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Post by teleric on Oct 19, 2009 10:34:57 GMT -7
Yesterday I played the 6545 and decided to tinker with the 65 side to get a little more drive out of the preamp section (to use with my 80's "hair-band" project). I've got an small arsenal of NOS 12AX7 tubes (the usual suspects), and was wondering what people have run in their V1&V2 slots that they've been happy with. I'm kind of going for a Marshall 900 series vibe on the 65 side.
For reference, I running GT Mullard re-issues in V1 & V2 now, Dario EF86, Sovtek 12AX7LPS, Winged C EL34 (not EL34S) and a NOS 5AR4 rectifier. I'm thinking about going with a Brimar, RFT or Ei in V1 and an Ei in the V2 slot.
I usually run my 6545 with a pair of greenbacks or TT H bomb (lately) Any thoughts?
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Post by Paul (TRANE) on Oct 21, 2009 7:08:03 GMT -7
I am running Brimar CV4004 in V1 and V2. Great tube. Very smooth and not a harsh tone to be found. Not sure if it is JCM900 territory but it is perfect for me.
Paul G.
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Post by teleric on Oct 21, 2009 17:35:50 GMT -7
I was kind of thinking about using a RFT & an Ei (not sure which will get the V1 slot), but I'll work the Brimar into the trial mix as well. I read that The Doc really likes the pre-war Eis and the RFT breaks up really early (and is a little dark), so I was kind of going down that route, but I've read a lot of good comments about the Brimars (and recently got my hands on a couple of decent Brimars after an exhaustive search). Seems like every tube store on the net is out of Brimars.
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Post by Paul (TRANE) on Oct 22, 2009 9:09:35 GMT -7
Yeah. I bought mine a long while back. I really like them in the 6545 and I love them in my Germino Classic 45 as well. Great tubes. Very smooth midrange good bass and treble. Pretty much what I was looking for. I would not call them dark.....more even than anything else. So if you are looking for dark then the RFT would be a Great choice.
Paul G.
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Post by buckeyebob on Oct 29, 2009 7:54:32 GMT -7
I have been running Groove Tube's GT-12AX7C in V1 & V2. The chineses ones. They have a warm & fat tone with tons of gain. Gain is about equal to my TSL100. I tried a Brimer and was not impressed. Not a lot of gain, but then all tubes vary somewhat.
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Post by teleric on Oct 30, 2009 9:13:36 GMT -7
As time allows, I'm going through my box 'o preamp tubes and trying various combos. Haven't made it to the Brimars yet, but I'm liking the RFT in V1.
I recenlty came across a decent deal on a B&K tube tester that has really helped in sorting through my stash of tubes. I'm trying to squeeze a little more preamp gain out of the 65 side and being able to compare gain on various tubes has taken a lot of the guesswork out of the process. Shoulda bought one of these years ago. It would be nice to have a tester that shows actual Gm readings, but the B&K is a great tester for the way I'm using it.
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Post by teleric on Nov 3, 2009 10:14:47 GMT -7
After a whole lotta tube swpping, I'm going with the pre-war Ei in V1 and the RFT in V2. The Ei really filled out the tone in V1, much more so than it did in the V2 slot. The RFT is fairly dark and takes the buzziness out, and is a great tube for higher gain stuff.
Brimars, Mullards, Telefunkens, RCAs were all good in their own way, but the Ei in V1 really shines in V1.
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Post by Telemanic on Nov 17, 2009 12:11:46 GMT -7
So hard to say and recommend without knowing that any given tube is at full spec. I've plugged many many in that were supposed to be great, and been dissapointed. Then only to try another tube of the same brand later on and THAT tube was the one. Moral is i guess in liu of a well spec'd tube ie, mu/gain/output it's hard to count on The brand, year, construction, etc. to give reliable results, so we're left with just rollin tubes thru untill one grabs ya! For a known good one, humm .... I think that amp screams for a 70s Mullard ( or 60's shield a close second!) Or perhaps an original Tesla?! - Play on Jimi, play on!
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Post by muzacman02 "Jamie" on Dec 3, 2009 7:12:31 GMT -7
Being an SRZ owner for a Long time im gonna chime in, When I first got my SRZ It had JJ's as preamp tubes however being an old Fender Blackface nut, over the years I've been able to obtain some great Old tubes and in My SRZ I replaced all the preamp tubes To Blackplate RCA 12AX& and 7025's and I have two Sylvainia's which are possibly GE or RCA in the Reverb Valves, Yes Reverb, I dont know If it made it into the TSL territory but I had a DSL and it crunches alot better, it's not as harsh with the highend freq it was getting, I have been told the better the tubes in these V1 V2 spots makes the better the overall output. I was on the hunt for a 6545 for a while however ended up getting a Voxey style amp for total cleans YES! I'm a damn Stangray User! LOL! Let me know what you end up with. I push my SRZ with a BB and it doesnt take but just a hint of gain and its all over Ratt, Dokken, Warrant, EVH Land!
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