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Well, the subject pretty much says it all. Anyone have any experience with the different brands who could give me a little info on which ones are good for my 5150 head?
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Re: 6L6 brand for 5150?
Svet 6l6's sound gret imo in that head.
Bright/articulate/good top.... I loved them in that head. Good choice. I used Rubys and Sovteks too but the Svettlannas sounded the best. -
Re: 6L6 brand for 5150?
Cleveland Metal should be by soon to also tell ya svets too. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
He has great info on tweekin these.Comment
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Re: 6L6 brand for 5150?
Yeah, for power tubes I'd agree, SED Svetlana (my pref), or Tesla's which also sounded nice in mine.Comment
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Re: 6L6 brand for 5150?
I remebered back in '93 I replaced both my 5150s with groove tube 6l6 hard level 2's ...just like Ed does or did....a lot of money spent and it just made those amps sound like total ass..
I threw the cheap shit stock ones back in and got my sound back ...sorta
that was my only and last experience with 5150s and tubes. [img]graemlins/bs.gif[/img]
I still got the groove tubes in their cylinder packages .....where they best. [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]"Bill, Smoke a Bowl and Crank Van Halen I, Life is better when I do that"
Donnie Swanstrom 01/25/06..miss ya!
"Well, your friend would have Bell's Palsy, which is a facial paralysis, not "Balls Pelsy" like we're joking about here." Toejam's attempt at sensitivity.Comment
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Re: 6L6 brand for 5150?
If you don't mind me askin' are you just lookin' to improve your 5150 tone..does your 5150 actually need tubes?
What cab/speakers are you using??? That's makes the most difference with my expeience with those heads ..that and like I said many times before ...a BBE 422 or 422a in the loop."Bill, Smoke a Bowl and Crank Van Halen I, Life is better when I do that"
Donnie Swanstrom 01/25/06..miss ya!
"Well, your friend would have Bell's Palsy, which is a facial paralysis, not "Balls Pelsy" like we're joking about here." Toejam's attempt at sensitivity.Comment
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Re: 6L6 brand for 5150?
The early ones came with Sylvania NOS 6L6s... and are allegedly the only difference between the old and later heads. I know that mine with the Sylvanias sounded MUCH better than a friend's 5150 that had been retubed with crap-ass Mesas.
NOS 6L6s from RCA, Sylvania, and GE would be optimal. Or a quad of the new Groove Tube 6L6s that they make in the USA from the GE tooling... you're looking at around $100 or more a matched quad to start, with the new Groove Tubes 6L6 tubes being cheapest of these. However, they should all outlast Svetlanas, which are a good choice for a cheap tube.
One other thing - get your 5150 biased! These things are biased cold from the factory, which makes the tubes last longer but the tone sucks. Any decent tech in your area should be able to do it for around $50 or so. Proper bias makes ALL tube amps sound better.
PeteComment
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Re: 6L6 brand for 5150?
I'm pretty sure the tubes need replaced. I've had that amp for 10 years and have not swapped the tubes in it. I use it so rarely because of living in apartments, etc., that it doesn't get cranked that often. The last time I was playing with my drummer friend, there was a loud pop when I powered it up and the tone definitely seemed to suffer. I figure that even if it wasn't the tubes, they should probably be replaced.
The head is one of the early block lettered ones and I run it through the angled 5150 cab with the Sheffield speakers.Comment
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Re: 6L6 brand for 5150?
I use the JJ or the Svetlanas in the 5150's I mod. I like the JJ's. You can get them from www.dougstubes.com He does a great job of matching and the price is very reasonable. Listen to the clips!
JerryComment
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Re: 6L6 brand for 5150?
jerry,have you ever tried different power tubes in a 5150? like the el 34's? 6550's?
what pre tube seems to give the 5150's the best gain?Comment
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Re: 6L6 brand for 5150?
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I've used several different brands. I haven't used EL34's yet but I'm gonna try them soon. I mix preamp tubes to get the tone I want. I like the EH and Chinese for nice gain and bite, and the JJ's for warmth and power.Originally posted by shreddin' ED:
jerry,have you ever tried different power tubes in a 5150? like the el 34's? 6550's?
what pre tube seems to give the 5150's the best gain?
JerryComment
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Re: 6L6 brand for 5150?
Let these guys continue giving you great advise on tubes ...they no more than I do about that topic..
Travis ...That cab is the only match for that head .........celestions always flub 5150s up..
If you have the means ...hunt down a BBE 422 and throw that in the loop ....I never heard another amp that responds to the BBE so well....they were made for each other!!"Bill, Smoke a Bowl and Crank Van Halen I, Life is better when I do that"
Donnie Swanstrom 01/25/06..miss ya!
"Well, your friend would have Bell's Palsy, which is a facial paralysis, not "Balls Pelsy" like we're joking about here." Toejam's attempt at sensitivity.Comment
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Re: 6L6 brand for 5150?
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I am glad you said that,i just got a 5150 half used and thought i heard that about a BBE in the loopOriginally posted by horns666:
Let these guys continue giving you great advise on tubes ...they no more than I do about that topic..
Travis ...That cab is the only match for that head .........celestions always flub 5150s up..
If you have the means ...hunt down a BBE 422 and throw that in the loop ....I never heard another amp that responds to the BBE so well....they were made for each other!!Comment
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