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Post by greenback on Jan 10, 2007 4:33:15 GMT -7
I picked up a used rt66 1999, I want to retube and use the old ones for back up. It came with gtkt66hp#4's. Should I try to find same grade or change to #5 or #6. Also, EHef86 tube comes in high gain, low gain and low noise. New to this amp, Iam happy with the sound but I always wonder if its biased right for the #4's. Anybody eles using #4's. I noticed musicians friend is selling gtk66hp#1's I assume its cause not to many use them.
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Post by James on Jan 10, 2007 5:35:11 GMT -7
Hey Greenback, it all depends on the type of tone you want. IMO, # 6's sound best in the 66. Best all around power rating for good cleans and good crunch. I had some #4's and felt that it affected my headroom and clean tone too much. Took away some sparkle. ( But, nicer "earlier" breakup was the trade-off)
Someone corrct me if I am wrong, but, the bias setting is the same no matter what power rating your Power tubes are.
Definately stay away from anything lower than a #4 power rating. Look up "Doug's tubes" online. He might still have some GTHP66's in a #5 or #6 power rating.
He is a great guy and I would feel much better about buying from him than Musician's Buddy.
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Post by taswegian on Jan 10, 2007 6:01:43 GMT -7
You might wanna look at a NOS tube for the EF86 and GZ34 if, for nothing else, reliability. Like the Doc says, if you buy second hand, factor in a new set of tubes. I didn't mind the GT #5's but I wouldn't go lower. If you want earlier breakup you can put a 5U4GB in the rectifier with a re-bias. Wouldn't mind another 66 set up that way.
Hey, is yours an "interstate" 66?
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Post by greenback on Jan 10, 2007 17:01:16 GMT -7
only has route 66 on the front, thanks for the info, I just ordered some tubes from dougs tubes. Now I have to figure out how to bias it the correct way.
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Post by taswegian on Jan 10, 2007 18:01:21 GMT -7
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Post by m1911 on Jan 13, 2007 14:57:27 GMT -7
Hi guys, I saved this post Doc made on The Gear Page about 5 years ago regarding Tubes for a Rt.66:
"Since I have stuffed approx. 400 RT.66's with tubes since it's release in 1998, I do have a bit of experience on the subject _Joker, and I'll try to answer your question.
Ok, looking from the rear of the RT 66 going left to right:
V1= EF-86, you will be hard pressed to greatly improve over a good Svetlana. Eric Barber and myself collaborated on EF-86 designs while he was with Svetlana, and some of the designs were posted on their site.
But being guitar players we must try to change/improve anything that generates tone.
So for V1 there are many imported EF-86's that will change the RT.66's front-end response.
Mullard shiny shield, very nice tube, slightly less gain, very top-endy in a good way. Works well with Humbuckers, but watch out with some Tele's and G&l's.
Seimens gunmetal gray shield , more gain, and a very warm tone, great with strat's, but can get muddy with some not all DARK Les Pauls.
Mazda gunmetal gray shield, close to Seimens, just not as bassey, more mid's.
Tesla made a EF-86, geat sounding, BUT very prone to microphonics.
Telefunkin low gain rich tone, but a bit HiFi, high dollar.
Amperex World Logo, low gain and very bland tone to my ears.
Now V2- I use a well balanced Sovtek 12AX7 LPS, full power, and full bandwidth.
Ei 12AX7/ECC 83 , if you can find a good one, that is a NOS dark plate, that's not microphonic ,they sound great. David Grissom uses a Ei in his RT.66.
Phillips 12AX7 WA large plate, good drive and a very warm tone.
RCA/GE both fine, slight loss of power, but nice hollow mid tone, and nice top end sparkle.
Tele's/Mullards/Brimmars, all three different but close to the same , balanced and smooth, slight loss of hair at full drive.
Ok V3 & V4 - I currently ship with version 3 Groove Tube Russian KT-66-HP. Version 1 was fine, version 2 had shorting/reliability problems. Fixed in Ver 3 as well as upping the power , hence HP or High Performance.
The Sino KT-66 is a very nice slightly lower powered tube in the RT.66. It does sound more like the GEC KT-66 then GT's. Reliability problems batch to batch, like halo getters falling loose inside the tube.
Finally V5- To get the full 40 watts at clip you must use a New Sovtek or Mullard GZ-34. If you have an older RT.66 it may have a Chinese 5AR4/GZ-34 Those were the only ones being built in 1998, replace it before it goes nuclear like they all will in less then 5 years of use.
But if you want to change the overall response of the RT.66 try a Sylvania green labeled 5U4, or a GE 5V4. Remember to adjust bias, as both of these tubes will lower plate voltage at idle, and more so at clip. Set the KT-66's from 28 to 34 mA per tube and you'll then hear the difference the rectifier makes. It will increase sustain and compression , lower overall power, and will feel spongier , which might be a good thing for you. I personally like the GZ-34 in my RT.66."
DR.Z[/color]
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Post by dock66 on Jan 13, 2007 15:27:06 GMT -7
Man,I like Red,but this too much Red at once. ;D ;D
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