Which brand of valves are worth buying?

[guitarrob]

I appreciate the info guys, I am not really looking for a these are the best or those are the best.
I was just looking for some suggestions for tubes I could use for prototyping that wouldn't  cost an arm and leg but are still good tubes.
I also wanted to find ones I should ignore because they are know to sound bad.

I am picking up a set of 12AX7 and 12AU's this week but I think I am going to end up with a few different sets
as I like testing.

[deadastronaut]

they look good when you kick em too...............

[wavley]

I'm fond of JJ's these days, I also agree with PRR that Sovteks are great went bought from a good dealer.  Depending on what I need I either go to Tube Depot because they've always done me right or AES.  Just like Iccaros said, the service at AES is absolutely stellar, when I worked at the repair shop we dealt with the commercial side of them CE Distribution and always had wonderful service.

Though right now I'm kinda wanting some of those JJ 6CA7s for my Traynor and I think the tube store is the only place that had them when I looked, I've never had any problems with them either.

[guitarrob]

Do you guys have any recommendations for places to buy these products cheaply?
I am buying a set of 12AU and 12AX7 to experiment with.
I am studying tubes design also so I am thinking I will be getting more tubes.

[seedlings]

Do you guys have any recommendations for places to buy these products cheaply?
I am buying a set of 12AU and 12AX7 to experiment with.
I am studying tubes design also so I am thinking I will be getting more tubes.

You can pick them up at http://www.tubesandmore.com/ search 12ax7 and look for chinese.  Something like $7.50 per.  Here's the thing:  If you build, say, a valvecaster circuit, with a chinese 12au7 or 12ax7, it will not sound the same as a good NOS tube (tung-sol or mullard or telefunken or...) for 3x or 4x cost.

Look here http://www.audiotubes.com/12au7.htm at the "12AU7 Sylvania blackplate, Old Logo on green label. Fine 1950s vintage tube." for $17.  That one will sound good at a nice price.

CHAD

[guitarrob]

I'm fond of JJ's these days, I also agree with PRR that Sovteks are great went bought from a good dealer.  Depending on what I need I either go to Tube Depot because they've always done me right or AES.  Just like Iccaros said, the service at AES is absolutely stellar, when I worked at the repair shop we dealt with the commercial side of them CE Distribution and always had wonderful service.

Though right now I'm kinda wanting some of those JJ 6CA7s for my Traynor and I think the tube store is the only place that had them when I looked, I've never had any problems with them either.

Yeah, I think I am going to grab some JJ or Sovteks from Tubedepot.  I will look around more also as I have to source a bunch of parts.

You can pick them up at http://www.tubesandmore.com/ search 12ax7 and look for chinese.  Something like $7.50 per.  Here's the thing:  If you build, say, a valvecaster circuit, with a chinese 12au7 or 12ax7, it will not sound the same as a good NOS tube (tung-sol or mullard or telefunken or...) for 3x or 4x cost.

Look here http://www.audiotubes.com/12au7.htm at the "12AU7 Sylvania blackplate, Old Logo on green label. Fine 1950s vintage tube." for $17.  That one will sound good at a nice price.

CHAD

Yeah, I have been looking at some JJ and Sovtek.  Maybe some more expensive units down the road.
I was trying to figure out where the line was...I am not interested in the cheapest items, I want something reasonable quality to prototype and work with.
Thanx

[tubegeek]

I have been dealing with Ned at Triode Electronics and Steve at Angela Instruments for a VERY long time. Never a problem, although I have heard that sometimes Steve likes to torture noobs when they call up.

[sault]

Start with JJ or Shuguang. [...] But keep in mind that you'll hear a much bigger change messing around with component values than with tube brands.

JJ's +1, especially to begin with.

Differences between brands, subtle difference, but differences between tube models can be very significant. I think it's largely due to gain and noise level - for high gain I've really liked using the JJ ECC803S, they're both high-gain and are spiral filament wound, they have noticeably less noise and noticeably higher gain than other tubes in the same socket. Going from something like that to a 12AX7 is noticeably different... I have a tube preamp where the 12ax7's are noisier but have a wider "sweet spot" on the gain knob, where the ECC803S's have a very small "sweet spot", saturate/crunch up quickly (and so are less useful when I'm aiming for clean tones!), but are much quieter. The trade-off's one must make, I suppose.

Same thing with output tubes, too. Going from 6L6's to EL34's, for instance, has a markedly different overall tonal shift for the amp.

[wavley]

Start with JJ or Shuguang. [...] But keep in mind that you'll hear a much bigger change messing around with component values than with tube brands.

JJ's +1, especially to begin with.

Differences between brands, subtle difference, but differences between tube models can be very significant. I think it's largely due to gain and noise level - for high gain I've really liked using the JJ ECC803S, they're both high-gain and are spiral filament wound, they have noticeably less noise and noticeably higher gain than other tubes in the same socket. Going from something like that to a 12AX7 is noticeably different... I have a tube preamp where the 12ax7's are noisier but have a wider "sweet spot" on the gain knob, where the ECC803S's have a very small "sweet spot", saturate/crunch up quickly (and so are less useful when I'm aiming for clean tones!), but are much quieter. The trade-off's one must make, I suppose.

Same thing with output tubes, too. Going from 6L6's to EL34's, for instance, has a markedly different overall tonal shift for the amp.

The JJ803S is currently my favorite modern production tube. I like them in V1 and the PI, pretty touch sensitive with tight lows and solid low mid growl, exactly what I was looking for.

[bhill]

I have been using JJ's in both my old BF Fenders (65 and 67 Bandmasters). Several years now in the 65, so when I rebuilt the 67 my other half bought me a few months ago (there is a reason I'm keeping her ) I went with JJ's in it also. I do have a few Sylvania 7025's stashed away, but I have been happy with the JJ's.