Your Latest preference in 6L6's?

The last 6L6 I bought have ARS Van Nuys, Calif on them but were made by Electro Harmonics- Made In Russia. They were listed, and are marked as, 5881/6L6WGC. I think I bought them in the late '90s but don't know where the invoice is. They sound good- if you're familiar with the Tom Wheeler book called 'The Soul Of Tone- 60 Years of Fender Amps', these were in my '58 Bassman when the vintage tracks were recorded. The rectifier was the Groove Tubes solid state version and I have re-installed most of the original yellow Astron capacitors. I had replaced them with newer Astron poly-styrene caps, but had found out that these were generally not a problem, unlike electrolytic caps.

 

TAD 6L6GC and WGC, Ruby 6L6GC MSTR, TS 6L6GC STR, TS KT66... Haven't heard any reports on the new TS 7581A yet, but I'm sure it's nice too.

 

I've been on the NOS kick for awhile, just got a few matched sets of sylvanias, great sounding tubes.

I wish i could find some RCA's that were affordable.

I just got some Tung sol 5881's that i'm going to try soon (NOS). I'm thinking of putting them in my 6G9A Tremolux

 

SED "Winged C's" and TAD's.

 

REALLY like the Sovtek 6L6 WXT Plus. Fat, meaty, robust and holds up to a lot of abuse. And I've not been a big Sovtek fan in recent years.

Note - not to be confused with the Sovtek 5881 WXT Plus, a different tube all together.

 

I like the JJs

 

Current production I like the TAD 6L6WGCs in my '66 Bandmaster -- big, full, rich, clean -- and I've had surprisingly long life out of them for a Chinese tube.

 

Jan Philips 6L6WGB. Greatest value in money for NOS 6L6.

 

I put a set of SED =C='s in my '64 Bandmaster and it really made it come alive. A great amp made better. I've also had consistent good luck with JJ's - good sound and long life (so far).

 

+1

The TAD 6L6WGCs are good in that price range.

 

The current stash of RCA blackplates and anos Tung Sol 5881's are spread thin. I may have to check into the JAN Phillips... Had some sed's I think that I sold in an amp, pretty solid, no idea of the lifespan.

 

For new, I'm impressed with the TAD 6L6WGC tubes. The Tung Sol 5881 Reissues are growing on me as well.

For NOS, just got a set of original Tung Sol 5881s (WOW). Put them right up with my other two favorites, the Sylvania STR 387 tubes and RCA blackplates. And perhaps the most reliably good, and still relatively affordable of the older tubes, the Phillips 6L6WGB.

 

Great choice.

 

Joe,

If you are looking for tubes for the RedPlate, Henry really loves the Winged C. I just got a pair for my ADD based on his advice.

 

I'm waiting on my next set of 6L6's till Mike, Doug, or Lord Valve report (or stock up) on the new Tug-Sol 7581A

 

Genalex KT-66's. They were a bit to big in my vibrolux reverb (the left one actually touched the power transformer which would cause it to rattle at higher volumes), but the cleans were big and bold, and sounded superb...just a really well balanced sounding tube.

If they will fit I recommend them. Otherwise, I've had great luck with my JAN-Philips 6L6WGB's in that amp. Crunchier tone, brighter, and seemingly a bit more upper-midrange dominant, but not so much so that it loses the typical blackface Fender tone.

 

I agree with this !!! Sovtek 6L6WXT+ tubes sound good, have proven reliable, and are modestly priced.
I'm running them in many 6L6GC amps---- my own personal favorite 6L6-type amps run NOS RCA, GE, Sylvania in most cases but others that are actually played more run the Sovtek 6L6WXT+.
I was never a fan of Sovtek tubes, in general, until i bought some of these for low budget re-tubes for friend's amps--- now i keep them around as my #1 new production 6L6GC tube.
Yes, there are good sounding tubes with the Sovtek name on them------ but as said above, only the 6L6WXT+.....................gldtp99


PS--- last weekend a local band (the Kremlings) recorded with some of my amps in the studio across the hall from my workshop----one of the amps used for rhythm was my '67 BF Showman (w/Sovtek 6L6WXT+)--- other amps used are a 25 watt modded JCM 800 build i did a couple of yrs ago and a recent 10 watt SE (w/a single RCA 6L6GC Blackplate) hard rocker used for leads on "Bad Seeds"---- songs recorded with these amps are: "Bad Seeds", "Hated Me", and "Cocaine Song"--- clips here:
http://www.reverbnation.com/thekremlings