KT-66 TUBES picks

[joek86]

Give me your #1 and #2 out of these Kt's!

New production Tung- sol
GEC NOS
Groove Tube's HP's
Sovtek
Sino

 

[JackC]

I can't help with any of those but I can say that the Chinese (Shuguang) KT-66 is a really nice tube. It sounds fantastic in THD amps and is a big hit with the Univale/Bivalve crowd. FWIW...

 

[Laroosco!]

I like the Shuguangs as well. Love the clarity.

I have them in my Route 66 and love them.

 

[reeves amps]

We loved the Sino/Shuguangs so much we made them the power tube of choice in our Custom 30. On the other side of the coin we had problems with the GT KT-66.

 

[908SSP]

This wont much help but I tried some unmarked Chinese KT66 and GEC KT66 in my Bluesbreaker and as you might guess the GEC were much warmer smoother richer sounding.

 

[drbob1]

Well, I only own 1 amp with KT66s, and I managed to find a set of GECs. I don't expect to ever need to replace them (short of something blowing up and the amps been checked pretty thoroughly) so I'm going to go with only one suggestion: GEC!

 

[SQUAREHEAD]

Groove's HP's are GREAT!

 

[Geetarpicker]

Will any of these take the 600v B+ in an old '66 Marshall JTM100 pa head?

I'm restoring one for a friend, and I'm trying to find some affordable alternates to original 60s era tubes.

 

[theelectic]

Without a doubt the GECs, everything else is 2nd best. Having played a pair in a buddy's JTM45 clone, they are sweet, sweet, sweet. They're also $350-400 a pair if you can find them, so the real question should probably be, are they worth 10x the price of new production KT66s???

 

[peacock72]

Originally posted by frascati
GEC's are in another ballpark. They are the best.

I can't comment on the others much, but has anyone tried the Tung Sol? I do not hear much about it at all.

I have a pair of the Tung Sols in a Bluesbreaker RI. I like them more than the GT HPs. They have a bigger low end and softer high end that isn't as harsh as the GT's. I couldn't get the GTs to bias below 44ma, so this might have contributed to the tonal differences? The GTs are well broken in as well, whereas the Tung Sols only have a few hours on them. I haven't tried the Shuguangs yet. I may just save up and find a quality used set of GECs.

 

[ducmike]

Originally posted by JackC
I can't help with any of those but I can say that the Chinese (Shuguang) KT-66 is a really nice tube. It sounds fantastic in THD amps and is a big hit with the Univale/Bivalve crowd. FWIW...

Is this Chinese KT66 on the KCA site?

 

[myles111]

On the KT-66C, keep an eye on plate voltage. They do not like much over 450 B+.

 

[JackC]

Originally posted by ducmike
Is this Chinese KT66 on the KCA site?

Don't know if KCA sells them. I got mine from Lord Valve.

 

[Wakarusa]

Latest design out of my shop is KT-66 based -
The Shuguangs, particularly into a higher than usual OT impedance, won hands down for clean chime, smooth transition to distortion, and lack of mud in the bottom end.

 

[Mr.Hanky]

I just put the shungang Valve Arts in my route 66 and they are great. From what most people tell me the GEC's are not worth it for this amp, and that includes on NOS vendor.

 

[Blueser]

Originally posted by JackC
Don't know if KCA sells them. I got mine from Lord Valve.

KCA does sell them. I bought a pair from Mike not too long ago. He is a gem to deal with. Totally pro!

 

[Blueser]

Originally posted by Mr.Hanky
I just put the shungang Valve Arts in my route 66 and they are great. From what most people tell me the GEC's are not worth it for this amp, and that includes on NOS vendor.

This is pretty much a true statement. I had a pair of NOS GECs in my Route 66, and although they sounded incredible, I thought the $50 per pair Shuguangs sounded just about as good, and certainly as good when you hit the amp with a pedal for a bit more gain.

The NOS GEC's are around $400 per pair, but will probably last at least 6 times as long as the Chinese tubes (The GEC's are rated at 8-10K hours if I remember correctly), so it depends on whether you want to spread the cost out, or take it in one lump sum (with an extra 5% benefit to the tone when played clean or on the verge of breakup).

Just my experience.

 

[Brion]

I just received a duet of Groove Tube KT66HP's and 1 of them doesn't even light up, luckily it didn't short out and pop the fuse. I put 1 of my old ones in the socket and it worked just fine. I'm contacting them for replacement. I know this can happen with any tube especially when you have it shipped to you and I'm not blaming GT, just venting.

 

[joek86]

I just placed an order from KCA for a China KT-66. I will report back when I get it! Thanks for the help!

 

[Blue Strat]

Originally posted by ducmike
Is this Chinese KT66 on the KCA site?

Sure is.

http://kcanostubes.com/content/estore_details.asp?product=275