V4b w/sovtek power tubes

[big stubby]

Just found one of these on Craigslist. I don't know squat about tubes, are these any good? How much are new tubes and what was in there originally? the head is from the magnavox era and he says it's a 77', do you think it's worth $500, it also comes with a case (hard case, padded)?

[zachoff]

I would guess that GE tubes were in there, originally & good luck finding them. If you do, they're crazy expensive. I think Sovtek tubes are fine. I have Svetlana tubes in my 76 SVT and I think it sounds awesome. $500 is a good price if it's clean & doesn't need any work. Play the crap out of it when you try it and flip all of the switches to make sure there isn't static and popping.

[coreyfyfe]

$500 including a hard case is pretty good, especially if it's in good condition. Find out what kind of Sovteks are in there. The amp originally used 7027s which were out of production for a while but JJ and Sovtek have started up production again, so it may be 7027s or it may be some variant of 6L6 or 5881 which should work fine as well.

[jastacey]

I've have a V4-B with Sovtek's 7027 and there O.K. ... the JJ's are the way to go ...IMHO ...Ideally you would want NOS 7027's, but they are pretty $$$$$, there are a few sets still floating around ... I personally wouldn't use the 5881 tube in the V4-B as it breaks-up too soon for my tastes .... $500 for that amp and your still thinking about it .... that a really good deal!!!!!