I heard that they are great in the V1 slot of a Tweed and since the 1482 is Danelectro's version of a Tweed Deluxe it seemed like the perfect testing ground. The 6072 just blew away a new JJ ECC803S gold pin I had in there. I was a little surprised because I figured the 6072 being a 12AY7 would be lower output but it was 1000x livelier. Great touch sensitivity....punchy & full yet open & clear sounding. It made my little Silvertone sound very Fenderish. Very nice indeed. Next came a Sylvania 12AZ7A. I've heard good things about them and wanted to give it a shot.
I've been looking for tubes to give me the full gain pallet from 12AU7 through high gain 12AX7. It was also very nice, not quite as open as the 6072 but still light years ahead of the JJ. They draw a little higher filament current (.45A) so you need to watch that when you are swapping to make sure you don't smoke the heater winding on your PT. The 12AZ7 is only .15A over a 12AX7 so it wasn't a problem here but it is something to be aware of whenever you start changing types....especially if you are doing it with a few. Next I tried an unknown 12AX7A that looks almost like an RCA.
Noticeable drop in volume & clarity, a bit darker, similar to the JJ. Might just be a weak tube.
Then came a Tung-Sol 12AX7A.
OUTSTANDING is all I can say. Really, really nice. I had to pull it and put the 6072 back in for a side by side. I wasn't sure which I wanted to leave in there. It was a lot like the 6072 only with more balls. Probably my favorite tube in my collection right now. I considered pulling V2 and using both but couldn't decide which to leave in V1. In the end I put a Baldwin labeled Sylvania long plate in the PI slot figuring a nice strong tube there would help enhance what the Tung-Sol already has going for it in the touch & feel department.
Last and I replaced the power tubes with a pair Sylvania 6K6GT's. 6K6's are a drop in replacement for 6V6's but are half the power. Doing this allowed me to drop my boost and just crank the amp.
I jumpered channels and stuck a Hall of Fame reverb set for a little spring between them. The amp has never sounded better.
