Why do 6V6 tubes sound sooooo good?!

[ADK Teleman]

I was messing around on my DDRI and my SCXD tonight and just marveled at how nice and warm they sound clean and how sweet their breakup is compared to other tubes. I actually prefer them to 6L6s.
Can anyone explain this or is it just me?

 

[6stringcowboy]

Not just you. I much prefer 6v6s to 6l6s

 

[telemnemonics]

Hahaha I have 18w Marshall TMB clones, one with el84 and one with 6v6.
They really sound awfully close to the same, but what I love about the 6v6 is that there are lots of old ones available for low prices because they were huge in the US in a massive range of devices.

I think we love lower power amps for lower volume playing more than one tube design over another.

In the right circuit a 6L6 or el34 can sound warm and fat or produce beautiful breakup.

I still like the fat little bottles for their looks too!

 

[Obsessed]

Coming from a surf guitar 6L6 player evolving into a blues player, the 6V6 warmth is something special to behold. I can't get along with an EL-84 at all, nor an EL-34 for that matter. I know it probably is just because I'm an old fart, but dang the 6V6 is where it is at for me nowadays.

 

[galaxiex]

I've read about 6V6's described as having a "smooth" sound/breakup.
I like them.

 

[telemnemonics]

The reason I started with the hahaha was because when I bought the 18w TMB with 6v6 I was excited to get a sort of more "American sounding" Marshall due to the 6v6 power tubes.
I was pretty disappointed to find that the sound stayed with the circuit and didn't really change due to the power tubes.
For many years I associated amp sounds with power tube types, sort of the British vs American division. Not as much any more.

 

[JustABluesGuy]

The reason I started with the hahaha was because when I bought the 18w TMB with 6v6 I was excited to get a sort of more "American sounding" Marshall due to the 6v6 power tubes.
I was pretty disappointed to find that the sound stayed with the circuit and didn't really change due to the power tubes.
For many years I associated amp sounds with power tube types, sort of the British vs American division. Not as much any more.

Yeah, it depends more on the circuit, and the speakers.

 

[Dacious]

6L6 is like a brassy fat-bottomed girl, 6V6 like a sweet-dirty l'il minx!

I like both. And EL34s, EL,84s, 6DQ6s

Yes I'm a sexist old thing......

 

[Old Tele man]

'Cuz "Good things come in small packages" (wink)

and 6V6 is little cousin of bigger 6L6.

 

[Fearnot]

Two of my 3 amps are 6V6-based, so... I like them a lot.

 

[MilwMark]

Because of the circuits they plug into. And the speakers they make sounds come out of.

 

[Tonetele]

I love my Princeton RRI blackface and it has 6V6s in it whereas I found my original twin reverb which had 6L6s was a sterile sounding amp. Also Blues Jr. had EL-84s in them and not anywhere near the sound of the PRRI.
I just wish the Princeton had more volume - @ 12 watts RMS it can't work with a drummer and other instruments. So now I have to mic it .

 

[JayFreddy]

Include me in the 6V6 club.

My favorite amps all use em. Deluxe Reverb, Princeton Reverb, Super Champ X2, etc.

I also like 6L6s, EL34, and EL84s. But the 6V6 is probably my favorite.

They sound good because the "V" is an abbreviation for "Velvety Tube Goodness..."

 

[kennl]

Its the circuit. A 6V6 Amp Jet will sound different from a 7591 Jet, but not due to the power tubes. Amps running 6V6 tubes have an output range that permits playing at the "sweet spot" at a usable volume. I have read a recommendation by a Mastering engineer that one should mix and master a recording at a level of 85dB. If you apply that theory to amps, an SVT will always sound different from a Champ AT THE SAME VOLUME. On the contrary, if you like the clean sound of a Twin on stage, and substitute a Champ, you will detect a loss of headroom.

 

[H. Mac]

While a lot of amp-savvy people say it’s the circuit design and not the 6V6, I’ve never heard a 6V6 amp I didn’t like. Coincidence? Nah. It’s the magic of the 6V6!

 

[schmee]

They are my favorites also. I still want to build a 4 x 6V6 out of a Twin chassis sometime for the outdoor gigs. 6L6's do well outdoors or big venues as they start to smooth out a bit the louder you get.

 

[strat a various]

I love my Princeton RRI blackface and it has 6V6s in it whereas I found my original twin reverb which had 6L6s was a sterile sounding amp. Also Blues Jr. had EL-84s in them and not anywhere near the sound of the PRRI.
I just wish the Princeton had more volume - @ 12 watts RMS it can't work with a drummer and other instruments. So now I have to mic it .

Yup, I know that; despite the current commonly held view around here that Princetons and Pathfinders are plenty loud for bar gigs ... maybe for some small quiet venues, or some particular combos with restrained drummers and particularly civilized Bass players. You could try a more efficient speaker, though they don't always sound as sweet as the quieter version. Sometimes, you just need a Deluxe Reverb. (Or a mic).

 

[schmee]

I love my Princeton RRI blackface and it has 6V6s in it whereas I found my original twin reverb which had 6L6s was a sterile sounding amp. Also Blues Jr. had EL-84s in them and not anywhere near the sound of the PRRI.
I just wish the Princeton had more volume - @ 12 watts RMS it can't work with a drummer and other instruments. So now I have to mic it .

Something I learned after years of messing with PR's. I built several over the years and messed with high power "Turbo Princetons" a lot. They are pretty cool. I took the one remaining 70 PR I had several months ago and decided to put it back to original. The chassis had been hacked (not by me) to accomodate a big power tranny. I had a little original tranny but decided to leave the big one for the time being. WOW! It's the only PR I have ever been able to play most any gig with. I really was a non believer that the PT would make that much difference. I recently played an outdoor gig with it and it still held up without getting nasty.
So anyone who loves their PR out there, buy a "stand up" PT to avoid any hacking and Let 'er Rip!

 

[archetype]

'Cuz "Good things come in small packages" (wink)

and 6V6 is little cousin of bigger 6L6.

If you need an “in between” tube... In my experience, the longer plates of the JJ 6V6S produce tone that sits between 6V6 and 6L6.

 

[Bendyha]

In the last 81 years, millions of 6V6's have been built in over a dozen of different counties. It has not been out of production since 1936.
Produced in scores of different factories, several of them changing their design numerous times; the variaty is vast........................yet it seems, in their own way, they nearly all sound good

So what is it about this small, low-powered beam tetrode? Well, maybe just that!
A hard kneed grid-curve characteristic that gets the most out of its supply voltage, and then breaks-up in a pleasant way when pushed hard.
Maybe not as sensitive as it could be, but this is not a problem; if the surrounding circuitry is matched to it properly, this can be an asset.

A rugged tube that can take a lot more than it was at first design to tolerate.
(As opposed to the EL84 which was concieved as a cheap mass-production, short-lifed tube that one was meant to change regularly.)

Also, when they designed the tube, they made it so that the second harmonic distortion is intentionally high in order to reduce the third and higher order harmonics to a minimum.
Much of this second harmonic distortion is cancelled in a push-pull arrangement, but single ended amps lets it ring-out, making for a very full tone.

The EL84, by comparison has a much lower second harmonic, and a higher third harmonic content, making it sound, well, more like one of those little Mesa Boogie contraptions.