Tung-Sol 6v6

[rdchapman]

Has anyone tried them? How do they stack up against JJ's and say a JAN Phillips? I am running a set of JAN Phillips in my BFPR and JJ's in my SF Princeton. I had Groove 6v6's ion the SF but they were very bright. I am wondering if the the Tun-Sols might get close to the very sweet sound of the JAN Phillips without the ever increasing cost. Thanks
Richard

[Tim Swartz]

For me, they are the creme de la creme. A slight notch above RCA IMO. Both the black bottles from the '50s and the clear bottles from the '60s... Superb.

[Tremo]

Old original NOS TS 6V6s are sweet.

OTOH, the new production Russian/Sovtek made versions that New Sensor is labelling "TungSol" are not in the same league. The Russian TS 6V6 is just a rehash of the 6V6EH. Minor changes. Still has the skinny screen support rods, so you can still expect the same problems.

The new JJ 6V6 is very robust. It's almost a 6L6/6V6 hybrid. It biases and has transfer characteristics of a 6V6, but max dissipation ratings of a 6L6GB. No doubt it is the beefiest 6V6 in current production.

[NTC]

Tremo, does that mean it can dissipate 19W on the plates? I thought it was still 14W - but with a 500V (or was it 450V) limit on the plates?

[Tremo]

Originally Posted by NTC

Tremo, does that mean it can dissipate 19W on the plates? I thought it was still 14W - but with a 500V (or was it 450V) limit on the plates?

Well, I know that the "official" JJ data sheet lists it as 14 Watts, BUT....... read Lard Valve's test report on the things. He tried to burn one up. It didn't start to red-stripe on the plate until it was well over 20 Watts dissipation. I bias them in my BFDR at 12 Watts, and they love it. They have big screen support rods, and in my amp when I'm cranking it, there is no sign whatsoever of overheating screens.

So, how do you really treat this thing to get the most out of it without abusing it? I say treat is like a high voltage 6V6 that likes to be biased at 100% of 6V6 ratings.

To answer your question, yeah, I think it probably does have a 19 Watt plate. Take a look at the JJ 7591's plate. Look familiar? Guys have put the JJ 6V6 in 6L6 amps and it lives, when biased like I say above.

Some guys say they don't like the sound of the JJ, say it sounds too hard. well maybe they are right when you bias it like a real 6V6, but if you turn up the heat Like I say above and bias it at 90% to 100%, it gets sweet. Still not soft sounding like a NOS 6V6, but more rounded, and the distortion when you really push them takes on a slightly Marshally character. Can you dig that? Roll down the volume on your axe and you get pure Fender BFDR sounds, turn it up and it sounds like a Fender/Marshall hybrid. How cool is that?

If there were shortcomings with this tube (other than the pin diameter issue that was plaguing JJ for a few months in all their octal products), we would have all heard about it by now. But we haven't, because they hang in there and don't blow up no matter how hard you push them. They get my vote. As a matter of fact, I took a nice pair of JAN GEs out of my BFDR so I can run the JJs.

Just IMO, YMMV, etc....

[sidneystreet]

Originally Posted by Tremo

Some guys say they don't like the sound of the JJ, say it sounds too hard. well maybe they are right when you bias it like a real 6V6, but if you turn up the heat Like I say above and bias it at 90% to 100%, it gets sweet. ...

I might try a JJ 6v6 in a Savage Macht 6, which is single-ended Class-A, and cathode-biased, I believe.

Will the JJ be biased optimally in a cathode-biased amp? If not, what would I have to do to bias the JJ at closer to 90% to 100%?

[Tremo]

Originally Posted by sidneystreet

I might try a JJ 6v6 in a Savage Macht 6, which is single-ended Class-A, and cathode-biased, I believe.

Will the JJ be biased optimally in a cathode-biased amp? If not, what would I have to do to bias the JJ at closer to 90% to 100%?

In a SE class A amp, the tube is generally biased at or near 100% anyways. Nature of the beast.

No offense, but if you're asking this question, you shouldn't be working on your amp. Please do the safe thing and take it to a tech.

[sidneystreet]

Originally Posted by Tremo

In a SE class A amp, the tube is generally biased at or near 100% anyways. Nature of the beast.

No offense, but if you're asking this question, you shouldn't be working on your amp. Please do the safe thing and take it to a tech.

Thanks for the explanation Tremo. I will definitely give the JJ's a try.

Also, your safety warning is right on the money.

[karmadave]

I've got a set of JJ 6V6's in my Princeton Reverb and they sound great. Later breakup than the EH 6V6s that came in the amp when I bought it.

Tremo: With the Stokes Mod and JJ 6V6s any idea how many watts?

-KD

[Mr. Sparkle]

Originally Posted by sidneystreet

I might try a JJ 6v6 in a Savage Macht 6, which is single-ended Class-A, and cathode-biased, I believe.

Hey Sid, what did that Savage come with, EH?

How do you like that amp?

[-CB-]

The original batch of 6V6EH's Mike Matthews sent me (first import) came with the instuctions "Here, see what they'll take". So I pretended they were KT-66's, and frankly they never even broke a sweat. Impedance was not perfect, but I used them in my 65 Bassman, dimed, biased at 40ma per side, and the plates never even showed a hint of cherry red in my (pretty dark) shop, with the lights out.... and that was after about a half hour of my feeble playing.

Cant vouch for current production, but those first ones were some kick'n valves. Fact of the matter is, I've still got the first set (and another set from the same batch, squirrel'd away), and have yet to destroy 'em! Then again, I don't get out all that much either.

[sidneystreet]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sparkle

Hey Sid, what did that Savage come with, EH?

How do you like that amp?

I have the stock EH 6v6 in there, along with EH 12ax7s, and a Sovtek 5AR4.

The Macht 6 sounds huge clean with very good low end and plenty of headroom. It is totally different than the other low-wattage amps I've played. I use my tele into the low input and turn it up to 3/4 of max, tone at 50-75%. It is still pretty clean at that setting unless you dig in hard. I use a Keeley-modded Blues Driver, or a Bad Monkey pedal for boost and/or distortion. This is my all-time favorite amp. So far, that is!!??

[Tremo]

Originally Posted by karmadave

I've got a set of JJ 6V6's in my Princeton Reverb and they sound great. Later breakup than the EH 6V6s that came in the amp when I bought it.

Tremo: With the Stokes Mod and JJ 6V6s any idea how many watts?

-KD

Watts are mainly determined by the power supply and OT. Maybe 18, just like with any other good 6V6. The JJ 6V6 will not put out any more power than another 6V6 in a given circuit. It's just much more robust/reliable, and can tolerate being biased much hotter and actually used in 6L6 applications without meltdown.

You guys using the sovtek/EH 6V6, I don't get it. I've had to fix too many amps from where they flamed-out. If yours hang in there, great. But I've seen too many burned resistors in amps to ever trust an EH 6V6 ever again.
At least until Matthews gets around to addressing the issue of the screen grid supports.

[-CB-]

Must have changed production over the years then... I'd had a feelin on that.

[karmadave]

That's what I thought. The power supply and OT are stock. When the amp arrived, it had a set of EH 6V6's installed. I replaced with a set of JJ 6V6's. The amp also came with a Jensen RI P10R and I had it swapped out for a Weber 10F150. Any other "improvements" you'd recommend?

Thanks,

-KD

[Tremo]

Originally Posted by karmadave

That's what I thought. The power supply and OT are stock. When the amp arrived, it had a set of EH 6V6's installed. I replaced with a set of JJ 6V6's. The amp also came with a Jensen RI P10R and I had it swapped out for a Weber 10F150. Any other "improvements" you'd recommend?

Thanks,

-KD

Sounds like you've covered the basics.