I got some tubes for Blues Deluxe RI. I need help now

igorBG · June 8th, 2008, 09:58 AM

Hi. I bought bunch of tubes, and now I can play with my amp. Its new and stock.
Unfortunatelly you cannot simply walk into the store and choose model, instead I had to call some man who sells them without much information.
My plan is to put 5751 in V1 and 12AT7 in V3 to quiet amp a little bit.
Anyway I got:

1) Pair of Russian "Reflector" 6p3s which are equal to 6L6GC. They have only USSR label and year of manufacture ('69 and '71), and I have read that they are generic SSSR military tubes.
2) Pair of Haltron ECC81 (12AT7) in original package
3) Pair of U.S.A. 5751. The man said for those that they are RCA, but I am not sure. It just says U.S.A. and 5751 bellow

So, first I need little info and reviews on those tubes, are they good or not?
Second, do I have to rebias my amp if I replace stock Groove power tubes with these "Reflector"? I read that Blues deluxe should be biased little bit hotter, so if this change would drive amp in that direction that it will be very good

marshman · June 9th, 2008, 10:22 PM

An expert I am not, but I seem to recall reading that the Blues deluxe/devilles were built with a permanent resistor for bias, NOT a pot, which would allow adjustment. If you're confident you can play around inside a tube amp without killing yourself, take off the back and look inside for a little blue disc (don't touch ANYTHING--voltages in there can kill you dead)--that's the bias adjustment pot. IF you have one, you can adjust your bias. Good directions to be found here http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/bias.html though the directions are for HOT RODS, not necessarily Blues Deluxes

The preamp tubes are a matter of taste. They will decrease your gain, which won't really make your amp much quieter except at the absolute max, but they should make your volume a little easier to dial in. Probably better served replacing the volume pot a la this mod http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_hol...ds.html#master

Good luck

igorBG · June 10th, 2008, 04:47 AM

Thanks. Original Blues Deluxe has fixed Bias. New Bles Deluxe Reissue has adjustable one.
I need desperatelly to change volume pot, and to do reverb mod

igorBG · June 13th, 2008, 04:25 AM

It seems that these power tubes I got ( Russian "Reflector" 6p3s ) are not 6l6GC. They are 5881/6L6WGB instead and accorsing to Unofficial Hot Rod Deluxe Site and Vacuumtubes.com they are not 100% safe as replacement for 6L6GC.
They say that I may damage my amp?!?

June 8th, 2008, 09:58 AM	#1 (permalink)
igorBG Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Belgrade, Serbia Age: 31 Posts: 440 9 Photos	I got some tubes for Blues Deluxe RI. I need help now Hi. I bought bunch of tubes, and now I can play with my amp. Its new and stock. Unfortunatelly you cannot simply walk into the store and choose model, instead I had to call some man who sells them without much information. My plan is to put 5751 in V1 and 12AT7 in V3 to quiet amp a little bit. Anyway I got: 1) Pair of Russian "Reflector" 6p3s which are equal to 6L6GC. They have only USSR label and year of manufacture ('69 and '71), and I have read that they are generic SSSR military tubes. 2) Pair of Haltron ECC81 (12AT7) in original package 3) Pair of U.S.A. 5751. The man said for those that they are RCA, but I am not sure. It just says U.S.A. and 5751 bellow So, first I need little info and reviews on those tubes, are they good or not? Second, do I have to rebias my amp if I replace stock Groove power tubes with these "Reflector"? I read that Blues deluxe should be biased little bit hotter, so if this change would drive amp in that direction that it will be very good

June 9th, 2008, 10:22 PM	#2 (permalink)
marshman Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: SE PA Posts: 716	An expert I am not, but I seem to recall reading that the Blues deluxe/devilles were built with a permanent resistor for bias, NOT a pot, which would allow adjustment. If you're confident you can play around inside a tube amp without killing yourself, take off the back and look inside for a little blue disc (don't touch ANYTHING--voltages in there can kill you dead)--that's the bias adjustment pot. IF you have one, you can adjust your bias. Good directions to be found here http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/bias.html though the directions are for HOT RODS, not necessarily Blues Deluxes The preamp tubes are a matter of taste. They will decrease your gain, which won't really make your amp much quieter except at the absolute max, but they should make your volume a little easier to dial in. Probably better served replacing the volume pot a la this mod http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_hol...ds.html#master Good luck __________________ 42

June 10th, 2008, 04:47 AM	#3 (permalink)
igorBG Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Belgrade, Serbia Age: 31 Posts: 440 9 Photos	Thanks. Original Blues Deluxe has fixed Bias. New Bles Deluxe Reissue has adjustable one. I need desperatelly to change volume pot, and to do reverb mod

June 13th, 2008, 04:25 AM	#4 (permalink)
igorBG Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Belgrade, Serbia Age: 31 Posts: 440 9 Photos	It seems that these power tubes I got ( Russian "Reflector" 6p3s ) are not 6l6GC. They are 5881/6L6WGB instead and accorsing to Unofficial Hot Rod Deluxe Site and Vacuumtubes.com they are not 100% safe as replacement for 6L6GC. They say that I may damage my amp?!?