I've been using JJ's for 5 years now in my SD 30 and DS30 - great match in either.
Try talking with Bob over at Eurotubes.com. He's familiar with Budda amps and does a great job matching up pre and power section tubes to the sound your after. Make sure you converse with him either by email or phone so you and he can establish what you're after. I'd believe it if he took notes, he always seems to remember not only what I've tried but how I felt about the sound.
The JJ's I've used have the sparkle, even in the Drive channel. They generally are mid-thick, but so is the SD30 by nature. I like you can pummel the drive then kick up the treble on the EQ to get a cutting yet still smooth lead tone with overtones that really sing out. Roll back the volume pot and there's the chime for rhythm with some grit when you dig in yet it's still articulate. They also keep the SD30's low end tight like it should be.
Switching to the rhythm channel with the JJ's makes me feel simple I don't use it more - chime, grind and character. Magic in my PTP SD30, 5 years and counting. It's like a hot girl who just makes you want more of them even though you got one already.
I've tried Ruby's, brittle on the high end, low end flab-ish. Sovteks, flat, relatively. GT's, good second to the JJ's, I might like them as good or better if I used another axe (customized Ibanez Roadstar II's from '83) or played differently. I don't bother with NOS glass, if I'm missing something then I don't want to know, I prefer availability/repeatability over a six month long tube bender I can't relive.
-Rick
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