Recommend me an EF86

[beyer160]

I just picked up a Bad Cat Wildcat (aka Black Cat 40), which is essentially a Matchless DC30 with EL34s. It's a monster amp (in more ways than one- it weighs as much as my car), but the EF86 channel is leaving me a little underwhelmed. It's gainier and thicker than the 12ax7 channel, but sounds a bit dull. I'm not expecting Vox "chime" exactly, but I was hoping for something a little brighter.

It's got an EHX tube in it now, can anyone recommend something that isn't unobtanium or cost more than the amp? I'm not into playing eBay Russian Roulette either, but I would entertain buying NOS from an established dealer. The amp is a 2x12 combo which is supposed to be hell on EF86s, but Bad Cat thoughtfully shockmounted all the tubes in this one. Heck, for $40 I may just buy a JJ to see what happens and have a spare around.

 

[MuddyWolf]

GE.

 

[Engine Swap]

GE.

From which OEM?

 

[dan40]

I have purchased several ef86's from this seller. They have always performed perfectly and stayed quiet. Telefunken makes a great ef86 but can be a bit pricey. Tubes with a higher ma rating will sound a bit gainier and push the outputs into overdrive a bit quicker. Lower ratings will stay cleaner a bit longer but may sound a bit lackluster if they are low on gain.

Search: 56 results found for "ef86"

Best vintage audio vacuum tubes, (valves) for tube preamps, tube amplifiers, phono stages, stereos, guitar amplifiers, microphones, recording studio equipment, radios, ham radios, jukebox; GE, RCA, Mullard, Telefunken, Western Electric, Sylvania, Raytheon, Westinghouse, Tungsol, Siemens...

tubeworldexpress.com

 

[KC]

The Winged C Ef86 is pretty great, and pretty available last time I checked, and reasonably priced. I did not like the sound of the JJ Ef806 in my Black Cat 30, muffled and low gain. Might have been a bad tube, who knows? But the Winged C was an immediate improvement. Had a Phillips NOS tube in there for a minute but it died fairly quick.

 

[beyer160]

GE.

I have heard that they bring good things to life...

 

[tubedude]

Uh huh

 

[PCollen]

I just picked up a Bad Cat Wildcat (aka Black Cat 40), which is essentially a Matchless DC30 with EL34s. It's a monster amp (in more ways than one- it weighs as much as my car), but the EF86 channel is leaving me a little underwhelmed. It's gainier and thicker than the 12ax7 channel, but sounds a bit dull. I'm not expecting Vox "chime" exactly, but I was hoping for something a little brighter.

It's got an EHX tube in it now, can anyone recommend something that isn't unobtanium or cost more than the amp? I'm not into playing eBay Russian Roulette either, but I would entertain buying NOS from an established dealer. The amp is a 2x12 combo which is supposed to be hell on EF86s, but Bad Cat thoughtfully shockmounted all the tubes in this one. Heck, for $40 I may just buy a JJ to see what happens and have a spare around.

Svetlana Winged C (SED) EF86 @ Tube Store...recommended by Dr. Z.

 

[VintageSG]

NOS 6j32p-EV

https://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_6j32p.html

 

[Paulie Walnuts]

Great NOS EF86 tubes from the European manufactures are still plentiful and inexpensive. You can find nice NOS tubes from Amperex,Siemens Valvo for around $50 still and they will be some of the best made. If you don’t have a reliable source for a good tubes I can put you on the right path if thats what you are looking for. Other options mentioned will certainly be less expensive than what I brought up but if quality is what you are after than the stuff from Europe is what you want

 

[dragonfly66]

In 2015 I bought a NOS Amperex for $9.95, misc NOS EF86 are about $40 now. It replaced an EHX EF86 and sounded more stout in comparison. I have used a JJ EF806. The EHX and the JJ didn't sound terrible, but the Amperex sounded noticeably better. I now have a second EF86 amp and will invest in a NOS tube.

 

[52 tele]

Got a Mullard EF86 in my Artisan15H and it sounds pretty lush to me..............