12AX7 vs. 12AT7 vs. 12AU7 in V1 and V2: Distortion/gain tube comparison

12AT7 and 12AU7 preamp tubes are lower gain tubes. Check out how lower gain 12AT7 and 12AU7 preamp tubes affect the overdrive channel of an amp. I’ll swap the V1 and V2 preamp tubes from the stock 12AX7 tubes and replace them with a 12AT7, 12AU7 and a combination both. For this comparison, I’ll use the overdrive channel on a Crate Vintage Club 50 (VC50) 2x12 combo amp, which comes stock with four 12AX7 tubes. 00:00 Intro 00:41 V1: 12AX7 vs. 12AT7 and 12AU7 in V1 01:39 V2: 12AX7 vs. 12AT7 and 12AU7 in V2 02:36 V1 V2: 12AX7 12AX7 vs. 12AT7 12AU7 vs. 12AU7 vs. 12AT7 03:33 Opinion All audio is as heard through a single Shure SM57 microphone. No additional EQ or processing is applied. Amps settings remain unchanged between the comparison. Four different gain settings are compared (as shown during the video by the gain knob on the left of the screen).