TAD Redbase 12ax7’s - anyone tried them yet?

noisepolluter

I’d be interested in giving them a try in V1 (and possibly V2) of my DSL as a bit of a change from the usual JJ’s. Anyone tried them yet? Are they actually available in the UK?

impmann

They are ok - probably the best of the valves coming out of China right now. I’m not sure the retail versions have been released but the OEM ones have been pretty consistent.

ecc83

AFAICS you are paying at least seven quid more for a valve* whose only claim to fame is "perfect balance". That of course is snake oil since the resistors around the PI would need to be 1% tolerance components for valve balance to be preserved..AND they would have to be dead on the right values, i.e. anode load about 5% different. None of those things obtain in guitar amp circuits nor does balance matter a jot.

*in any case they are out of stock on the TAD site I found.

Dave.

RiftAmps

I was using them until TAD sold out, more in production.

I like them as a good all-rounder, they’ve been pretty consistent so far. I always use 7025s in V1 so haven’t tried these in that position but they’d definitely work.

impmann

ecc83 said:

AFAICS you are paying at least seven quid more for a valve* whose only claim to fame is "perfect balance". That of course is snake oil since the resistors around the PI would need to be 1% tolerance components for valve balance to be preserved..AND they would have to be dead on the right values, i.e. anode load about 5% different. None of those things obtain in guitar amp circuits nor does balance matter a jot.

*in any case they are out of stock on the TAD site I found.

Dave.

TBH, Dave, the big plus side for the TAD Redbase over the PS Vane unit (made in same factory) is  weeding out the crap, noisy ones. Thats worth the money in itself. 

Plus actually, if you put the two valves side by side you'll notice constructional differences, as they are made to different specs/designs but within the operating parameters of an ECC83/12AX7. 

The JJ has more gain - fractionally - in my experience than both the Chinese made valves. But beware of fake Chinese made JJs in the market... yes, there are... buy them from reputable places only. 

But hey... academic, as Andreas is out of stock of the Redbase ECC83 right now. Personally, in the DSL I'd shove a JJ in it.


 

ecc83

impmann said:

ecc83 said:

AFAICS you are paying at least seven quid more for a valve* whose only claim to fame is "perfect balance". That of course is snake oil since the resistors around the PI would need to be 1% tolerance components for valve balance to be preserved..AND they would have to be dead on the right values, i.e. anode load about 5% different. None of those things obtain in guitar amp circuits nor does balance matter a jot.

*in any case they are out of stock on the TAD site I found.

Dave.

TBH, Dave, the big plus side for the TAD Redbase over the PS Vane unit (made in same factory) is  weeding out the crap, noisy ones. Thats worth the money in itself. 

Plus actually, if you put the two valves side by side you'll notice constructional differences, as they are made to different specs/designs but within the operating parameters of an ECC83/12AX7. 

The JJ has more gain - fractionally - in my experience than both the Chinese made valves. But beware of fake Chinese made JJs in the market... yes, there are... buy them from reputable places only. 

But hey... academic, as Andreas is out of stock of the Redbase ECC83 right now. Personally, in the DSL I'd shove a JJ in it.


 

Ah! Right, if they are selecting for low noise then a few extra quids is worthwhile...IF they had any!

I always found the TAD 7025 HG consistently quiet and good value. I trust that still obtains?

BTW I am aware that B's use a balance pot in many of their amp OP stages (still?) but that is to do with minimizing hum. Nowt to do with "sound". No one playing electric guitar cares a **** whether the amp produces 4% or 1% second harmonic distortion!

Dave.