kt77s?

[idsnowdog]

Re: kt77s?

Something that has always knocked me out is how power tube saturation in fender 6l6 vs. Marshall el34 works? They are based off of the same bassman circuit but they are different. The el34's restrict frequencies and compress which adds to the feedback loop. But 6l6's have a rather wide frequency response but they clip hard and restrict feedback. Hence the "headroom" vs. "sweet" debate.

 

[cream123]

Re: kt77s?

alright, clear this up for me but i don't see any "el34ls". call be blind but...

i think i'm just gonna get the regular el34s for now!

edit: on the jj website it says smooth breakup.... i don't want smooth breakup!!!!! any other el34s that you would suggest that WON'T BREAK THE BANK?

 

[jdm61]

Re: kt77s?

I have a complete JJ set in my 1987X. The 12AX7's and EL34's are supposed to be copies of the Telefunkens. Very nice. I was told that the KT77's were more like a hot 6L6 like an STR whereas the KT66's are more along the lines of the old GE 6L6's and 5881's. Marshall used 5881's in the JTM45 resiisue before somebody dtarted making a modern KT66.

 

[edi_87]

Re: kt77s?

I say EL34 "L" !

 

[cream123]

Re: kt77s?

is the 6ca7 the same thing as the el34 or does it sound different?

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: kt77s?

The true 6CA7 is different from the EL34. It's electricaly eqivilant, but it looks way different. The plates are significantly larger, and the bottle is larger, more like a 6550 bottle. These are sometimes called Fatboys. EVH used the 6CA7 in his plexi, so that may help give some idea of the sound possibilities. I've had it described as blending EL34 and 6L6 reponse.

In Doyle's early writings he wrote that Marshall ofton used original KT77's in combo amps becuase they could take the speaker vibrations better than standard EL34's, but the sound was essentially the same.

The JJ tubes like the E34L look a lot like 70's production KT77's internally. I have long considered them to be partial copies. The diffrence between their current KT77 and the E34L may be the vacuum? I have a set of late Tesla early JJ El34/E34L and they are bassier sounding than standard EL34's is all. Still fairly early breakup.

The KT66 is another tube that seems to cross over between American and British tonal reponses, not that the 6CA7, KT77, or KT66 sound like each other. I think of the KT66 as a British blues sound, and less rock-n-roll, but alot of early Hendrix, Cream, ...ect is an early plexi with KT66's, not EL34's.

 

[ES350]

Re: kt77s?

KT88---6550 equivalent. Not a direct replacement for EL34.
6CA7---ruggedized EL34 equivalent, Sylvania and Philips made (6CA7 is to EL34 as 7581A is to 6L6GC). Higher fidelity, came stock in Traynors. Excellent EL34 variant...lasts forever. A tighter, cleaner sound than most EL34's.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: kt77s?

Here's what I'm using in a Grade 6 and I got them from Musician's Friend...Loving these tubes!

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...Series-GTE34LS-Matched-Power-Tubes?sku=219174

http://groovetubes.com/product.cfm?Product_ID=1690

 

[JLagoon]

Re: kt77s?

KT77 does have a smooth breakup. It is crunchier than a regular EL34 or even EL34L. I can see why some people describe it to be "lifeless," especially in clean. It is more narrow sounding than EL34. It is best in distortion; thick distortion!! In clean, it's OK, but EL34 has more sparkle sparkle.

 

[AdmiralB]

Re: kt77s?

KT77 is a beam tetrode (like 6L6, 6550, other KTxx tubes) that is electrically compatible with an EL34. 6CA7 is a true pentode (like EL34) built with an 'American' design philosophy - bigger plate, tighter vacuum. Both sound more like a 6L6/6550 than EL34.

The pin problem with JJs is that they are too SMALL, not too large. They can make intermittant contact, and that spells TROUBLE. Supposedly they'll have this fixed by July, but it sure was nice of them to sell tubes with sub-spec pins for eight months and not tell anyone.

 

[Duke of Metal]

Re: kt77s?

do kt77s give a british sound. i plan on buying a jj intergrated set with those and some e34ls from eurotubes for my nomad. i just wanted to make sure. from what i hear they're a "super el34"


also: what tubes could i use in the pre to give me some more headroom? i contacted eurotubes and they said ecc803s in v1 might clean it up and give it a bit more of a vintage feel. i'm contacting you guys because i want to hear some opinions on other brands. i don't want anything that will break the bank.

right now i can't tell what the pre tubes are 'cause they're in a silver metal case

The JJ KT-77s are a "hot-rodded" sounding EL34. They have more headroom than an EL34, the lowend tight, thick with more chunk and provides more chug. The Mids are extended (i am not sure if i am using the right term there), but to my ears, they dont sound as honky or boxy as EL34s mids. The highs are clearer and a little bit smoother. Not as harsh as EL34s.

With Highgain distortion, these tubes work really well.

The JJ ECC803 are lower gain than their JJ ECC83. Thats why it will clean up your tone when installed in V1 position. V1 usually affects the amp's tone and gain the most.

I've been using the JJ KT-77s for a while now in my VHT poweramp and I love them. As long as JJ keeps making the KT-77s, I dont think i'll be going back to EL34s.


Cheers & hope that helps!

 

[cream123]

Re: kt77s?

high gain as in slayer or high gain as in zeppelin?

or can both be achieved?

or in the middle?

 

[Duke of Metal]

Re: kt77s?

high gain as in slayer or high gain as in zeppelin?

or can both be achieved?

or in the middle?

Highgain distortion comes from the preamp section.. not your power tubes. Power tubes only add to the tone, not distortion.

If you want Slayer highgain, then you dont want the JJ ECC803 tubes. you want the highgain graded JJ ECC83s.

if you want less gain, more cleaner tone/vintage type tone, then you can look into the JJ ECC803 tubes.


Hope that helps

 

[cream123]

Re: kt77s?

okay good to know.....
i'm gonna use tung sol 12ax7a's
and no, not so much with heavy metal dist.
and i think i'm gonna use these jj kt77's first.
i f i don't like them i'll try out the SED winged c's

 

[Duke of Metal]

Re: kt77s?

okay good to know.....
i'm gonna use tung sol 12ax7a's
and no, not so much with heavy metal dist.
and i think i'm gonna use these jj kt77's first.
if i don't like them i'll try out the SED winged c's

I've never tried the Tung Sol 12ax7a's, so I couldnt comment about those.

But both of the SED Winged -C- El34s and JJ KT77s are great tubes.

By the way... I have a matched quad of the SED Winged -C- El34s for sale if your interested. They're brand new. never plugged into an amp at all.


Cheers

 

[cream123]

Re: kt77s?

By the way... I have a matched quad of the SED Winged -C- El34s for sale if your interested. They're brand new. never plugged into an amp at all. Cheers

how much?

 

[Duke of Metal]

Re: kt77s?

how much?

$70usd + shipping for the matched quad. They're basicly brand new. never plugged into an amp at all.


Cheers

 

[cream123]

Re: kt77s?

sorry man, that's how much they are new at dougstubes.com....

not that i don't trust you it's a matter of the fact that if i order them from dougstubes i have something to fall back upon if something goes wrong.

 

[Naps]

Re: kt77s?

To me, on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is 6l6 and 10 is e34l, the kt77s come in at a 7. The midrange is more like an e34l, highs are in the middle to me and the lows tip toward the 6l6s.

I really like them, but I'm going with the 6l6s in my recto right now. I also liked the e34l but they were my least favorite of the 6l6s and kt77s.

EDIT: the above is stricly with distortion. I really don't like the clean sounds of the kt77 with a fender, but with a guitar like a les paul it is pretty good (not as good as the 6l6 though).

Also, check out thegearpage.net and do a search for kt-77. You should find some good info there.

 

[Duke of Metal]

Re: kt77s?

sorry man, that's how much they are new at dougstubes.com....

not that i don't trust you it's a matter of the fact that if i order them from dougstubes i have something to fall back upon if something goes wrong.

Oh i know.. the only reason i am asking that much is because I had to pay duties on them. if i were to ask for duties as part of the price, then they would probebly go up to $80 - $85usd, which is just insane.

and like i said.. these are pretty much brand new in the boxes. never even plugged into the amp at all. so they're basicly like you would buy them from Doug.


cheers!