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Post by tumeniamps (Tom) on Nov 10, 2023 15:11:59 GMT -7
Well,
Me being me, I'm always trying to build a better mouse trap. First of all, I'd like to mention that I have the 3rd Cure ever built with 5881's (although the tube chart shows 6V6's). Don confirmed by serial number, and had me pull the chassis to check for all the changes that he implemented when building the 5881 version. I had the 6V6 version for years, and when the opportunity presented itself to grab a 5881 version, I had to grab it. I compared them side by side for a week, and my 6V6 version has been sold. Don't get me wrong, both are great, but the updated version absolutely sounds better. I had a conversation with Don and he told me all the value changes. It is quite improved. If you have a 6V6 version, I would strongly suggest having it sent back to Don to convert it to the 5881 version. OF COURSE THIS IS JUST ONE MAN'S OPINION, SO TAKE IT FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH. The 5881's sound amazing in The Cure both clean and overdriven.
Oh. I almost forgot, the speaker I've decided on. A Celestion Alnico Ruby, it's pure magic with this circuit. I know tone is subjective and we all have different opinions on the subject, but to these ears, the Ruby is the one. I've tried many.
Anyway, I just thought I'd make a post and maybe give Cure owners something to think about.
Have a great day Z family!!!
Tom
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Post by purpletele on Nov 10, 2023 19:16:34 GMT -7
I have a Ruby that is sitting around if anyone wants to try in the Cure.
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Post by tumeniamps (Tom) on Nov 10, 2023 19:38:12 GMT -7
I have a Ruby that is sitting around if anyone wants to try in the Cure. How much shipped to Allentown Pa? I may want another one. Thanks!
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Post by Don A on Nov 11, 2023 8:51:59 GMT -7
I like the stock speaker in the Cure a lot and have done very little experimentation with other speakers. I have an Eminence GA-SC64 that I tried in it. The sound was smoother and very nice, but I prefered the original speaker. I have a Scumnico in a 1x12 cabinet that I should try in it. That speaker was awesome in a Budda Twinmaster that I used to own, but not as great in my Z Wreck Jr.
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Post by jamminjohn on Jan 10, 2024 19:45:51 GMT -7
Well, Me being me, I'm always trying to build a better mouse trap. First of all, I'd like to mention that I have the 3rd Cure ever built with 5881's (although the tube chart shows 6V6's). Don confirmed by serial number, and had me pull the chassis to check for all the changes that he implemented when building the 5881 version. I had the 6V6 version for years, and when the opportunity presented itself to grab a 5881 version, I had to grab it. I compared them side by side for a week, and my 6V6 version has been sold. Don't get me wrong, both are great, but the updated version absolutely sounds better. I had a conversation with Don and he told me all the value changes. It is quite improved. If you have a 6V6 version, I would strongly suggest having it sent back to Don to convert it to the 5881 version. OF COURSE THIS IS JUST ONE MAN'S OPINION, SO TAKE IT FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH. The 5881's sound amazing in The Cure both clean and overdriven. Oh. I almost forgot, the speaker I've decided on. A Celestion Alnico Ruby, it's pure magic with this circuit. I know tone is subjective and we all have different opinions on the subject, but to these ears, the Ruby is the one. I've tried many. Anyway, I just thought I'd make a post and maybe give Cure owners something to think about. Have a great day Z family!!! Tom Tom Is the Celestion louder than the original ? Does 15 watts now seem like 30 because of increased efficiency ? Did the Celestion break in fast ? Do you ever play P90's ? jamminjohn
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Post by Don A on Jan 11, 2024 6:58:56 GMT -7
Well, Me being me, I'm always trying to build a better mouse trap. First of all, I'd like to mention that I have the 3rd Cure ever built with 5881's (although the tube chart shows 6V6's). Don confirmed by serial number, and had me pull the chassis to check for all the changes that he implemented when building the 5881 version. I had the 6V6 version for years, and when the opportunity presented itself to grab a 5881 version, I had to grab it. I compared them side by side for a week, and my 6V6 version has been sold. Don't get me wrong, both are great, but the updated version absolutely sounds better. I had a conversation with Don and he told me all the value changes. It is quite improved. If you have a 6V6 version, I would strongly suggest having it sent back to Don to convert it to the 5881 version. OF COURSE THIS IS JUST ONE MAN'S OPINION, SO TAKE IT FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH. The 5881's sound amazing in The Cure both clean and overdriven. Oh. I almost forgot, the speaker I've decided on. A Celestion Alnico Ruby, it's pure magic with this circuit. I know tone is subjective and we all have different opinions on the subject, but to these ears, the Ruby is the one. I've tried many. Anyway, I just thought I'd make a post and maybe give Cure owners something to think about. Have a great day Z family!!! Tom Tom- In what ways do you find that the 5881 Cure sounds better than the 6V6 Cure? I've had my Cure since buying it new in 2019 and it's showing signs that it may need new power tubes (I have a lot of amps and play them all, so they don't have as many hours on them as you'd think). I've really loved it with 6V6s, but I wonder if I should make the mods to switch it over to 5881s.
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Post by jamminjohn on Jan 11, 2024 11:11:08 GMT -7
No. You have some nice other amps. What "signs" is it showing ? Just try some different 6v6's and see how they sound.
jamminjohn
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Post by Don A on Jan 11, 2024 16:03:43 GMT -7
No. You have some nice other amps. What "signs" is it showing ? Just try some different 6v6's and see how they sound. jamminjohn I mostly agree- as it stands, the Cure is the amp that most sounds like "me" and it's the first that I grab when I go to a jam. On the other hand, I have several other 6V6 amps (tweed Deluxe clone, tweed Champ clone that I built, Princeton Reverb clone that I built, Fuchs Blackjack 21, and Cutthroat Audio Down Brownie), but no small, portable 5881 amp.
It maybe just has a little less guts than it once had. That could just be my hearing to be honest. Plus, the power tubes are old and I'd hate for one to die during a jam session. When I get install new tubes, the old tubes get marked and saved as backups if they're still functioning.
I have several new and NOS 6V6 sets- JJs, Tung Sols, TADs, a matched quad of NOS Russian 6n6c. I also have some Sovtek 5881 (as well as a bunch of other preamp, power, and rectifier tubes).
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Post by jamminjohn on Jan 12, 2024 17:17:59 GMT -7
I'm looking for a Z. Gotta sell my Double Deluxe to make it happen. Looking @ 2018 or newer combo's. I'm having trouble finding a box if I have to ship it. Plus shipping a heavy amp is a lot of $$$.
jamminjohn
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Post by tumeniamps (Tom) on Jan 12, 2024 17:46:29 GMT -7
Well, Me being me, I'm always trying to build a better mouse trap. First of all, I'd like to mention that I have the 3rd Cure ever built with 5881's (although the tube chart shows 6V6's). Don confirmed by serial number, and had me pull the chassis to check for all the changes that he implemented when building the 5881 version. I had the 6V6 version for years, and when the opportunity presented itself to grab a 5881 version, I had to grab it. I compared them side by side for a week, and my 6V6 version has been sold. Don't get me wrong, both are great, but the updated version absolutely sounds better. I had a conversation with Don and he told me all the value changes. It is quite improved. If you have a 6V6 version, I would strongly suggest having it sent back to Don to convert it to the 5881 version. OF COURSE THIS IS JUST ONE MAN'S OPINION, SO TAKE IT FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH. The 5881's sound amazing in The Cure both clean and overdriven. Oh. I almost forgot, the speaker I've decided on. A Celestion Alnico Ruby, it's pure magic with this circuit. I know tone is subjective and we all have different opinions on the subject, but to these ears, the Ruby is the one. I've tried many. Anyway, I just thought I'd make a post and maybe give Cure owners something to think about. Have a great day Z family!!! Tom Tom- In what ways do you find that the 5881 Cure sounds better than the 6V6 Cure? I've had my Cure since buying it new in 2019 and it's showing signs that it may need new power tubes (I have a lot of amps and play them all, so they don't have as many hours on them as you'd think). I've really loved it with 6V6s, but I wonder if I should make the mods to switch it over to 5881s. Hey Don, I just find it to sound fuller and more alive. There's a reason the circuit was revised to run 5881's. I loved my 6V6 version, but when I played them side by side, there was no doubt which one I was keeping.
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Post by Don A on Jan 12, 2024 21:45:18 GMT -7
Tom- In what ways do you find that the 5881 Cure sounds better than the 6V6 Cure? I've had my Cure since buying it new in 2019 and it's showing signs that it may need new power tubes (I have a lot of amps and play them all, so they don't have as many hours on them as you'd think). I've really loved it with 6V6s, but I wonder if I should make the mods to switch it over to 5881s. Hey Don, I just find it to sound fuller and more alive. There's a reason the circuit was revised to run 5881's. I loved my 6V6 version, but when I played them side by side, there was no doubt which one I was keeping. I'm in a position where I can do these mods myself (I repair amps) and have the tubes on hand, so it'd be cheap to try and even change back if I didn't like it. I know the value of the required cathode cap, but would also want to know what other component changes were made.
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Post by tumeniamps (Tom) on Jan 13, 2024 5:04:49 GMT -7
Hey Don, I just find it to sound fuller and more alive. There's a reason the circuit was revised to run 5881's. I loved my 6V6 version, but when I played them side by side, there was no doubt which one I was keeping. I'm in a position where I can do these mods myself (I repair amps) and have the tubes on hand, so it'd be cheap to try and even change back if I didn't like it. I know the value of the required cathode cap, but would also want to know what other component changes were made. You'd have to ask Don about that. If I remember correctly, it's 5 or 6 changes. One of the mods removes the bright cap on the level (PPIMV) control. I sometimes like that cap, so I installed a mini-toggle to have a choice of it being there or not. That change has nothing to do with 6V6's or 5881's, it's just something Don chose to eliminate when he changed the circuit. I also added a 3-way mini-toggle for the bright cap on the volume control. I can choose no cap, the stock bright cap, or 1 other value. I really love this amp!
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Post by Don A on Jan 13, 2024 8:51:19 GMT -7
I'm in a position where I can do these mods myself (I repair amps) and have the tubes on hand, so it'd be cheap to try and even change back if I didn't like it. I know the value of the required cathode cap, but would also want to know what other component changes were made. You'd have to ask Don about that. If I remember correctly, it's 5 or 6 changes. One of the mods removes the bright cap on the level (PPIMV) control. I sometimes like that cap, so I installed a mini-toggle to have a choice of it being there or not. That change has nothing to do with 6V6's or 5881's, it's just something Don chose to eliminate when he changed the circuit. I also added a 3-way mini-toggle for the bright cap on the volume control. I can choose no cap, the stock bright cap, or 1 other value. I really love this amp! I had put the bright cap on the volume control on my Cure on a push/pull volume pot for a while. It didn't make a big difference at the level where I like to set the volume so I returned it to stock. It's be interesting to see how it is without the bright caps on the Level control. Also, my amp still has the original 12AT7 phase inverter tube. It's cheap and easy to try these things and change them back if I don't like them.
I generally don't like the idea of modding Z's designs- I bought the amps for what he built, but if they're his mods...
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Post by ntotoro on Apr 18, 2024 15:08:35 GMT -7
Is the 5881 conversion still 15 watts? No changes in iron?
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