All tubes pick up sound vibrations to some extent. The 7025 signifies that Sovtek builds these tubes to the standard of the RCA 7025 tubes used on vintage Fenders. The 12AX7WA has a lower noise floor than a standard 12AX7, which means you get a quieter background against which to play your instrument. Russian manufacturer Sovtek has built a great reputation for their tubes, and the Sovtek 7025/12AX7WA lives up to that reputation. Here are three of the best 12AX7s on the market today. There are many companies producing 12AX7 tubes under different names and numbers. The joyful distortion you hear in a shredding guitar solo is created either through a tube preamplifier or a complex solid-state setup engineered to emulate soft clipping. When transistors are overloaded, they produce harsh and painful “hard clipping.” As tubes try to pass the signal, they go into “soft clipping” and produce harmonics that we hear as euphonic. Prolonged clipping at high volume can damage equipment and eardrums, but rock guitarists have used controlled clipping and distortion since Jimi Hendrix. The high gain can also raise the signal past its maximum, which sound engineers call clipping. The 12AX7 then passes that signal on to the amplifier tubes and the power transformer, and from there, to the speaker driver that turns electricity into sound. If your amplifier has tubes, it almost certainly has at least one 12AX7 in the preamplifier section.Īs the signal from your guitar pickup passes through the 12AX7, it gains strength. Since the mid-1950s, the 12AX7 has been one of the most widely-used tubes in the guitar industry. Exploring 12AX7 vs 12AT7 Tubes 12AX7 Tubes

Read on for explanations and recommendations on the best tubes for your guitar setup.

By the time we’re done, you’ll not only know the difference between a 12AX7 and a 12AT7, but you’ll also have a better understanding of how tubes work. If you’re wondering what all those words mean, read on.

The 12AX7 is mostly used in the preamp section of guitar amplifiers to boost the pickup signal, whereas the 12AT7 is also used in phase inversion and effects pedals.The 12AX7’s high gain can make it prone to clipping and distortion, whereas the 12AT7 can give you more headroom.The 12AX7 has a gain output of 100, whereas the 12AT7 has a gain output of 60.The main differences between 12AX7 vs 12AT7 are: Image from Flickr Main Differences Between 12AX7 vs 12AT7 Tubes

7025 tube equivalent