GOOD TONED 6V6 AND 6L6 TUBES????
- Thread starter tman
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PFDarkside
of the Forum
Re: GOOD TONED 6V6 AND 6L6 TUBES????
I've got Mullard RI 6V6GTs in my Princeton Reverb. They sound good to me.
I've got Mullard RI 6V6GTs in my Princeton Reverb. They sound good to me.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Re: GOOD TONED 6V6 AND 6L6 TUBES????
JJ 6V6S's are cool. They sound a bit more open than standard 6V6 types. They have more headroom, lows, and highs (more 6L6-like) than average 6V6's.
Tung Sol 6V6's are cool if you want a more traditional 6V6 sound. Smoother, creamier, and more compressed than the JJ.
Ruby Chinese 6V6's are more traditional 6V6-like than JJ's, but not quite as smooth and creamy as Tung Sols. They seem to have a slightly grainy/grindy high-mid voicing to them.
Tung Sol 5881's are great, but not all amps can use them. Most of the time, they are not a direct substitute for 6L6's because they can take less plate voltage than 6L6's. If your amp can run them, they're sort of an in-between 6L6 and 6V6 type. They have less bass and headroom than standard 6L6's, but are more open and chimey than 6V6's.
I know they usually get a bad rep, but the cheapie Sovtek 5881/6L6WGC's have proven solid and reliable for me. They have this sorta grindy high-mid voicing that cuts through great in a mix. JMO, of course.
If you want smoother, the Tung Sol 6L6GC-STR's are killer too. Less scooped low-mids than the Sovtek and smoother, creamier up top. Tung Sol power tubes in general seem to be voiced that way, IMO.
JJ 6V6S's are cool. They sound a bit more open than standard 6V6 types. They have more headroom, lows, and highs (more 6L6-like) than average 6V6's.
Tung Sol 6V6's are cool if you want a more traditional 6V6 sound. Smoother, creamier, and more compressed than the JJ.
Ruby Chinese 6V6's are more traditional 6V6-like than JJ's, but not quite as smooth and creamy as Tung Sols. They seem to have a slightly grainy/grindy high-mid voicing to them.
Tung Sol 5881's are great, but not all amps can use them. Most of the time, they are not a direct substitute for 6L6's because they can take less plate voltage than 6L6's. If your amp can run them, they're sort of an in-between 6L6 and 6V6 type. They have less bass and headroom than standard 6L6's, but are more open and chimey than 6V6's.
I know they usually get a bad rep, but the cheapie Sovtek 5881/6L6WGC's have proven solid and reliable for me. They have this sorta grindy high-mid voicing that cuts through great in a mix. JMO, of course.
If you want smoother, the Tung Sol 6L6GC-STR's are killer too. Less scooped low-mids than the Sovtek and smoother, creamier up top. Tung Sol power tubes in general seem to be voiced that way, IMO.
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Chickenwings
Alnico 6/8
Re: GOOD TONED 6V6 AND 6L6 TUBES????
With 6l6s i don't notice as much of a difference because they rarely get pushed into overdrive. I generally use jjs because they just work and i like their preamp tubes, although my twin currently has a quartet of Bugera tubes (hangs head in shame) which i bought for an absolute steal (4 for less than the price of one jj). I will use them till i need more i guess.
yeah i like the jjs. Ive tried a few others (EH, ruby, tung sol) and keep coming back.
With 6l6s i don't notice as much of a difference because they rarely get pushed into overdrive. I generally use jjs because they just work and i like their preamp tubes, although my twin currently has a quartet of Bugera tubes (hangs head in shame) which i bought for an absolute steal (4 for less than the price of one jj). I will use them till i need more i guess.
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RogerMexiko
New member
Re: GOOD TONED 6V6 AND 6L6 TUBES????
TAD 6L6GC-STR matched set has been my choice because they have The classic Fender sound that I want from my Twin Reverb.
TAD 6L6GC-STR matched set has been my choice because they have The classic Fender sound that I want from my Twin Reverb.
Re: GOOD TONED 6V6 AND 6L6 TUBES????
I've used JJ 6v6s in my Mesa. They almost don't sound like 6v6s- very open. They are the 6v6 tubes for people used to other tubes. I generally like tubbier sounding tubes- actually, the stock Mesa ones (I don't know who actually makes them) sounded the best in there to me.
I've used JJ 6v6s in my Mesa. They almost don't sound like 6v6s- very open. They are the 6v6 tubes for people used to other tubes. I generally like tubbier sounding tubes- actually, the stock Mesa ones (I don't know who actually makes them) sounded the best in there to me.
Lake Placid Blues
New member
Re: GOOD TONED 6V6 AND 6L6 TUBES????
NOS almost always sound great. So do most used tested, or almost new old stock tubes. There are still plenty of those tubes out there if you know where to look. I recently scored an almost NOS 12AX7 for not a lot of money that sounds amazing. At a local electronics store I noticed a few NOS and used 6L6s but dozens of 6V6 both used and NOS. I think 6V6s must have been the most common tube in America back in the day. There are still a lot of them. For common American tubes: RCA, Sylvania, GE brands are the pinnacle of quality and tone. This is especially true of 12xx7 types. I think they sound better than NOS European brands ECC8x like Mullard or Amperex, RTF, EI, Tungsram.... They last forever.
NOS almost always sound great. So do most used tested, or almost new old stock tubes. There are still plenty of those tubes out there if you know where to look. I recently scored an almost NOS 12AX7 for not a lot of money that sounds amazing. At a local electronics store I noticed a few NOS and used 6L6s but dozens of 6V6 both used and NOS. I think 6V6s must have been the most common tube in America back in the day. There are still a lot of them. For common American tubes: RCA, Sylvania, GE brands are the pinnacle of quality and tone. This is especially true of 12xx7 types. I think they sound better than NOS European brands ECC8x like Mullard or Amperex, RTF, EI, Tungsram.... They last forever.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Re: GOOD TONED 6V6 AND 6L6 TUBES????
They're re-branded Electro Harmonix. New Sensor makes them.
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RealtyViking
New member
Re: GOOD TONED 6V6 AND 6L6 TUBES????
+1 on the Tung Sol Reissues.
+1 on the Tung Sol Reissues.