New Old Stock Tubes

[strangeFace]

Unfortunately, almost all of the info on the interwebs about New Old Stock (NOS) tubes is written by and for guitarists. Because we as bassists have different needs and expectations of our tubes I'd like to see if those with experience with NOS tubes could help each other out.

I'm specifically looking for 6L6s that will provide great clarity and bottom for bass without breaking up too early. I'm using a 68 Fender Bassman amp & 2 12 cab with the AB165 circuit.

Please: anyone using NOS tubes in his/her rig share your experience!

 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

The search function is your friend.

 

[toobalicious]

hmm... you would probably like phillips 7581A or STR sylvanias. clean and robust. are they 5-10x better than, say, SED "winged C's" as their price would suggest? hard to say. i currently own a set of each, and frankly, they are all fairly similar. rather, tonally they are more similar than different. the biggest benefit may be longevity--- my bandmaster head has had the same pair of STR's installed since i have owned it (since 1992), and they still sound great. the 7581A's i bought to replace a pair of older wafer-based sovtek "5881", and did produce a *very* noticeable difference in tone with a little more headroom.

MHO? it still aint worth the premium, *especially* for bass. NOS is just out of sight these days. i guess YMMV.

 

[jeff62]

There is a good power amp tubes review at the Watford Valves website. They make specific comments on the tubes in bass amps during that review too.

I used that info and picked up the Svetlana Winged C's 6L6's for a Boogie Buster head and I'm real happy. About $72/pair though.