Excellent tube for P.I. position.

I'm a sucker for low priced NOS tubes. Now here's a thing about the Ei ECC83. Those who have used them in '90s know that if you buy them from a good reseller they can be the best and most robust tube you'll ever buy, but if you buy them from a shady source they will be the shittiest noisy garbage you'll ever find. They were excellent tubes but they had piss poor quality control.

Back in the '80s and '90s these were marketed by both Mesa, as well as Groove Tubes and were highly recommended for the P.I. position. Some of the best amps back then like the Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC, Dual Rectifier Gen. 1 used them in the phase inverter position. Back in the '90s they used to be my go-to tube for the phase inverters of my amps. If you find a good one then they last really long.

However when they stopped selling them I stopped buying them too. Most ones out there were faulty and prone to serious microphonic issues, so buying them was a risky affair. Then I found these folks at RAM Tubeworks who sell tested and selected Ei ECC83 tubes. So, I decided to give them a try, and ordered them for my old and trusty Crate BV150H. I opted for the Low Noise graded Ei ECC83 from them. They sell a Super Low Noise graded one too, but hey I needed a tube for the P.I., no need for a SLN tube in that position. It wasn't too pricey, cost me just $55 which is more or less similar to what all those so called premium re-issue tubes from New Sensor sell for.

Now about their performance. The ones I bought from RAM Tubeworks are actually graded better than what I used to buy from Mesa, and Groove Tubes. I had my fears about them being microphonic and noisy, but these ones were actually the good ones. They are everything that I used to love about them in the '90s. They're very clean, transparent, and have extended high and low end. However at the same time they don't have any harshness. Their highs are extended, clear, and detailed but they aren't harsh.

They are great tubes, and thank goodness there's finally a seller out there who sells them tested and screened for good performance. For all Mesa/Boogie, and Crate BV150H or 300H users out there, folks you can now buy your favorite phase inverter tube from the '80s and '90s once again without the fear of running into the bad ones.