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Post by mistabusta on Jan 9, 2021 10:48:25 GMT -7
Hi,
I recently bought a used Z Lux and I am loving the amp so far. I have a question about tube replacment. Are JJ 6v6s and Tung Sol 5881s the only power tubes approved for the amp? I see that the TAD 6v6 STR, which is supposed to be a more tradional 6v6 type vs the JJ, can handle high voltage (450v) but not sure if that is high enough for this amp.
For any that have used both, are the JJ 6v6 and the Tung Sol 5881 really that different from each other?
The other question I have is about the V2 preamp tube. I do not have any other amps that have a tone stack driver. Does this tube affect the tone and/or gain of the amp or is that mainly coming from V1 like most amps?
Thanks!
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Post by scottunzicker on Jan 11, 2021 12:44:09 GMT -7
Howdy, mistabusta, and welcome to the forum!
From personal experience I can tell you that yes, the 6v6s and the 5881s sound pretty differently. To my ear, the 6V6s give more "grind" when pushed, and have a more prominent mid-range thing going on. Dr. Z (aka Mike Zaite), himself (who regularly posts here, btw), described the Z-Lux with the 5881s as sounding almost Twin Reverb like, as maybe having a little more clean headroom, and I agree with him. Having said that, if you're in need/want of more of the mid-range spike/grind with the 5881s installed, just use the boost function, and all that comes back, so you get the best of both worlds, imo. I switched to the 5881s several years ago, and have never considered going back.
As for the V2 question, that one is beyond my understanding. Maybe the good Doctor will chime in on that one.
Cheers, and once again, welcome!
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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Jan 15, 2021 14:12:19 GMT -7
On the Dr Z website you can always check Tubes and Bias under the Support tab. It won't answer all your questions, but it does update what the shop suggests for tubes on each model. Here is the Z Lux... Z-LUX (Up to and including serial number DD.38456) V1: Mullard ECC83 (12AX7), V2: JJ ECC83, V3: NOS 6201*, V4: Sovtek 12AX7 LPS, V5: 12AX7WB, V6: Tung Sol 12AX7, V7-10: JJ 6V6 (matched quad) (Starting with serial number DD.38457) V1: Mullard ECC83 (12AX7), V2: JJ ECC83, V3: JJ ECC81, V4: Tung Sol 12AX7, V5: 12AX7WB, V6: Sovtek 12AX7 LPS, V7-10: JJ 6V6 (matched quad) V1: First Stage, V2: Tone Stack Driver, V3: Reverb Driver, V4: Reverb Recovery, V5: Tremolo, V6: Phase Inverter *This tube must be a NOS 6201 NOT a new production ECC81/12AT7 in amps up to and including serial number DD.38456 Recommended Bias Point: Cathode Biased (no re-biasing necessary) Fuse Value: 2A 250V SLO 1.25″ x .25″ drzamps.com/support/tube-info/
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