Who said Sovtek 6V6's were bad? lol!

[rockon1]

I just got my Amp-Head bias tester. Figured I'd check the bias on my sons Crate Stealth GT50. Been telling him he needs to replace "those old firecrackers" in it for a while now.They are an original equipment quad of Sovtek 6V6's date coded 1995 that came in my other Stealth I threw in it a while before I even gave it to him a year ago. Well he's been rocking the thing hard for a year now to boot. Imagine my surprise that they are drawing 32ma and the plate voltage 393vdc! Yeah theyve been running at 100+% dissapation(fixed bias) for quite some time now! Bob

[teleman55]

I had some in my Deluxe Reverb some time ago. It sounded great then, and it never blew up. Haven't used them since.
Hey, rockon1, I need your help with a Crate Palomino question.

[rockon1]

Originally Posted by teleman55

I had some in my Deluxe Reverb some time ago. It sounded great then, and it never blew up. Haven't used them since.
Hey, rockon1, I need your help with a Crate Palomino question.

Yeah Ive always heard they were poor quality. Just surprised me that this set was running over 100 % for a year now. There are exceptions to everything. PM me your Palomino question. Bob

[zombiwoof]

Soundwise there may be some better choices, however. I never heard that they were poor quality, just that they didn't sound that great compared to some other 6V6's.

Al

[rockon1]

I had read the old "smoked glass" Sovtek 6V6's were unreliable-could be wrong. These obviously arent. Bob

[RackCrew]

There are no shortage of tube dealers on TGP that specialize in NOS tubes that have nothing else to do but speak poorly of any current production tube.

Contrary to what this small group of dealers say, many current production tubes are excellent and out perform many of the NOS tubes.

You should be the best judge of what works and sounds good in your amp.

[Blue Strat]

Originally Posted by RackCrew

There are no shortage of tube dealers on TGP that specialize in NOS tubes that have nothing else to do but speak poorly of any current production tube.

There are some exclusive NOS dealers and there are some, like me, who sell NOS AND NEW production tubes.

There's an obvious difference in quality between new and old and I have the experience to discern.

There is place for both types and some players are committed to one or the other and will never change. I offer INFORMATION based on experience to those looking for facts. Those who deal with only one type or the other don't often have the experience, or desire, to relate the relevant facts.

[rockon1]

Originally Posted by RackCrew

There are no shortage of tube dealers on TGP that specialize in NOS tubes that have nothing else to do but speak poorly of any current production tube.

Contrary to what this small group of dealers say, many current production tubes are excellent and out perform many of the NOS tubes.

You should be the best judge of what works and sounds good in your amp.

I have no reason to believe that any new production tube is from a technical stand point capable of out performing NOS tubes. Most 12AX7's dont come close. Tone, on the other hand ,is subjective.

I was more amused than anything that those sovtek 6v6's took such a beating for over a year. They died a few weeks ago. Bob

[Jerry Glass]

I've always found the Sovtek 6V6 to be pretty reliable as long as the plate voltages were below 400v. Back when I started repairing amps (pre-internet days), the choices were between the Sovtek 6V6 and NOS 6V6's and many a Deluxe Reverb detonated a set of Sovteks (or vise versa). I think that's where the reputation for failure may have come from.

[RussB]

Originally Posted by RackCrew

There are no shortage of tube dealers on TGP that specialize in NOS tubes that have nothing else to do but speak poorly of any current production tube.

Contrary to what this small group of dealers say, many current production tubes are excellent and out perform many of the NOS tubes.

You should be the best judge of what works and sounds good in your amp.

Taking a shot at other tube retailers, when you are a tube tube retailer is poor form. Build your reputation on positive business practices, NOT by trying to slam the competition

[scottl]

Not a dealer here. Just an end user with lots of experience. I have several hundred NOS and new production tubes. In my opinion and tested experience through thousands of clips recorded, Old production stuff sounds and feels noticeably better. Not close. There will always be some decent sounding new tubes in the bunch, but by and large the NOS stuff crushes the new stuff in every way. A nice Mullard/blackplate/valvo/bugleboy/tesla/etc is noticeable superior to todays stuff in most applications in my testing. Anyone who says otherwise either has an agenda, lower end gear where you can't tell the benefit as easily, bad ears, playing technique that maskes the tubes, unverified old samples that may not be good, or an amp that masks the tube quality (not run across this one here). And to push the point, I have invested in a state of the art digital tester to verify all TC and MU measurements. No guessing here.

I will say that I have used new power tubes that have sounded better than some older ones. However, in my amps, nothing comes close to strong Sylvania STR387/415/7581a stuff.

In the 12ax7 world, the difference is huge. To these ears.

Originally Posted by RackCrew

There are no shortage of tube dealers on TGP that specialize in NOS tubes that have nothing else to do but speak poorly of any current production tube.

Contrary to what this small group of dealers say, many current production tubes are excellent and out perform many of the NOS tubes.

You should be the best judge of what works and sounds good in your amp.

[RackCrew]

LOL I may have recorded those clips. Hope you enjoy them.

I have no disagreement that there are some amazing NOS tubes. I own many myself and use them were i feel it DOES make a difference.

However, the constant bashing of current production tubes drives me nuts. Especially by people who have little or no experience with them or who indeed have an agenda that is based upon primarily selling NOS tubes.

[scottl]

I agree that there are better sounding new tubes today than ten years ago. It is all point of reference. Kind of like the rabbit hole. I can tube an amp up with new stuff and the amp owner and myself are impressed. Then I can put in my best Mullard long plates. The grail. Very rare to have good stong ones. The difference is so huge it is crazy. Ruins the listener. Lol. Makes you go nuts trying to find them. So you try the short plate ones (very common and less $ than the Gold Lion New Sensor stuff if you buy smart) and find good ones there. Not quite like the real LP Mullard, but great anyway. Point is you need a point of reference. New is nice until you really try out and compare to the classic glass, assuming the old stuff tests strong.

Every single person who has come over, leaves wanting old glass. With zero exceptions. Doesn't mean new sucks, just that in a head to head, they just don't sound as good, again assuming you have a big stash of old glass to choose from.

Btw, i was referring to the thousands of comparison clips I have recorded in my studio. I have a Millenia Audio mic pre and nice mics too. So, no bedroom setup. Plus a degree in mp&e from Berklee. Just to provide some studio experience resume. Maybe not as extensive as your studio resume, but I am not lacking experience.

Originally Posted by RackCrew

LOL I may have recorded those clips. Hope you enjoy them.

I have no disagreement that there are some amazing NOS tubes. I own many myself and use them were i feel it DOES make a difference.

However, the constant bashing of current production tubes drives me nuts. Especially by people who have little or no experience with them or who indeed have an agenda that is based upon primarily selling NOS tubes.

[Doug's Tubes]

Originally Posted by rockon1

I just got my Amp-Head bias tester. Figured I'd check the bias on my sons Crate Stealth GT50. Been telling him he needs to replace "those old firecrackers" in it for a while now.They are an original equipment quad of Sovtek 6V6's date coded 1995 that came in my other Stealth I threw in it a while before I even gave it to him a year ago. Well he's been rocking the thing hard for a year now to boot. Imagine my surprise that they are drawing 32ma and the plate voltage 393vdc! Yeah theyve been running at 100+% dissapation(fixed bias) for quite some time now! Bob

I never thought quality wise these were poor, I've always felt there were better sounding choices.

[Tuberattler]

I ran several sets of the Blackglass Sovtek's years ago, not great sounding but pretty reliable untill I tried them in my Deluxe Reverb.. fireworks!!

But they sounded great in the Tweed Deluxe that I had at the time.