Hagerman Trumpet MC (12AX7 Tube Suggestions)

I have two old Dynaco branded Telefunken black smooth plate 12ax7’s, two old Dystrom branded Mullard Blackburn 12ax7’s, and two old CBS Hytron black plate 12au7’s.

Sounds great. A wonderful mix in the Trumpet after trying a few.

The 12au7 choice makes a difference with your 12ax7 choices.

@mulveling

Teles are expensive from “trusted” sources but they’re really quite common. So many of these were imported to USA, e.g. in Fisher gear. No need to overpay for Teles. Find a few “used tests strong” pairs and keep the best. Of course this works much better if you or a friend have a tube tester.

Agreed. I have had good results from rebranded Teles (and Mullards). If you know what to look for, you can get good deals vs factory labeled tubes. Being willing to try some some from other than "trusted" sellers with good track records can also bring your cost down significantly. I think I got all my vernerable old tubes in my Trumpet for about $400~450ish total. For 6 great old tubes, that is actually a pretty good deal.

For my ears, well worth the extra cost in the Trumpet, and my mix transformed the sound significantly in a good way, to me. Heightened detail with smoothness, warmth, and good weight. But, we all have different subjective tastes.

@djohn

Thanks for the assistance on this.

Not a problem. I think you will like what the Tele’s offer. More detail, more air, and increased smoothness. Not ‘gritty’ in the least like some of the newer tubes.

I was running 4 smooth plates, but then tried a couple CBS Hytron black plate 12au7’s, and they offered even more detail and transparency. They replaced some old 12au7 Brimar’s.

But, it soon became clear the 4 Tele’s and 2 CBS Hytron’s were too much of a good thing, but I like the Hytron’s a lot so did not want to put the Brimar’s back in. Thus, decided to combine 2 old Mullard Blackburn 12ax7’s with 2 Tele’s, and that was the ticket. The Mullard’s brought back some warmth and weight without giving up detail, in the mid’s and lower mids especially. Just balanced everything out.

Have fun. I find the Trumpet is very good at allowing a tubes ‘signature’ to shine through. Then it’s a matter of finding a combo that sounds good to your ears.