Tung-Sol 12AX7 (ECC83) Preamp Vacuum Tube
From our review of this tube: "There are only so many ways to describe vacuum tube tone and most have become cliches. The Tung Sol 12AX7 preamp tube has the gain and drive of a Chinese 12AX7 and the pure tone of a Mullard or Brimar."
According to the manufacturer, this Tungsol 12AX7 is the Ultimate 12AX7. Big, warm, and musical. High Gain, ultra-low microphonics, and superb linearity with a dynamic 3-D sound.
One other note about the construction of these audio tubes is they have filaments that are almost completely encased in the plate structure. They don't "light up" brightly when working properly.
Note to audiophiles: These tubes are great for linestage preamps, but generally not phono stages where a very low noise floor is required.
Other Tung-Sol tubes 
12AX7 TypesAdditional Information and Downloads
Reviews:
12AX7 Tube Review
Tube Matching Information:
Matched Sections Service
Downloads:
Tung-Sol 12AX7 Datasheet (PDF)
Download Adobe Acrobat PDF reader
Warranty Information and Return Policy
Warranty Period: 3 monthsAll our tubes are guaranteed for 3 months from the date of purchase. (Any exceptions will be noted on that tube's Warranty tab)
If you receive a tube that does not perform to the manufacturer's specifications, please do the following:
- contact us to get a return authorization
- return it via regular mail within 90 days from when we shipped it, and we will provide an exchange or refund of the full purchase price of the tube.
Returns not related to warranty or defect will be considered at our discretion, and are subject to a 15% restocking fee.
We can not accept returns that don't have an authorization, are past 3 month, or are returned improperly.
These guidelines may be updated without notice.
Ratings & Reviews
42 reviews
Just one variable of "tone"....
by Rythm track
A few months ago an old, good friend of mine gave me a 'Rivera era' Fender Champ II amp. Yes...FREE!! I never had the money for a tube amp and played only solid state amps since I started playing. I tried different effects, etc.
Well, after four years of not playing I decided to mess with it again. The stock speaker was gone. It had been blown in a drunken feedback session and then used as a stereo!?
Since then it sat for 20 years and collected dust. I got these tubes as replacements for the original 7025s that were in it. They had good gain and were low noise. Compared to the original tubes it sounded very compressed and had a heavy bass response that sounded a little 'muddy'. I couldn't get the mid-top cut I liked about the stock tube. I'm thinking about running one of these tubes with the stock 7025 to see what it does.
I suppose I should say I'm running an Epi Les Paul Studio with a Seymor Duncan JB at the bridge and the SH in the neck position. The amp is going to a 2x12 cab loaded with Celestion A-Types.
I'll give this tube 4 stars based on the gain and clarity it has. When cranking the master to get the gain, it was too dark/muddy for my set up. I did get a nice clean sound, so if that is your deal this might be your tube. It just wasn't what I was looking for with my set up.
Maz 18 NR - Smooth & Warm
by Brad
Bought a pair of these for my MAZ 18 NR. Matched them up with a pair of Mullard EL84's. Big improvement over the stock JJ's that came in the amp. Smoother break up, removed the harsh top end and allowed me more control with the volume knob. This combination will be a main stay in my amp as long as they continue to work like this.
the search is over
by Stephen
Finally a tube with ridiculous gain and clarity and a low price compared to my NOS. Very happy, works great in my Blackstar S1-104 6L6 will buy more for my other amps. If you don't like high gain bright sounding tubes you probably won't like this.
Vocals not deep
by Paramesh
I bought this tube for Jolida 1501BRC tube, tube signature is very nice and liner tone,but vocals not deep and open.....
Wonderful for clean channel in my Peavey Classic 30
by Pierre
Re-tubed my Peavey Classic 30 all with EH. EH sounds great in dirty channel but was too bold and harsh for the clean channel. EH has nice fat grits though, but does not sign much in clean channel.
Tried all JJ Mid Gain as well as Long plate but no improvement. When I shoved the Tung-Sol 12AX7 in, wow, very nice and well balanced clean.
It's funny, I was using Tung-Sol in clean channel of my Bassman 300 as well and it also worked wonder.