Sovtek 12AX7 Mullard Reissue

it's just a long-plated 12ax7

I don't understand the neutral, if not negative, reviews for this tube. Just recieved the tube today (ordered from tubedepot) and replaced the JJ short plate that was in V1. I play out of a Marshall DSL401 and the JJ tube made it sound awesome, but there was always this concern from listeing that it made my amp sound more like a Fender. The tube (JJ) was warm as hell, chimey, and snappy, definately the vintage sound. I wanted my Marshall to sound more like a JTM45, and JJs would definately pushed that way more, but there was still this loss of what my amp was truly capiable of. I took a gamble and bought the Mullard. I just crossed my fingers that there wouldn't be a loss in the high end.

Now this tube, the Mullard, is SEXY....more what a Marshall should sound like! My little 1x12 combo now sounds like a classic stack! This is unbeleivable. The word "smoother" comes to mind when listening and comparing this Mullard to a JJ. No loss in high frequencies either. The amp is still chimey, just not Fender chimey anymore. The cleans also express smoother notes. I supose the long plates in the tube make all this possible, but I've heard nothing but good about this tube staying away from being microphonic.

Who knows. Again, the long plates might make this go microphonic in my combo amp, but I've heard this tubes are the exception.

Don't be afraid to take a chance on these tubes. They're worth the money. They are miles away better than the usual tubes Sovtek makes. If you own a Marshall, and want to make sure it's giving you that classic sound you've heard all these years, this tube will take care of it. JJs are awesome, but I recommend those more for Fender players.

Looking at the construction of this tube, it look exactly the same as a Sovtek 12ax7lp. It doesn't have the halo getter or the type of spacers you normally see on a top quality tube like Sovtek's own Tung Sol reissue 12ax7.

I think these tubes not only look like Sovtek's 12ax7LP, they sound like them too. They are good tubes. I didn't have good luck with the reliability of the 12ax7lp's so maybe these will be more reliable, but it's still dissapointing to see they are made basically the same.

I don't know yet. Long plates often don't do well in a combo amplifier like a Fender....

I tried e-mailing Sovtek once and was blown away when they actually responded. Try contacting them through the New Sensor website....

I was hoping these would be a little nicer than the 12ax7lp's, the way that the Tung Sol reissues are a little nicer than the Electro Harmonix 12AX7's but I don't see or hear the difference....

no features....its a pre-amp tube for guitar amps.

not bad. Its their re-creation of the long plate ecc83 Mullard (NOS). It has decent drive, and average gain. Its very dark sounding, but has plenty of "body" in the mids. The bass and lows seem to "bloom" and are not to flabby at all. I wish it has more chime/clarity though........

This tube has a very similar sound to the JJ Ecc803. This mullard re-issue is a very "smooth" tube with "body".....

just tried it last night, there were no microphonics......but i have not had it long enough to comment here......

where i bought it from has a 30 day return policy......but no comment here.

over all its a good step up for the Sovtek manufacturer. Im surprised they finally made a decent sounding tube! Im gonna keep this one for a while......its a decent surprise from a new production tube.