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Topic: Best Power Tubes for Fender Twin Reverb? |
Ronald Lee White
From:
Richmond, VA, USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2013 9:25 am |
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I have a 1974 Fender Twin with JBL D-120F's. I have had a technician recap it and check it out and it sounds fine except when I play certain harmonic intervals where I hear some distortion. Currently I have Groove Tube Fender 6L6 power tubes in the output section.
My question: What are the best power tubes to use that will provide the lowest distortion over the entire frequency range? I am looking at the Tube Amp Doctor TAD 6L6WGC-STR and the TAD 6L6GC as potential buys.
Thanks for your help. |
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Tim Marcus
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 30 Mar 2013 9:57 am
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Those are good tubes.
I use the Ruby 6L6GCMSTR in my Milkman amps. They are a great sounding and reliable choice. Can be found online for $50 for a matched quad too - plus a 6 month warranty. Can't go wrong there!
_________________
Milkmansound.com |
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Ronald Lee White
From:
Richmond, VA, USA
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Posted 30 Mar 2013 11:44 am
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Thanks, Tim. Sounds like a good value. I will give them a try.
Kind Regards,
Ron |
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Howard Montgomery
From:
Topeka, KS US
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Posted 30 Mar 2013 6:23 pm
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| I like the Rubys as well. Great value and never had one go bad yet. $49.99 with free shipping is hard to beat. |
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Daniel Policarpo
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Posted 31 Mar 2013 7:27 pm
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| I had the Ruby's in my '73 Twin, and it sounded very warm and clean. |
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Tim Whitlock
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 3 Apr 2013 8:20 am
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| I needed to replace the tubes in my TR, so I did some googling. I read about the magical "Winged Cs" and thought I should give them a try so I drove downtown to see renowned tube guru Lord Valve (aka Fat Willy). He could have sold me the Winged Cs for $120 but instead he recommended the Rubys for about half the price. Tonewise, I couldn't tell you if they are better or worse than what I had before (standard Svetlana 6L6s). They sound fine to me and they have been reliable and are still going strong after two years. |
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Bill A. Moore
From:
Silver City, New Mexico, USA
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Posted 3 Apr 2013 9:36 am
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| I have the opposite experience, Tim, my amp tech friend traded me a set of the winged C tubes for a road case I didn't need. They sound fine, just never had any others in the thing to judge. |
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Posted 3 Apr 2013 3:21 pm
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| Tim Whitlock wrote: |
| I needed to replace the tubes in my TR, so I did some googling. I read about the magical "Winged Cs" and thought I should give them a try so I drove downtown to see renowned tube guru Lord Valve (aka Fat Willy). He could have sold me the Winged Cs for $120 but instead he recommended the Rubys for about half the price. Tonewise, I couldn't tell you if they are better or worse than what I had before (standard Svetlana 6L6s). They sound fine to me and they have been reliable and are still going strong after two years. |
LV is to be trusted AFA tubes are concerned... he can also probably sell you the high-dollar stuff (Philips 7581, STR 6L6GC, GE short-bottle, etc) too. Elvie burns in and matches all his stuff... you can't get better tubes anywhere else. He is a curmudgeonly RW old fart... tell him I said so.
Oh, and if you want the ultimate tube for your Twin, I'd have to say Philips 7581... at around $120 a pop, they'll last you a decade. If you're made of money, that is...
_________________
New FB Page: Lap Steel Licks And Stuff: https://www.facebook.com/groups/195394851800329 |
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Jay Ganz
From:
Out Behind The Barn
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Posted 3 Apr 2013 3:50 pm
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Ronald,
Of course some of that harmonic distortion can originate in the preamp as well.
You'd really hafta crank that Twin to overdrive the output tubes. |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 5 Apr 2013 4:09 pm
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The BEST tube of all time for that amp would be a set of NOS RCA Blackplate 6L6 GC... You can find them for a lot of money if you are lucky.. There are quite a few good used tested RCA 6L6 blackplates around as well, and they will probably last another 30 or 40 years if they are in good shape.. those tubes lasted decade after decade if the amp was well taken care of... Wish they were still made the same way they were 40 years ago... bob
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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billy tam R.I.P.
From:
baton rouge, louisiana
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Posted 6 Apr 2013 10:33 am tubes
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I'll put another plug in for the Ruby tubes. I've tried JJ's. Groove tubes and Fender but the Ruby tubes work great in my '67 Dual Showman.
Billy |
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Jim Rossen
From:
Iowa, USA
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Posted 6 Apr 2013 11:43 am
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Where are they sold for $50/quad?
Thanks
Jim |
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Howard Montgomery
From:
Topeka, KS US
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Posted 6 Apr 2013 3:21 pm
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| Musician's Friend |
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Jim Cooley
From:
The 'Ville, Texas, USA
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Posted 7 Apr 2013 5:34 am
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| I have read a couple of posts and an article or two about Ruby tubes. I've had a matched quad of JJs in my Silverface Twin for a while. It has been converted to adjustable bias. I like the JJs in general. Sometimes they sound a little..."brittle(?)"..."glassy(?)". That could just be my ears, though. Has anybody noticed a significant difference between them and the Rubys? |
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Robert Daniels
From:
Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Posted 7 Apr 2013 7:25 am
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I have a Silver Twin chassis that has a miss-matched set of big bottle RCA's. It sounds quite a bit fuller and richer than my blackface Twin that has Sovtecs. There are always a few factors involved when 2 amps sound different, but wondering how much different the RCA's sound. I have always liked those big RCA's in the past.
_________________
Emmons Student Model 3x4,Twin Reverb with JBL's, clams galore! |
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