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Post subject: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 1:08 am
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I'm looking for a different pair of 6V6 tubes for my 68 CDR.
Did my internet reading but I'd like to read some experiences from Fender amp players.

From my reading I think I would like the JJ's or more so the Tung Sol's.
From the thetubestore.com site both of these tubes are highly praised.
Interestingly almost all of the modern 6V6's they sell are reviewed positively.
EH 6V6's are highly regarded as well, could be an option.

The JJ's are said to have a bit more compression and solid "piano like" low end.
That sounds really good as I'd like a bit tighter and more low end.
The Tung's are said to be smoother and more open/less compression, which makes me wonder if they have as much low end as the JJ's.
The Tung's are said to not be as loud as the JJ's and have a smoother break up distortion.
Great for me as I don't use the natural power tube distortion very much.

Anyone try either of these tubes?
What are your impressions?

If there is another 6V6 I should consider please recommend.

I actually really like the tones I'm getting with the OEM power tubes in my CDR.
The reason I'm looking for another pair of 6V6's is because I want to try something else to hear what the CDR can do with other tubes.


Last edited by Rverb on Sat Dec 20, 2014 6:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 2:34 am
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Do you know how to bias those new tubes ?

You need to have good ears to see difference .
12XX7 tubes may change tone too and more ?


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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 9:58 am
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stratele52 wrote:
Do you know how to bias those new tubes ?

You need to have good ears to see difference .
12XX7 tubes may change tone too and more ?

true enough. esp. in v1 & v2 positions you can get different tones. as far as power tubes, my DRRI came with groove tube EH 6v6s. nice tubes. earlier breakup, lower output. however I switched to JJs. w/JJs you'll get more head room & more output. so depending on whether you want earlier breakup or more cleans. I've never used Tung Sol 6v6s. I've heard of reliability issues w/them. it's possible those issues have been addressed. JJs are considered the more robust of the current production tubes that you've mentioned here. I have all JJ tubes except in the v1 &v2 positions where I chose to put tung sols. IMO not a bad setup. good luck


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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 6:41 pm
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stratele52 wrote:
Do you know how to bias those new tubes ?

You need to have good ears to see difference .
12XX7 tubes may change tone too and more ?


Yes. I've done biasing on many other amps.
One of our forum members sent me images and diagrams of the internals which helped to identify where the bias adjust is. I've got a simple bias probe coming from eurotubes so no problem adjusting bias.

As for the pre tubes I've got a good number of these and have been trying them out in different positions.
As I've written before I am really impressed with how well these Fender amps respond to pre tube changes.
The differences are quite noticeable to me, more so than in some other amps I've had.

I agree with you that some times pre tubes can make a greater tone change than power tubes, but as you know it's all about balancing/tuning pre's with power tubes and bias to get a tone you like.

This is my first amp with 6V6's so I'm new to them.
I've read about using 6L6's in these amps but for now I'm sticking with 6V6's as I also have a 68 CVR with 6L6's.
I decided to order a pair of the Tung Sol 6V6's and a pair of JJ's. Looking forward to what they have to offer.

Can you share your impressions of the tonal difference among the 6V6's you've tried?
I'd appreciate it.
TIA. :)


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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 6:54 pm
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mojjett wrote:
stratele52 wrote:
Do you know how to bias those new tubes ?

You need to have good ears to see difference .
12XX7 tubes may change tone too and more ?

true enough. esp. in v1 & v2 positions you can get different tones. as far as power tubes, my DRRI came with groove tube EH 6v6s. nice tubes. earlier breakup, lower output. however I switched to JJs. w/JJs you'll get more head room & more output. so depending on whether you want earlier breakup or more cleans. I've never used Tung Sol 6v6s. I've heard of reliability issues w/them. it's possible those issues have been addressed. JJs are considered the more robust of the current production tubes that you've mentioned here. I have all JJ tubes except in the v1 &v2 positions where I chose to put tung sols. IMO not a bad setup. good luck


Thanks for the input. :)
I would like a bit more clean headroom, that would be nice but not necessary.
The JJ's get very positive reviews so I ordered a pair.
I've read that the Tungs have had some reliability issues but I've also read that that has been addressed just over the past few years. I ordered a pair of those too so I'll see.

Tung's were reviewed to not be "as loud" as the JJ's, which is fine for me.
Tonal description claim they are less forward in the mids and that would be good for me as my CDR has plenty of mids. Claim is also that they are smoother overall, likely due to not pushing the mids as much and having less compression compared to the JJ's.
The EH 6V6's also get really good reviews, but I'm not a big fan of their pre's.
They are a solidly made tube but tonally they seem middle of the road and a bit harsh at times.

I love Tung's 12ax7. Even though hard rock and metal players love the distortion and gain with these pre's I find they sound great even in clean amps like the CDR.
For pre's I'm looking for some 5751's. The Jan Phillips 5751's I have sound great in the CDR and CVR but they are prone to microphonics and the pair I have do like to ring even at moderately high volume.

JJ's pre's are good. I've tried the ECC83S and ECC81, both a nice pre to have in the tube bag.


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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 7:21 pm
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What tubes do you have in your amp now? It would be a shame to replace with the same type and have no difference in sound.

You might have JJ made GTs in there now. Another possibility would be EH GTs, or even Sovtek or Chinese. The JJ made are distinctive, with a rounded top. larger than most 6V6, closer in size to a 6L6. The EH will have a flat top and would likely still have the EH label on them. The Sovteks would have made in Russia, and maybe the Sovtek label. The Chinese might have smoked glass.

:?:

BTW, I swapped the JJ made GTs in my DRRI for EH GTs, as I like the 6V6 to sound like 6V6 and the JJ made tubes were not quite like a 6V6, too clean and a bit dull sounding. Yes, EH are my favorite 6V6, and I use them in almost every amp that uses 6V6.

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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 4:00 am
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Hi you know these amp.s respond well to tube changes ..Nos tubes Make,em sing..


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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 8:31 pm
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The stock tubes in a '68 CDR are GT-branded JJ 6v6-S's.


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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 9:45 pm
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I would say that is likely t-luxe, although Fender does change up tubes from time to time.

It is worth a look-see at the ones in there now. If you could post a pic of them, along with a closeup of the innards, that would be cool.

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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 7:03 am
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t-luxe wrote:
The stock tubes in a '68 CDR are GT-branded JJ 6v6-S's.

This! and the 6l6's and the preamp tubes


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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 11:53 am
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shimmilou wrote:
What tubes do you have in your amp now? It would be a shame to replace with the same type and have no difference in sound.

You might have JJ made GTs in there now. Another possibility would be EH GTs, or even Sovtek or Chinese. The JJ made are distinctive, with a rounded top. larger than most 6V6, closer in size to a 6L6. The EH will have a flat top and would likely still have the EH label on them. The Sovteks would have made in Russia, and maybe the Sovtek label. The Chinese might have smoked glass.

:?:


BTW, I swapped the JJ made GTs in my DRRI for EH GTs, as I like the 6V6 to sound like 6V6 and the JJ made tubes were not quite like a 6V6, too clean and a bit dull sounding. Yes, EH are my favorite 6V6, and I use them in almost every amp that uses 6V6.


The suggestion to check my stock 6v6's is a great one.
The pre's in both my CDR and CVR are mostly JJ's. Not all of them appear to be but most are JJ's.
I have some JJ's branded pre's and can compare directly to the GT's.
I should have realized that if most of the pre's are JJ's then the power tubes may be as well.

Unfortunately it didn't occur to me to check that out first.
By your description, and eurotubes picts, looks like my stock CDR tubes are JJ's.
Comparing them to the new Tung Sol's 6v6's the stock GT's are a bit larger with a rounded top.
Guess I now have a spare. :)


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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 6:23 pm
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To me, The Tung Sols sound more like the traditional 6V6s from the old days, and the JJs sound a little more like a 6L6. Tried the Tung Sols in my CDR and they're smooth and sweet. I ended up leaving them in, partially because they were quieter than the JJs, but I kinda miss the edgier, meatier tone of the stock JJs.


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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 9:55 pm
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Great description t-luxe.

The JJ made GTs in my DRRI made it sound like a HRDlx, without the low end and volume of the HRDlx. Since I already have a HRDlx, I wanted the more traditional sound of 6V6, so went with the EH GTs. I am sure that the Tung Sol will also sound more like traditional 6V6.

I can understand maybe wanting the clean sound of the JJ, but the killer harmonics, chimey high-end and articulate touch sensitivity of the EH or Tung Sol is pretty sweet!

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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 3:54 pm
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Personally I'd put a couple of RCA NOS 6V6s in there. Just my .02.


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Post subject: Re: 6V6 tubes & 68 CDR
Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 6:12 pm
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For my preferred tone, Tung Sol 6v6 tubes work very nicely in my SCX2. I am fortunate that Tung Sol happens to make a very sweet sounding 5881 tube. I have two of those in my HRDlll and they give me great tone at a lower wattage. It is about a 20% cut in power. Something very desired for the beast the HRD is. Do have a JJ 5751 in that V1 as well.

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