my sonzera 20 starting to act wonky, gain loss and intermittent distorsion/crackling sounds. planning on starting with replacing the tubes. manual says the preamps are 1 x JJ EC83 and 3 x ruby 12ax7. power amps are ruby 6L6GC. when I look online its really not clear what to get. there seem to be many brands and versions of these and it's not clear cut at all. any suggestions??/
Tube replacement Sonzera 20
- Thread starter No1umfan
- Start date
RickP
Established 1960, Still Not Dead
ECC83 and 12AX7 is the same tube, just Euro and US designations. Not sure why they'd be listed that way. Of course, a 6L6GC is a 6L6GC. Brands are up to you, but JJ is a good tube. I don't have much personal experience with Ruby, but their old tubes were good.
RickP
Established 1960, Still Not Dead
Might give Customer Service a ring and see what they say. Their number is in my sig.
andy474x
Knows the Drill
Tubes of the same basic type from different manufacturers are usually a little different, maybe in terms of how much gain they have, or how prone they are to microphonics, or other aspects. That’s probably why different tubes were spec’d.
You can’t go wrong with any 12ax7 type for preamp tubes, but you may find you like some more than others. Myself, of new production and of what’s currently available due to world events, I like the JJ e83cc, which is a little different from their standard ecc83s.
Of the 3 big tube manufacturers, one is in Russia, another China and just recovering from a catastrophic fire, the third is JJ in Slovakia and is going to be the best bet for supply in most of the world right now. Their tubes are very reliable, whether you like the sound or not is up to you. IMO there are a couple duds in their line (that ecc83s, and their 12at7/ecc81), but most everything else I’ve had from them is really nice.
The new production Mullard 12ax7/ecc83 is also very nice, but made in Russia.
For 6L6’s, Eurotubes gets a special double spacer version from JJ that doesn’t rattle like many new tubes do, I recommend those.
Then you can go NOS, which is great, except I lost my house and now living in an old rectifier tube box. @LSchefman got me into it, still waiting to see how he’ll get me out.
You can’t go wrong with any 12ax7 type for preamp tubes, but you may find you like some more than others. Myself, of new production and of what’s currently available due to world events, I like the JJ e83cc, which is a little different from their standard ecc83s.
Of the 3 big tube manufacturers, one is in Russia, another China and just recovering from a catastrophic fire, the third is JJ in Slovakia and is going to be the best bet for supply in most of the world right now. Their tubes are very reliable, whether you like the sound or not is up to you. IMO there are a couple duds in their line (that ecc83s, and their 12at7/ecc81), but most everything else I’ve had from them is really nice.
The new production Mullard 12ax7/ecc83 is also very nice, but made in Russia.
For 6L6’s, Eurotubes gets a special double spacer version from JJ that doesn’t rattle like many new tubes do, I recommend those.
Then you can go NOS, which is great, except I lost my house and now living in an old rectifier tube box. @LSchefman got me into it, still waiting to see how he’ll get me out.
