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What Tubes for amps

Posted by 3 Fingered Ape on August 24, 2013 at 7:29am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Ok I know this is an off the wall question but I gotta ask there is an estate sale going on this weekend and part of the estate is a BUNCH of old vac tubes still in the boxes I know nothing about tubes are there some numbers that I should look for? are tubes universal? Lots of tube radios also. The tubes are mostly GE if that helps. If I can figure this out by Sun. Also what is a good price to pay for tubes? I looked on E Bay and pricing was all over the map I'm not looking to get rich off them just thought maybe I could help out some fellow CBGers.

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Replies

  • 3 Fingered Ape August 25, 2013 at 4:56pm

    Well I went back to the estate sale and all the tubes were gone. I'll keep my eyes out and keep the list if it ever comes up again.

  • RTZGUITARS August 25, 2013 at 3:02am
    Preamp tubes you can make money on

     GE 12AX7WA: clean, dark sound.
    GE JAN 5751: 30% lower gain than a 12AX7, bright sound.
    RCA 12AX7A: hi gain, american fat sound, good for crunch
    RCA 7025: lower gain, very good for clean tones.
    RAYTEON 12AX7: lower gain, enhanced higher frequencies, great dynamics.
    MULLARD 12AX7/ECC83 modern/old logo:  hi gain, enhanced mid frequencies, suggested for british amps (beware of the price!).
    BRIMAR 12AX7: similiar to the Mullard, but slighly less gainy.
    TELEFUNKEN ECC83: high definition, bright sound, less gainy than a Mullard. Very expensive!
    TUNGSRAM ECC83: Balanced sound, enhanced mid-lows,high definition, high headroom.
    RFT ECC83: strong lower frequencies and good for crunch, lower headroom and break up level, suggested for blues.
    TESLA ECC83S: good amount of gain, suggested for british sounding amps.
    Oily I have a Mark4 Boogie and it has more tube configuration its mind numbing.
    I will say I got a hold of some GE 5751's and put then in my Mic preamp  and compressor about 4 years ago and they are still in them. They have less power then 12AX7's but are very smooth and musical. S.R.V. used them in some of his guitar amps.
  • Skeesix August 24, 2013 at 2:07pm

    http://www.nostalgiaair.org/Tubes/

    You can also do a google search for tube substitution, which brings up several manuals.

    I had a friend who was a tube amp aficionado and we used to go to the tube room at an old surplus place to get tubes. You could get 12AX7's for example, but they weren't marked 12AX7. So that's where the substitution guides come in. We would bring a guide with us while we searched.

    My suggestion is to buy all the boxes of tubes and sort things out later, unless you have time to search with a guide.

    • Ron "Oily" Sprague > Skeesix August 24, 2013 at 7:51pm
      Agreed with Skeesix: buy the lot, you'll get a better price per tube. If you do, you may wanna invest in a tube tester; vintage working models seem to be running $40-60 on eBay.
  • Ron "Oily" Sprague August 24, 2013 at 7:49am
    Common preamp tubes:12AX7, 12AY7, ECC83, EF86, 6267, 5751
    Common power tubes: EL34, EL84, 6V6, 6L6, KT66, 6550
    • 3 Fingered Ape > Ron "Oily" Sprague August 24, 2013 at 9:25am

      Thanks Ron I'll check if there are ant of these types.

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