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Post by carrjimi on May 8, 2008 20:40:18 GMT -7
I think the tubes in my z28 may be quite old. I bought it used. It sounds good, but not qute the magic I expected. It looks like it has GT 6v6s.
Any Suggestions? I do mostly new country and southern rock. Clean with a little hair on it, so to speak.
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Post by LeftyLang on May 8, 2008 20:47:46 GMT -7
I like JJ 6V6 as they will give you a littel more headroom like 6L6 or just put the GT's back in.
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Post by Phil (aka Phil) on May 9, 2008 7:22:13 GMT -7
I've had a bunch of different tubes in my Z28 over the years. I like the NOS GEC's from KCA NOS www.kcanostubes.com/products/222/NOS-GEC-6V6G-Matched-Pair.htmI also like the NOS Marconi www.kcanostubes.com/products/227/NOS-Marconi-6V6G-Matched-Pair.htmBoth of these will fit in the head with just a little room to spare; I'm not sure about the combo. I would think there would be even more room. I'm currently running the some NOS Sylvania grey glass that are out of stock at KCA. I've also got some of the Brimars: www.kcanostubes.com/products/224/NOS-Brimar-STC-6V6GT-Matched-Pair.htmand the JJ 6V6's, in addition to the stock 6V6R's. I think the Sylvanias are the brightest of the bunch, but not harsh. The GEC's and Marconi's are pretty balanced. The Brimars are the darkest of the bunch which might be good for a Tele player wishing to tame the top end a little. I thought the amp sounded good with the stock 6V6R's but I liked all the NOS ones better. The NOS ones all had a smoother top end breakup, a little better bass and clearer midrange. The JJ 6V6's are in another category. The glass is great; very thick. They're very well made for a new production tube. However, they sound more like a 6L6 to me. They have more mids than any other 6V6 I've tried.
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Post by cementman on May 9, 2008 7:26:54 GMT -7
plus one on the brimars,, i got them when they were a bit cheaper,, i also have a set of marconis put back,, but for everyday use i would get the jj's, but i found that with them i had some tube rattle,, i didnt bias my z 28 or anything with the jj's, so i put in the brimars and no problems,, but i sold the amp, i use the NOS tubes in my allen brown sugar,, the z28 was a 4/10 combo and it was too big to lug around...
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Post by azatplayer on May 9, 2008 7:41:15 GMT -7
Just curious, i have ordered a Z 28 from Fat Sound, woo hoo!! Curious to know what the tubes expected lifespan is like on a 6V6. Ive not had an amp with this tube before.
Ive had 6L6's in a fender hotrod, they lasted forever in that amp.
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Post by carrjimi on May 9, 2008 7:50:20 GMT -7
Thanks for the all of the input! I gues I'mm about to spend some $ on tubes.
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Post by groovergeorge on May 9, 2008 8:26:39 GMT -7
JJ 6v6 have a sound all of their own and don't really sound like your typical 6v6. Like most tubes N.O.S seems to sound a better and different brands have their own tonal characteristics. The plate voltage in the Z28 is pretty high, I'm not totally certain, but I think if you want this amp at its sonic best you have to run it pretty hot. I got mine off Curt and he had already done a little tube swap in the rectifier section, dropping a 5v4GA Sylvania in there, that lowered headroom a little but also sweetened it up and to my ears dirtied it up a little quicker. The other tubes are, Tung Sol Russian 6v6's in the power section, a GE Jan - 5751 that looks N.O.S and finally the most important part of the equation an N.O.S GEC made in England EF86 which to me, is mandatory for high fidelity and low noise.
Shoot an email to Curt, he might be able to give you his thoughts on the tube rectifier swap that he did on my red head that i bought off him.
I'm sure you will love the Z28 when you get it, I think it's going to sound fantastic. The only thing I recommend you do pretty quick is get an N.O.S EF86 in there. Everything else stock should work fine until you really want to tailor it to a particular thing you want it to do. I think you made a wise choice in that you have 2 el84 amps. The Z28 is going to give you a bit of a different flavour. With those Gretsch's your going to be doing the Rev. Horton heat thang!
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Post by asattwanger on May 9, 2008 15:47:27 GMT -7
Curious to know what the tubes expected lifespan is like on a 6V6. Ive not had an amp with this tube before. Ive had 6L6's in a fender hotrod, they lasted forever in that amp. I don't know how long the last for. I had a old Fender and felt it sounded fine untill I changed the tubes and then I heard how dead the old ones sounded. Personaly, I'm not a fan of the NOS tubes. Not that they are bad or anything. I like the idea of getting quality new stock tubes. JJ seams to do it for me, but the ones that came stock in my Z-28 are fine. The reason behind me not look for NOS tubes is I like to turn on the amp when I come home and play it on and off over the course of the evening. I don't like to turn the amp on and off over and over. If I'm gonna take a long break I'll turn it off, but I generaly take 30min breaks and then start up again . So, expensives NOS tube running 3 hours a evening is not in my best interest. I like buying a 4 or 5 sets of tubes at one time. Hopefuly, all of the same run. I feel this allows me to get the best matching tubes over the years of use of the amp. It also allows me to check the current set of tubes sound with little to no work. Pop in some new ones and check it out. That tells me when it's time. I'm guessing every year I'll change my tubes out just because tubes are cheap just like oil for your car. You don't change your oil in your car when your hearing a problem or when your sure the oil has lost it's viscosity. Do yeah? 1 hr at the tech in my area is $45 min. the average charge is $65 2 JJ 6v6's with shipping is $35. I know some people don't log many hours on their amps and NOS tubes are a fine option. I can't imagine anyone logging 3-8-12 hours a day on a amp using NOS tubes. DAVE
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Post by groovergeorge on May 10, 2008 5:50:04 GMT -7
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