Original Chinese 12AX7

[Micky]

Hi everyone,

just reinstalled the original Chinese tubes (which I replaced years ago with jj ones) and they are excellent (don't remember the reason for the replacement...).
My question is: if I want to buy more to have spare, what should I look for?
It's possible they are Shuguang 12AX7A? or B?

Thanks in advance

[rnolan]

Hey Micky, ADA had them made for them.  Not sure who in China made them but you can't get them any more (as far as I'm aware), ADA used to sell spares back when they were around (long ago now), the revamped A/DA (which is now defunct as well) didn't sell them.  Systematic Chaos posted quite a while ago that the closest he'd found were TAD (have a look for his post).

Interestingly, I just swapped out a very new (hardly used) pair of original tubes in my NOS MP-2 with Mullard Long Plates, and the Mullard LPs are night and day better than the original tubes.

[David Drake]

Back in 2008 when I was loaned an mp-1 1.38 I still have (ended up being a Christmas present from the owner cause I loved it so much) the only mod done was a battery mod he did himself other than that it is supposed to be all OG it has PENTA LABS tubes in it, and when I replaced the tubes in my 2.01 mp-1 In 2010 I bought the same set from Doug's Tubes that were at the time listed as OG tubes and I believe were in limited quantities. Thad.t was a long time ago and as we get older even the memories fade but this is what I can recall they were the original or the original replacement. I love them, tho I'm not a very hi-gain type of guy just an Ac/Dc type of rythem crunch type fellow. Seriously I hate noise gates and I never did the noise mod on either of my units. I've never needed it. I swear by this tube set for that type of rhythmic grind.

[Harley Hexxe]

Hey David,

   I don't believe that was original equipment in the MP-1. Every MP-1 I ever had came with some red-letter 12AX7s with no brand name on them. Someone must have replaced the originals with those at some point.

[David Drake]

Hey Harley Were these the tubes?

[Harley Hexxe]

That looks right, big red lettering going down the length of the tube and no other printing.

[rnolan]

So they look the same as the ones I changed out of my MP-2 last week.  IIRC the original ones in my MP-1 (~1987(ish)) had the red 12AX7 horizontally and made in china on them

[Dante]

I believe mine had the print horizontal too

[MarshallJMP]

I also do remember that ADA used a different brand in the very early mp-1's but I can't remember the brand.

[rnolan]

I don't remember a brand but did say made in China under the 12AX7.

[MarshallJMP]

The first ones weren't chinese tubes.

[Iperfungus]

Hey Harley Were these the tubes?

Those are identical to ones I found in my MP-1.
There are Ruby's JJs now, upon MJMP suggestion, but I've to give original tubes a try, one of these days.

[rnolan]

The first ones weren't chinese tubes.

Hey MJMP, well it seems we were late to the party in Australia, so what were the original tubes??  I know the ones in my original top switch MP-1 were Chinese, it was stamped on the tube.  I think I still have them somewhere, but after a couple of thousand gigs they had done their dash and I replaced them with Boogie SAPX7s.

[rnolan]

Hey Harley Were these the tubes?

Those are identical to ones I found in my MP-1.
There are Ruby's JJs now, upon MJMP suggestion, but I've to give original tubes a try, one of these days.

Hey Max, I was enamoured with the original tubes in my MP-2 until recently when I swapped them for the Mullard LPs.  Then again it's very subjective.

[MarshallJMP]

The first ones weren't chinese tubes.

Hey MJMP, well it seems we were late to the party in Australia, so what were the original tubes??  I know the ones in my original top switch MP-1 were Chinese, it was stamped on the tube.  I think I still have them somewhere, but after a couple of thousand gigs they had done their dash and I replaced them with Boogie SAPX7s.

I really can't remember but I only seen these a few times, most originals were the chinese ones with the red 12ax7 letters.