5881/6L6 Question....

[jmgman69]

I don't recall other tubes glowing blue and bright orange,is this good?I talking about the 5881s TS.Seems rather HOT eh!
Sounds good though

I put the 6L6gc and no blue

 

[EWSEthan]

Guys mine dont glow blue but Ive got a nice bright orange... I really hope these arent causing any damage because the tone is just way too good with them.

 

[jmgman69]

Guys mine dont glow blue but Ive got a nice bright orange... I really hope these arent causing any damage because the tone is just way too good with them.

I turned the lights out and it looked like a rainbow

 

[aeroic]

Guys mine dont glow blue but Ive got a nice bright orange... I really hope these arent causing any damage because the tone is just way too good with them.

yeah...mine glow orange on the plate. only damage would be to the tubes and the life of the tubes. I'll let you know what I find out when I get the TungSol 6550's to see how those compare to the 5881's. Those have a higher plate voltage capacity, and could be awesome . We shall see .

I do think the Tungsol 5881s do sound good though. They sure are small bottle tubes.

Eric

 

[jkdsteve]

Guys mine dont glow blue but Ive got a nice bright orange... I really hope these arent causing any damage because the tone is just way too good with them.

I turned the lights out and it looked like a rainbow

A "Rainbow In The Dark"...sweet!

 

[jmgman69]

Guys mine dont glow blue but Ive got a nice bright orange... I really hope these arent causing any damage because the tone is just way too good with them.

I turned the lights out and it looked like a rainbow

A "Rainbow In The Dark"...sweet!

Another Vivian fan?

 

[jkdsteve]

Guys mine dont glow blue but Ive got a nice bright orange... I really hope these arent causing any damage because the tone is just way too good with them.
I turned the lights out and it looked like a rainbow

A "Rainbow In The Dark"...sweet!

Another Vivian fan?

aye

 

[EWSEthan]

When there's LIGHTNING!!! You know it always brings me DOWN!

 

[jmgman69]

When there's LIGHTNING!!! You know it always brings me DOWN!

Highjacked

 

[Buckeyedog]

I hear you Matt, not gonna ditch the 5881 at all, love it too much. But I will be doing a pretty long test run on these to see if my ears re-calibrate to the new EL34B tone. The distortion mode is better I think in the EL34B and it's a clean sound I can live with. Thinking real seriously about switching to a Vox module with a little light compression for cleans and keeping my EG3/4 in ch 2 and giving the TS EL34B a run. I've playing my R59 Burst, Standard Les Paul a lot lately and in my mind I could see that combo coming together real nicely.

OK man, give us the scoop on the Tung Sol's................

 

[3 Mile Stone]

I still like them. I'm going to try to hijack a gig next week and sit in with some friends to see if it cuts on stage as well as the 5881. If nothing else they are nice to have to just hear something very cool and a little different on occasion.

 

[aeroic]

Well I got everything worked out w/ the tube test w/ the 5881's, 6v6's, and 6550's.


Tungsol 5881's -- these things sound amazing! Great mid-range, great headroom, no shrill high-end. Sweet, warm, buttery tone!
JJ 6V6's -- these tubes were interesting, but too compressed for me. It was cool to be able to try a "5-watt" amp, and get that tube break up, but they just felt too compressed for my liking. Good mid-range, lacking a bit on the low end, and not as chimey as the 5881's on the high end.
Tungsol 6550's -- This is the "other set of tubes" that will live in my Mod50, and soon to be my VHT 2/90/2. I tried these next to my svetlana 6550's, and they sounded amazing. The low end was massive, the mid-range was similar to the 5881's, and the high end chimed a bit more. The biggest difference between the 5881's and the 6550's was headroom. The 6550's have much more headroom than the 5881's. This allows you to juice the gain a bit more on the preamp side at higher volumes before the 5881's start going into "power tube" distortion. You can't get much extra gain from 6550's. Which in a gigging situation is nice if you play w/ a loud drummer. Your tone stays the same at lower and higher volumes.

I really liked both 6550's and 5881's. I think for the clean and heavier tones, I'll record w/ the 6550's. But for medium gain tones I'll definitely use the 5881's. There was a chime on the 6550's w/ the T/D module that the 5881's didn't have in the high end. But, I'd recommend either set of tubes. Everyone on this board is right. The TS 5881's just plain rock!

 

[richedie]

Well I got everything worked out w/ the tube test w/ the 5881's, 6v6's, and 6550's.


Tungsol 5881's -- these things sound amazing! Great mid-range, great headroom, no shrill high-end. Sweet, warm, buttery tone!
JJ 6V6's -- these tubes were interesting, but too compressed for me. It was cool to be able to try a "5-watt" amp, and get that tube break up, but they just felt too compressed for my liking. Good mid-range, lacking a bit on the low end, and not as chimey as the 5881's on the high end.
Tungsol 6550's -- This is the "other set of tubes" that will live in my Mod50, and soon to be my VHT 2/90/2. I tried these next to my svetlana 6550's, and they sounded amazing. The low end was massive, the mid-range was similar to the 5881's, and the high end chimed a bit more. The biggest difference between the 5881's and the 6550's was headroom. The 6550's have much more headroom than the 5881's. This allows you to juice the gain a bit more on the preamp side at higher volumes before the 5881's start going into "power tube" distortion. You can't get much extra gain from 6550's. Which in a gigging situation is nice if you play w/ a loud drummer. Your tone stays the same at lower and higher volumes.

I really liked both 6550's and 5881's. I think for the clean and heavier tones, I'll record w/ the 6550's. But for medium gain tones I'll definitely use the 5881's. There was a chime on the 6550's w/ the T/D module that the 5881's didn't have in the high end. But, I'd recommend either set of tubes. Everyone on this board is right. The TS 5881's just plain rock!

I need tp try the 5881 at gig volume. At bedroom they sounded like typical 6L6s to me...scooped and bright. I fear how my SL2 will like them.....she needs the british flavor.

Next jam I am taking my Tung Sol 5881s, GT EL34s and SED EL34s.

Eric, I know 5881 are basically 6L6s, right? I always felt 6L6s to be modern scooped. I ned to give these another chance. Each amp is different and guys love those in the MOD50.

What are 6550s? Did you try EL34s since you like the Mashall modules????
Do you use tung sol preamp tubes as well?

 

[AdamB]

I love 6L6's in my Mod 50

 

[jmgman69]

The 5881s sound sick with the SL2

 

[aeroic]

Well I got everything worked out w/ the tube test w/ the 5881's, 6v6's, and 6550's.


Tungsol 5881's -- these things sound amazing! Great mid-range, great headroom, no shrill high-end. Sweet, warm, buttery tone!
JJ 6V6's -- these tubes were interesting, but too compressed for me. It was cool to be able to try a "5-watt" amp, and get that tube break up, but they just felt too compressed for my liking. Good mid-range, lacking a bit on the low end, and not as chimey as the 5881's on the high end.
Tungsol 6550's -- This is the "other set of tubes" that will live in my Mod50, and soon to be my VHT 2/90/2. I tried these next to my svetlana 6550's, and they sounded amazing. The low end was massive, the mid-range was similar to the 5881's, and the high end chimed a bit more. The biggest difference between the 5881's and the 6550's was headroom. The 6550's have much more headroom than the 5881's. This allows you to juice the gain a bit more on the preamp side at higher volumes before the 5881's start going into "power tube" distortion. You can't get much extra gain from 6550's. Which in a gigging situation is nice if you play w/ a loud drummer. Your tone stays the same at lower and higher volumes.

I really liked both 6550's and 5881's. I think for the clean and heavier tones, I'll record w/ the 6550's. But for medium gain tones I'll definitely use the 5881's. There was a chime on the 6550's w/ the T/D module that the 5881's didn't have in the high end. But, I'd recommend either set of tubes. Everyone on this board is right. The TS 5881's just plain rock!

I need tp try the 5881 at gig volume. At bedroom they sounded like typical 6L6s to me...scooped and bright. I fear how my SL2 will like them.....she needs the british flavor.

Next jam I am taking my Tung Sol 5881s, GT EL34s and SED EL34s.

Eric, I know 5881 are basically 6L6s, right? I always felt 6L6s to be modern scooped. I ned to give these another chance. Each amp is different and guys love those in the MOD50.

What are 6550s? Did you try EL34s since you like the Mashall modules????
Do you use tung sol preamp tubes as well?

I never really liked 6L6's myself until I tried the TS 5881's. They don't sound like normal 6L6's to me. They have the low end growl of a 6L6, but with the sweet punchy buttery midrange of a EL34. I have tried EL34's myself, but I've never liked how EL34's sound as they get louder. Just a personal preference. Same issue with most 6L6's. I felt they get raspy and harsh as the power tubes get pushed harder.

6550s are what Marshall moved to in some amps when EL34's became harder to find in the 80s. Some amps they moved to 5881s, and others (JCM 800 mainly) they moved to 6550s. 6550s have similarities to both 6L6's and EL34's but have a much higher headroom. They are their own sound in some respects.

A good 6550 will have a fair amount of tight, punchy low end (much more than EL34s and slighty more than 6L6's). They have a midrange that is very warm, buttery, and punchy. I've never heard a tube have quite the midrange of a 6550 (which is why I love them!!!). The high end is sparkly and smooth. Most 6550s have a large frequency range than EL34's and 6L6's. For me, they are awesome!!! All my modules sound awesome through 6550s. If you like your preamps creating the tone, and your power tubes adding a flavor, but just making them louder, then 6550s are something you might want to try. Since 6550s have much higher headroom, they tend to do very well at lower volumes and higher volumes. For me, my tone sounds killer at lower volumes and higher volumes. The tone just gets louder instead of shaping into something completely different. This is very nice when you are recording, as I can get my gig tone at lower recording volumes. That's even w/ my stereo VHT 2/90/2!!!!

Hope that helps. Zakk Wylde uses 6550's in all of his JCM 800s. I love his tone .

Eric

 

[richedie]

So now I have EL34s, E34Ls, and 5881s at home to play with. What is a good 6550 to try?

I don't hear the mids in a TS5881 like the EL34s though.

 

[3 Mile Stone]

I still have mine in there dude. I haven't taken them out since posting a month ago. They are my new fave! Tung Sol EL34B ... SHEEEE OTT!

 

[aeroic]

So now I have EL34s, E34Ls, and 5881s at home to play with. What is a good 6550 to try?

I don't hear the mids in a TS5881 like the EL34s though.

either svetlana or tungsol 6550! i have used both with great rewards .

my eg5 clip is with a vht 2/90/2 with svetlana 6550s in it. if you like that sound, that's whatcha will get . plus it has g12t75's for speakers.

eric

 

[richedie]

Thanks, which is your clip?