Pre-amp tube comparisons

[Charly (Cheebatone)]

Collector's item - Serious question!

I thought I'd sussed-out the pre-amp tube field - 12AX7 (lots of gain and vol), 12AY7 (much less gain, roughly same vol), 12AT7 (half gain, half vol), etc, etc... But then I read about the EF86 (gain monster) tube and it's got me thinking; How many other types are available?

Please let me know about your experiences with uncommon pre-amp tubes.

Many thanks.

[johnreardon]

First thing you need Charly is to understand that they are 'Valves' not 'Toobs'.


Steve has a brief guide to the most common ones



http://www.stevesamps.co.uk/?page_id=281


https://www.watfordvalves.com/pdfs/t...2ax7_ecc83.pdf

[Charly (Cheebatone)]

They're "tubes" every bit as much as they're "valves", John!

Thanks for the links though. I'll follow them up...

[johnreardon]

They're "tubes" every bit as much as they're "valves", John!

Thanks for the links though. I'll follow them up...

Not for me. I am British and the colonials should respect and speak English not manufacture their own version of almost every word

[redmax61]

There are dozens of tubes (valves) that fit the 12A*7 form factor. ECC99 is one of my current favorites. Some of them have a high gain stage and a low gain stage for RF applications. Try this for size . . .

Duncan's Amp Tools

Sorry if I just made your head explode, Charly.

[johnreardon]

Charly

there's a 4 page article on 'How preamp valves work' in this month's (October 2016) Guitar & Bass mag. Haven't read it yet but the writer Huw Price is usually quite good

[Charly (Cheebatone)]

Thank you Robin! (and John!)