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Post by gotmojo on Oct 31, 2019 19:02:02 GMT -7
Doing a tube check on all my amps - surprised how many had wrong tubes in ‘em! Embarrassing. Some for years! When I’ve bought amps off eBay in years past, I stupidly assumed they had the correct tubes in ‘em! Idiot.
One old Fender called for 6L6’s, but had 5881’s in it. I swapped ‘em out and thought the amp sounded better, but was this all in my mind? Also, I’m inching ever closer to pulling the trigger on a Nova, which runs on 5881’s, and I know the Doc is picky with the tubes he chooses.
Looking in Aspen Pittman’s amp book, he says 5881=6L6. I’ve read a few opinions on the web, plate voltages, wattage ratings - engineering stuff Beyond my pay scale. What say you guys from your experience and technical knowledge. Is this correct? Doc?
jj
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Post by Maddog on Oct 31, 2019 19:22:12 GMT -7
5881'a ARE very close to the "6L6:" the 6L6WGB, that is....
The classic vintage 6L6GC used in Super Reverbs, Twin Reverbs, etal is a hotter tube than the vintage 5881, tho a lot of techs use them interchangeably by biasing the hell out of them...
I am ignorant if the newer versions have as significant of differences between the two types as the vintage originals.
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Post by heynewguy (Ol’ Bill) on Nov 1, 2019 4:26:52 GMT -7
I always thought that 5851’s were military grade tubes, built to extreme tolerances.
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Post by steiner on Nov 1, 2019 5:01:08 GMT -7
All the 6L6 amps I have suggest the 5881 swap is acceptable. There may be differences in sound production but, I've always treated them as electrical equivalents.
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Post by gotmojo on Nov 1, 2019 5:34:36 GMT -7
From what I gather the newer 6L6’s are more different than the old ones! The 5881’s were military grade and tougher in terms of withstanding the G’s of being on aircraft, etc. But the plate voltages are different and the wattage (?) is different, making it possible to have a 5881 burn out with use.
Absolutely not not sure if anything I just wrote is correct!
jj
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on Nov 1, 2019 6:26:39 GMT -7
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