Tube or Solid State???

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Originally posted by notanaggie
BTW, Ampeg is sitting on a supply of new old stock US made 6550s.......got that from my secret source guy there....I don't know if you can get them or if they are holding for endorsers, or what. I haven't ordered a tube from them.

They're Richardson Electronics 6550A's made in the old Owensboro, KY JAN GE plant. SLM was their only domestic customer; most were shipped abroad. SLM service techs can order them as OEM replacements for the SVTII (but oddly, not the SVT CL). The QC wasn't as good as GE's, so Richardson shipped a lot of bad tubes before they sold off the tooling and materials to the Chinese a couple years ago. That's where the new "US" 6L6GC from Groove Tubes is made as well as all the Valve Art 6550's and 6L6GC's. They're essentially US quality, made on US machines, but in China.

As far as Ampeg and tubes, the only real issue is the multi-section tubes that were used back when the TV company owned them.
Anyhow, they are stuff like like a 12AX7 half with both sides of a 12AT7 all in one bottle, wierd things you'll never find new. Only made for that manufacturer, never before or since.

You're talking about the 12DW7, half 12AX7, half 12AU7. It's a tube normally found in hifi because the 12AU7 side has much better current performance than a 12AX7; actually makes a lot of sense for a bass amp. Lots of Bogen, Fisher, Marantz, Macintosh, and other hifi's used 'em. You can sub 12AX7's if you clamp down their cathode resistor, but there's no need. Ei and JJ both make them right now and they're pretty decent. Not as good as the old GE's, Slyvania's, or Telefunkens. (The Mullard version SUCKS; it has problems with its envelopes splitting.)

 

[Treena Foster]

Originally posted by Psycho Bass Guy


I'm not registering to just to be able to log in to the site, but I would be VERY interested to see the date of the article. I have version 4.0 of Pittman's book and the Ampeg bass amp paragraph is produced in its entirety in it and not credited to someone else. Wouldn't surprise me if it's stolen, though.

I also fail to see the relevance of the VTV article. I have known about Red Bank tubes for awhile. I don't have any amps that require a super rugged 6L6 type or even use EL84's at all and I have been preaching the gospel of overpriced vintage tubes for quite awhile myself. Why that link?

I don't even LIKE Genalex KT88's; they're too midrangey. Telefunken ECC83's are great, but not in every circuit. And before the GE 6550A was developed, the Tungsol 6550 was the only tube that could even approach the level of abuse the latter variant could take. Hammond organ guys put the price of it through the roof.

If you registered and read the articles you would see where and how the information came about. But if it's a waste of your time then at least stop slamming me for info you have not read.

Treena

 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Actually I changed my mind and DID register. All you did there was rip the paragraph before. It's in the book, verbatim, and just because you've lifted it somewhere else before doesn't mean that you wrote it, or that it's correct, anyway. It's funny that you were talking about your "tube power amp" and how you shockmount it to keep it from damage; the SVT 400T is a solid state amp.

I also read the other article which has NOTHING to do with anything you posted, even asked why you linked to it. I'm not slamming you for anything I've NOT read. Quite the contary; I recognized it.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally posted by Treena Foster

But if it's a waste of your time then at least stop slamming me for info you have not read.

Treena

He didn't say it was a waste of his time - quite the opposite I thought as in :

"but I would be VERY interested to see the date of the article."

 

[Treena Foster]

Originally posted by Psycho Bass Guy
Actually I changed my mind and DID register. All you did there was rip the paragraph before. It's in the book, verbatim, and just because you've lifted it somewhere else before doesn't mean that you wrote it, or that it's correct, anyway. It's funny that you were talking about your "tube power amp" and how you shockmount it to keep it from damage; the SVT 400T is a solid state amp.

I also read the other article which has NOTHING to do with anything you posted, even asked why you linked to it. I'm not slamming you for anything I've NOT read. Quite the contary; I recognized it.

I was refering to my SWR. But yes, I do own a SVT 400T and yes it is solid state.

I can see you and I will just have to disagree and I hope we can stay civil, even if you feel I "stole" someone elses words!

Treena

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally posted by Treena Foster

even if you feel I "stole" someone elses words!

Treena

Well - you must know if you just copied out somebody else's writing without attributing it?

Why not just say where it came from ?

 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Originally posted by Treena Foster
I was refering to my SWR.

Try again. SWR has NEVER made a tube power amp. The closest they come is their Interstellar Overdrive preamp. If you're going to backpeddle, you at least need to do it in the right direction.

I can see you and I will just have to disagree and I hope we can stay civil, even if you feel I "stole" someone elses words!

There's nothing to disagree about. Plagiarism is not an acceptable practice. It doesn't matter that what you posted doesn't apply to the topic or that you obviously don't even understand the words you're stealing. You shouldn't take credit for someone else's work.

I answered iceblinko's original question. What you posted was germane to his question only in the most absolutely vague sense and given the context of the subject, the content of your post, and my familiarity with the original source of a large part of it, I can safely say that not only did you steal it, but that you don't even know WHAT it was you were stealing.

There is no excuse for not crediting the author of a work. That's wrong, period. I know because I have the book. I don't agree with much of what it says, so what you posted immediately stuck in my craw. If you want to get along with me, next time you feel like acting like an authority on a subject you know little to nothing about, don't steal from a book I own.

 

[Treena Foster]

Originally posted by Psycho Bass Guy


Try again. SWR has NEVER made a tube power amp. The closest they come is their Interstellar Overdrive preamp. If you're going to backpeddle, you at least need to do it in the right direction.



There's nothing to disagree about. Plagiarism is not an acceptable practice. It doesn't matter that what you posted doesn't apply to the topic or that you obviously don't even understand the words you're stealing. You shouldn't take credit for someone else's work.

I answered iceblinko's original question. What you posted was germane to his question only in the most absolutely vague sense and given the context of the subject, the content of your post, and my familiarity with the original source of a large part of it, I can safely say that not only did you steal it, but that you don't even know WHAT it was you were stealing.

There is no excuse for not crediting the author of a work. That's wrong, period. I know because I have the book. I don't agree with much of what it says, so what you posted immediately stuck in my craw. If you want to get along with me, next time you feel like acting like an authority on a subject you know little to nothing about, don't steal from a book I own.

Yes, Sir.


Treena

 

[nashvillebill]

Hopefully this won't add any fuel to a potential flame war...

I've got the Aspen Pittman book, and I recognized the offending paragraph immediately. This particular paragraph had stuck with me ever since I first read the book, since I've spent a lot of time restoring an old Ampeg, and I knew that these tubes weren't as hard to get as the writing made them out to be. (That made me wonder about some of the other things written in there, too.)

To make matters worse, I picked up a copy of the Gerald Weber book, "Tube Amp Talk..." and there were contradictory things in there too. And some things just seemed absurd. I believe he claims that some brands of 9 volt batteries sound better than other brands....huh? Makes you wonder if anything in there can be trusted, at least when it comes to modifying my own amp!!

My point is this: There is a lot of information being passed around that isn't quite accurate. People pass it along with the best of intentions, but it's still not accurate. Some of this comes from a few amp "gurus" that are frequently quoted, but I personally think some of them are full of crap. For a REALLY heretical point of view, do a search for a Web site called "Tales from the Tone Lounge" He makes some excellent points!

I'm certainly no tube amp expert (but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night)...but everything I've read from Psycho Bass has been logical and consistent. When it comes to tubes, he's one of the few people on this forum I would trust.

 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Originally posted by nashvillebill

To make matters worse, I picked up a copy of the Gerald Weber book, "Tube Amp Talk..." and there were contradictory things in there too.

Yeah he talks about needing a dummy plug into an SVT's other output jack for full output power. Just ain't so.

And some things just seemed absurd. I believe he claims that some brands of 9 volt batteries sound better than other brands....huh?

As weird as it sounds, that much at least is true. Different types of batteries have different damping qualites which can sometimes show up in audio. Think about it. A battery is basically a capacitor. The faster it responds, the better the sustained current.

For a REALLY heretical point of view, do a search for a Web site called "Tales from the Tone Lounge" He makes some excellent points!

I think I've been there before. Have you got a url? Thanks for the props, too. I appreciate it.

 

[nashvillebill]

You're welcome...

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