tubes....soo many options...

Grizzly_Diesel

New member
i have a bugera 333xl infinium head. when i bought it new it had the el34's in the power tube section. i swapped to the 6l6gc about a year and a half ago. I'm planning on going with euro tubes. i can run el34, 6l6gc, kt77, 6ca7, e34l, el34ii and 5881. what is the difference in all these tube types. i was told the 6l6's are a hotter sounding tube over an el34. i don't know anything beyond that. any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Re: tubes....soo many options...

If you look up a website called Eurotubes, they have a description of how their various tubes sound. It should give you an idea, though different brands of the same tube can sound different.

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Re: tubes....soo many options...

Really? Eurotubes? JJs only! Yuck.

Try Doug's Tubes or Tube Depot. At least you'll find some variety.
 
Re: tubes....soo many options...

I happen to like JJ's. However, I referred the Op to the site because they have an extensive list of power tubes along with tone descriptions. If other sites have these, then fine, go there.

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Re: tubes....soo many options...

i was told the 6l6's are a hotter sounding tube over an el34. i don't know anything beyond that. any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Whatever "hotter" means? The 6L6 is cleaner. The 6L6 gives big lows and bright glassy highs with relaxed mids. The note attack is punchy.

The EL34 gives earlier and more distortion once it is pushed far enough. The EL34 gives up complex mids and has a softer attack. EL34s are usually liked by soloists.

The 5881, KT-66, and 7581 are sub variants of the 6L6. The 5881 is the softest attack 6L6 and the 7581 the hardest and cleanest. The KT-66 has the biggest bass response.

6CA7, KT-77, E34L, and EL34B are all sub variants of the EL34. KT-77s are the cleaner EL34 followed by the 6CA7. 6Ca7s, E34L's and EL34Bs have more bass than a standard EL34, but maybe not as smooth highs.
 
Re: tubes....soo many options...

Try

Audiotubes.com. there you will get very detailed descriptions of tube types as well as the variances in NOS brands.

Then hit up tubedepot, the tubestore, etc and pick some out.

JJ tubes ime are very middle of the road..kinda like sovtek. They dont sound great, or last forever, but they dont sound horrible and the price is reasonable. The stuff coming from New Sensor, I feel is the best in new production...ehx, mullard ri, tung sol ri, and new svetlana
 
Re: tubes....soo many options...

Why not pop the EL34's back in and see how you feel about them now. My guess is that the stock tubes are Shuguang EL34B's (there are lots of rebrands of the same tube).
 
Re: tubes....soo many options...

thanks for all the input. i really liked the 6l6gc's from euro tubes. decent prices and the shipping was fast and free. i was wanting to try something different. something that would shine with the low tunings and the high gain that i play, while still having warm rich cleans.
 
Re: tubes....soo many options...

Glad you like them!

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