Help, tube suggestions for peavey vtm 60...

[LP712]

so I have a vtm 60 and need new tubes. what I have in there now are some left over mesa preamps from when i sold the mesa and a couple sovteks....Its sounding lifeless now....

so I've kinda narrowed it down to TAD 6l6s or JJs. and tung sols for preamps...
wondering what you guys think...and/or have other suggestions...

 

[metlking]

Re: Help, tube suggestions for peavey vtm 60...

I have a VTM60. I don't use it much these days but when I did I tried some TAD 6L6GC-STR's in it and it sounded really good! I'd go with those.

And for the preamp: Tung-Sol in V-1. A JJ (or Shuguang "Chinese" 9th gen) in V2 & V3 and a balanced EH in V4 (phase inverter)......I really didn't experiment too much with the preamp tubes at the time but I am making this recommendation based on past experiences with other amplifiers.

I suggest buying a few different 12ax7's and swapping them around till you find a tone that makes you happy!

Good luck! Those are very underrated amplifiers!

 

[soundgardener75]

Re: Help, tube suggestions for peavey vtm 60...

I asked Doug from Doug's Tubes for suggestions, because I've seen people here and HC praise him.

This is what he suggested based on my needs: Preamp: JJ, Tungsol, Ruby C5 and an EH. Two Ruby 6L6GCMSTR's for power tubes.

I needed a smoother amp od tone, with smooth mids, and be able to be more flexible from cleans to overdriven tones. Considering this amp is versatile for a single channel amp, these tubes suggested to me delivered, and I couldn't me more happier with my VTM's sound.

Hope this helped!

PS If I may suggest, if you got this used, I'd consider getting the caps replaced too.

 

[LP712]

Re: Help, tube suggestions for peavey vtm 60...

I asked Doug from Doug's Tubes for suggestions, because I've seen people here and HC praise him.

This is what he suggested based on my needs: Preamp: JJ, Tungsol, Ruby C5 and an EH. Two Ruby 6L6GCMSTR's for power tubes.

I needed a smoother amp od tone, with smooth mids, and be able to be more flexible from cleans to overdriven tones. Considering this amp is versatile for a single channel amp, these tubes suggested to me delivered, and I couldn't me more happier with my VTM's sound.

Hope this helped!

PS If I may suggest, if you got this used, I'd consider getting the caps replaced too.

actually I did get it used...how would I know for sure I need to replace the caps on this amp? and how much would that cost?

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Help, tube suggestions for peavey vtm 60...

The Ruby M-STR is the same as the Mesa STR-440, and the TAD 6L6GC-STR are real close to the same tube but made with the black plates and dual getters, they all sound more or less the same, all made in the same factory in China, just so you guys know.

The TAD are really good tubes, but apparently have some durability issues sometimes (I haven't had any trouble with them in 3 years). Ruby has a warranty, unlike most others, so probably a good choice out of those.

JJ 6L6GC are good tubes, big low end.

SED are probably the most durable and best sounding of all these, but they cost more.

The Tungsol is nice, pretty bright, some people don't like 'em, and they have a rep for failure too, so get extras if you like them.

The Sovtek LPS is just about the best PI you can get new production with the JJ ECC803 being 2nd in my experience.

 

[soundgardener75]

Re: Help, tube suggestions for peavey vtm 60...

actually I did get it used...how would I know for sure I need to replace the caps on this amp? and how much would that cost?

Given the fact that this is a rare and old amp to be had here in CA, I knew I had to replace the tubes and the caps eventually.

I paid $75 for mine because I had him rebias and thoroughly check the amp (he did had to resolder two semi-loose connections) on top of the caps crapping out. A fair price on my end.