12AT7 replacement for Texotica reverb

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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

12AT7 replacement for Texotica reverb

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radiomanjh Joined: Feb 19, 2013 Posts: 15 Texas	Posted on Jan 24 2014 10:23 AM Hello, have any of you changed this tube out from the stock JJ? And if so which one. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Top
alphaking Joined: Jan 02, 2013 Posts: 214	Posted on Jan 24 2014 11:38 AM I tried an NOS GE 12AT7 in place of the ECC81. Any 12AT7 will work and you can try different ones out to see what you like. You can swap any 12AX7 for the ECC83, but (from what I understand) it makes less of an impact on the sound than the ECC81 swap. I noticed less drip with the NOS 12AT7 than the JJ. So if you were using the tank for say a background reverb like an onboard one in an amp with a little more flexibility, then it worked great. I used it as a subtle reverb for my tweed Bassman. It smoothed the tone out some, and warmed it up a bit. But for Surf style drip, the JJ ECC81 seemed to be the winner. Hope that helps. Last edited: Jan 24, 2014 11:44:11 Top
alphaking Joined: Jan 02, 2013 Posts: 214	Posted on Jan 24 2014 11:40 AM I asked Billy at Texotica the same question a while back. Here is is response; "Tubes- The reverb unit ships with a NOS 6K6GT, a jj 12ax7 and a JJ 12at7. Feel free to experiment but I doubt you would notice a difference with a NOS 12AX7 like you would in a guitar amp. The guitar signal is fed off a cathode follower and the other half of the 12AX7 amplifies the reverb return, so it's not really doing the normal stuff a preamp tube would do in an amp." Of course everyone's ears are different, and it's always worth a try (in my opinion) to swap em out if you're not risking any damage. Chris Last edited: Jan 24, 2014 11:42:06 Top
tubeswell Joined: Sep 24, 2011 Posts: 1424 Wellington, NZ	Posted on Jan 24 2014 05:30 PM 12AY7 also will work well in that slot. — He who dies with the most tubes... wins Surf Daddies Top
mad_dog Joined: Sep 23, 2008 Posts: 349 Montclair, NJ	Posted on Jan 25 2014 01:35 PM I swapped in some kind of NOS 12at7 in there for the reverb driver. The biggest change I got was from swapping in another 6K6. Mine was NOS also, as was the one Billy shipped my reverb with. His tube sounds better, more controlled and defined. Mine seems to make it wilder. I guess the lesson for me is, if you have any cool old 6k6 tubes lying about, by all means try them. It might be an interesting change. MD Top
deci_belle Joined: Feb 22, 2014 Posts: 6 Santa Fe via Tustin	Posted on Feb 22 2014 05:20 PM What tubeswell said~ that's 44% gain for the 12ay7/6072 …I think. A 5751 is a lot more musical sounding (to me) than a 12at7, but a bit more gain, around 70% compared to 60% for the 12at7 (I think). — Favorite circuits: White(Princeton)/5E3; 6G8/5F8a; 6G6-b/6G14a Current guitars: AmDlx Strat, Epi-175 w/Bigsby B6 FX: buffer+boost> EBvp-jr> OCD> Carbon Copy> 6G15/clean-boost Top
tubeswell Joined: Sep 24, 2011 Posts: 1424 Wellington, NZ	Posted on Feb 22 2014 06:26 PM The issue lots of people face with the reverb tank is that dwell control when dimed can make the 6K6/6V6 clip and distort sometimes in ways that 'crash' the pan. This can be a fun effect, but one way of taming that is to replace the 12AT7 (that's driving the 6K6/6V6 grid) with a lower gain 12AY7. The 12AY7 is similar to a 12AX7 in transconductance but has 2 x as much bandwidth, ad because it doesn't have as much gain as either a 12AT7 or a 12AX7 (or a 5751), it is quite a musical substitute in that slot. — He who dies with the most tubes... wins Surf Daddies Last edited: Feb 22, 2014 18:31:31 Top
SanchoPansen Joined: Jan 04, 2011 Posts: 1588 Berlin L-Berg	Posted on Feb 24 2014 01:47 AM So when I suffer from a clipped and distorted sound on my tank, it might help swapping the ECC81/12AT7 with a 12AY7? Does this apply to a Fender RI unit as well (without doing harm to the tank)? I have a lot of gain in my sound, due to high output PUs (Mosrite) and I'm looking for a solution to tame the tank, but retain the drip. — The Hicadoolas Top
tubeswell Joined: Sep 24, 2011 Posts: 1424 Wellington, NZ	Posted on Feb 24 2014 01:57 AM Yup. A 12AY7 will plug straight in to the 12AT7 slot (no harm done - same overall heater current draw), and the overall effect is less signal swing at the 6K6/6V6 grid (which decreases the chances of signal clipping in the big bottle), which means all other things being equal, the possibility of a smoother signal going through the RT and into the pan. Its a simple reversible experiment if you don't like it. — He who dies with the most tubes... wins Surf Daddies Top
SanchoPansen Joined: Jan 04, 2011 Posts: 1588 Berlin L-Berg	Posted on Feb 24 2014 02:26 AM Great, will try this right away. Checked the usual stores for a 12AY7. Wow, some expensive ones out there...100.00 $. Well, there are some EH for less. Would prefer JJs, but well...thanks for the fast reply, mate! =) — The Hicadoolas Top
Badger Joined: Nov 16, 2013 Posts: 4537 Wisconsin	Posted on Feb 24 2014 06:26 AM SanchoPansen wrote: Great, will try this right away. Checked the usual stores for a 12AY7. Wow, some expensive ones out there...100.00 $. Well, there are some EH for less. Would prefer JJs, but well...thanks for the fast reply, mate! =) You checked KCANOS Tubes also? I see they're closed for a few days but taking orders that will be filled. Have had good service. The 12AY7 is a spendy sucker as these things go. I have a tank inbound and happen to have a 12AY7 laying around after going with a 5751 in my (lightly modded) Blues Jr V1, so I'll file this little bit of info away. Thanks tubeswell for the cool chart. — Wes SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices. Top
Noel Joined: Mar 15, 2011 Posts: 8528 Back in Piitsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I grew up.	Posted on Feb 24 2014 08:13 AM You might also try TheTubeStore. — This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got. Top
SanchoPansen Joined: Jan 04, 2011 Posts: 1588 Berlin L-Berg	Posted on Feb 24 2014 08:32 AM Cool links and I'm sure also good stores. Unfortunately I'm on the other side of the planet Shipment is just too expensive these days... — The Hicadoolas Top
tubeswell Joined: Sep 24, 2011 Posts: 1424 Wellington, NZ	Posted on Feb 24 2014 09:39 AM FWIW EH12AY7 is a fairly good modern production tube for the price — He who dies with the most tubes... wins Surf Daddies Top
SanchoPansen Joined: Jan 04, 2011 Posts: 1588 Berlin L-Berg	Posted on Feb 24 2014 09:41 AM That's exactly the one the music store around the corner has in stock...on my way — The Hicadoolas Top
CrazyAces Joined: Jul 31, 2012 Posts: 4054 Buffalo, N.Y.	Posted on Feb 24 2014 10:53 AM I agree with tubeswell. I like the EH 12AY7. It's a good sounding tube. Matched with the right amp (or tank) I often like it more than the vintage 12AY7's I have. I always use my ears when choosing tubes, I don't rely on vintage is better or this or that brand is the best, types of thinking. In some amps vintage tubes don't always sound better........at least to me. Reliability can be another issue comparing new and vintage/NOS but I've faired pretty well using a lot of new tubes for regular touring and gigs. — http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic http://www.youtube.com/user/crazyacesrock http://www.reverbnation.com/crazyacesmusic Top
tubeswell Joined: Sep 24, 2011 Posts: 1424 Wellington, NZ	Posted on Feb 24 2014 06:27 PM Generally the Sovtek/EH/'Tung-Sol' family* of pre-amp tubes are reliable if you operate them as a normal inverting gain stage. Where there can be issues is if you try to run them with high heater-to-cathode voltages (like in a cathode follower), because the h-k insulation isn't what it use to be in modern production tubes. But running them in a '12AT7' slot in a reverb tank won't stress them any more than normal. *i.e.: Mike Matthews' New Sensor Corp 'family' — He who dies with the most tubes... wins Surf Daddies Top
SanchoPansen Joined: Jan 04, 2011 Posts: 1588 Berlin L-Berg	Posted on Feb 25 2014 01:38 AM Back from the store with a EH12AY7 and practised with it last night. We've played our set twice and for the first run I used the new tube. It was possible to turn up the mix by 1 (from 3.5 - 4.5) without getting more distortion. Dwell on 7-8, Tone on 5-6. I had the impression that it sounded a bit lifeless and a little more trebely and hollow. On the 2nd run I switched back to the JJ ECC81 Gold. Of course I had to dial back the mix again to avoid clipping, but to me the ECC81 sounded meatier, fuller and richer... The guy at the store asked me what the tube was for and after a short explanation he said that he doesn't like the EH tubes and that he had way better results with NOS tubes. I might shop around for another one. When it comes to tubes it is all a matter of personal taste, I guess. — The Hicadoolas Top
SixStringSurfer Joined: Sep 23, 2014 Posts: 1433 Memphis, TN	Posted on Feb 01 2016 05:53 PM I had a gentleman fairly knowledgeable about tubes tell me that I should put a 12AY7 in the 12AT7 slot, is this true? I just ordered a NOS JAN/GE 12AY7 (1972) and was looking forward to trying it out. Will this permanently damage my Fender '63 RI tank? Thanks for your help. — MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New EP Louder Than Life available on bandcamp and website. Taking guitar lessons from Jimmy Dale. Last edited: Feb 01, 2016 17:54:27 Top
Badger Joined: Nov 16, 2013 Posts: 4537 Wisconsin	Posted on Feb 02 2016 06:41 AM SixStringSurfer wrote: I had a gentleman fairly knowledgeable about tubes tell me that I should put a 12AY7 in the 12AT7 slot, is this true? I just ordered a NOS JAN/GE 12AY7 (1972) and was looking forward to trying it out. Will this permanently damage my Fender '63 RI tank? Thanks for your help. Title of the thread notwithstanding, as you can see from several preceding posts above you should have no issues. Several have tried this in a RI tank. — Wes SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices. Top

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