6V6 versus 6L6 in Deluxe Reverb

[aram]

hey all,

I just bought a 75 DR. Had it recapped and tubed, and put in a new cannabis rex speaker.

Here's the deal. The tone of the amp is very brittle. Even my KOT pedal sounds reedy and buzzy though it.

I had heard that if I have it modded from 6V6 to 6l6 this might change things and make it fuller and warmer.

I'm honestly concerned about putting more money into it, if it's still going to sound thin.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks!

aram

 

[pharmx]

Since you put a new speaker in, maybe it will sound a bit better once it's broken in?

 

[FFTT]

Hemp cones generally do need a good 30 hours+ of break in time to
start opening up.

6L6's will give you cleaner headroom and more top end jangle, but you have to be careful to re-bias the amp for the 6L6's.

 

[KLB]

Yes, the speaker needs time to breakin.

Not knowing what guitar/efx you use and how you set your amp, it is hard to make further suggestions. In general:

1.) Remove the bright cap on the volume control. This is probably what's causing your bright/brittle tone.
2.) Install a higher gain tube in V2, 2nd preamp tube from right.
3.) Bias 6V6 tubes hotter.
4.) Set volume to 6-7, mids to 6-7, treble 4-6, bass 2-4 and turn down your guitar volume for cleans.
5.) Use the tone controls on your pickups.

Sell the DR and get a Carr Vincent. No kidding. You won't have any bright/brittle tones with that amp! Having owned several great DRs, including a current '66 with 6L6 tubes, I'd take the Vincent over any of them.

 

[Steve Dallas]

You may also need to upgrade your transformers to run 6L6s. I think Allen sells iron big enough to do it.

Otherwise, you will probably melt down the power transformer by demanding much more current (esp. heater current) than it is capable of supplying. I've seen it dozens of times.

 

[slider313]

It would help to know which power tube brand and pre-amp tubes are in V2 and V4.

 

[Brien]

I would absolutely not do the 6L6 conversion. Play with the V2 tube, and allow break in time for the speaker. Otherwise, sell, and get a different amp.

 

[Curly]

First of all, I'm not really familiar with '75 DRs compared to say, a blackface or early SF, so I wonder how it sounded before the updates.

I agree that a tube swap would really not address your problem.

It's likely more related to your power tubes, bias setting, V2, and the fact that you're using a new 50 watt speaker in a 22 watt amp.

I'm sort of dealing with the same issue in a DRRI. I did try the Cannibis Rex briefly out of curiosity, but after talking to my tech, I switched to a lower powered speaker.

I think DRs in general can be both versatile and finicky, but personally, I like mine to have a little "give".

 

[Steve Dallas]

You can also get some "give" by swapping the 5AR4 with a 5Y3 and rebiasing.

 

[LarryN]

You can also get some "give" by swapping the 5AR4 with a 5Y3 and rebiasing.

A 5R4 is another option.