I need "bang for the buck" tube recommendations -

[Snarl 12/8]

Hey,

So, I talked to the guy that's working on my Ampeg, Portaflex, fliptop SB-12 bass amp. He's almost done working on it, he's just got to "track down an oscillation".

BUT, he told me one of the tubes was "arcing" and "definitely bad". So, I'm gonna need at least a pair of 6L6's. He said "it's self biasing", so I can throw whatever in there and it doesn't necessarily need to be a matched pair. He's gonna give me a Fender GT something or other that he had lying around, so I can use it until I get the new tubes.

But I don't really know that much about tubes. I know a few of the big model numbers and that 6L6's are power tubes and 12ax7's are preamp. But that's about it. I also know that 6L6's should be pretty common, which is almost not going to help me, since it means a zillion options.

Price IS a factor here. And I don't mind this thing distorting (good sounding) a bit. I also don't need to goose as much gain as possible out of this thing. It's going to see light jamming and recording use and that's about it.

So, can someone recommend a vendor and/or make/model for me to look at that'll give me solid, reliable performance, but not break the bank?

I'd appreciate any suggestions. Any general tube knowledge would be welcome too. Since that might help me figure this out too.

[jhharvest]

I'd buy Svetlana or Sovtek 6L6GC from Watford here in UK. Expect it to cost about 30 quid. I don't know about the situation in the US though.

[Snarl 12/8]

I'll see what the googler says about those in the US/Portland area.

Thanks.

[jnTracks]

I'd buy Svetlana or Sovtek 6L6GC from Watford here in UK. Expect it to cost about 30 quid. I don't know about the situation in the US though.

+1 for svetlana. the SED 6l6GC is the best standard 6L6 tube i've heard for any price. not the cheapest, though.

you can also use KT66's or 5881's in there for different sounds. i like JJ KT66 for a bigger bottom. and for a more compressed, in your face sound the TungSol 5881 is great.

i shop for tubes from tubedepot.com great selection, good prices and service.

[Nate Dort]

i shop for tubes from tubedepot.com great selection, good prices and service.

2x on tubedepot.

I just put a new pair of JJ 6L6GTs in my fliptop and they sound good.

[vvv]

I have Groove Tubes in my Musicman, butt they are at least 16 years old. At that time they are said to be sorted and branded Sovteks; now I don't know. Sound good, tho'.

[Nick Sevilla]

Hi,

As all cool industries.. this one also got bought up by one guy.

ELECTROHARMONIX. They have matched pair of 6V6 for 25 bucks.

Now there are fewer factories in Russia making the tubes, but at least their quality is better.

I would try their brand. I have a few here and there on different amplifiers, and they are quite good.

If I remember correctly, they no own and make the following brands of tubes :

"Tesla" now "JJ Tubes"
"Svetlana"
"GrooveTubes"
"Sovtek"

and others.

Search New Sensor Corporation to find out more. They distribute OEM tubes to pretty much al guitar and bass amplifier makers for a few years now.

Cheers

[Professor T]

I like them JJs. I've got a pair of JJ 6L6s in my Bassman - they sound fine.

[calaverasgrandes]

I love JJ pre tubes. SED =C= for power. Also be aware that Svetlana in the states is New Sensor. I like EHX/new sensor pre tubes, but their power tubes IMHO burn out fast and get very noisy. Also, like 3/4ths of the tubes out there that arent chinese are New Sensor in various dress ups. EG: new-Tung Sol, new-Mullard, new Genelex and so on.

Tube depot gets a big NEGATIVE 10 from me.
I ordered a matched sextet from them for my bass 400 and they came up very not matched on my amp techs bench. I had to play a series of shows so he balanced the two sides as best as he could, but the mismatch was enough that he said he couldn't install the bias pot mod I had paid him for.
If I could have I would have returned them. He was frankly shocked that they would call them a matched set of tubes. He said a blind deaf mute with no tube tester could pick out a better match.

I like triode electronics usually and most folks have reported good dealings with the ever salty lord valve. Even if his website is from 1994!
http://triodeelectronics.com/
http://www.nebsnow.com/LordValve

[farview]

http://www.eurotubes.com/ is where I go. The guy that runs it is very helpful and can suggest the right version 6L6 for your amp to get the sound you want. I think he is in Portland. So I'm pretty sure he has an actual shop.

[Snarl 12/8]

OK. I've spent a bit of time poking around the interwebs trying to figure out the tube thing today. I talked to my amp tech and a couple shops. It's reminding me of Laptop shopping. Everyone has a brand they swear by, but then they admit that sometimes you get a bad one, or there have been bad years, or particular models, or they were good last year, but now everything out of Slovenia is crappy for some reason.

Obviously, being informed is gonna help, and I appreciate the advice, but I think there's going to be some degree of voodoo/finger crossing involved in getting a good pair. Anyone have an algorithm for tube shopping that's yielded consistent results? I know some people have about a zillion toob amps, so they must have a system for getting the vital organ of the things.

I've got an email in to the fliptops.net guy. He sells some tubes. I'm interested to hear his take on it.

[calaverasgrandes]

Thing is, ther are really only a handful of companies that still make tubes. Most every tube you see is made in Russia, China, or Yugoslavia.
There is also that what makes a great tube for one guy makes a crap tub efor the next. I like my tubes to sound...tubey. I dont want solid bass and headroom for days. I want mocha almond fudge coming out of the spaekers. Yeah it really is that subjective.
My tech swears that Mesa has some eastern euro tubes that are awesome for 6L6gc.
As far as pre tubes go, I just buy them all the time and every now and then spend a day evaluating what I have to figuer out which ones are best. It is really shocking how many people are selling the same damn chinese 12ax7a as their own brand. EG: Mesa, Penta, Groove Tubes and Ruby Tubes.

[Mudcloth]

Okay, here goes.
I've been repairing tube amps for the last few years. I've been working in Austin for the last few months at an amp repair shop. I've been playing tube amps for over 20 years.
Here's what I've found over the last few months working on many, many amps:
The most common early failure tube out there has been Electro Harmonix, hands down. Preamp tubes and power tubes. When someone comes into the shop with a dead amp and they have EH tubes in there, I already know the problem, basically.
I'm talking about tubes that have been in there for only weeks.

Sovteks, Mesa, and Rubys are next in line. There was a time these tubes were considered up there in quality, but it seems like a lot of these brands are slipping.

Mesa tubes have had an interesting turn. Basically, Mesa makes you use Mesa tubes or you void the warranty. We've seen many a fried transformer in those amps. I think the low quality of these tubes contribute to this. The transformers are not under warranty so, damned if you do, damned if you don't. The talk in the industry is that this is a common scenario.

Groove tubes [re-branded tubes, basically] have been pretty crappy over the last few years, as well. They are no longer the company they used to be and were sold a couple of years ago to Fender.

I used to love JJ tubes. The guy I learned from stood behind them all the way. A couple of years ago we started getting shipments in and we'd have to send back half of them. They had a big problem with rectifier tubes not working at all right off the bat. The 6l6's weren't very well matched and early failures were popping up more frequently. This is even more the the case now. It's like the more popular they got, the less quality control they had. It has been disappointing to see this trend.

The steadiest tubes lately, quality wise, have been Tung Sol and Mullard. We'd buy 20 at a time and they'd be really closely matched to each other. They sounded great in the amps. Time will tell if these hold up in the long run, but so far so good.

I've had very good experiences with the Winged C 6l6s and 6550s. I think they're worth the extra dough.

My two cents.

[???????]

Here's my recommendation:

the JAN/Philips 5881 that was sold in the 70s and 80s are still available NOS.

I know what you're thinking. "My amp calls for 6L6GC, not 6L6GB, and the 5881 is a military 6L6GB equivalent. The 6L6GB is rated for a lower plate voltage than the 6L6GC, and my amp will toast it."

The answer to that is "not in this unique situation." If you said that, you would be on the right track in most cases-- a 5881 is not USUALLY a direct replacement for a 6L6GC.

HOWEVER, this specific 5881 is actually a 6L6GC in 5881 clothing. The military ordered a large amount of them, and for whatever reason (probably either to save tooling costs or insure ultimate reliability for military operations) they used the same internal construction as a 6L6GC.

Because of this little wrinkle, and the fact that nobody really knows this, they can be had MUCH MUCH cheaper than any other NOS 6L6GC.

You can find them everywhere. They're really common. They spit out zillions of these things during their fairly lengthy run.

Yes, they cost a little bit more than most new production offerings. Yes, it's worth it, because they will sound great and last at least twice as long (probably more).

Shop around the internet for the best price--prices on these vary wildly, sometimes by as much as 100%. There are some forces at work that would REALLY like to see these begin to command 'premium' prices, so there are lots of inflated asking prices out there. Should be about 50-65 bucks a pair, tops, NOS.

However, if you're really set on an inexpensive new production tube, I'd second the recommendation for a "winged C" 6L6GC.

However, I also think the TAD 6L6GC types (there are two) are the best-sounding current production. I've also had good luck with reliability. They are re-branded/selected Ruby, I think. Almost all the tubes out there today are re-branded SOMETHING.

Good luck.

[calaverasgrandes]

I thought 5881 was 6l6gc? I see the two terms used interchangeably?