Tube rolling suggestions

You are fortunate that the input tube is the tube that matters most according to J..128 for the Rougue. There are so many option available, I have tried a bunch of 12AX7 tubes each has its own characteristics. I would try as many as you can afford to find the one you like best. I use Telefunkens and Mullards most of the time. The telefunken is very clean sounding while the Mullard is "Polite". The drivers are reportedly very important again there is a plethora of 12AU7s to try and they are relatively inexpensive. I have found it to be fun trying different tubes and I like the variety of sound I can achieve using different tubes. The only problem is that it can become addictive.

I have had a Rogue Amp for a few years, and have done extensive tube rolling. I like the Mullards for the input tubes and I love the winged "C" Svetlana KT88's for the output stage.

Thanks for the great responses, I have recently read Joe's Tube Lore and definitely want to try the 5751 input tube. There sure seems to be a big difference in price. I know it is all subjective but is there that much difference between the 5751 JAN GE for $18/each at Tube Depot compared to the RCA Black Plate listed here on Agon for $50/each.

FWIW. I got more satisfaction out of fiddling with interconnects between my Zeus and pre-amp than I did out of tube swapping. As the 12ax7's are long lived, cost of replacing your favorite NOS is no big deal I reckon, but I liked the idea of finding a cable that worked well with the relatively cheap current production tubes and found contentment that way. The limited amount of tube swapping I did always got me 'different and better than the other in some ways on some source material' but never 'just plain better'. Good luck!

Sgunther:

The GE 5751 on Tube Depot is a "standard" 2-mica grayplate. Am not familiar with it, but the 3-mica blackplate is the one usually considered the tube of choice, at least according to Joe's Tube Lore. They sound very nice but are much more expensive.

The $50.00 RCA's are the 3-mica blackplates, probably of late 50's vintage. This is the type I keep coming back to in my Rogues. A good, strong pair should last quite a while. They can also be found on e-bay often enough and if bid at the right time, can be had for between $50.00 and $80.00 per pair.