F-1X Different tubes affect sound?

[brianm]

I recently purchased a F-1X. I've heard that different types of tubes will affect the sound of these units. Is this true? If so, can anyone tell me what types of tubes can be used with this unit and the type of tone from the tube? I'm in to fusion and looking for as much fidelity and tonal variation as possible. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[crgaston]

My understanding is that in the F-1X, tube selection has a less dramatic effect on tone, as only half of it is used as an input buffer. The best thing to do would be buy 2 or 3 different kinds, like GT, Sovtek, Fender or Ruby Tubes, and switch them out to hear them yourself.  If you find that you can hear a difference, then you might want to start delving into the expensive tubes to see if they are worth the money.

[bob]

There have been a few discussions on this, though they tend to be difficult to search for, partly because people are inconsistent and variously use F-1X, F1-X, and F1X :-)
 
So I left that out and tried an OR search, whole words only, on groovetube, mullard, sovtek,  and got 16 results. Feel free to throw in a few other brand names, but these will get you to many/most of the threads.
 
That got me thinking a little more about searching, and rather than hijack the discussion here, I'll start a new thread.

[bkbass]

There's an old saying that How long can you polish a turd? Groovetubes are from China and are rated for degrees of distortion from 1-10(?) and are therefore best suited for guitar. Mullard, an English company, is best known for it's output tubes typically used in the early Marshalls again,suited for guitar. I know the name is back but I can't comment on the quality of sound or construction. Sovtek a Russian tube is sometimes from Russia (the early ones) and I believe is now manufactured in China right along side the silk screen of Groove Tubes. I also play fusion,rock and jazz. I have 2 FX-1 and a superfilter in one rack and a Demeter BP-201 (original style)with a superfilter in another. I like my HIFI as well. I use GE 12AX7'S & 12AU7'S. Which to my ears sound the cleanest most musically honest sound I can get. I play 4,5,6,7 & 8 string basses and these tubes cover the entire spectrum. No complaints.

[bsee]

Personally, I like the JJ/Tesla ECC803s long plate.  The short plate version is a few bucks cheaper and I don't really know the impact of the plate length, but I really like these tubes in my SWR heads.