12ax7's

anchorhold · Post by **anchorhold** » Thu Jul 01, 2004 7:17 am

I'm going to re-tube my preamp. Up to this point it's been using stock mesa boogie tubes (which I think are just Chinese that are relabeled). I'm thinking about switching it up this time around and using either Electro-Harmonix 12ax7's or the Sovtek 12ax7LPS. Anyone have positive or negative experience with these?

lawton · Post by **lawton** » Thu Jul 01, 2004 1:13 pm

Hey. I've used the EH 12ax7s, and found them to be pretty nice. Alot of people seem to feel that they're the nicest all around current-production 12ax7 available. I put some in my Mesa Studio 22+ (v2 and v3) and the amp responded with a smoother tone.

rkbsound · Post by **rkbsound** » Fri Jul 02, 2004 2:58 am

I replaced a Sovtek with an EH in my little Vox Cambridge 15. It's hard for me to tell the difference, but I am happy the way the amp sounds.

anchorhold · Post by **anchorhold** » Fri Jul 02, 2004 5:15 am

Thanks guys. I called tubestore.com and they recommended the EH 12ax7s. They said they perform especially well in Mesa Pre's according to his customer feedback.

They also said that the Sovtek 12ax7lps and the JJ/Telsa 12ax7 are warmer sounding tubes, but the EH is better overall. So I went with the EH.

profjeff · Post by **profjeff** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 7:55 pm

Good choice. I bought a set of these for my AC-15 along with JJ/Tesla EL 84's. One of the Tesla's was bad, so I emailed thetubestore.com. They asked for my "perfect pair number" (no, it wasn't 36D) and mailed me a replacement the same day. I did not even need to return the bad valve. I am going to continue to do business with these folks! Hooray for Canada! (I think they are from Canada, eh?).

admin · Post by **admin** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 10:56 pm

The Tubestore is an outstanding resource for tubes with an excellent customer service department.