally, but they tung sol 34's work perfectly and no issues at all. Just those dang AX7's. Wouldn't you know they have to sound so darn good !