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Got some literally dirty USA tung-sol 6v6 GTs in a matched pair from KCA NOS Tubes. I wanted something NOS but not too expensive. They are replacing JJ 6v6 in a Supersonic 22. The JJs have seen a year or so of both light playing and some all out abuse and they are so different from a true 6v6.
I set my bias pot at minimum and fortunately they stayed at 19.3ma which is just under 70%, at 413v.
At the same time I got a Westinghouse 12ax7 branded Motorola for v1, a bargain tube with a scratched label but testing new and quiet, and the timing couldn't be better as my v1 tube died the other day. It kinda sounded like it was biting the dust.
I also got a brand new in box JAN 12AT7 for the phase inverter. Also cheap but a decent tube for sure.
Anyways can't tell ya how any of them sound in isolation, as I replaced the power tubes, PI, and v1 all at once. But the change in the amp is dramatic. There is a different presence, brightness, and openness to the midrange. Bass is not as deep, but it still feels rather punchy. My overdrive channel brightened up a lot, in a nice way. It's not as saturated and fizzy but more screaming and cutting. Hard to describe.
other tubes in there:my v2 (tone stack recovery and drive channel) is a JJ, v3 (reverb driver) is a chinese GT 12at7, v4 reverb recovery is a sovtek LPS
Anways here's a pic of one of the tung-sol, they both looked about the same
and the westinghouse motorola
I set my bias pot at minimum and fortunately they stayed at 19.3ma which is just under 70%, at 413v.
At the same time I got a Westinghouse 12ax7 branded Motorola for v1, a bargain tube with a scratched label but testing new and quiet, and the timing couldn't be better as my v1 tube died the other day. It kinda sounded like it was biting the dust.
I also got a brand new in box JAN 12AT7 for the phase inverter. Also cheap but a decent tube for sure.
Anyways can't tell ya how any of them sound in isolation, as I replaced the power tubes, PI, and v1 all at once. But the change in the amp is dramatic. There is a different presence, brightness, and openness to the midrange. Bass is not as deep, but it still feels rather punchy. My overdrive channel brightened up a lot, in a nice way. It's not as saturated and fizzy but more screaming and cutting. Hard to describe.
other tubes in there:my v2 (tone stack recovery and drive channel) is a JJ, v3 (reverb driver) is a chinese GT 12at7, v4 reverb recovery is a sovtek LPS
Anways here's a pic of one of the tung-sol, they both looked about the same
and the westinghouse motorola