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Battle of the 6L6's !

jnewmark

jnewmark

Just wanna play the groove.
Supporting Member
Aug 31, 2006
10,121
7,023
NW Ohio
Disclosures
Third St. Cigar Records staff musician.
#1
Tube guys ( or gals ) who have 6l6's for your power tubes, what brand are you using and why ? Recently got a Music man HD150 head which uses 4 6L6GS tubes and was wondering what brand will get me the best clean tone with the most headroom. I've been told that the phillips 7581A is the #$% for this high plate voltage head, but, man, are they expensive and hard to find a quad matched set. So give me some alternatives and why !
 
#6
I'll tell you one I will never use again, and that's JJ's. I've had two pairs of JJ 6L6's, and the first set developed a crackle after 4 months, and the second set is new and one is already microphonic.
 
#11
Google "Eurotubes". Then call and talk to Bob. He's quick to tel you "I'm no tech" but he knows more about tubes than any three techs I've ever met. After your conversation he'll sell you a matched set and if you can make it to his place he'll install them and set the bias for you.
 
#16
beans-on-toast said:
How much do you want to spend? My preference is, whenever possible, go with NOS.

This place has a nice quartet of GE's for $252. They do an excellent job of matching the tubes and do it at the operating voltage of your amp.
Click to expand...
The original tube designed by Mullard was the EL37, it's still the best 6l6
In my book.
As they used to say "Don't be a dullard, fit a Mullard".:hyper:
Cost you though these days.:bassist:
 
#19
It's hard to go wrong with the Sovtek tubes, maybe not the most glamorous of tubes but they have always worked well for me. I've also got a pair of new EH 6L6's and they sound great too.

I was not impressed with JJ's, they rattled too much.

Overall, I guess I've been unimpressed with any of the Chinese tubes. And I'm pretty sure spacebassed is correct, Ruby tubes are relabelled Chinese tubes.

Similarly, Groove Tubes as well as Tube Amp Doctors also do not make their own tubes, they relabel tubes made by other manufacturers.

For a regular gigging amp, I'm not sure if I'd pay for NOS tubes. The prices are too high, and some of the current production sound just as good to my ears for a lot less money.
 

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