6V6 Tubes

[txbluesboy]

Wow, Hitest does have a lot of choices! Thanks -- So orrong65, would the silver logo RCA's you speak of be the 50's black plates?

[RevD]

+1 Thanks for that link to hItest, I'll have to give them a try. I have a little 5e3 I built that always sounded good with newer production stuff, but I know with some of them pretty reasonably priced nos tubes will sound amazing.

Regards,

D.

[skeezbo]

Trainwreck guys should check there too: interesting deals on EL34s and EL84s. He even has Tungsram and early EI 12ax7s!

Skeezbo

[tictac]

I had a pair of Bendix 5992's in a Princeton Reverb and didn't like the sound, to sterile sounding for me, but they do sound great in a hi-fi circuit and they are built like a tank, way overkill...

TT

[orrong65]

To txbluesboy, here are some of the vintage 6V6s we like.

From the left:

1. GE 6V6GTY Canada, brown base, lightly smoked glass, black plates, dual bottom getter, JAN, mid-late 1950s, great for tweed amps, huge harmonics

2. RCA 6V6GT, silver logo, smoked glass, black plates, single separated bottom getter, June 1959 date code, rich harmonics, great for tweed, brown or blackface amps

3. RCA 6V6GT, silver logo, clear glass, grey plates, 1960 date code, dual bottom getter, great in blackface and silverface amps

4. RCA 6V6GT, early red logo, clear glass, grey plates, 1963 date, dual bottom getter

5 RCA 6V6GT, red logo, clear glass, grey plates, 1967 date, dual separated bottom getter, bigger mid 60s sound

All these tubes tested better than new.

[billyz]

I have never heard a RCA 6v6 I did not like. Grey plates are wonderful, smoked glass same, Blackplates rule. Just get a good tested pair. They don't have to say RCA either. I have many that RCA made for other resellers, look for the RCA code 274 on the base usually.

[FYL]

I had a pair of Bendix 5992's in a Princeton Reverb and didn't like the sound, to sterile sounding for me, but they do sound great in a hi-fi circuit and they are built like a tank, way overkill...

This isn't IMO a 5992-related problem. You have used hard and fierce tubes in a fendery low power amp calling for warm and cuddly bottles.

Current draw is of paramount importance here: get soft tubes with low current draw if you want power disto (warm), hard tubes with high current for bass or hifi apps (cold). And everything in between if that's your fancy.

The spec for a 6V6GT is 45 mA plate/4.5 mA screen currents ± 12.5% @ 250V plate and -12.5V grid. Min is 38,8 mA (soft/warm), max 51,2 mA (hard/cold).

Oh, and ditto for transconductance, aka Gm. The spec is 4.1 mA/V (or 4,100 µmhos or 4.1 milisiemens) ± 18.5% @ the same settings, min is 3.34 mA/V, max is 4.87 mA/V. Lower values mean less gain, higher values mo' gain and easy saturation.

Low Gm/high current tubes will stay cold and stiff; high Gm/low current tubes will distort as soon as you look at the amp.

[rp]

Anyone ever see these: Mesa STR417? They don't look like any other 6V6's I've seen and I've never come across an other one. I've had them a long while but they're not matched so I can comment on the sound. Look seriously rugged though. Just curious as to what they are.

[FYL]

7408, an industrial version of the 6V6GT.

[iknowjohnny]

I guess it's subjective as to whether the JJ can be considered a 6V6, but consider this. Specs aside, there are a ton of el34's that sound so different from each other tha IMO the widest variations are even more far apart from each other sonically than the JJ 6V6 is form a "real" 6V6. Try a tung sol 34 RI then a EH 34. Nite a day. The tung sol sounds almost more like a 6L6 than a el34, yet no one cites that when people are discussing thier fav el34. granted, i'm talking sonically vs the JJ6V6 SPEC similarities with a 6L6 and difference from a real 6v6. But isn't it all about sound in the end? And to me the TS 34 sounds less like a 34 than the JJ 6V6 sounds like a 6V6. so that said, i like the JJ's a lot, especially since you can threaten them with high current and voltages and they just laugh.

[FYL]

tung sol sounds almost more like a 6L6 than a el34

"Higher impedance design with increased touch responsiveness and a unique clipping characteristic with a hint of the 6L6 sound."
From the New Sensor press blurb

[JamesHealey]

I've got EH and JJ set I've tried both in my wreck along with EL34 and I definitely prefer the EL34 tone but it's nice to have 6v6's on hand you don't really save much volume you just change the tone of the amp.

You loose bass response using 6V6 in an express and it's a tad smoother and gainer earlier, but not much volume change.

that's if you're even talking about the express