I've re-evaluated my opinion of JJ preamp tubes, and... GilmourD rules!

[cvogue]

So I posted a while back about preamp tubes to tame the raspiness of my Blackstar HT-40. GilmourD suggested a JJ ECC83S so while I was ordering another EH 12AX7 I ordered a JJ as well just to see.

My only other experience with JJ preamp tubes was in my old Peavey Classic 50... hated them. Muddy crap. I've heard a lot of love for them though so I gave it a shot.

Wow, put it in V1 and it sounds great! It actually brightens things up a bit (which I wanted) and has a really nice bite to it as well and plenty of gain. It will stay.

As I've discussed before in other threads on here different components (tubes, speakers etc...) can sound really different in different amps.

Kudos and thanks to GilmourD for his suggestion. cvogue is well pleased.

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

I bought a set of matched JJ 6v6s for my new Musicmaster and it sounds great.

 

[GilmourD]

De nada.

There are so many different tubes out there and so many different amps. What works in one may be shit in another, but from what you were saying the 83S sounded like the perfect solution.

 

[cvogue]

I bought a set of matched JJ 6v6s for my new Musicmaster and it sounds great.

I do have to say that I had JJ EL84's in my old Peavey and they sounded great... just couldn't stand the JJ preamp tubes (in that amp anyway)

 

[xStonr]

JJ power tubes I like. Their pre-amp tubes not so much.

 

[jp_nyc]

I think the JJ tubes are a nicely balanced option. Try a tube that has a little less gain and it’s too dark. Try a tube that’s a little smoother and the volume jumps 3dB if you breathe on the knob. Try a brighter tube and it will distort too quickly. The JJ Tubes are like Ibanez pickups: they might not nail any one sound, but they’re great for a lot of different sounds.

 

[GilmourD]

JJ power tubes I like. Their pre-amp tubes not so much.

The ECC803S (that's eight-ZERO-three) is divine.

 

[wagdog]

I use jj el84s in my Mesa express 5:25. I get them from eurotubes and ask for the coldest running set they have - they sound great.

When it comes time to replace the preamp tubes, I'll get jjs as well from the same place. When I owned a hot rod deluxe I got a complete retube set from eurotubes and the difference was like night and day.

 

[Lerxst]

Funny, the last two EH 12ax7 tubes I bought were aweful, especially in V1 on the amps I tried them in.
I haven't tried the JJ ECC803S but I have used plenty of the ECC83S preamp tubes and they have been a solid performer. Same is true of their 6V6 & 6L6GC.

 

[xStonr]

The ECC803S (that's eight-ZERO-three) is divine.

Divine?

 

[GilmourD]

Divine?

A little rounder in the mids.

It's a long-plate tube so it doesn't work well in combos where it would hang upside down behind the speakers but it works beautifully in Marshall-type configurations.