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I bought at GT 12AX7-M and a GT 12AX7-C to try in my Marshall. I got them out in Cali durning users group day..that's how long my amp has been in the shop.

The new GT 12AX7-C is really the schnizl. I wanted to hate it because it's Chinese, not NOS, and not a Mullard Reissue...but I can't. It really did bring my Marshall to life in a way that I wasn't expecting. It's brighter, but not in a bad way. It seems to let the higher frequencies breath a little more. It's tight in the lows and perfect in the mids.

I put the quot;Cquot; in first in V1, with a NOS GE in V2 for the clean channel. It sounded amazing both clean and dirty. Then I switched the quot;Cquot; for the quot;Mquot; in V1...instantly darker with lower gain. Not a bad sound, but more of a muted, mellow sound...like rolling down the tone control on your neck pickup. I put the quot;Cquot; back in and it came to life once again. Then I put the quot;Mquot; in V2 for the clean channel, and bingo...perfect. It warmed up the clean channel just a touch, while leaving all of the character of the drive channel unchanged. Definately a thumbs up, and the best tube I have tried so far. I've had a NOS Bugle Boy for V1, a NOS RFT and a NOS Mazda. Also, several GE's and RCA's...but nothing has sounded quite as good as the GT-C.

The Mullard copy would be a great tube to warm up a naturally bright amp and smooth it out. I was looking for slightly tighter lows and more open sounding highs.

Again, I wanted to hate it because it's Chinese, relatively cheap, not NOS, and did I mention Chinese? You were right Gearjonser, it really is one of the best tubes available right now. I'm going to order a few more, just in case the voicing changes, or availablity becomes scarce.

i really like the chinese tubes, they are cheap and sound really nice. the m never really did much for me

I agree

how much is the C

The shop had it marked at $20, but they sold it to me for $16. Check out , they carry them and have pretty good prices.

All Two Rock amps come stock with Chinese NOS 80's 12AX7's. I pulled them immediately and put in some NOS Mullards, Telefunkens, then the new GT 12AX7M's and nothing got it done like the NOS Chinese. Go figger.

Trust your ears.


Originally Posted by Scott_FAll Two Rock amps come stock with Chinese NOS 80's 12AX7's. I pulled them immediately and put in some NOS Mullards, Telefunkens, then the new GT 12AX7M's and nothing got it done like the NOS Chinese. Go figger.

Trust your ears.

Hard to believe, but true. First they got me with Kung Pau Chicken, now pre-amp tubes....when will it end?

I know you're a fan of NOS tubes Scott, and I have always loved mine, but so far the GT-C's are the bomb.

I got into tubes pretty heavily in the late 90's, when I befriended Robert Hudson of Blues Pearl, a few employees of Matchless, and more recently I finally got to meet Aspen Pitman and Myles Rose of GT. Also, I became a friend of Todd, who owns Revolutionguitar.com. All of that really fueled my interest in hearing different tubes in amps.

I have a drawer full of tubes ranging from Telefunken, Siemens, Mullard, Tesla, Tungsol, Amperex, Phillips, and a bunch of Russian and Chinese tubes. What I've found is that modern tube makers are doing as good of a job making tubes as they did in the 60's.

I've plugged almost all of those brands into the #1 positions on every amp I've owned, and have found that the best modern tubes are the GT12AX7C's, Sovtek LPS, new Tungsols, and the GT M's sound good in a lot of amps. When Reinhold Bogner, the king of highgain, insists on 12AX7C's and Svetlana power tubes, you've got to trust his opinion. I thought I'd outsmart him and find some more expensive pre tubes, so I tried M's, Telefunkens, and several others. I went full circle right back to what he puts in his amps as stock.....12AX7C's. He was right all along. I use the GT's, only because of their rigid tolerances, and they're not overly expensive at $14.

Here's a link right to that tube on the revolutionguitar.com site.

from : localhost/revolutionguitar.com/tubes/TU-GT-12AX7-C.htm

You can also try eurotubes. I placed their 12ax7s in my avt50 and it increased the headroom of my amp and improved the overall clarity. It's also cheaper than most 12ax7 tubes.


Originally Posted by GearjoneserWhat I've found is that modern tube makers are doing as good of a job making tubes as they did in the 60's.

I can't argue that current production tubes are quite good. What I miss is the variety of the old stock stuff. So many companies sell tubes built in just a few factories that it's hard to get the perfect tubes for a given amp and sound.
Of course in the old days, it was hard to find the perfect tubes because there were so doggone many.

Ha. I'm laughing because I found out the same thing. I got the GT C and M from Todd to try in V1 and ended up leaving in the GT 12AX7-C. I also took GJ's advice and stuck 2 lower cost but still good JJ's for V2 and V3. I've gotten alot of good tips from GJ just from reading his posts. I could say he's responsible for me spending money on gear. In a good way, though! (Thanks for the heads up on the Gamp;L's, Gearjoneser)

i got those(12ax7C) too for my YCV50BLUE along with some EL-34Cs too. i didn't even know they're good, i just bought whatever Groove Tubes the store had. the amp really sounded better after the swap. the stock russian 12ax7s and EH EL-34(i think they're almost dead considering i bought the floor model- the only one they had) were mediocre. i actually gambled buying the amp not fully satisfied with the sound thinking changing the tubes would improve it. and it paid off. what do you guys think of the chinese EL-34s? i tried putting back the EHs with the chinese tubes on the preamp and still the EL-34C sounded better.


Originally Posted by bryvincenti got those(12ax7C) too for my YCV50BLUE along with some EL-34Cs too. i didn't even know they're good, i just bought whatever Groove Tubes the store had. the amp really sounded better after the swap. the stock russian 12ax7s and EH EL-34(i think they're almost dead considering i bought the floor model- the only one they had) were mediocre. i actually gambled buying the amp not fully satisfied with the sound thinking changing the tubes would improve it. and it paid off. what do you guys think of the chinese EL-34s? i tried putting back the EHs with the chinese tubes on the preamp and still the EL-34C sounded better.

I didn't change the stock electro-harmonix EL34's in my YCV50 because I was told they were considered a quality tube. But maybe I'll try some different power tubes sometime in the future.


Originally Posted by SoCalSteveI didn't change the stock electro-harmonix EL34's in my YCV50 because I was told they were considered a quality tube. But maybe I'll try some different power tubes sometime in the future.

Both the EH 12AX7 and EL34s are great tubes!

The only catch with Chinese tubes is that I've only liked the preamp tubes. I avoid the Chinese power tubes! I'm surprised the EL-34C sounds good, Bryvincent, but ya never know till you try it. I had some GT6L6C's and they sounded pretty thin and cold, compared to JJ's or Svets.

I don't know a lot about Chinese tubes. China is a big country, so I'd imagine that there's good Chinese tubes and bad ones. I've had bad luck with any power tube with C in the name, but the preamp tubes are nice and hot, and stay tight and clear sounding.

I'm still undecided about the M's. I use them in my Matchless and Bassman LTD and they fatten the sound up nicely, but maybe tonight I'll compare it to a GT12AX7C and a new production Tungsol. I like doing these experiments while I'm practicing, because I learn how to make a particular amp really come alive. Then, once I find the magic tube, I stick with it forever.........or so I think.

i think i just got bad EH EL34s remember the amp is a floor model. i know EH tubes are good that's why i tried putting them back. i only got the chinese EL34s coz its the only EL-34 the store had.

I believe the newish TAD 6L6WGB's small bottles are made in China as well. And, those are some incredible tubes.

BTW, the Groove Tubes EL-34Cs are the larger 6CA7.


Originally Posted by Scott_FI believe the newish TAD 6L6WGB's small bottles are made in China as well. And, those are some incredible tubes.I will 2nd that, Shuguang and they sound fantastic. Have them in two amps now, a/b-d them with Blackplates and I am not changing back. Beautiful smooth top end and better bass than any 6l6 I have played. Blow the doors off of any new stuff I have heard. You gave me that tip and it is much appreciated.

ok, i might be resurrecting this thread slightly, but im looking for an EL84-c and it dosent look like they are available hehe-

anyone have any experience with EL84-R, EL84-S or EL84-Y tubes? im looking for a medium gain sound really, but with a nice breakup when it does happen

tom