So far winner is a pair of Mullard 12AX7/ECC83s and the matched ElectroHarmonix 6V6GT duet set. Thought I had a pair of Mullard 6V6GTs, but can't find them, may break down and order a pair to check in this amp...
Overall this is a great amp. The head only weighs 20 lbs., I'm playing it through 2 Blackheart 1x12 cabs with Celestion Vintage 30's installed and it's a solid 5w/15w of output. (Note: They also offer a small combo version with a 12" Celestion speaker installed for $449)
The price - $299 online - seems great, but that's a little deceptive. First of all, there is a footswitch that toggles the Tube Screamer and 6dB boost on and off, but it's not included and costs an additional $25-29 online. Secondly, as is the case with most low-cost amps, the stock tubes that come with it leave a lot to be desired. They sounded thin/trebly and if you kick the amp down to the 5 watt mode with them in it sounds kinda muddy. So you're looking at spending another $90-100 on tubes to really unlock the amp's potential, taking the total cost with footswitch to around $425.
That being said, it's still a great deal to me. Once properly tubed you have an amp that will output tone near identical to an old tweed Deluxe with a built in TS-9 Tube Screamer, a 6 dB boost switch and a completely clean effects in/out loop. The 5 watt mode is great for "bedroom" use and at 15 watts it's loud enough through efficient speakers like Celestions for small gigs/studio work.
I'm using a Vox wah pedal in front of the amp and an ElectroHarmonix Electric Mistress flanger, TC Electronics HoF reverb pedal and a Line6 DL4 delay modeler in the EFX loop. Still tweaking the built-in TS-9, never really used one of those before, it seems like you need to tweak settings based on output level, does that sound right?
Four stars out of 5 and a "Buy" recommend, one star taken off as it needs to be re-tubed out of the box, they should include the footswitch, use better tubes and charge more upfront...
