Favorite 6L6 for Super Reverb/earlier break up

[ethandt]

Hey all, well it's time for some new power tubes for my Super Reverb (73 blackfaced). Right now I have some older Philips in there and was thinking of replacing them with some NOS JAN Philips 6L6 WGB. I want a tube that will induce earlier breakup... any recommendations would be appreciated.

I have a store near me as well that carries Tung Sol, JJ, Sovteks, Svetlanas, Winged C's.

[Blue Strat]

Originally Posted by ethandt

Hey all, well it's time for some new power tubes for my Super Reverb (73 blackfaced). Right now I have some older Philips in there and was thinking of replacing them with some NOS JAN Philips 6L6 WGB. I want a tube that will induce earlier breakup... any recommendations would be appreciated.

I have a store near me as well that carries Tung Sol, JJ, Sovteks, Svetlanas, Winged C's.

JAN Philips 6L6WGBs are your best bet.

[WaltC]

For current production tubes the Tung Sol's would be ok (especially if the supplier tests them and burns them in) and I'm fond of the short bottle TADs in that application as well.

[ethandt]

Thanks for the responses guys. Mike, I actually have your site bookmarked and want to thank you for all the great info you have on there. It has really helped and your page with the NOS Jan Philips is bookmarked so I may be hitting you up soon.

[Blue Strat]

Originally Posted by WaltC

For current production tubes the Tung Sol's would be ok (especially if the supplier tests them and burns them in) and I'm fond of the short bottle TADs in that application as well.

The short bottle TADs are reported to be 30 watt tubes which wouldn't help to reduce headroom.

[WaltC]

I've found that I like the way they sound better than the tall bottle ones though and almost as well as the RCA, Phillips and Sylvania (RCA? GE?) ones that I have... YMMV <G>.

How have you found the Tung Sol 5881's to be reliability wise? I've not had any problems (yet?) but I've only used three pair so far.

[Blue Strat]

Originally Posted by WaltC

I've found that I like the way they sound better than the tall bottle ones though and almost as well as the RCA, Phillips and Sylvania (RCA? GE?) ones that I have... YMMV <G>.

How have you found the Tung Sol 5881's to be reliability wise? I've not had any problems (yet?) but I've only used three pair so far.

I can't remember any problems with the Tung Sol Reissue 5881s but I've only sold a few hundred. So far so good.

[GearHeadFred]

I see the Tung Sol 5881 RI is rated to 400 plate volts.. I see a lot of Super Reverbs with 430 - 460 plate volts.. Any concern here?

[rockon1]

How about the JJ6V6? My favorite for power reduction in a 6L6 amp. Bob

[WaltC]

so far so good here (TS 5881s) if biased properly...

the JJ 6V6s sound like an interesting way to go too...

[slider313]

I've found the short bottle TAD's to break up and compress sooner than any 6L6 I've tried. Why not go with a 5R4GYB rectifier ?

[jetlag]

Originally Posted by slider313

I've found the short bottle TAD's to break up and compress sooner than any 6L6 I've tried. Why not go with a 5R4GYB rectifier ?

+1 to all of that. In addition, I find that CTS alnicos due to their being pretty inefficient, also really help in getting some breakup and mids happening at earlier volumes than with many other speakers. So if you can get your hands on a quad of those, that helps tremendously.

[ethandt]

Originally Posted by rockon1

How about the JJ6V6? My favorite for power reduction in a 6L6 amp. Bob

I am very interested in this as well... so can swap out 6L6's for 6V6's with no problem?

[warchol]

Can 6V6s take that much plate voltage?
I though they are spec'd at 350V?

Andy W

[Blue Strat]

Originally Posted by warchol

Can 6V6s take that much plate voltage?
I though they are spec'd at 350V?

Andy W

The JJ's are a special case. They can handle at least 450V according to reports. Deluxe Reverbs have been running US made 6V6s at 420+ for decades with no problems.