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Post subject: 6V6 tubes for HRDLx
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 7:16 pm
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Anyone have any experience with using 6V6 tubes in a Hot Rod Deluxe? I know that the JJ 6V6 tubes are supposed to work well, but I'm curious about the Tung Sol 6V6 tubes. Any other recommendations for 6V6 tubes for the HRDLx would be greatly appreciated as well.



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Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 11:25 am
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I'm just going by memory but I think on Justin Holten's old site he said that you can't use 6V6's in the HRDx.

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Post subject: RE: HRDLX 6V6
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:53 pm
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Check this link, second from the top:

https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/index.ph ... gory_id=32

Enjoy


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Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:39 pm
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OOPS! Sorry. Should have read the OP better.

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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 2:52 pm
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I wouldn't do it. If you want to experiment with tubes, look into a cathode bias amp. Peavey and Egnater have them . The amp was designed to run 6l6 or 5881 power tubes not 6v6.

I played a friends HRDlx with 6v6's and really didn't like it. He compared it to mine side by side and his amp lost something tone wise. I cut the harshness in mine by getting rid of the crummy GT preamp tubes. It doesn't really cut the volume that much and 30 watts is still loud. It's one of those things that just because you can do it, doesn't really mean you should. IMO It amounts to nothing more than turd polish. That was reason 2,014 as to why I sold mine.


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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 4:03 am
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dont change to 6v6 you will be disappointed,they suck the tone from the hrdlx,i used them for two gig's and put the 6l6's back in,now i have that real defined tone that the hrdlx is well respected for,the 6v6 tone was muddy,lacked punch and just totally drained the amp of quality tone :!:

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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 4:43 am
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6V6 have not enough power to replace the 6L6,

You can damage your 6V6s or your amp if tube shortened


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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 5:37 am
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aussie2009 wrote:
dont change to 6v6 you will be disappointed,they suck the tone from the hrdlx,i used them for two gig's and put the 6l6's back in,now i have that real defined tone that the hrdlx is well respected for,the 6v6 tone was muddy,lacked punch and just totally drained the amp of quality tone :!:


You must have gotten a good one. :D In it's stock form, mine sounded like an icepick in the forehead when you cranked it and both drive channels were horrible, and the more drive was totally useless. Tube changes fixed the tone somewhat, but didn't help all the reliability issues I've had with it so I dumped it. 6v6 power tubes aren't the way to go. I doubt you'll damage the amp, but on some HRDlx amps and 6v6 brands, you won't get the proper bias voltage to really make it sound that great. No offense, but in professional circles at least the ones I hang in, the HRD series aren't really respected for much of anything.


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Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 11:05 pm
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63, I always wonder why you bought the HRD if you hated the sound.


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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 12:09 am
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WR, as long as the 6V6 is spec'd for 450- 500 plate volts, the choice is yours. Can't give you first hand info on this amp or new Tungsols, I just don't have the experience with the HRD. But the schematic shows the nominal plate voltage at 431VDC for that amp. The 6V6 is a nice tube, but it's my experience, that they become kind of flubby when the bottom end is pushed. So it depends on how you're going to use the tube. Art

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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 7:22 am
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GTG wrote:
63, I always wonder why you bought the HRD if you hated the sound.


I didn't exactly hate the sound and I've said lots of times that after I got rid og the GT's and tossed some JJ's in it sounded good. I wanted to try something new and different than the "classic Fender tone" I've been using since 1964. It's the poor reliability that pushed me over the edge.

They sound good until you push them at decent gig levels. Then the crackles and farty low end start, then it's a trip to the tech. The amp does have potential, but I couldn't keep mine working long enough to get it where I wanted it. Somebody told me it's easy to tell how old your HRD amp is. He said," If it's still working, it's less than a year old. LOL

Sad thing is, in my case he was incorrect. Mine only made 3 months.


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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:10 am
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If you want to run 6V6 tubes, get a Deluxe Reverb Reissue and sell what you've got. Mods are fine, but so often you're chasing something elusive that after you get there, it's not all you hoped for and now when you go to sell it, it's a dreaded "modded" amp. Don't get me wrong - some mods are well documented and work, but a lot of them don't and amount to butchering a perfectly good amp.

You'll never make a HR Deluxe sound like a Deluxe Reverb, but with a DRRI, you'll have a great versatile amp that should last for years and years. And it will always sound like a Deluxe Reverb... :lol:

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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:48 pm
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" that pushed me over the edge." Interesting statement. :)


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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:54 pm
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Yeah Ned, quite the"Pearl of Wisdom." And this from a guy who's hands have desecrated plenty of perfectly fine amps. Good advice !!! Art

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Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 7:33 pm
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Thanks for the feedback guys! Despite the general consensus of the board I went with the 6V6 tubes, and they are freaking spectacular in my HRDLx. Of course, my amp was already highly modified before the tube switch. My HRDLx has the following mods:

Omega Amps Mod with mid-boost (Thanks Jim!!!)
Emminence Cannibas Rex speaker
JJ 6V6 power tubes
JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes with a high gain in V2

I have to say, I have less than $600.00 in this amp, and I will put it up against anything. The clean channel is great, and the OD is a fantastic crunchy OD in the vein of Gibbons, Young, Paige, etc... It's really great for classic rock and Ican dial the gain back and get some great blues tones as well. The 6V6 tubes were really the icing on the cake. They made a big improvment in the OD compared to the 6L6 tubes. They are just more compressed, articulate, and tapered the high frequency a bit.

I know that 63supro hates the HRDLx, and I respect his opinion, as well as others on this forum who dislike these amps for various reasons. I do not gig professionally, maybe that is the difference, but my amp was made in 96 or early 97, I am the third owner, I have had it for at least five years, and it has never had an issue. I do play almost every day, at least for the past two years. Time will tell in terms of reliability post mod, but Jim has a great reputation and I am confident that the amp will be around for a long time.

One interesting thing of note for anyone considering the Omega Amps mod, the mid-boost really adds versatility. The clean channel pretty much remains Fender black faceish, but with the mid-boost on it warms up the tone and puts out an almost tweed bassman sound.

I highly reccomend the mod, and Jim is a great guy to work with! I'm not saying it's the second coming, I'm just saying if you can pick up a used HRD cheap it's a cost effective way to get to some great tone. We all know how much the OD sucks on HRDLx's, I have no use for my OD pedal anymore.

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