SLO guys - what power tubes?

[Mr. Willy]

I need to retube the power section of my SLO. I know Soldano recommends Sovtek 5881's. I'd like to go with something else. Has anyone tried the Tung-Sol reissues? http://www.dougstubes.com/tung-sol-5881.html They are lower powered than other 6L6/5881 offerings. Would this not be good for the SLO? Also interested in these new Mullard 6L6GC's. They look very sturdy. http://www.dougstubes.com/power-tubes/m ... 6l6gc.html
I've used these TAD 6L6's in my Bassman, and they sounded really good. http://www.dougstubes.com/tad-6l6gc-str.html
Not interested in KT66's right now. What do my SLO guys recommend and why? If I have to describe the tone/feel I'm looking for, it would be musical, harmonically complex, and rich. The stock Sovteks seem lacking in those departments. Thanks for any recommendations!

 

[Mr. Willy]

Bump

 

[MississippiMetal]

TAD 6L6's are fantastic. I also like the Ruby BSTR's.

 

[Mr. Willy]

TAD 6L6's are fantastic. I also like the Ruby BSTR's.

The TAD's are nice, for sure. I've used Ruby EL34BSTR's and liked them a lot.

I'm really interested in the Mullard 6L6GC's. They appear to be constructed very well. It's probably what I'll go with. Wondering if anyone has any experience with them.

 

[MississippiMetal]

Nothing New Sensor is worth bothering with these days, IME.

 

[Mr. Willy]

Nothing New Sensor is worth bothering with these days, IME.

Cool. This is the info I need to know. Thanks man. You have any experience with the Tung-Sol 5881's?

 

[JB6464]

Keep in mind that the SLO's B+ draws 500v+ volts from a 120v AC outlet and most newer production tubes are only rated at 450v max .
I went through a some tubes because of this reason and have done full circle back to the Sovtek 5881's and raised the bias .
They come biased cold from the factory around 22ma so if you bias them up to 30ma it will take it to about 60% max dissipation and warm the amp up a lot.
Just my findings , but make sure you find tubes that can handle the high 500+ voltages without failures.
There is a reason why Mike Soldano chose those tubes , they could withstand a nuclear war .
Also you won't hear much of a difference between the power tubes unless you drive the amp half way up or more.
With Soldano amps it's all about the preamp section , them what speakers/cabinet you use with the amp to make the most tonal change.

 

[Mr. Willy]

Keep in mind that the SLO's B+ draws 500v+ volts from a 120v AC outlet and most newer production tubes are only rated at 450v max .
I went through a some tubes because of this reason and have done full circle back to the Sovtek 5881's and raised the bias .
They come biased cold from the factory around 22ma so if you bias them up to 30ma it will take it to about 60% max dissipation and warm the amp up a lot.
Just my findings , but make sure you find tubes that can handle the high 500+ voltages without failures.
There is a reason why Mike Soldano chose those tubes , they could withstand a nuclear war .
Also you won't hear much of a difference between the power tubes unless you drive the amp half way up or more.
With Soldano amps it's all about the preamp section , them what speakers/cabinet you use with the amp to make the most tonal change.

Thanks for the info! I searched the Soldano forum, and it seems that several guys say the same thing you did. After trying several brands, they came back to the Sovtek's that Mike recommends. I'll do some more research before I make a decision. I've had my SLO for about 5 months, but I've never checked the bias. I don't know how to do it myself, or I would. It does seem to be biased on the cold side.

 

[esizer]

6L6WXT+

 

[Mr. Willy]

6L6WXT+

Ok. Why?

 

[C1-ocaster]

I need to retube the power section of my SLO. I know Soldano recommends Sovtek 5881's. I'd like to go with something else. Has anyone tried the Tung-Sol reissues? http://www.dougstubes.com/tung-sol-5881.html They are lower powered than other 6L6/5881 offerings. Would this not be good for the SLO? Also interested in these new Mullard 6L6GC's. They look very sturdy. http://www.dougstubes.com/power-tubes/m ... 6l6gc.html
I've used these TAD 6L6's in my Bassman, and they sounded really good. http://www.dougstubes.com/tad-6l6gc-str.html
Not interested in KT66's right now. What do my SLO guys recommend and why? If I have to describe the tone/feel I'm looking for, it would be musical, harmonically complex, and rich. The stock Sovteks seem lacking in those departments. Thanks for any recommendations!

SED Winged-C.
They are not NOS as production of these tubes has stopped.

I just checked on ebay and a matched quad can be had for between $225 to $280 shipped.
I bought a pair last summer for $90 matched.
The prices have gone up since then as it's all NOS now.

These are pricey tubes but I love their tone. It's harmonically rich, smooth, and warm.
Nothing brittle or biting about these tubes.

I'm using the pair in my Egnater Vengeance head. It's a quad tube 120 watt head, but it has a 60 watt mode that uses the 2 outside tubes, and each pair has it's own external bias adjustment. The other pair are the stock Ruby 6L6's.
The C's are much nicer than the Ruby's and better than the JJ's that I tried as well.

 

[Dale B]

I've run the stock Sovteks, =C= and Philips 7581As. Other than modifying the bias circuit to accept KT66's, the preamp makes more of a difference to me in that amp than any power tube change. I like the stock Sovteks, and they're cheap!

 

[se7en]

Mike Soldano says you get a lot more mileage out of speaker changes. With the focus on the preamp section for gain, you're not going to notice much difference in power tubes.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I need to retube the power section of my SLO. I know Soldano recommends Sovtek 5881's. I'd like to go with something else. Has anyone tried the Tung-Sol reissues? http://www.dougstubes.com/tung-sol-5881.html They are lower powered than other 6L6/5881 offerings. Would this not be good for the SLO? Also interested in these new Mullard 6L6GC's. They look very sturdy. http://www.dougstubes.com/power-tubes/m ... 6l6gc.html
I've used these TAD 6L6's in my Bassman, and they sounded really good. http://www.dougstubes.com/tad-6l6gc-str.html
Not interested in KT66's right now. What do my SLO guys recommend and why? If I have to describe the tone/feel I'm looking for, it would be musical, harmonically complex, and rich. The stock Sovteks seem lacking in those departments. Thanks for any recommendations!

SED Winged-C.
They are not NOS as production of these tubes has stopped.

I just checked on ebay and a matched quad can be had for between $225 to $280 shipped.
I bought a pair last summer for $90 matched.
The prices have gone up since then as it's all NOS now.

These are pricey tubes but I love their tone. It's harmonically rich, smooth, and warm.
Nothing brittle or biting about these tubes.

I'm using the pair in my Egnater Vengeance head. It's a quad tube 120 watt head, but it has a 60 watt mode that uses the 2 outside tubes, and each pair has it's own external bias adjustment. The other pair are the stock Ruby 6L6's.
The C's are much nicer than the Ruby's and better than the JJ's that I tried as well.

I don't know the whole history, but has SED changed ownership in the last few years? I seem to recall talk surrounding them and mostly their EL34's, something along the lines of them not producing the EL34's anymore...something like that, anyway. I see that dougstubes aren't carrying the SED 6L6's because of bad test results. I'm assuming the tubes you're referring to are the ones produced before the ownership change. Regardless, $225-$280 is way more than I wanna spend. Thanks for the info though!

 

[Mr. Willy]

Mike Soldano says you get a lot more mileage out of speaker changes. With the focus on the preamp section for gain, you're not going to notice much difference in power tubes.

I don't wanna alter the tone through the power section, just looking for the optimum power tube for my SLO. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I've run the stock Sovteks, =C= and Philips 7581As. Other than modifying the bias circuit to accept KT66's, the preamp makes more of a difference to me in that amp than any power tube change. I like the stock Sovteks, and they're cheap!

Probably will go with the Sovteks at this point. I can get a matched quad for around $60. I've read the wafer bottom are superior to the regular. Any truth to that or internet snake oil?

 

[JB6464]

Mike Soldano says you get a lot more mileage out of speaker changes. With the focus on the preamp section for gain, you're not going to notice much difference in power tubes.

100% agree !
I have had many conversations with Mike Soldano and Bill Sundt at Soldano Amplification and they always say the same thing , "You want to make a noticeable change , change the speakers/cabinet design" .
Most all of the tone shaping in Soldano amps come from the preamp design , not the power section like Marshall amps . You will shape more of the tone changing the preamp tubes in the glass department.

 

[Dale B]

I've run the stock Sovteks, =C= and Philips 7581As. Other than modifying the bias circuit to accept KT66's, the preamp makes more of a difference to me in that amp than any power tube change. I like the stock Sovteks, and they're cheap!

Probably will go with the Sovteks at this point. I can get a matched quad for around $60. I've read the wafer bottom are superior to the regular. Any truth to that or internet snake oil?

No, it doesn't matter one way or the other. As long as the inside is the same, you're good to go.

 

[JB6464]

I've run the stock Sovteks, =C= and Philips 7581As. Other than modifying the bias circuit to accept KT66's, the preamp makes more of a difference to me in that amp than any power tube change. I like the stock Sovteks, and they're cheap!

Probably will go with the Sovteks at this point. I can get a matched quad for around $60. I've read the wafer bottom are superior to the regular. Any truth to that or internet snake oil?

Go with the wafer bottoms since you don't have spring retainers on Soldano amps
I got a perfectly Matched Quad set of 5881 wafer bottoms off of a Ebay dealer "Yen Audio" for $52.50 plus $8.25 for shipping , and I couldn't of been any happier .

 

[Mr. Willy]

I've run the stock Sovteks, =C= and Philips 7581As. Other than modifying the bias circuit to accept KT66's, the preamp makes more of a difference to me in that amp than any power tube change. I like the stock Sovteks, and they're cheap!

Probably will go with the Sovteks at this point. I can get a matched quad for around $60. I've read the wafer bottom are superior to the regular. Any truth to that or internet snake oil?

Go with the wafer bottoms since you don't have spring retainers on Soldano amps
I got a perfectly Matched Quad set of 5881 wafer bottoms off of a Ebay dealer "Yen Audio" for $52.50 plus $8.25 for shipping , and I couldn't of been any happier .

I went with the wafer bottoms from tube depot for$64.14, shipped.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I appreciate it!