MP 1 and tubes! Which ones, and why

[jgd]

Hi there,

I recently purchased a MP 1.
Second hand ofcourse (duh...), so I don't know which tubes it has.
There's nothing on them, literally, no letters or logo.

I bought JJ's, high gain.
And you know what, they had less gain than the anonymous ones.
They original two sound more aggressive or something.
Tonewise, Im aiming for metal, roughly old-school Metallica tone.

What were the original tubes anyhow?

What kinda tubes do you guys (or gals) prefere and for what genre?

[Harley Hexxe]

Hi jgd,

     The tubes in your MP-1 are more than likely, the original Chinese 12AX7A's that were shipped with the unit.

     My personal preference for tubes here are good quality Mullard RI's. Mullards bring out good clarity in the midrange and upper midrange  frequency, and they also have a good tight low end response. Of course right now, I'm still rolling different tubes in mine to see if there is something better to my ears.
    I like a lot of different styles of music, and like to play as many different ones that I can, so I need an amp that can handle that. ADA fits the bill. My favorites are Classic Rock, 70's, 80's, Jazz Rock, Fusion, Blues, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Art Rock, need I go on?
    You may want to look into Ruby Tubes. Many people say they are very good quality. I have those in my 3TM now, and they aren't bad at all. I'll probably roll a set of the same tubes in the MP-1 to see how well they perform there. All the preamp tubes I use are long plate tubes to keep the low end in the mix.

        Harley 8)

[rnolan]

Hey jgd, have a (long LoL) read here Tubes (preamp/Input/Buffer)
Lots of good discussion.  SC recons that TADs are closest to the original Chinese tube they came with (which were great tubes BTW)  Like Harley I'm a fan of the new sensor Mullard long plate reissues (in my MP2s).  MikeB runs a Mullard short plate in V1 and a Boogie SPAX7 (probably a JJ) in V2.  They don't have to be the same brand.  Anyway, they are all different, some more different than others.

[Dante]

Do a search for Tube Cocktail, there's what I ended up with in my ol' MP-1

[Luke Gibson]

Mine still had the original Chinese tubes after all these years, I recently installed some old Amperex tubes but honestly don't think they sound a lot different to my ears....

[PrimalScream91]

Just swapped the tubes in my MP-1 a few months ago. Went with Mullard RI's (got a matched set, high gain, with balanced triodes) and they really gave my amp some balls.

[Iperfungus]

TAD 7025 Highgrade tubes work very well within my MP-1.
As rnolan wrote, very similar to original chinese 12AX7A tubes with little more "balls", meaning punch and bass definition.
Very good choice, indeed.
I've the original MP-1 12AX7A tubes (no brand) and they still are in very good health...I would preserve them and then I swapped them with the TADs.

I've a couple of 5751 Philips tubes I want to test and I'm going to buy a couple of JJ ECC83s.

[DannyjoeCarter]

 Man the tube area for me is going down a rabbit hole for sure, but I will take that journey eventually.
My number one Holy Grail MP-1 as I call it, has the original tubes in it and it roars! Yet another MP-1 we purchased had the stock tubes and it sounded dead. We popped a new set of JJs ECC83s and it really came to life  :o  :dunno:  My buddy and I have done this to a few of the units we have gotten and it really seems to be a "per unit" issue.

I would love to try the Mullards that rnolan has mentioned and see if I can get more of a universal consistency between units if that's even possible.
And I'll have to try short plate vs. long plate too.  :thumb-up:

[rnolan]

Hey DjC, a rabbit hole it is LoL. One of the very interesting things is how the MP-1/2 circuits react to different tubes.  Obviously they were designed around the original Chinese bottles, which are great tubes and very fit for purpose.
All my MP2s' (I have 4, and they all sound different even with the same tubes) have Mullard Longs plates in them, I was completely gobsmacked how they transformed the MP-2 (but they are very (very) articulate and show off every nuance of your playing (good and not so good  :facepalm: , hasn't bothered me but it's a consideration for MP-2 owners). MikeB said the Mullard short plate is similar in this respect BTW.
In the MP-1, I found the Boogie SPAX7s (JJs ??) work very well.  MikeB has gone for Mullard short plate in V1 and SPAX7 (JJ) in V2 of his MP-1.  This combo (I know from what my ears tell me) sounds good.
I've recently acquired a couple of MP-1s (the US version one works so far... I'll definitely try the Mullard long plates in it(them)..

[Dante]

Also, keep in mind that everyone's rig is different. Tone is subjective too, so what works well for me may not be your favorite. Trust your ears

[Iperfungus]

I've recently acquired a couple of MP-1s (the US version one works so far... I'll definitely try the Mullard long plates in it(them)..

Do it ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :thumb-up:

I'm still trying to decide...JJs...Mullards....JJs......Mullards........  :lol:

[MarshallJMP]

Well put 1 JJ and mullard in it and your problem is solved  ;D

[Iperfungus]

Well put 1 JJ and mullard in it and your problem is solved  ;D

Then I will enter in a loop swapping V1 and V2 forever...  :facepalm:

[MarshallJMP]

 ;D but at least you will have 2 tubes running in your mp-1  ::)

[Iperfungus]

;D but at least you will have 2 tubes running in your mp-1  ::)

But I will die by electrocution, having rolled tubes on and on with the MP-1 powered up!  :waving-banana-smiley-emoticon