Also known as ECC83, the 12AX7 preamp tube was originally engineered and manufactured by RCA electronics company. Nowadays, a variety of companies produce 12AX7 preamp tubes including JJ Electronics in Slovakia and Shuguang in China, commonly referred to as Groove tubes. If you own a tube amplifier or considering using one, then you probably already … Read more
Inside a guitar amplifier are circuits, switching mechanisms, and connections that can hold potentially lethal voltage at several points in the critical path. A very important thing to understand with guitar amplifiers is that these components can hold lethal voltage even when the amplifier is turned off. Capacitors store high voltages that can remain in … Read more
Building your own guitar tube amp doesn’t have to be scary. In fact, running your riffs through an amp that you’ve built with your own hands can be one of the more rewarding experiences a guitar player can have. In this article I’d like to introduce you to the various parts you’ll need to … Read more
“I’m on top as long as the music’s loud,” soared the legendary Rob Halford on the Judas Priest classic You’ve Got Another Thing Coming from the group’s 1982 LP, Screaming for Vengeance. That very line is a statement that almost all musicians, especially guitarists, religiously live by. However, while we might find pleasure in cranking … Read more
There are many ways to find yourself with an vacuum tube that has loose sockets. It usually doesn’t cause huge problems at first, which is why a lot of players may ignore it at first. But, give it some time, and problems start flying out left and right. But worry no more! Today, I’ll provide … Read more
Pairing a great tube with a great amplifier is the key recipe in anyone’s audio tone. Do different tubes really make much of a difference in your sound? How can you identify what tubes go with which amp, with all the different types of vacuum tubes out there? What’s the difference between an EL34 and … Read more
Have you recently sold a tube amp? Are you looking to get one from here to there without lugging it all the way yourself? Knowing how to ship a tube amp, the right way, is essential to making sure that your tube amp gets to its intended destination in best possible shape. Before You Ship … Read more
Tube rolling is a process of trying out different tubes in the same position of your amplifier and settling on the one that sounds the best to you. Tubes are the one and only solution for many music lovers and audiophiles, with a majority of them arguing that the warmth and clarity of a tube-equipped … Read more
If your tube amp has suddenly began to crackle, you’re likely to find yourself getting frustrated very quickly. Many different things can cause this annoying issue, and isolating the problem can prove difficult. Luckily, this guide will help take you through the possibilities step-by-step so you can figure out what’s causing the crackling (and how … Read more
Tube amps require a good deal of maintenance and basic upkeep in order to continue functioning as intended. Any true hobbyist will commit to a regular maintenance schedule to make sure that they can enjoy their tube amp far into the future. If you’re reading this article, you probably fit into this category. A tube … Read more
