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Post by mikekca on Mar 26, 2006 6:58:18 GMT -7
In general, the bias point for 5881s is different than 6L6GCs. 6L6GE is GTs name for their 6L6GC, made by GE, recreation.
Of course, every pair of tubes has slightly different "inherent idle current" which is why we ask for "matched pairs". Every new pair of tubes should be biased or at least have the bias checked.
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Post by myles on Mar 28, 2006 21:30:55 GMT -7
Mike ... There is a post in the general area on EF86's where I posted this as one of the replies .... Mike @ KCA .... if you see this, I talked to the originator of this post .... also told him to try over in the ask Mike area .... He has a number of Z amps he bought used and they all need a bit of work tube wise. We are taking them one at a time. He posted in the wrong place. This is his post: drzamplifiers.proboards41.com/index.cgi?board=xperts&action=display&thread=1143604278
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Post by paisleytele on Mar 31, 2006 0:10:22 GMT -7
Hi ,
Im tyring to add a little hair to my amp. My amp is an 1968 Fender Pro Reverb . It has the stock 6l6 tubes in it. I was wondering if i could put a set of el84 tube in it . with out damageing it. I looking for a vox meet fender kind tone. i seen a set of the thd yellowjacket tube adapters from 6l6 to el84s was wondering if they would work.
i tryied effect pedals but none seem to sound good me. the boss blues driver , the ts5 tube screamer , the ts9 tube screamer ,the bad monkey , the digitech blues driver . i would narrow down the grit iwant to a tube over brive like a brad paisley type thing. clean but had the warmth and hair out of it . at low volumes. what can i do if the el84 cant do it
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Post by foxx on Mar 31, 2006 9:17:18 GMT -7
Um, get a Stingray?
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Post by mikekca on Apr 18, 2006 6:13:23 GMT -7
Hi , Im tyring to add a little hair to my amp. My amp is an 1968 Fender Pro Reverb . It has the stock 6l6 tubes in it. I was wondering if i could put a set of el84 tube in it . with out damageing it. I looking for a vox meet fender kind tone. i seen a set of the thd yellowjacket tube adapters from 6l6 to el84s was wondering if they would work. i tryied effect pedals but none seem to sound good me. the boss blues driver , the ts5 tube screamer , the ts9 tube screamer ,the bad monkey , the digitech blues driver . i would narrow down the grit iwant to a tube over brive like a brad paisley type thing. clean but had the warmth and hair out of it . at low volumes. what can i do if the el84 cant do it The proper Yellow Jackets should certainly work. Also, if you're using 6L6GCs (The suffix is critical when talking about "6L6s") a pair of JAN Philips 6L6WGBs would break up a bit sooner.
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Post by capnjim on May 17, 2006 10:14:36 GMT -7
Hey Mike, I'm gonna be getting my DR Z Max JR NR amp this week. What other rectifiers can I use in place of the GZ34. I have a couple NOS 5v4's and 5U4's as well as tons of 5Y3's. Can I use anything other than the GZ34? Thanks Jim
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Post by myles on May 19, 2006 8:36:13 GMT -7
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Post by mikekca on Jun 22, 2006 5:13:04 GMT -7
Hi Myles, not sure what I can add to that.
Both the NOS Tesla (Tesla has NOTHING to do with JJ other than "bricks in the walls") E83CC and ECC803S are killer 12AX7 equivalents that are getting rave reviews.
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Post by StrangeC on Jul 11, 2006 13:03:54 GMT -7
Mike,
Tube recommendations for a 6545- From Vi through the rectifier please. Thanks!
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Post by myles on Jul 18, 2006 8:17:34 GMT -7
Tests on three Tesla NOS tubes from KCA NOS Tubes Mike at www.kcanostubes.com sent me a few tubes to test. There are two EF86 variants, a Tesla EF86 and a Tesla EF806. The shorter plate EF806S could really help a lot of Matchless DC-30 owners and folks that own EF86 amps that have physical microphonic issues. The ECC803S (12AX7 type) was a very smooth and articulate tube in listening tests. The gain is about on par with current production tubes but the construction is superior and this would be a long lasting tube. Keep in mind that I only had one sample of each and Mike at KCA can generally pick tubes with specific gain characteristics and he also offers very nice matching services. The test results are below as compared to book spec and in the case of the ECC803S dual triode, the matching curves are also shown. I will be testing the EF86 variants in the following amps initially: Victoria Sovereign Matchless DC-30 65 Amps London Dr Z Z-28, KT-45, Delta 88 and RxES
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Post by mikekca on Jul 19, 2006 5:50:20 GMT -7
Mike, Tube recommendations for a 6545- From Vi through the rectifier please. Thanks! Sorry, I don't get here as often as I should. When asking for recommendations, give me price targets (the range can be as much as 4:1 from "best" to "ok" tube sets. Also, let me know what, if anything, you'd like to change and what tubes you're currently using. Email is best too. kcanostubes@verizon.net
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Post by mikekca on Jul 19, 2006 6:11:42 GMT -7
I've got some rattling going on inside my amps chasis, and it seems to be either the GZ34 (a nos) or the big blue cap that is sticking up with the tubes. How likely/common is it for a rectifier to start rattling? thanks Hard to say. Try replacing it and see what happens. Is this rattle amplified or only heard acoustically from the back of the amp?
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Post by Danny on Aug 18, 2006 11:44:08 GMT -7
Mike and/or Myles,
[If this question has been addressed before, kindly send me in the direction of the thread.]
I have a brand new RxES head and 2x12 cab, with tubes as installed by Dr Z. What changes could I expect to hear if I swapped out the tube rectifier for a solid state rectifier?
Thanks,
Daniel
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robt
Full Member
Posts: 138
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Post by robt on Oct 4, 2006 14:47:40 GMT -7
Mike,
I have a 12ax7m GT that appears to be good and functioning well. It doesn't sound so hot in V1 in my RI Bassman LTD but does make a BIG difference in V2. Why is that? I like what I hear but expected that the preamp tube farthest from the output tubes (V1) would make the biggest difference. The GT 6l6s that came stock do sound great. Any other suggestions?
Second question: is there a big difference between the GT 12ax7 Mullard reissue and the new Tung Sol 12ax7? Would you recommend one over the other? If so, why?
Thanks,
robt
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robt
Full Member
Posts: 138
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Post by robt on Oct 5, 2006 10:47:45 GMT -7
Mike, got your email reply, thanks for the info.
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Post by tymish on Nov 20, 2006 17:02:04 GMT -7
Ever heard of Lewis & Kaufman 12AX7 ? I see them as NOS, are they rebranded tubes?
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Post by guitarstan on Jan 5, 2007 7:02:51 GMT -7
the following is a partial quote from a post by Myles
<< just keep playing as I could swap on the fly putting the amp in standby for a few seconds. >>
He was referring to swapping preamp tubes while the amp was still turned on but in Standby mode.
My question: is it an acceptable procedure to swap any tube including a Power tube in any Dr Z amp while the amp is on and in Standby mode? This would certainly make life easier for this amateur.
Thanks!
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buster
Junior Member
Posts: 73
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Post by buster on Jan 20, 2007 14:03:29 GMT -7
Hi Mike. My used Maz Sr came with a GE Rectifier tube 5ar4(I'm assuming it's the $85 one. Correct me if I'm wrong). Sometime later I bought a Maz Jr and noticed it had a ton of low end. My Sr was sounding thin even though I had retubed it(All except that rectifier tube) a few months before. I installed the Sovtek rectifier from my Jr in the Sr and the Sr sounded better than it ever has. I know tubes are a matter of taste but this was way beyond that. We are talking from thin, brittle and anaemic to full, clear, tight and punchy. Night and Day. It was like I had completely retubed my amplifier. My question is this, since I keep reading that rectifier tubes either work or don't work, why would a $12 sovtek rectifier tube sound so far superior to the $85 GE rectifier tube? sincerely but confused, Buster
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Post by mikekca on Feb 8, 2007 6:23:58 GMT -7
First, I have no idea what the GE tube really is. It could be a relabeled 5Y3 (these usually have 4 instead of 5 pins), a relabeled crappy tube, or it could be weak. Internet "wisdom" has it that rectifiers are either good or bad while in fact I've seen some that worked but are very weak.
Another possible explanation is that the Russian 5AR4/GZ34s aren't really what they claim to be. They have less forward resistance and higher output voltage than US made 5AR4s. Generally, these differences are preceived tonally as harshness, stiffness, etc. But there's no consensus on tone so maybe you just preferred the sound of the Russian "almost" 5AR4.
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Post by mikekca on Feb 8, 2007 6:27:15 GMT -7
My question: is it an acceptable procedure to swap any tube including a Power tube in any Dr Z amp while the amp is on and in Standby mode? This would certainly make life easier for this amateur. Thanks! It's ok, but just watch your fingers. If you touch the wrong pin, even in standby mode, you could get severely shocked. I swap tubes in standby all the time, but that doesn't mean that it's 100% safe.
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Post by mikekca on Feb 8, 2007 6:27:58 GMT -7
Ever heard of Lewis & Kaufman 12AX7 ? I see them as NOS, are they rebranded tubes? Yes, rebranded. L&K did not manufacture tubes.
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Post by mward on Feb 12, 2007 19:52:54 GMT -7
Mike, I've got a question on this mislabeled NOS JAN Phillips... I may just be paranoid. But having never spent this much on a tube I figure a little paranoia is healthy. Tonight I was playing and turned the lights off and noticed that 1 - the tube is very bright and 2, the silvery coating inside the top of the tube from the getter only really covers about 1/3 quadant of the inside and is kind of spotty, like light is shining through in pinpoint spots. The silvery coating looks 'old' if that makes any sense. I assume this thing is okay or you wouldn't have sold it but I thought I'd ask. Thanks.
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Post by jwr on Feb 12, 2007 20:43:37 GMT -7
Mike, can you recommend a 12AX7 for the Marshall side of a 65amps London? Price is not a issue. I've already got a GEC EF86 in the Vox AC15 side and I need to get the Marshall side caught up tone wise. Got JJ ECC83 in there now. Just looking to get the most out of the amp gain wise. Thanks, Jason
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Post by myles on Feb 14, 2007 10:07:47 GMT -7
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Post by jwr on Feb 14, 2007 14:58:45 GMT -7
Myles, I had my eye on the Brimar and the Tesla. Thanks so much! You always point me in the right direction. Jason
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Post by soundhound on Feb 25, 2007 14:43:48 GMT -7
Hi Mike,
Are you still checking this forum? If so, I've got a KT-45 that I would like to try changing from its solid state rectifier to a tube rectifier and had a couple of questions:
-How would you describe the difference in tone and feel between the solid state and tube versions?
- Is that just as simple as changing out a tube?
-If so, what would you recommend?
- Do you think I could do it myself (I'm terrrible at this stuff). I think maybe Myles on this forum said that I moight not have to rebias if going from solid state to tube.
And finally: What's a recitifier?
thanks,
Doug
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Post by chipstar75 on Mar 7, 2007 17:57:08 GMT -7
Hey Mike; I sent a friend to you to order some tubes for his maz 18. You stated on the phone to him , that the maz really eats up tubes. Does it just pummel the power tubes into submission to give up that great tone? Is this just typical of el-84 amps? Thanks for your input Chip
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Post by dickieg on Mar 8, 2007 19:16:20 GMT -7
Mike Just got my (used) Maz 38. It sounds fantastic, but the reverb is completely dead. I know I can go back to the seller, but I'd prefer getting it to work. WHat do I look for (before I go to the "shop"). Could it be a tube? Dickie
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Post by dickieg on Mar 24, 2007 12:52:01 GMT -7
Mike; I was just installing the tubes you sent for my Maz 38. Thanks so much for labelling them for me! When I went to put them in, they didn't match to the schematic stapled to the inside of the amp. So I checked the website and, sure enough, they're different! The web site has a 12AT7 for V5 and the printout on the amp shows a 12AX7. I was looking at the website when we spoke so you sent the AT7 - and I put it in. Which is the right tube for V5?? Will the 12AT7 burn up faster? It sounds good so far Thanks again. Richard Garrett Tampa,FL
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Post by myles on Apr 4, 2007 11:02:18 GMT -7
Mike; I was just installing the tubes you sent for my Maz 38. Thanks so much for labelling them for me! When I went to put them in, they didn't match to the schematic stapled to the inside of the amp. So I checked the website and, sure enough, they're different! The web site has a 12AT7 for V5 and the printout on the amp shows a 12AX7. I was looking at the website when we spoke so you sent the AT7 - and I put it in. Which is the right tube for V5?? Will the 12AT7 burn up faster? It sounds good so far Thanks again. Richard Garrett Tampa,FL Richard ... Sorry to jump in here but I was just on the KCA site looking for tubes for some of my folks and came to this thread and found your post. You can use a 12AX7, 5751, 12AT7 in V5 with no issues or adjustments. The AT7 or 5751 will give you more clean headroom although clean headroom is not much of an issue with these amps. The 12AT7 and 12AX7 were used as stock at various times so what you find in there is not always the same. The AT7 will have no life difference than the AX7 although it will run hotter as is usually the case with 12AT7s ... not an issue at all.
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