analog addict
Glory or Death!
Au contrair! I think there are a lot of us 6V6 users.
I also like the smoked glass RCA blackplates....:thmbsp:
tube rolling 6v6,6v6gt's and 7408's
- Thread starter Jcricket
- Start date
Au contrair! I think there are a lot of us 6V6 users.
I also like the smoked glass RCA blackplates....:thmbsp:
zenithfan1
Super Member
Including myself, My Moto console has a 3 channel PP 6V6 amp and I love it very much.
Anyone have an opinion of Moto tubes? Mine has all 6 original 6V6GTs and only one is getting a little weaker than the others. I have only one Tung-Sol replacement and it's a little stronger but I didn't like the way it made it sound so I put the original back in.
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Tube Doctor
New Member
I suggest you get a matched set of jj 6v6s that are more than up to the job of handling the plate voltages of the a-300 365vdc plus! They also have good bottom end and overall sound as well. Second, the A-300 is cathode biased off of the phono preamp tubes filaments. If you pull a phono preamp tube it will scew the bias on your outputs and fry them, likewise if you happen to burn a filament out on the phono side. Look up retrochad on youtube and watch his videos on the A-300. If that amp has not been recapped stop now and order some capacitors or your asking for trouble. Last, what preamp tube do you have are they telefunken diamond bottoms? They are golden,.... treasure them or sell them to me!
thevic24
deep in sound thought
I put my flame suit on just in case....
I just installed 2 sets of Groove Tubes 6V6-s in my Maggie amp 5 days ago.
They replace a set of all GE tubes.
The amp sounded very good with the GE tubes but lacked a tad in the bass dept.
I had the Groove Tubes "given" to me.
Right out of the box(IMO) these tubes are excellent. Much warmer mid and an outstanding solid, tight bass. I also gained some power output with these.
I am really liking these tubes in this amp. The GT tubes are quite a bit larger than the old GE's I took out. They are fatter and taller.(Big bottle?)
I just installed 2 sets of Groove Tubes 6V6-s in my Maggie amp 5 days ago.
They replace a set of all GE tubes.
The amp sounded very good with the GE tubes but lacked a tad in the bass dept.
I had the Groove Tubes "given" to me.
Right out of the box(IMO) these tubes are excellent. Much warmer mid and an outstanding solid, tight bass. I also gained some power output with these.
I am really liking these tubes in this amp. The GT tubes are quite a bit larger than the old GE's I took out. They are fatter and taller.(Big bottle?)
Jim McShane
Well-Known Member
FYI, the Tung-Sol reissues are good to 475 plate volts. The JJs are tonally more like a 6L6 than a 6V6 to me.
Our friend Poindexter who has spent 15 years refining his "Musical Machine" 6V6 based amp uses Tung-Sol reissues. He says they are the best ever.
Elliot Thompson
Well-Known Member
Elliot Thompson
Well-Known Member
But how many are actually not using them on a PA Head?
Possibly one day (when I don't have other projects) I will measure the frequency response of various 6V6 valves and, post my findings on Audiokarma.
Best Regards,
That would be a very intersting post. I would be glad to send sets oftube to you to mesure if it would help. I probably have 4-5 sets of matched 6v6gt's and 2-3 7408's as well.
I would love to see that.
Mark
Elliot Thompson
Well-Known Member
It will definitely be more to wards the technical side of things. I should have a minimum of 50 6V6s from various brands, which I have as backup when my Tung Sol 6V6G valves begin to show signs of decay. I’m heavily into Pro Audio so, having backups upon backup is standard.
A match pair would not play a factor since wattage is not the objective but frequency response. Such a test would be conducted using one valve. I would imagine late August would be the timeframe I’ll conduct test.
Best Regards,
Let me know when it comes time and I will shoot you a list of what is in my stash. If you want any to test I'll ship them out to you.
Thanks again,
Mark
By far the most popular tube in my house.
I actually have tried every brand and style mentioned here and a couple not mentioned. Im at about 100 +/- NOS and another 100 or so excellent used in my stash of 6V6's
The trouble with this whole discussion of course is there are MANY variables and few constants. Each amp is an individual with differing variables associated with age and condition.
That said, I like the Canadian Westinghouse G bottle best in the maggie amps. These are labeled Marconi, GE, Westinghouse and another that escapes me right now. The JAN versions of these are the best since the G bottles are taller and more suseptible to vibration. The JAN's are also more compact and shorter than the regular G. Besides Brimar and Mullard, these are the only Military versions Ive Seen.
I spent serious money on a set of GEC's but they sounded less dynamic than the others. Nice look though with a smoother line. Mazda was the same. I havent tried a Mullard G bottle though.
I found 1950's RCA shaded's and Brimar GT's sound best in my little practice guitar amps.
Bottom line is, Its your ears and your wallet.
I can tell you several sellers that you definately should NOT buy tubes from on ebay if that helps.
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I actually have tried every brand and style mentioned here and a couple not mentioned. Im at about 100 +/- NOS and another 100 or so excellent used in my stash of 6V6's
The trouble with this whole discussion of course is there are MANY variables and few constants. Each amp is an individual with differing variables associated with age and condition.
That said, I like the Canadian Westinghouse G bottle best in the maggie amps. These are labeled Marconi, GE, Westinghouse and another that escapes me right now. The JAN versions of these are the best since the G bottles are taller and more suseptible to vibration. The JAN's are also more compact and shorter than the regular G. Besides Brimar and Mullard, these are the only Military versions Ive Seen.
I spent serious money on a set of GEC's but they sounded less dynamic than the others. Nice look though with a smoother line. Mazda was the same. I havent tried a Mullard G bottle though.
I found 1950's RCA shaded's and Brimar GT's sound best in my little practice guitar amps.
Bottom line is, Its your ears and your wallet.
I can tell you several sellers that you definately should NOT buy tubes from on ebay if that helps.
..
Les Lammers
Well-Known Member
Listen to Jim. There are some outstanding new production tubes that are reasonably priced. You just may be quite happy with them. Me? I have used NOS for years but the quality and quantity of them is dwindling and the prices are high. Just because a tube is expensive does not mean it will be the right one for your amp. I spent a bit of $$$ to find that out. :yes:
I'll start out with IMO.
A person wouldnt. Its intangible. and again, completely independant of any other persons influence.
Might as well say they sound like orange Marmalade. (I love the sound of Orange Marmalade by the way)
I have no doubt Jim hears something different but theres no possible way anyone can expect another person to hear it the same. His notations on the sound are based in experience unique to him. And it also begs the same question we are asking here, Which 6L6 do they sound like? The 6L6 thats sounds like a 2A3 or the one that sounds like a jar of quarters?
You know, there are alot of people that poopoo a 6V6 as a "real" audio tube. Alot of People.
Certainly no different than the interconnects debate. And seemingly similiar to the "my shoes are bigger than yours" debate.
I recognize tube lather when I see it and thats whats dripping from your mouth.
Slow down Seabiscuit. The price of 6V6 tubes is going up as we discuss.
Bye the way....Where can I score some TungSol re-issues?
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Okjay, I just thought certain tube types would have had a more pronounced characteristic, maybe more boomy bass, or more articulate highs. I though maybe tubes were generalzied in more of that fashion.
I have had most of my experiece with 6v6, el84's and el86's. I like them all, but the 6v6 suits my taste just a little better. I do wish it had a little more umph, but I absolutely love the sound of the ones I hear.
So, I guess it is subjective. What you are really saying is that I need to buy at lest 30 more amps and try them all!
I have had most of my experiece with 6v6, el84's and el86's. I like them all, but the 6v6 suits my taste just a little better. I do wish it had a little more umph, but I absolutely love the sound of the ones I hear.
So, I guess it is subjective. What you are really saying is that I need to buy at lest 30 more amps and try them all!
My only advise is to think.
6V6 amps in general are limited by their parts and even by when they were made.
They're not really designed for driving bass well. Most music of the tube amp era was Baseless I mean bass wasnt accentuated.
You might try to do a few component changes to help. Many guys here better with that math than me but its not that big of a deal.
Try to limit your testing to the one amp you want to use. 30 amps. 30 more.............
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6V6 amps in general are limited by their parts and even by when they were made.
They're not really designed for driving bass well. Most music of the tube amp era was Baseless
I mean bass wasnt accentuated.You might try to do a few component changes to help. Many guys here better with that math than me but its not that big of a deal.
Try to limit your testing to the one amp you want to use. 30 amps. 30 more.............
..
I thought about that. I was thinking about copying a circuit I have on a UL PP version, but use the edcor opt's. That would certainly help alot. I understand the stuff(at least a little bit) with the coupling cap/resistor. I bet I could get a pretty decent amp with just a little headache.
WHo knows, maybe my next project!
WHo knows, maybe my next project!
ke4mcl
Super Member
hey cricket,
i just got a bunch of russian 6v6 equivalent tubes in. basically i bought them as a possibility of using them in console amps. eventually my giant pile of 6v6's american tubes will dry up and i use my amps quite a bit.
i fall asleep to a moto console amp and the current main system doesnt get used daily but when it does its run for many hours at a time. i just popped one of the russian tubes in the moto amp and am listening to it.
if you want to try a set of these i'll send you a quad and just mail them back when your done listening. they havent been burned in so you'll have to let them play for a good 10-12 hours before being too critical of them. they also dont like high plate voltage so if your amp runs the 6v6's hard you may want to pass on my offer.
i just got a bunch of russian 6v6 equivalent tubes in. basically i bought them as a possibility of using them in console amps. eventually my giant pile of 6v6's american tubes will dry up and i use my amps quite a bit.
i fall asleep to a moto console amp and the current main system doesnt get used daily but when it does its run for many hours at a time. i just popped one of the russian tubes in the moto amp and am listening to it.
if you want to try a set of these i'll send you a quad and just mail them back when your done listening. they havent been burned in so you'll have to let them play for a good 10-12 hours before being too critical of them. they also dont like high plate voltage so if your amp runs the 6v6's hard you may want to pass on my offer.
Actually, the A300 puts 345V to the plates of the 6V6s... with 25v on the cathodes (through the cathode resistor aka the heaters of the preamp tubes). So, the effective plate voltage is only 320V. Given that 6V6s are rated routinely to use 315V (it's in all the tube manuals)... this is not an outrageous voltage for them.
I've measured my A300, and I'm within 5 volts of the factory voltages everywhere, BTW...
Regards,
Gordon.
