First post here. Hello all.
I've heard it said that Dick Dale uses Rubys these days but that is beside the point. I'm not trying to sound like him at his own show here in Rochester, NY this Friday.
And yes, my local surf band is actually following Dick Dale.
The Winged C 6l6gc's in my blackface super reverb need replacing, and quickly.
Problem is: My trusted supplier (KCA NOS) has stopped carrying them because of a recent price increase.
Second problem: I don't trust the practices of the other suppliers. I have no idea what their knowledge is or what kind of testing equipment they own.
Have any of you found something that is comparable to the Winged C 6L6?
What are your experiences with other suppliers?
I'd hate to make a change like this right before such an important gig. For some reason I think those winged c are in a class of their own.
Regards,
Josh
Don't sweat it.Originally Posted by mr5f6a
...yes, my local surf band is actually following Dick Dale.
The Winged C 6l6gc's in my blackface super reverb need replacing, and quickly.
Just borrow Dick's amp.
Glad to be of service,
rjb
Wise-Ass-at-Large
He's one of those Maryland wise-asses.
Josh,
Why not contact Mike at KCA and ask what he recommends? You mention you don't trust other suppliers.
@JoeM. That is exactly what led me to post here. I'd like more opinions before I spend $240 on the NOS Sylvanias he recommended.
BTW, He'd have to charge $200 a pair for the SED Winged-C 6L6GC if he were to continue stocking them.
$240.00 ?? Ouch, no wonder. I'm in a similar situation, I've got SEDs in my Bassman clone too, don't know what I'd use to replace them. As far as suppliers, I've been buying tubes from Antique Electronic Supply for many years.
There are lots of fine 6L6s that many people use. I have had great success with the Ruby 6L6GCSTRM ( or however the letter order goes). I have yet to have a bad one, and they are a good performing sturdy tube. Ruby sells a number of different 6L6s, so don;t be confused.
Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.
Why? INTERNET retail is about $140 a full quad set.
He must get a much better deal on tubes then I can. I can't get $200.00 for a quad set of SED Svetlana tubes... I'd get laughed out the door trying to ask that much.
If you want to buy some yourself, here is a start:
6L6GC, Winged C | Antique Electronic Supply LLC
+1 on the Ruby 6L6GCMSTR
Magic Parts does a good job at testing and matching and the MSTR has always given me good results.
Bugle Boy is always a good choice, wing C is almost as good....the trouble is everyone who sells sets matched that well is going to charge $$$ for them.First post here. Hello all.
I've heard it said that Dick Dale uses Rubys these days but that is beside the point. I'm not trying to sound like him at his own show here in Rochester, NY this Friday.
And yes, my local surf band is actually following Dick Dale.
The Winged C 6l6gc's in my blackface super reverb need replacing, and quickly.
Problem is: My trusted supplier (KCA NOS) has stopped carrying them because of a recent price increase.
Second problem: I don't trust the practices of the other suppliers. I have no idea what their knowledge is or what kind of testing equipment they own.
Have any of you found something that is comparable to the Winged C 6L6?
What are your experiences with other suppliers?
I'd hate to make a change like this right before such an important gig. For some reason I think those winged c are in a class of their own.
Regards,
Josh
It's been a while since I worked on Dick's amplifiers...
but be sure to tell him I said hi.
I will have to try some Rubys. I keep hearing about them and my drummer seems to think that that's what Dick is using these days. I didn't have the balls to look in the rear of his showman to confirm. I can't stand when people do that with my '66 Super at shows.
Bruce, How's you reject rate when buying from Antique Electronic? And how are you matching them?
I've noticed that many of the other retailers have yet to increase their pricing on these. If Mike is being honest then I guess I could assume that that means that these people haven't tried to restock since the wholesale price has increased.
Last edited by mr5f6a; 07-25-2012 at 06:41 PM.
I keep running into people that have worked with Dick. I didn't get a chance to speak to him myself; but, I guess he has a 'whatever' attitude towards people claiming they've worked with him. I mean, how long has this guy been in the business? Forever. How could you remember everyone at that point? Ha.
Are you referring to Amperex Bugle Boys? Where the hell are you getting those?
I repaired his amp and his Fender reverb unit. I did not work with him. He was a pretty nice person, as I recall.
We get Bugle through Richardson...
But be prepared to pay $429 for a quad of Chinese...
Wow! That's really good advice from someone I'm impressed by for working with a celebrity!
"I should have been born sooner. Of course, if I had been, I might be dead now." trem
You are quite easily impressed.Wow! That's really good advice from someone I'm impressed by for working with a celebrity!
I installed a stereo in Fleetwood Mac's Bentley.
Are you more impressed?
Considering my experience, and that it impresses you so much, I should charge a fee for the advice.
That'll be five bucks.
Just poking at you because I don't see your advice as practical and you seem to be name dropping. The list of music biz celebs I've met is a mile long. Though I've only worked with a couple. I don't usually drop a "say hi" unless I, at least, know the name of a persons wife, or even their pet or something. Even talking shop with someone like Joe Walsh (who has done a little of his own amp work) I doubt he would remember me. Nor do I drop his name. About the only name I've ever dropped here is Dean Markley. And that's only because the good posters here helped me with a design project I did for him. So that was happening in "real time".
Just sayin.
"I should have been born sooner. Of course, if I had been, I might be dead now." trem
A quad of Chinese what? children? handcuffs?
Maybe I'm confused but isn't Richardson a huge gamble. I work in the industry and we tend to avoid that type of thing. There's too many other variables and possible pitfalls; reliability in a supplier should not be one of them.
Also, I've always loved that Joe Walsh is a ham.
When I installed the stereo in Fleetwood Mac's Bentley, somebody had the idea of mounting the speakers in the SEATS.
The seats are "benches" and there is a huge space underneath them, and its flat surface near the floor of the car...
So, I cut 6X9 ovals, from the leather seats, with a razor knife, and mounted the speakers in the seats. (near the floor)
And I saved one of the leather ovals, as a souvenir. It's very fine blue / grey leather.
And so, that is the story of how I cut holes in the leather seats of a $168,000.00 Bentley limousine. (you can see the car, it's on the album cover.)
More experience...That'll be $10.
If you had said that you did this with Peter Green's limo then I might have been impressed.
I once played a gig with Tony Rice's guitar mic.... Can anyone spare a dime?
Last edited by rjb; 07-26-2012 at 06:49 PM.
Richardson provides the finest tubes in the industry. They are better than Groove, and Wing C...
You don't see them much because most people can't afford it.
If you want a set with matched screen grids, no problem. Matched heaters? Matched control grids? Yes they can supply it.
I have a friend who orders several sets at a time....then red plates them. He says they last about 20 hours.
This is the same guy who paid Bugle Boy to set up a special lab test, to create the Bugle Boy 6SN7.
Cost him $980 to select 2 tubes.
I would tell you about how I fixed and tuned Edgar Winter's Fairlight synthesizer after an airline smashed the circuit board...
And charged a dozen tickets to his show for the service...
But then I would have to charge $5 more.
How 'bout we just send you some comps to our next gig?
I opened two shows for Edgar. He liked our vibe so well he came on stage with us on the second show... And wouldn't leave! Very good musician. But once he gets going, there's no stopping him. Every song has an extended ending, a keyboard break, etc. Much more down to earth guy than you might expect.
That'll be $50.
Actually, the story about razoring the seats in the Mac's Bentley is pretty cool. So you only owe $40.
P.S. Dick is a very big, very loud man. He'll get right up in your face when he talks to you. It's a little creepy in a Gary Busey sort of way. That'll be another $25.
"I should have been born sooner. Of course, if I had been, I might be dead now." trem
I was testing how far you would let the name drop gimmick go,
since the thread started with Dick Dale, as if the 6L6 tubes were elevated to celebrity status...because they were on the same stage as Dick Dale.
I was hoping for more name drops, though...
Nah. Suffice to say that I played in the SF bay area for most of my youth. You can walk into Guitar Center out there and run into a celebrity. So it's really small points. Dean Markley is friends with a bunch of famous guys, so I met a couple through him. And I did Winter NAMM in 2009. No shortage of big cooties there.
I will tell my favorite "didn't meet this guy" story though. I was at Guitar Showcase in San Jose Ca. I've known the staff and owners there since I was twelve. They all know I'm usually just there as shop rat and probably not going to buy anything MOST of the time. If I want to buy they know I'll ask. In other words, they stopped rushing me at the door a long time ago. Anyway... I was preparing to leave and found myself stuck behind a throng of people at the main sales counter. Apparently Huey Lewis came in to buy a harmonica and everyone in the store just rushed in. As I pushed my way between the wall and the crowd toward the door, with what must have been a grumpy look on my face, Huey made eye contact with me and laughed. I smiled back and waved once on my way out.
"I should have been born sooner. Of course, if I had been, I might be dead now." trem
I confess that I still feel slightly guilty for cutting the seats of that car.
It's such a nice car.
It's kind of like enlarging the hole in a superlead, to install a new impedance selector.
We will never know why the new selector is 1/8" larger than the old one. But yet, we want a new one.
Bless me Chucky, for I have sinned.
So, the gig is over and you are still looking for replacement tubes....
You never did tell us- how did you survive the gig? Did your amp die in the middle of the set?
Little minds want to know....
Last edited by rjb; 07-27-2012 at 08:12 PM.
I mixed for Gary US Bonds on night, and The Happenings a couple gigs too.
NO charge.
Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.
Another one of my favorite celeb meets was Rick Emmett. At Banannas at large in Ca. There were only a couple of guys in the store and he was just hangin' out like any other goofball. Super nice guy. The kind of guy that might get stuck holding a door at a resturant because no one else takes it from him.
"I should have been born sooner. Of course, if I had been, I might be dead now." trem
Hah! one of my favorite gags. When I go to a restaurant, and it is one of them where the kid at hostess stand opens the doors for you, I always reach in my pocket and grab a dime or quarter and hand it to them. "Always tip the doorman." They usually look baffled. Cheap fun for a quarter.
Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.
No problems with the amp during the set. I'm still running it on the same winged-c weeks after the gig also. The tubes are almost flat though. There's a little extra flub in the bass and I'm loosing that viagara-like virility of a newer set of tubes.
I don't like to play tubes until absolute death like many people, who are probably unaware of their impending death. As soon as the distortion gets a little funky and rebiasing doesn't help I replace the tubes.
I almost wonder if something else is at play with the distortion I'm hearing. Possibly leaky coupling caps? I haven't replaced any of the old blue tubular caps in this amp. Not that I'd want to.
Sigh... I just have too many projects these days. No time to look into these things at the moment.
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