renips

Gheeze, I'm havin' a hard time pinpointing that! It was while Myles still worked there at GT, probably five or six years ago or so; he kindly hand-picked a set for me and they're still going strong, as is the matched, "#5"-rated EL84S quartet. The SAG MHG pres developed a little microphonic tendency, but that was easily cured with a couple of Hal-O tube-dampers- nary a whistle, ring or squeal since! All of the GT tubes that I put in that amp- during Myles' tenure there- have lasted much longer than I would have expected, including the output-tubes. There were good stretches of time where the amp saw little use, but when used I push it very hard- and I've been using it a LOT and using it HARD this past year and a half! [/quote I have not heard of these tube dampers. They make some sense. Do you recommend them?Where did you get them

Hey, renips, congratulations, I think you're going to be very pleased- I purchased that same SAG MHG Kit myself, and it made a whole new amp out of my little Carvin Vintage 33! ESPECIALLY the MPI- what an improvement! As a point of info, the equipment that I used to produce those sets is set up and in operation every day over at www.65amps.com Thanks Myles, I will send that tube out. What do you think of these NOS from Tube Depot? At $40 and $50 a piece they are cheap compared to the others. They offer matched+balanced triodes. Does this make sense? I am tempted to try them but I want to learn more The JAN GE 12AX7 The Sylvania 12AX7WA

What year was that you bought them?

Myles, I appreciate your time. You offered to run a curve trace to see if there was any truth to what I spent hard earned money for. It was not to establish whether or not these are your product. I was only offering to send you the tube to establish what you offered and that was to see if there was any validity to the claims of the marketer. My offer still stands and you do not have to send the tube back. I think it would be a great benefit to many tube buying guitar players to see what your findings conclude. I know I would be interested. Your advice to stay away from these sets is appreciated. Tube Depot offers a very similar service to match tubes. For a couple of extra buck per tube they will give high gain,match tubes and phase inverters. This is not my first rodeo. I have been playing these amps for decades. People shell out obscene money for NOS tubes. It makes me wonder. NOS are marketed as being made better and lasting longer because they were produced decades ago with better materials supposedly and if the companies happened to be American then even better. Who knows. I still have old GT 6550A tubes from 20 years ago that are still good. I am still on a quest to find tone. I guess that is part of the fun I am going to look into the NOS tubes and really do some research. Any opinions you may feel you want to offer would be very much appreciated. Peace Mark

Myles I really appreciate the response. The reason I got the second set was because the first set did have a problem and GC sent me out another without even asking for the first set back. I am in Miami so I could not stop by as much as I would be honored to. I would be willing to send the tube to you in the interest of truth. You could perform any tests necessary and you could send me back the tubes when done. My amp was not liking this set as it was cutting out on the gain channel. Let me know via PM what address I should send the tubes to. Also could recommend to me or do you sell any high gain sets that I purchase? I will send you info via PM so if you wish to contact me we could discuss. I feel you are acting very responsible and appreciate your candor. I think the results from this will be of particular interest to many people.

http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt176/renips/DSC02140.jpg The far left tube is labeled the 12AX7 MPI. The two on the right are labeled as ecc83s. These were purchased from Guitar Center and are being marketed as SAG MHG from Groove Tubes.

http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt176/renips/gear/Tubes.jpg Myles, Tubes are 2 ecc83s and 1 12AX7 MPI I can't tell the make. They are re labeled Groove tubes. Your original sets would only last so long as stock. At some point after you stopped doing this they would have to continue themselves based on your original blueprinting.

Myles, Thanks for the response. They are Not marked V1,V2,V3 on the stickers. The only one that is marked is the MPI. The other two just have the stickers and the hand written numbers. Thanks

Myles, I just received another SAG MHG trio with the numbers 85.6-90 89-89 MPI I know the MPI goes in V3. Which order do the other two go? The reason I am asking because the 89-89 is the caveat to the generally higher number goes in V1. It always seems that one of the tubes has the same paired number. The one trio I asked previously was 85-85. I guess I am needing to know what the numbers are referring to. Are these tubes double triodes and are the numbers rating each part of the tube? My understanding is that one part of the tube would be for the clean and one for the gain. Is this correct? The one tube with the balance of 89-89 is throwing me. I need to know for this set where the 89-89 should go. Thanks and Happy Holidays to you

Thanks Myles. I appreciate the response. This along with the Vintage 30 I replaced the stock speaker with should be fun. It was fun before but tweaking tone is what it is all about. I will let you all know how it goes

Myles - I need some guidance please. I own a Marshall HAZE40C. I purchased the SAG MHG pre amp tubes. Based on the numbers written on the boxes which tubes should go in V1,V2 and V3 They are as follows 94.3-89.4 ecc83s 85-85 ecc83s MPI 12ax7 I know you are very familar with these Are these the gain ratings? Which order should I place in the amp? Thanks Mark