Hagerman Trumpet MC (12AX7 Tube Suggestions)

Can’t go wrong with Amperex, the older the better. (As long as the test good)

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.

Wonderful comments everyone and Much Appreciated.

I should note that I only buy from Trusted Sellers that can Identify and actually Test and Match Pairs for me. Been there and done that on Ebay and it was not a great experience.

@lewm Ironically, I am using a Quad of Sovtek 12AX7LPS that were purchased from a Trusted Seller eons ago as Spares for other Gear. I am running the Trumpet now with Tungsram 12AU7’s and the Sovteks. I am quite pleased with the sound but I would like to try some other variations.

@photodusty I loved your Post and Thank You for taking the time to write. On the Supplied Mullards I have to say that I was confused since they were not banded as Matched Pairs and the Four Tubes were just placed in a Bag in the Shipping Box. I actually left them in the Shipping Box knowing that I will be trying the Sovtek’s noted above first. With what you are saying I should have used the new Mullards first before the Sovtek’s.

Your comments on the Amperex were enlightening since I have a Quad of Holland Amperex’s coming. I am fond of them due to my previous experience with them in other Gear.

Thanks for your comment on the RCA 5751 also. I have also reached out to Jim Hagerman recently regarding using a 5751 but have not heard back yet. With your comment quite possibly I am wasting my time exploring this.

@bkeske I reviewed your previous Posts extensively on the Hagerman before purchase. Thank You! Telefunken Smooth Plates are so expensive now from the Trusted Sellers to avoid Counterfeits so the Holland Amperex might be the end of the line for me since they were not cheap. I would like to try a USA variant also and I do not mind keeping some Spares in a Box. I am going to paw around the entrance of the Rabbit Hole but I will not be performing a Complete Dive into the Rabbit Hole regarding the Tubes.

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Telefunken and Mazda (silver plates) 12ax7 are great if you want to amp up detail. The smooth plate Teles are warmer; ribbed plates are a bit more dynamic but also touch brighter. Mazda silver are the best omg - but a tad bright and expensive! The Trumpet MC is warm overall so it’s very accepting of these tubes, more than most.

I don’t have much for 12au7 in my collection but I do have British Mullard CV4003 in there now (warm) and the result with brighter more detailed 12ax7 is quite nice.

Modern Russian production tubes are really quite good too. The Mullards are quite warm. The Tung-Sols give you a bit more detail and energy up top and I like them in the Trumpet MC. The overall tonality/balance of Russian Mullards and Tung-Sols actually tracks pretty well with their vintage counterparts.

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.

I’m not really a fan of RCA tubes but they’re OK, sometimes. GE triple mica black plate 5751 are much better than RCA 5751 but I haven’t tried a 5751 in the Trumpet MC yet. It’ll certainly work, but not sure how the sound will be.

@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.