Add me to the "impressed" list. After having read about the high plate voltages these tubes can handle, I put a matched quad into my '74 Traynor YGL Mark III (plate voltage of 457). I biased them for 17-20 mA's, put an 8 ohm speaker load on it, rather than the 4 ohm, and man they sound great. Am I missing something that may damage the amp if I continue to run it this way? thx
You arent missing a thing! Sound great in place of 6L6's and EL34's dont they? I ran them for a bit at 470 volts in my Supersonic before I sold it. Im currently running them in my Rivera Chubster at a more conservative 430+ volts. Such a warm meaty option compared to the E34L's that were in it. Bob
They definitely have their own thing going on. Sitting somewhere between a 6V6 and 6L6 tonally. I just tried all 4 current produced 6V6 options and the JJ's definitely stood out as sounding "different". Mainly due to the size of their glass I'm sure and their build quality. They did sound good, but I ended up preferring both the EH and Tung-Sol 6V6's tonally, I assume because they are more true to their type. But for those looking for a more robust 6V6 tone and who are used to the big boys (6L6/EL34) they are a good option.
I left my impedance selector alone when I ran mine too. They don't really sit on either tap correctly in a 6L6/EL34/6550 amp, so I just left mine alone. I'd rather tax the tubes than flash back at my OT
I have 2 YGL's; a '73 head and a '74 combo. great amps ! Q's : 1.Did you have to change any screen resistors on output tube sockets, or were you able to just plug them in and re-bias ? 2. How much apparent volume did you lose ? I like and already use JJs in my 6V6 amps, but it never occured to me to try them in my Traynors(I have several..) .
I literally put mine in, biased the amp, and went about my business. The amp behaved like a 40-50 watt amp, and we're talking a 100 watt Marshall JCM 800. Here's a video of me playing through it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl8CJg58ITw I'm on the White Falcon.
I like the sound of JJ 6V6's. That said, to my ears they don't sound at all like 6V6's.......more like 7591A's.
Its really nice to have the option to use them in higher voltage applications regular 6V6's wont handle. Bob
I love their lows and mids, but the top end has no harmonic content. Strangely enough the Tung sol will sound great in one amp while lousy in another, but the JJ works about the same in all amps. I feel fortunate enough to find some great NOS which are lasting years instead of several months.
I love these tubes for when I want a fuller, rounder tone than you get from true 6V6s. My only beef with them is they tend to suffer from mechanical noise in combo amps
I ran a pair of the JJ 6V6' in my Two-Rock K&M Custom for a few days.I wanted to knock the power down some and they did that. The stock JAN Phillips 7581A' put out a ton of power. They sounded good but,in the end I prefered the JAN Phillips 6L6WGB'. They knocked the power down slightly and still sound as big as the 7581A'. When I get bored I'll pop the JJ' back in and rebias.They do add a cool tonal character that's hip IMO. I didn't change the ohm tap when they were in.I kept the amp on 16 ohms into a 16 ohm cab.
The JJ's really aren't 6V6's but who knows what they are..... But they are great in higher voltage amps. With a pair in one of my amp designs, I have them running at 420 on the plates and about 410 on the screens biased at 70% and am measuring 38 to 39 watts fully cranked...... Quads sound awesome in 100 watt designed amps. A friend of mines has them idling at 95% plate dissipation in push pull fixed bias, and they are still going stong after 2 years of heavy use! They do sound dark at lower volumes but when pushed still very fat and articulate. Love them.
I like to call them JJ6V6L6's! The spec sheets state they handle 500volts on the plates and 450 on the screens-same as 6L6's. Bob
Yeah,I think of them that way too. Plus the put out 14 watts instead of 11 like a true 6V6 does. I ran them at 475 plate volts with no problem. They are quite a cool tube.
