6V6-EH Quality & Reliability???

[jamison162]

I got some bad EH 6V6's in a brand new RV50. Orange sent out some replacement tubes that I got yesterday (in the black EH boxes). Three of them are fine, opened the 4th and the base is loose, to the point that it's about to separate form the glass itself. I seriously doubt this could've been damaged during shipment...a broken tube yeah, maybe not this. Must have come from the factory - what about QC these days?

I'm seriously thinking of going NOS now. Given the same amp, conditions, playing time, etc. How would a Brimar 6V6 hold up to current production 6V6's in terms of logevity? 2:1, 4:1, 10:1? I've read that those Bendix 6V6's could easily last a lifetime.

[mark norwine]

go with JJ's

[rooster]

If you get the Brimar 6V6's, that could cause problems. Y'see, if something ever happens to them, every other tube you try to replace it with will REALLY sound like doggee poo.

Having said that, the Brimars are VERY nice tubes, I just did some work on a 71 deluxe reverb with a NOS set of Brimars from Mike at KCA. The amp sounds VERY nice. And, they should run at least 4:1 over new stuff. I've played Fender amps with all original tubes from the 60s that sound fine.

If you're on a budget, get JJ's. Much better quality than EH. Not subjective, just much better quality (On the 6V6 tube, some of their other stuff is very nice).

rooster.

[Blue Strat]

Rooster! ROFL!

The Brimars are killer and should outlast new production 5:1 or more.

[Southbay Ampworks]

I can only relate my 6V6 EH experience...which was ridiculously horrible. 15 out of 16 tubes just lit up, imploded, or leaked gas (that smells real nice, I don't recommend it!).

The light show is fun for about 45 seconds till they burn out. NOS work in my amps, and the JJ 6V6, and that's it. Even old American made tubes work fine, I had "so-so" results with the Brimar, Mazda and other 6V6's in my single ended amps. I thought the JJ's and old American tubes (Raytheon, RCA, Sylvania, Philips, etc.) all sounded and lasted much longer.

I'll NEVER buy an EH 6V6 ever again, though. I probably paid as much in shipping sending back bad tubes for replacement from EH as I did for the tubes themselves.

Needless to say, with a failure rate over 90% I'm not eager to repeat that experience.

[Swarty]

I too have sworn off EH 6V6s. A combination of high failure rate and just nervousness watching the screens glow when you dig in/push them. JJs are very robust, perhaps to a fault if you are looking for a tube to bend/distort easily, which is characterestic of a typical NOS 6V6. The JJs just don't readily give it up... Sort of like EL34s vs 6550s in a Marshall.

[EataPeach]

go with JJ's


Ya..If you like rattling .Just my experience

[TungstenAmp]

I must be in the minority as I do like the EH 6V6 tubes, however I have learned that it is worth the extra money to buy them from someone who screens them first, as opposed to buying them direct from New Sensor. The two experiences were like night & day where the tubes from N.S. had a much higher failure rate than those purchased from CE/AES.

To me the JJ doesn't have the same crunch to it & the rattling can be an issue. I like the Tung Sol 6V6 better than the JJ, but still prefer the tone of the EH.

Most of my customers install NOS tubes of their choice after the sale, so I mainly try to provide good quality current production tubes for demo and testing purposes.

[GearHeadFred]

Ya..If you like rattling .Just my experience

Mine too. One of my JJ 6V6s started rattling within 5 minutes. I talked the reseller into sending me a replacement.. but before it got there, the other one started rattling too. Now all 3 rattle!

I have lots of other JJ tubes (EL84s, 6L6s) in other amps and never had this problem. I think it's specific to the 6V6.

Love the sound, though, and I don't notice the rattle at live gigs. Recording is a problem, though.

[Swarty]

I'm guessing the JJ rattling thing may have been a bad batch issue. I've gone through dozens without problems.

[Wakarusa]

Count me in the list of folks who won't use an EH 6V6. If I had to guess, I'd say that the folks at New Sensor took the published 350VDC plate limit at face value. Deluxe Reverbs will go through these things faster than Lindsey Lohan goes through men.

The only current production 6V6 I'll trust is the JJ, but it does have at least one drawback (and not, to date, reliability. I agree with Swarty about you getting a bad batch) -- they sound more like a 6L6 than a 6V6.

Brimars are very nice, but I'd just as soon have RCA. I've also run across some really amazing sounding Sylvanias.

[Tallhorses]

Count me as one of those who really likes the Brimars. That said I've used the JJ's too and although the're different...not as creamy I like them. I just picked up a Carr Slant 6V that came stock with the new production Tung Sol 6V6's and I'm impressed with the tone of those as well.

[Blue Strat]

I'd say that the folks at New Sensor took the published 350VDC plate limit at face value.

Sure seems that way. Funny how their marketing material says that these are good to 475V (and lots of people believe this ;) )

[Wakarusa]

Sure seems that way. Funny how their marketing material says that these are good to 475V (and lots of people believe this ;) )


What does the marketing material have to say about screen voltage and dissipation? In all honesty, I'm pretty sure this is what blows them up in most amps. Same goes for the EH 6CA7 and EL34 (not as touchy as the 6V6, but not nearly as robust as others available)

[Blue Strat]

[quote=Wakarusa;2509587]What does the marketing material have to say about screen voltage and dissipation? [quote]

Nothing, of course. But you could infer that since every common guitar amp has less than 3 volts difference between plate and screen voltage that it wouldn't be a problem. Of course, you'd be wrong.

[Old Tele man]

...I'd say "poor grid-to-screen alignment during fabrication " is the major problem, ie: too much of the screen windings are being exposed to the cathode-to-plate current stream instead of being "hidden" within the electrostatic "shadow" behind the control grid windings, like they're supposed to be!...ie: piss-poor construction techniques.

[soulohio]

when I got my Goblin from Reverend, it had EH tubes and it sounded fine. They probably test them though. I did end up selling the amp and the guy I sold it to put new glass in there and said the amp was totally rawking.

[Blue Strat]

Nothing is either 100% good or bad. Anything less than 90% in electronic components is considered abysmal.