Groove tubes Ecc83 ... they came at last ......

supermel74 · Post by **supermel74** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 5:14 pm

Can anybody recommend a good set of tubes for the ESX that will give a smoother, better sounding gain with less didtortion than the crap stock tubes. I don't really want to spend more than $50 for the pair. Thanks

Borg · Post by **Borg** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 5:44 pm

Hehe, that's kinda what I asked for the post before.

supermel74 · Post by **supermel74** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:28 pm

I just got this email from eurotubes. Very good people. Hope this helps.

Hi Mark:

Sorry for the late reply, Monday’s are very busy. The Korg ESX uses two 12AX7 type tubes and we usually use the matched triode JJ ECC83S preamp that are between 105 and 110 in gain, this is not hot enough to hurt the clean tones but it does make them more dynamic in response and these run 11.50 each. The JJ's have a deep tight low end, a very natural and harmonically rich mid and sweet high end and they will add warmth and definition. They are also very linear which gives you greater control of your tone at all frequencies.

Using the Gold Pin JJ tubes would also be an option if you want a real smooth tone. The main difference with them is that they are smoother and a little richer sounding. They are however expensive, the matched triode ECC83S Gold Pin tubes run 22.00

If you want to decrease the distortion and increase the headroom then you can use the matched triode ECC81’s, these run 11.50 each or we do have gold pin versions that are 22.00 each.

A pair of any of the tubes listed above can be shipped by Priority mail for 7.50 with a 3 day delivery.

If you decide to place an order you can do so online ( https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/ ). This is a Comodo certified secure system, but please don't feel obligated to order online you are always welcome to just give us a call at 503-659-7401 during business hours which are from 9AM to 6PM west coast time to place an order personally. You can also place an order by FAX at 503-659-7385. All that's necessary is your shipping address and a VISA, MC, Discover or American Express number including the expiration date. If you decide to order by phone during business hours and you get our voice mail, leave a number and we will call you back!

Thanks

Bob

Borg · Post by **Borg** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:39 pm

Great!

anselmi · Post by **anselmi** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:15 am

well...I´m still waiting for an answer about the differences between the JJ and the GT sound

did anybody compared them head to head?

plosive · Post by **plosive** » Thu May 01, 2008 2:23 am

cheers for the responses guys, very helpful

Tyler_raine · Post by **Tyler_raine** » Thu May 01, 2008 1:31 pm

So, i just got my GT's not had band practise or the time to fully use them but so far very nice, alot fuller and as been said i can now whack up the tube gain with no distortion.
Only downfall is the balance issue, its that far out that having the adjustment skrew fully one turned for one and the opposite for the other still doesnt quite rectify the problem, but live i run my gear thru a small mixer before sending it to the P.A so i can make a small panning adjustment there.
cheers for everyones input, really helped.

Borg · Post by **Borg** » Thu May 01, 2008 3:19 pm

Is the balance problem something you can live with, when they sound so good?

We wanna hear them too!

reddone · Post by **reddone** » Thu May 01, 2008 3:40 pm

not good mate , u may hav quite unbalanced tubes . maybe try getting others , explain what u hav experianced and u may get a swap . if not the swap tubes around on the machine to see if that helps .

Mine we're slightly out but are fine so u should be able to get gt's that are balanced enough . Pls dont settle for distinctly unbalanced tubes

anselmi · Post by **anselmi** » Fri May 02, 2008 8:03 am

well...I´m still waiting for an answer about the differences between the JJ and the GT sound

did anybody compared them head to head?

Tyler_raine · Post by **Tyler_raine** » Fri May 02, 2008 10:51 am

Not really tried them properly to see how good they are but i'd already say its worth it, even with the balance issue, its not that difficult to rectify with it running thru a mixer also.

but yeh, i will contact the supplier and see if they'll swap em, yeh i did try and swap them round but it was even worse, lol.
yeh, i'd still like to hear a comparison of different tubes.

As for hearing them, im recording with my band in a couple of weeks so in about a month or so i'll post a link.

Cheers

Borg · Post by **Borg** » Mon May 05, 2008 11:25 am

Great!

Looking forward to it.

Ruso · Post by **Ruso** » Mon May 05, 2008 3:23 pm

Just to clarify, the two knobs by the tubes are tube calibrating knobs NOT volume control... you can't balance tubes with them because they affect the tube tone too and how they respond. There's a section on callibrating tubes in the emx/esx service manuals but it uses a very strange cable and I'm too l azy to build it. I was working on a tutorial but then the stupid cable popped up. There's also a hidden key combo, I got to it once and I can't find it again which helps you tweak the balance.

The cable is like an inverted send/return cable. But it has some resistors which appear to be critical to the procedure. Rather obnoxious if you ask me

the catch is that to get to the balance section you gotta correctly adjust the variable resistors with that special cable or else it won't let you proceed to that section so the cable is critical.

supermel74 · Post by **supermel74** » Mon May 05, 2008 7:16 pm

Well I ordered the Gold Pin JJECC83S with matched triodes. I'll give my opinion on the difference when they arrive. This review article of 12AX7 tubes I found though seems to dispute what everybody here is saying as the Electro Harmonix 12AX7 tubes are actually rated higher overall than many of the others including the JJEC83S. I really hope I didn't drop over $50 for nothing

Here's the article : http://thetubestore.com/12ax7review.html

supermel74 · Post by **supermel74** » Mon May 05, 2008 7:18 pm

Of course these reviews are specific to guitar amps, but I'm hoping it's not an overall indication of quality.