tube nerdlings...what do you think of these tubes for a marshall
- Thread starter esandes
- Start date
hamerfan
Well-known member
Will work.
Psvane are more a thing for hifi enthusiasts and quite spendy. I had a pleasant surprise with the newer JJ EL34-II
I had over a dozen telefunken ecc83 and one e81cc (i live near Ulm where one factory was and one of my relatives worked there as engineer). These were all pullouts from used gear. I did not like em in guitar amps, the clean sound is great, but with drive they sound a bit too generic.
My advise are vintage east german tubes ecc83 like rtf and neuhaus (same tube, different factories). They were the OEMs in marshall from early 70ies to mid 80ies. They have a distinct gritty sound that everyone recognizes when he listens to rock music from that time frame.
Psvane are more a thing for hifi enthusiasts and quite spendy. I had a pleasant surprise with the newer JJ EL34-II
I had over a dozen telefunken ecc83 and one e81cc (i live near Ulm where one factory was and one of my relatives worked there as engineer). These were all pullouts from used gear. I did not like em in guitar amps, the clean sound is great, but with drive they sound a bit too generic.
My advise are vintage east german tubes ecc83 like rtf and neuhaus (same tube, different factories). They were the OEMs in marshall from early 70ies to mid 80ies. They have a distinct gritty sound that everyone recognizes when he listens to rock music from that time frame.
Hiwatts and Gibsons
New member
I agree on the RFT's. Great tubes, a little darker and smoother than my Mullards, but still with plenty of great midrange grind. I have them in the V1 and V2 of my Matamp GT150 and they brought forward a sweeter mid range emphasis especially, on the 5th position of the Depth dial. It gave it a more distinct vintage British hardrock rock tone.
Hiwatts and Gibsons
New member
That may be so, but I can say that the Gold Lion KT66's, and KT88's are both rugged and sound amazing cranked. I had their KT66's in a RT66 head, and currently have their KT88's in my Matamp GT150. Both of these amps spent a good bit of their playing time with the volumes cranked, and sound rich and huge there. The Matamp in.particular is a beastly amp, and never sounds harsh or grating. Huge, punchy, and mean as hell.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Everyone will tell you their preference with tubes. I'd say just pick what looks good to you on paper, and give different stuff a try so that you can form an opinion.
I'm partial to New Sensor power tubes (EHX, Sovtek, Tung Sol) and Shuguang preamp tubes, personally, but I do like to mix some New Sensor preamp tubes as well.
In my experience, New Sensor have been the most reliable. They're almost always good-sounding too. Just don't use them in CF positions.
In my experience, JJ's have ben the most unreliable. Power tubes, that is. Their pres are solid, but while they're not bad-sounding, they have certainly not been my preference (neither pres nor power)
I'm partial to New Sensor power tubes (EHX, Sovtek, Tung Sol) and Shuguang preamp tubes, personally, but I do like to mix some New Sensor preamp tubes as well.
In my experience, New Sensor have been the most reliable. They're almost always good-sounding too. Just don't use them in CF positions.
In my experience, JJ's have ben the most unreliable. Power tubes, that is. Their pres are solid, but while they're not bad-sounding, they have certainly not been my preference (neither pres nor power)
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i do like the golden lion kt66 tubes, and groove tubes had a kt66hp model a long time ago that was great too. i still have an old set of gec kt66 that are in good shape, and man... those things are definitely a notch above. thanks larry, ill never forget ya.
Ascension
New member
Spot on here, and it's unfortunate, and nothing built today will be as long term reliable as the better NOS tubes. Saying that, real NOS tubes have gotten very expensive, and it's a crap shoot most times if they are really what they say they are. On the EL 34's I have always liked the old real Svetlana Winged C's In a Marshall. The New Sensor Svetlana tubes are absolutely not the same.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Are there specific reasons you chose those? They should sound good, based on paper descriptions, though I haven't used them myself. There are other options. Depends on what you are trying to get out of it, and what model Marshall we are talking about.
based strictly on reviews. I never tried these and frankly I can't seem to tell any difference in tubes. I swap different brands and they all sound good. so I'm at the point where I'm open to your ears preferences.
