The Electro Harmonix 6L6: opinions?

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ckeene
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The Electro Harmonix 6L6: opinions?

Post by ckeene » Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:19 am

"modeled after the RCA 6L6GC blackplate"

I need a new pair of 6L6s for a blackface Bandmaster. Am thinking about a pair of these:

http://www.torresengineering.com/6l6ehnewcool.html

Does anyone have any opinions of these or recommendations of other 6L6s (5881/KT66, etc..) that might be a good match for this amp? (Note that I was using Svetlana 6L6s that gave the amp a pretty clean tone right up til 6-7, which was a quality I'd like to retain)

Thanks!

-chris

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Post by ctmsound » Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:57 am

I've heard from friends that the EH tubes are really nice. Haven't used 'em myself, but I will be putting in a complete set into my Marshall. EL34s and 12ax7s.

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Post by KennyLusk » Thu Jan 04, 2007 12:00 pm

The new JJ/Tesla KT66's are getting great reviews. I haven't heard them in person yet but love the Tesla preamp tubes I've used. Very low microphonics, very smooth, high quality, quiet.
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Post by Coco » Thu Jan 04, 2007 1:14 pm

I like NOS Philips 6L6WGB or "stubbies" as some people call them. Here is a link to the Tube Store who I bought my quads from: http://www.thetubestore.com/jan6l.html

At $69.95 per matched pair, they are pricey like most NOS tubes, but totally worth it.

I have used EH EL34 tubes in my old Hiwatt and I ripped them out after about an hour. The Svetlanas that were in there sounded better, but were shot so I bought some NOS Siemens EL34 instead. Those are the only EH tubes I have tried.
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riantide
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Post by riantide » Thu Jan 04, 2007 3:34 pm

I really don't like EH tubes. JJ 6L6's sound a lot better to me and are around the same cost, I believe. Sometimes tubedepot.com has really good deals on NOS matched pairs as well. But yeah, not such a fan of EH tubes.

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heylow
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Post by heylow » Thu Jan 04, 2007 3:59 pm

I haven't liked the EH 6L6's at all. There's something wierd and hot in the midrange that doesn't sound musical to me at all. Just my experience.

I used to use the good ol' Winged C (Svetlana), which I think are OK, but am now swearing by these guys. I was hipped to them by David Allen and just love them.

Seriously...I don't think I've heard a new tube anywhere as "holy s^%t" as these. Especially in a Fender or Fender type amp. Sweet, warm and super 3 dimensional sounding. There's just a depth that isn't there with any of the newer production stuff I've tried.

My 2 cents....good luck!



heylow

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Post by GooberNumber9 » Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:39 pm

The only current production tube I've tried that I like better than the JJ's all around is the Svetlana EL-34s. The JJ 6L6es are the best tube JJ makes and IMHO the best current production 6L6 out there.

One good place to get JJs is Eurotubes: www.eurotubes.com. You can call and talk to Bob directly, and he knows a lot about amps.

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Post by pineyb » Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:04 pm

You might look for some NOS Tung-Sol 5881 tubes.... not as pricey as RCA blackplates, and damn near as good..... I found a pair for $50.00
recently... put em in my early 62 Bassman.... great.

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Post by Coco » Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:44 am

riantide wrote:I really don't like EH tubes. JJ 6L6's sound a lot better to me and are around the same cost, I believe. Sometimes tubedepot.com has really good deals on NOS matched pairs as well. But yeah, not such a fan of EH tubes.
The EH tubes are basically rebadged Sovteks. Same shit different pile.
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ckeene
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Post by ckeene » Fri Jan 05, 2007 7:02 am

Ok, I'm currently leaning toward the JJs, or maybe will try out those TAD tubes mentioned in heylow's post.

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Post by GooberNumber9 » Fri Jan 05, 2007 10:46 am

Coco wrote: The EH tubes are basically rebadged Sovteks. Same shit different pile.
I was reading something that said that recently Svetlanas also are now relabelled Sovteks. So that leaves... Sovteks and JJs that are still in production? (for guitar tubes at least)

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Post by riantide » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:30 pm

I'm ordering a pair of those TADs immediately, they sound too good to be true...

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Post by Coco » Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:59 am

GooberNumber9 wrote:
Coco wrote: The EH tubes are basically rebadged Sovteks. Same shit different pile.
I was reading something that said that recently Svetlanas also are now relabelled Sovteks. So that leaves... Sovteks and JJs that are still in production? (for guitar tubes at least)

Todd Wilcox
Yes. Real or original Svetlanas are labelled as winged *C*. The big *C* logo with wings. New Sensor Corp. (EH, Sovtek) own the rights to the Svetlana name in N. America. Kind of misleading and stupid if you ask me. They also own the Mullard name and Tung -Sol, and have since *reissued* those. Still relabeleld Sovteks.
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trask
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Post by trask » Fri Jan 12, 2007 1:00 pm

It really depends on the individual amp itself I've found.. Some take well to certain tubes, some don't... One of those unfortunate circumstances that we always come across. Like how a certain mic, to a certain pre, to a certain comp may work in one situation, but not another.

However, I 'spoze tubes are a little more general than that. I've had good results with EH's in an old Bogen that I've got, where I needed more headroom, cause the GT's that were in it were distorting way too soon. I threw those in, and it helped a lot, and sounded awesome.

Haven't tried the JJ's (cause I've got no reason to change em yet), but I've used other JJ tubes, and they've been great as well.
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Post by lancebug » Fri Jan 12, 2007 5:16 pm

GooberNumber9 wrote:
Coco wrote: The EH tubes are basically rebadged Sovteks. Same shit different pile.
I was reading something that said that recently Svetlanas also are now relabelled Sovteks. So that leaves... Sovteks and JJs that are still in production? (for guitar tubes at least)

Todd Wilcox
Chinese make 'em too. Is it Shugang maybe?
I recently went with a pair of JJ E34L's for my VL503. I would love to say that it was a night and day difference, but the old tubes were so shot that even using dinosaur turds would have made a night and day difference. That said, they sound great. Not sure if all the cryogenic crap (particular to where I bought them) made any difference at all. Sounds like magnets on your fuel line if you ask me.

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