In German Studio Magazin (edition 18/12 & 19/1), you’ll each find a part of an interesting article about the sound characteristics of different ECC83 and 12AX7 tubes.
The SPL TwinTube of our Analog Elemental Series was used to perform this test.
Friedemann Kootz describes how that came about:
“I came up with the idea to perform this test when I purchased a TwinTube processor by SPL.
Interestingly, the trigger to purchase this device was the eponymous plugin by Universal Audio (or rather Brainworx), which saved the mix of a recording I was mixing a little while ago. With the analog equivalent, the interest aroused how different tubes perform in this very unit.”
“TwinTube offers two channels with each individual stages which offer the addition of harmonics and a saturation stage. The latter has a broadband effect, whereas the harmonic generator works with switchable high-pass filters in the tube path, to restrict the effective range. Both stages use their own tube circuit with each one ECC83, which means that there are four tubes inside the device in total.”
SPL TwinTube is a discontinued product, but we still offer a few of these devices (from the AES series) at our Online Shop.
If you’re interested in the outcome of this test, you’ll find everything (in German) within the two editions (18/12 & 19/1) of Studio Magazin. The test also provides you with detailed measurements and measurement diagrams of the different tubes.
Foretaste of the conclusion:
“The usual suspects head the table. Valvo, Siemens and Lorenz were the best tubes within the test.”
“Our TwinTube will consequently be equipped with Valvo tubes.”
