Re-tube question for a n00b at the concept.

[Jeff_H]

Re: Re-tube question for a n00b at the concept.

https://www.kcanostubes.com/content/sed-winged-c-el34-singles-pairs-quartets

This is the site that I always rely on for winged C's. The link above is to the winged c page. The pic he has on the page does not show the logo however, so I can't comment on that. I have had one's like the picture Kam posted, and a set from Mike, as in the link I posted.

Depending on the power tubes, there can, in my experience, be very noticeable differences in tone. Groove Tubes for example, offers power tubes in different "hardness" ratings. So, a tube with a rating of "4" will break up much sooner than a tube with a rating of "7". To my ears, this effects how I hear the tone of the amp. Also, the difference between a really cheap set of power tubes and a great quality set of power tubes is, at least to me, very noticeable. Of course that's all subjective, but I think there is a difference in sound for power tubes.

YMMW, all that jazz.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Re-tube question for a n00b at the concept.

Next time I have an EL 34 amp, I'm going to put a set of these in.

http://www.kcanostubes.com/content/nos-siemens-el34-singles-pairs-quartets

 

[RealtyViking]

Re: Re-tube question for a n00b at the concept.

I ended up with a Tung Sol in V1 and JJ's in V2-4 in my VC6212. I tried EI, GT, Sovtek, JJ and Tung Sols in a bunch of combinations. I am still torn between the EI and the Tung Sol in V1. This amp is terrific for testing since all of the tubes are easily swapped.

One issue you may have with the EH EL34 is that the amp originally came with JJ EL34L/ GT EL34SL. The big issue here would be the bias point you set when you changed the tubes. I had EH tubes in it for awhile and liked them, but ended up switching back to the GT EL34LS tubes when I had a chance to buy a new set for $40.

The speakers are Eminence speakers made specifically for Crate. Similar to the their Legend speakers.

 

[wahwah]

Re: Re-tube question for a n00b at the concept.

There is a lot of confusion going on about the Winged =C= tubes Kam, just mentioning it for your info made since you may look to buy a couple. The tubes Jeff talks about, the S.E.D.(Svetlana Electron Devices) Winged =C= tubes are actualy NOS tubes these days (they are not manufactured anymore). These were NOT made by Tesla in Slovakia, but they were manufactured in the Svetlana factory in St-Petersburg, Russia. These are the tubes that Jeff points out to be realy good, and he has to know tone, cause they are
S.E.D. stopped manufacturing tubes, and the "Svetlana" name was bought by the New Sensor group (Sovtek, EH, Tung-Sol, Mullard, Gold Lion,...) who now produces Svetlana tubes in the Reflector factory in Russia, these tubes are refered to as the S-logo tubes (cause they won't have the winged =C= logo as the S.E.D. tubes made in St-Petersburg had) and are NOT identical to the =C= logo (winged =C='s are superior to the S-logo's,although the S-logo's are not a bad tube, but winged =C= are superior to them). So keep an eye out when purchasing some Svetlana tubes .

I don't think it's the case that the St Petersburg factory has closed down. New Sensor took the Svetlana name for countries outside Russia in 2000, and applied it to yet another rebranding of mediocre Xpo-pul factory tubes, which forced the St Petersburg factory to rename theirs under the SED Winged C label. To the best of my knowledge, these are still current production tubes. I've been using both their EL34s and 6L6GCs in various amps for more than a decade, and they are still available in plentiful supply. Do you have any links to this report that the St Petersburg factory has closed?




Cheers..................................... wahwah

 

[The JEM Ghost]

Re: Re-tube question for a n00b at the concept.

Hi Wahwah

There is so much confusion about the winged =C= and the New Sensor made Svetlanas that I interpretated some reports the wrong way.
Seems New Sensor only has the inclusive rights to the Svetlana name in Northern America ( that since 2000-2001), not in the rest of the world, that would explain why the winged =C= tubes that can be bought over here in Europe still carry the Svetlana name (which I thought was impossible because New Sensor bought the rights, but not worldwide it seems now) and because some models like the SED 12AX7 became as good as unfindable around here, and when I asked my tube supplier about the SED 12AX7 he said they stopped producing them at SED, and only the Svetlana 12AX7 (made in the Reflector company by New Sensor) was available nowadays, the SED 12AX7 could only be found as a more rare NOS tube. On top of it, the "old" SED website went down, along with all the product sheets etc...
And I took the mistake interpretating all these things the wrong way and concluded (wrongly!!) that SED did not produce any tubes (usable in guitar amps that is) any more at current time.

Although they seemed to have stopped producing the SED12AX7, the SED company in St.Petersburg STILL PRODUCES the EL-34 and 6L6GC, in contrary to what I had written in my earlier post!!
I hope I did not raise the confusion!!

Anyhow, when looking for SED tubes (St.Petersburg made), you can't go wrong when you see the winged =C= logo, those should always be St.Petersburg made, however tubes made before 2000 may miss the winged =C= logo and may be harder to identify (probably such as the ones Jeff showed us).

Once more my appologies towards wrongly reporting that SED did not produce the EL-34, 6L6GC and 6550 anymore!!
Here is the new website they seem to have put up, with all the current produced SED tubes:
http://www.svetlana-tubes.com/svetlana.htm

 

[wahwah]

Re: Re-tube question for a n00b at the concept.

Thanks for clarifying that The JEM Ghost, it confirms what I thought to be the case, and represents good news for guitar players! That old St Petersburg plant has been there since 1927, and is the closest link we have anywhere in the world to the quality tubes of the Golden Era, at least with regard to EL34's and 6L6's. There's a rumour that they have recently re-started production of 12AX7s, we can only hope that's true. For now they are producing the best power tubes on the planet, standing head and shoulders above the dross coming from the Xpo-pul and Chinese factories, or the former Yugo and Czech factories.

New Sensor have quite a bit to answer for, with their cynical brand name acquisition and rebranding, throwing around names like Mullard, Tung Sol and Svetlana, when their products bear little resemblance to the tubes that made those names respectable 60 years ago. Let's hope that the St Petersburg plant stays open for many years to come, and that the SED brand establishes its rightful superiority over the plethora of hollow New Sensor brandings.




Cheers..................................... wahwah