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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2008 10:45:19 GMT -7
Just wondering what other people have used and like for NOS EF 86 in the Stangray. And why you liked what you used.
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Post by cashandkerouac on May 9, 2008 11:19:03 GMT -7
i am using a Dario Miniwatt EF86 in my KT-45, which was the stock tube when i purchased the amp. the same tube would probably work great in the Stangray as well.
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Post by Fiestared69 on May 9, 2008 11:22:47 GMT -7
Dario Miniwatt or Telefunken. To me the Telefunken is a little smoother sounding!
I have a couple of each for sale in the BST section and both are new old stock in original boxes and never used! That is if you are looking for some!
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2008 13:11:50 GMT -7
Dario Miniwatt or Telefunken. To me the Telefunken is a little smoother sounding! I have a couple of each for sale in the BST section and both are new old stock in original boxes and never used! That is if you are looking for some! I've been reading about the Dario Miniwatt on the KCA site. It sounds like the one I'll probably buy. No offense but I'll probably buy it from KCA. I am quite paranoid about on line purchases and having dealt with KCA I know the service is top notch.
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Post by brad737 on May 9, 2008 19:18:44 GMT -7
Hi Terry, I have a Dario in my Stingray. It was stock, so I just left it in there. It does sound really good though. I currently have a Mullard in my Route 66. It's more Marshall-y sounding. I've also tried Telefunken EF-86. It seemed to be be a little louder volume-wise, not noise or distortion. I have a Siemens that's really clean-sounding. That will sound great in the Ray. I'm going to use that as a Dario replacement. I just bought a quad of NOS Valvos on ebay, but I haven't tried them yet. Pretty much every NOS EF86 has sounded better than the Sovtek or Svetlana ones I've heard.
Hope this helps, Brad
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Post by brad737 on May 9, 2008 19:27:28 GMT -7
Awwww man! My KT-45 came with a Svetlana Winged C. That's bogus! ;D i am using a Dario Miniwatt EF86 in my KT-45, which was the stock tube when i purchased the amp. the same tube would probably work great in the Stangray as well.
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Post by hdahs143 on May 9, 2008 21:52:14 GMT -7
I've tried the Dario, and the Mullard, but the one that had the most WOW factor for me was the Amperex Bugle Boy.
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Post by mitch8686 on May 10, 2008 0:30:39 GMT -7
Imo, bang for the buck (as far as NOS goes anyway) you can't go wrong with the Dario. My Rxjr came with one of those "AEL" labeled Mullard darkplates that the Doc used for a little bit. It's a little darker than the Dario but still a great sounding tube. I'm using the Dario for now to save the Mullard (you know, cause it's a Mullard). Another relatively inexpensive alternative from KCA is a RFT ef86. I personally haven't tried one, but, I might in the near future....
Mitch
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Post by mitch8686 on May 10, 2008 0:39:46 GMT -7
Btw- Hey Brad, ya gotta let us know how those Valvos sound. I've been wanting to try a set of NOS el84's in my Rxjr but I just can't justify it to myself....... I guess 20 bucks a set for JJ's is just too cheap to pass up. I must say, it is VERY tempting though.......
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Post by brad737 on May 10, 2008 8:42:54 GMT -7
Hi Mitch, I should have pointed out that those tubes were a quad of valvo EF-86's, not EL-84's. As for NOS 84's, I've tried a set of NOS GE's, which were SUPER noisy in my Liverpool. But those amps are notorious for being noisy, and operating right on the ragged edge, so to speak. I replaced those with JJ's and it sounds great now. I also have a matched quad of NOS Sylvanias which are really good too. I'm basically just going to save the NOS tubes for my Stingray, since both sets sound fantastic in that amp. But the Ray has a newer set of GT's in it that sound great, so I'm going to wait. Honestly, as far as EL84's go, I would either get a set of JJ's from Bob at Eurotubes, since he does a good job of matching them. Or I'd recommend getting a matched set from GT, since they're really good at matching as well. I find the preamp tubes to make much more difference in tone-shaping than the power tubes. YMMV. Brad Btw- Hey Brad, ya gotta let us know how those Valvos sound. I've been wanting to try a set of NOS el84's in my Rxjr but I just can't justify it to myself....... I guess 20 bucks a set for JJ's is just too cheap to pass up. I must say, it is VERY tempting though.......
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2008 11:56:24 GMT -7
Just one more question about tubes for the stangray. When I replace the 12Ax7 should I be getting a balanced triode?
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Post by mitch8686 on May 11, 2008 12:45:09 GMT -7
You don't HAVE to, but I'd highly reccomend it. A non balanced 12ax7 will work, but one with balanced triodes (in the opinion of most including myself) will sound better. Our resident tube guru, Myles, has a website, guitaramplifierblueprinting.com, I think it is. It's very informative and gives a lot of the how's and why's as to making a good amp sound great. Check it out.....
Mitch
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Post by brad737 on May 11, 2008 14:04:23 GMT -7
Golfnut, You definitely want a balanced 12ax7 in there. The 12ax7 is the phase inverter in the Ray. In the Stingray, the two pairs of EL-84s are in a "push-pull" configuration, so you need the two halves of the 12ax7 to be balanced, so one pair doesn't work harder than the other. If you just slap any old tube in the phase inverter position, you'll generate a lot of extra heat, which can cause long-term damage to some components of the amp. Probably more noticeable will be the tendency to use up power tubes much more quickly, and not sound as good as it could.
Good Luck, Brad
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2008 20:28:48 GMT -7
I'm not sure what the stock EF 86 is in my ray. It has the letters A.E.L on it, if anyone can tell me what that is.
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Post by mitch8686 on May 11, 2008 20:55:32 GMT -7
It's a NOS Mullard that's been relabeled..... The Doc said they are "darkplate" Mullards to be exact. I'm not real sure what era they are from though. It's a good tube as far as I can tell, a little darker, sonically, than the Dario miniwatt I currently use. But, that's in my Rxjr and not a Stangray. So ymmv. Cheers....
Mitch
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Post by Hohn on May 20, 2008 14:49:22 GMT -7
I have the stock Dario in my 'Ray, and swapping it for a new production EF86 I noticed the Dario to have brighter, clearer highs.
jh
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Post by mikekca on May 22, 2008 5:49:56 GMT -7
ANY NOS EF86 will surpass ANY new production EF86. Sonic preference is subjective so there's no concise answer to "which sounds best".
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Post by driggi on Jun 5, 2008 13:23:35 GMT -7
+1 on the Telefunken
They appear every now and then at the TGP emporium.
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Post by sniffyduke on Aug 17, 2008 15:32:51 GMT -7
I use a GEC Genalex ef86.
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Post by thatstatuemoved on Aug 21, 2008 20:37:45 GMT -7
I have a new stang ray head that came with a Dario Miniwatt ef-86 tube. This is a great tube but mine was rattling when certain notes were hit. I contacted Brent at Dr.Z and he told me these were known to have that problem. He sent me some rings to put on the tube and this helped a lot. I got a tung-sol gold pin ef-86 and put it in and don't hear the rattling anymore, so I am going to leave the tung sol in my head. Have any of you had the rattling problem with the Dario??
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