Preferred Series tubes/valves

[ITburst]

I’m trying to get a feel for a tube brand which I am assuming is a “house” brand available to me locally.

Has anyone in the southern Ontario part of Canada, or elsewhere, bought these “Preferred Series” tubes from a place called “The Tube Store”

They claim they are better than stock tubes. Curious if anyone has tried them.

 

[FleshOnGear]

Haven’t tried them, but keep in mind that there are only 2 *major* functioning tube factories in the world right now, plus Psvane, which is arguably much smaller than Shuguang was. The Preferred Series comes from those factories. They might have some Shuguang-sourced tubes that they haven’t sold yet. The new Preferred Series 12AX7 looks like a Psvane. The Tube Store buys them in bulk then tests them, presumably rejects the bad ones, then labels them as Preferred Series. So it’s really a matter of how much you trust their testing. I think it’s worth a try.

 

[ITburst]

Haven’t tried them, but keep in mind that there are only 2 *major* functioning tube factories in the world right now, plus Psvane, which is arguably much smaller than Shuguang was. The Preferred Series comes from those factories. They might have some Shuguang-sourced tubes that they haven’t sold yet. The new Preferred Series 12AX7 looks like a Psvane. The Tube Store buys them in bulk then tests them, presumably rejects the bad ones, then labels them as Preferred Series. So it’s really a matter of how much you trust their testing. I think it’s worth a try.

I would like to put new tubes in my newly purchased but used Origin 20 as I don’t know how old they are, and more to the point….just because .
I thought I might give them a try.

 

[FleshOnGear]

I would like to put new tubes in my newly purchased but used Origin 20 as I don’t know how old they are, and more to the point….just because .
I thought I might give them a try.

I haven’t tried the Psvane 12AX7 yet. The Preferred Series 12AX7 used to be the Shuguang 7025, which was my favorite CP 12AX7 until production stopped. The Tube Store website describes the Preferred Series EL34 as a Shuguang tube. They might still have some of those, but I would guess they’re looking at switching to Psvanes at some point, if not already. The Shuguang EL34B-STR also happened to be my favorite sounding CP EL34.

 

[ITburst]

I haven’t tried the Psvane 12AX7 yet. The Preferred Series 12AX7 used to be the Shuguang 7025, which was my favorite CP 12AX7 until production stopped. The Tube Store website describes the Preferred Series EL34 as a Shuguang tube. They might still have some of those, but I would guess they’re looking at switching to Psvanes at some point, if not already. The Shuguang EL34B-STR also happened to be my favorite sounding CP EL34.

So a second vote for giving them a go?

 

[FleshOnGear]

Can I vote twice? Haha. I’d send them an email and ask them if the EL34s are still Shuguangs or something else. Just so you know what you’re getting.

 

[ITburst]

Can I vote twice? Haha. I’d send them an email and ask them if the EL34s are still Shuguangs or something else. Just so you know what you’re getting.

I guess they are. So that’s a good thing?

 

[Dogs of Doom]

there's also Linlai which broke off from Psvane...

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804099923092.html

don't know if they do EL34 though...

 

[FleshOnGear]

I guess they are. So that’s a good thing?

Presumably. Shuguang has been shut down for a long time. It might be good to double check.

Also, I’d like to add that I’ve experienced reliability issues with Shuguangs. Nothing catastrophic. I really loved the sound, though. And preferred series has the warranty.

 

[fitz]

I just get regular JJ's from Tubes & More.
I might pay a buck or two for "matched" just because someone may have at least stuck them in a tester, but I think there's a lot of pixie dust and unicorn tears out there in some of those "premium" tube descriptions and prices.

 

[Old Punker]

I haven’t tried the Psvane 12AX7 yet. The Preferred Series 12AX7 used to be the Shuguang 7025, which was my favorite CP 12AX7 until production stopped. The Tube Store website describes the Preferred Series EL34 as a Shuguang tube. They might still have some of those, but I would guess they’re looking at switching to Psvanes at some point, if not already. The Shuguang EL34B-STR also happened to be my favorite sounding CP EL34.

Do you know if the Preferred Series EL34's sound good in JCM 800 amps? My SC20H tubes are 3 years old now and tone is starting to change, so I want to have something in place. Limited options now since many JJ EL34's are hard to get.

 

[Old Punker]

Presumably. Shuguang has been shut down for a long time. It might be good to double check.

Also, I’d like to add that I’ve experienced reliability issues with Shuguangs. Nothing catastrophic. I really loved the sound, though. And preferred series has the warranty.

Unfortunately my only experience with Shuguang has been with their 12AX7B, which sounded like absolute crap in any amp I stuck them in.

 

[Old Punker]

I’m trying to get a feel for a tube brand which I am assuming is a “house” brand available to me locally.

Has anyone in the southern Ontario part of Canada, or elsewhere, bought these “Preferred Series” tubes from a place called “The Tube Store”

They claim they are better than stock tubes. Curious if anyone has tried them.

I am about a one hour drive from your location. I bought two Preferred Series 6L6 tubes from The Tube Store to use in my Power Station about 2 1/2 years ago and they have been great. Much better than the stock Ruby tubes that failed after 3 weeks.

 

[ITburst]

Unfortunately my only experience with Shuguang has been with their 12AX7B, which sounded like absolute crap in any amp I stuck them in.

I am about a one hour drive from your location. I bought two Preferred Series 6L6 tubes from The Tube Store to use in my Power Station about 2 1/2 years ago and they have been great. Much better than the stock Ruby tubes that failed after 3 weeks.

 

[ITburst]

So you’re saying the rebranded Shuguang are better than the original Shuguang tubes? If that’s what they are.

(This was supposed to be up there ^)

 

[FleshOnGear]

So you’re saying the rebranded Shuguang are better than the original Shuguang tubes? If that’s what they are.

(This was supposed to be up there ^)

Yes, they should be. Supposedly they’ve been tested and the best ones are selected for sale. When you buy a Groove Tube, TAD, or Preferred Series, you are paying partly for their testing process. The alternative is to buy a raw Shuguang tube. I can tell you from experience that the ones straight from the factory can have problems.

 

[Jethro Rocker]

I would like to find a few of the Mesa branded tested Special Performance tubes. Gonna be awhile for those methinks.

 

[Old Punker]

So you’re saying the rebranded Shuguang are better than the original Shuguang tubes? If that’s what they are.

(This was supposed to be up there ^)

I'm not sure which company made the PS 6L6 tubes that I bought, since that was a couple of years ago. My understanding of the preferred series is that they are built to The Tube Store's specs.

The 12AX7B's I have are higher gain and seem to be more suitable for metal. They were not musical enough for what I wanted, as compared to the 12AX7EH that they replaced. I went back to the EH tubes. I see that the Preferred Series 12AX7 tubes have all 5 star ratings on the TBS site. AFAIK these are not Shuguang 12AX7B's.

 

[ITburst]

Well I may just stick with the JJ’s. I’m happy enough with the sound I’m getting out of both my DSL and Origin. If it’s true that “store bought” JJ’s might be better than the stock tubes, all the much better.

The Origin will probably get a fresh set as it’s a used amp and I don’t really know how old it is. I’ll keep the set I pull as backups. And that will serve both as they take the same ones.

Not saying I won’t ever try something else but for now JJ’s should do.