# What does Tung Sol 12AX7 do that JJ doesnt?



## cGoEcYk (Jun 15, 2013)

I use JJ 12AX7's all of the time. I have heard that the Tung Sol is an upgrade in the Orange Dark Terror (which comes with JJ's) and in most V1 positions. What do Tung Sol's do that JJ's dont?


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Jun 15, 2013)

It's not an upgrade in quality so much as a slightly different voicing from the JJ. 

The Tung-Sol is a little brighter and cleaner sounding than the JJ, so using it in the V1 will give your tone a bit more clarity/top end bite as compared to all JJ's in the preamp section. 

Here you can hear the difference when he switches from all JJ to a Tung-Sol in V1. Different amp of course, but the change in character will be similar in the Dark Terror and pretty much any other amp. 



A friend of mine has a Dark Terror and told me he likes it with the Tung-Sol in V1 and JJ's in the rest.


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## erotophonophilia (Jun 16, 2013)

I put EHX 12AX7 in V1 and JJs in the rest, in vintage amps I've owned, because the amps are usually too bright sounding. If you're going try mixing preamp tubes, JJs sound the best, and are the most durable preamp tubes I've owned.


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## Floppystrings (Jun 16, 2013)

cGoEcYk said:


> What do Tung Sol's do that JJ's dont?



Nothing.

They don't have a switch on the side that adds features. 

They have their own sound, like cheap stock pickups that are simply designed to function compared to a pickup that has a desired voicing that has been preferred over the years, that combined with their limited quantities directly reflects their price difference.

This reminds me of the time my friend gave me a look of disbelief when I told him different woods effect how a guitar sounds.


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## mongey (Jun 16, 2013)

They are different sounding. I used one for ages in v1 of my dual recto. Tung is def brighter and id say firmer . I liked it for ages. A month or so ago chucked a jj back in and liked it . Seemed a little less harsh. In reality I don't think one is better , sometimes a change is just good for the ears.

But brightersand stiffer is def how I'd describe the tung but not in a bad way.


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## col (Jun 16, 2013)

There are no upgrades in current production tubes imo. Only lateral moves. A NOS Mullard or RFT would be a slight improvement. But still not as much a change as say a speaker swap. Swapping tubes only makes sense to me if you find your amp _slightly_ too dark or _slightly_ too bright.

I did a lot of tube swapping a few years back:

NOS RFT, lots of gain, dark, thick
NOS Mullard, smoother, more open
JJ ecc83s, thick, dark
Tungsol, bright, thick
EHX, bright, thin, harsh
Shuguang, lots of midrange, lots of output
Sovtek, dark, dull


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## jrstinkfish (Jun 16, 2013)

col said:


> Tungsol, bright, thick


I run Tung-Sols in the gain stage of any amp I acquire. I was trying to think of a way to describe the fact that I think they add crunch and make it sound heavier IMO, but "bright, thick" is probably what I was looking for  I have a container full of different preamp tubes I've tried for the gain slots, and I just keep coming back to my TS. I throw an EH in the PI slot, and usually leave the loop slot stock because I rarely, if ever, use it.

Still, it's fun to experiment with the combinations.


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## Promit (Jun 16, 2013)

col said:


> I did a lot of tube swapping a few years back:
> 
> NOS RFT, lots of gain, dark, thick
> NOS Mullard, smoother, more open
> ...


WHICH Sovtek? The A/B and the LPS are very different, I presume you mean the common A/B type. But in general these descriptions fit with my experience. Those Shuguangs are aggressive to the point of rattiness.


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## col (Jun 17, 2013)

Promit said:


> WHICH Sovtek? The A/B and the LPS are very different, I presume you mean the common A/B type. But in general these descriptions fit with my experience. Those Shuguangs are aggressive to the point of rattiness.



I'm not really sure which ones they were. All I can remember I didn't really care for them.


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