6550 tubes question...

[BobbyXIII]

Ok so I've seen tubes sets that have a 6550 winged C (sed) in them and I was wondering exactly what all that means and if there is any difference in those compared to just ones listed as 6550s?

 

[PikeoftheLake]

Winged C is a brand of tube just like Tung Sol, Gold Lion, Sovtek etc. No difference than the others although people seem to really like the Winged C's.

 

[chaosMK]

I wonder whether Winged-C's are all that great. Maybe they are marketed/priced high to give people the perception of them being premium. I havent found them to hold up to other brands (JJ, Tung Sol).

 

[BobbyXIII]

How are the Sovtek? I'm looking to replace the 6550s in my V9.

 

[coreyfyfe]

I've had nothing but good luck with winged c tubes. Ive had one fail after a few years of use out of about 20 or so tubes between two svts and a V4. I haven't had problems with ehx/svetlana/sovtek/etc, groove tubes, or jj tubes either but I haven't used nearly as many of them either.

 

[firemedic925]

The SED factory supposedly has greater quality control. They're pretty open about their manufacturing facilities in St. Petersburg Russia, whereas the New Sensor tubes (EH, JJ, Tungsol, Sovtek) have fairly murky origins. That said, I just ordered a matched quad of JJ 6550s since they're about 1/2 the price of SEDs. I haven't heard anything bad about them anyway.

 

[Modern Growl]

Nobody will be able to tell you how these power tubes will effect your tone in your head. If your happy with the tone you have, I would suggest getting the same tubes you have.

If you want to flirt with chance - SED's are great (but they will be different) then what your used to.

 

[BassmanPaul]

How are the Sovtek? I'm looking to replace the 6550s in my V9.

Remember when you do thia your bias settings could well need to be reset.

 

[BobbyXIII]

Yeah I always have a tech run through my amps when I first get them and replace the tubes and whatever else. I heard a lot of the old Ampegs can be ticking timebombs so I do whatever I can to protect the investment off the bat haha.

 

[JimmyM]

Yeah I always have a tech run through my amps when I first get them and replace the tubes and whatever else. I heard a lot of the old Ampegs can be ticking timebombs so I do whatever I can to protect the investment off the bat haha.

And that's how amp techs always have such great collections of tubes...by keeping your good ones when you take it in and demand a full retube. Full retubes are the biggest waste of money on earth.

 

[BobbyXIII]

I always take the tubes before I turn them into them and either save for back up hook up the buds for missing or broken ones or the old eBay.

 

[BobbyXIII]

I've also taken chance on buying them without any tubes at all like my first V4 which paid off nicely since I got it for cheap becaus the dude didn't want to deal with it.