1957 MULLARD mC1'S - MATCHED PAIR WITH MATCHING CODES - NOS STRONG, BALANCED

12AX7 / ECC83 / CV4004. Sputnik was launched in 1957. They've lived through it. And this, despite the transistor, a technology specifically invented to kill them all straight door nail dead.

It's been said that the Mullard sound can be most likened to a warm British jacket of the finest tweed. T say I know what that means exactly, but I do like the way it sounds.

And I like how Mullard tubes sound, too. There's logic hiding in there somewhere. Enticingly intimate and warm, almost sweetly so, it's always a close, handsy dance when listening to a Mullard. You're right there, and tonight it. S a for-your-ears-only private concert. The top end is silky, airy, never rolling off. The soundstage is big, open and warm like an overdue hug that brings you in for. The mid range is full, clean, and mesmerizingly human. The low end is weighty, not too fast, not precise but not. Smooth, rich, musical, they just flow. The best word I know to describe them is. Tube guru Brent Jesse once used a few more words, writing that These tubes reproduce the human voice, especially female voices, with haunting realism. Well, anyone that's heard them.

Maybe it's because they're expensive. An idiosyncrasy of tube culture that needs to be talked about more. It feels almost taboo, like I'm grossly violating some secret, unwritten law of the great tube doctrine by even considering listing mC1 pairs. But these dog-eared stacks of parking.

Following the rule of law, written or unwritten. Test Results (32=Good 48=New): 46/32 & 46/32 = Very Strong. Getter: Field Goal, Plates: 17mm, Long, Series: I47 mC1, Factory: Blackburn Born: 1957, Code (B7D). Special Power: Red Tip / Medically Selected / Special Quality. Test Results (32=Good 48=New): 44/32 & 44/32 = Very Strong.

Getter: Field Goal, Plates: 17mm, Long, Series: I57 mC1, Factory: Blackburn Born: 1957, Code (B7D). 12AX7's generally come in two sizes, Short/14mm or Long/17mm. And it's important to understand their differences, because they are different. Most importantly, they sound different.

A difference that can be summed up in three words: Lively, 3D, and Open. Long plates came along first, way back in 1949. The lived primarily through the 50's until in the late 50's/early 60's the short plate was invented as a way to combat what they saw at the time as shortcomings in the long plate, primarily length of life and a proneness to becoming microphonic. The short plates did just that, they lived longer and were more stabler, but are generally believed to not sound as detailed, musical or have as large of a soundstage as their older, longer-haired cousins. This distinction is most relevant to American made tubes.

First generation 12AX7s were all black plates and are highly prized (and thus expensive) for their fantastically sweet sound. A sound created by a tube that emphasizes, by design, even order harmonics over fundamental tone. In general, black plates have a warmer, more complex, more harmonic and fuller sound than their grey-haired counter parts.

Think of it as a 30 day audition. I want you to love your new tubes. Don't like the sound? Your tester is different than my tester? T compromise, don't be shy.

You get the wrong tube, or straight up DOA. Otherwise, it's on you. On the off-chance something isn't right, please contact me first and give me the opportunity to make it right. For the record, I've.

Never, not ever had anyone ask to return anything. Want me to fudge some import/export numbers? Unless it's my fault. And if you ask, even once, even cryptically, cleverly or outrightly or any other way for me to fudge numbers you're not only permanently shit listed, I'll pay a bona fide Voodoo witch doctor to make you itch in places you don't want to itch for six months. And I'm saying summer months.

Ex-ad writer turned tube monger. S right, I park for shit. That's the important bit. That's why I'm here. You know how color blind people can't see color?

To me, the world is just one big empty parking space. That's the curse of it, I was born free range, all nature and no nurture. I can't help it. I'll stop it, drop it and won't even lock it. Hosed daily, fire zones are my freak. Block you into your own garage? That spot may have your name on it, but whose car is that? Adverse possession is the name of my game.

No lightning for your ride today. Asshhole idling right outside your window? Peddle your hypocrisy somewhere else, Spandy. Don't see too many folks wearing tights in traffic court.

Which is both unfair and disappointing. And I'm there daily.

I've begun to think I've taken things too far, though. Recently, I started parking in the police lot to attend to my business in traffic court. I mean, it's right there. And I'm figuring they'd see my wheels and appreciate that I'm trying to do right.

But that's not how they see it. But he's the kind of milquetoast idiot that pays for parking and still uses LOL and a YAHOO! Doc says if I want to get better I need to ask for help. And I want to get better, I really do. I'm counting on you.

PS: I need a new JD ASAP. Any of you lawyer likes out there want burn some softball days in traffic court, HMU. You're right, I ain't the cheapest. Because I stand behind every single tube I sell.

I weed out the bunk tubes, the off-balance tubes, the fake tubes, the microphonic tubes, the misrepresented tubes, the'don't challenge my tester' tubes and all the rest of'em, too. I take the risk and I take the hits so you don't have to. Simply put, you get what you pay for. You're paying for a great tube, peace of mind, and a premium customer experience. But my reviews are - because if I make a mistake, I make it right.

I test, you test, we all test. I'll keep this short and simple. I test them with a recently calibrated Hickcock TV-7 that I meticulously maintain.

I test to the best of my ability and I report all results honestly. My results are my results. Your results are your results. I do not guarantee nor expect that you will have the same results. Hopefully we'll be close, but at some point our personal testers become a relative benchmark and we need to remember to use them as such.

No matter, you can return a tube that doesn't test well. If a tube is damaged, or the paint is missing or the label scratched off, or you abused it with a sharpie, etc.