Tweet
Ever since my desire to go after that electric guitar sexy tube over drive, the output tubes are the most vulnerable to mechanically fail or sometimes come humming right out of the box. Trusty dual triodes can kick dust way longer, than their power cousins, EL34's 6L6's KT88 or 6V6's.
What experience have you had with power tubes?
Here are some of mine reliability of power tubes.
I had a pair of old 6V6's, guessing Westinghouse or RCA, my first build, 12 watt like em, until I dropped one, oops. Found another oldie, they reside in that build somewhere on the planet, I think, went west years ago
Next attempt was 50 watt build, red plated the JJ6L6, probably the screens melted, hit the head, kinda noisy protest.
Next tubes, Selventa EL34, same head, reconfigured, biased at 17 - 18 watts, resided in a studio, 3 yrs, then a year with a younger musician on the road, started humming softly after 4 years of use, the octal bases darken a little, still have them in a drawer, back up.
That build ended up with Rubby tube EL34 that looks more like a 6CA7 bottle, over a year on the road, head took a tumble from a stage move, fixed the broken pots and jack, good tubes, time will tell.
One day while I spotted a builder dream of a red chassis housing laying in a dumpster from a house being gutted, massive power tranny and classic hammond potted output. That build is my big blue, painted the red tranny with chrysler blue paint, same colour as my van.
Various tubes came and went, biased 25 watt .... mostly studio low volume recording, so hum has to be low.
Electroharmonix 6L6's one failed, 2 years, found a identical tube at a music store, kept them as spares. Thing about those tubes, I like the blue glow from the hot bias, used them about a year, one went bad, lately, the amp would lose volume, give the amp a bump, all good, until I noticed the blue glow extinguish, massive noise ... so so tubes.
Next, bought a pair of KT88 Groove tubes, pricy. These tubes are big bottles, they have a large filament, need a big power tranny to light those beast. No failure, but strange hum, soft, biased them at 28 watt, beefy sound, not so brittle highs. Not great for low level recording, unless the house is clear.
When the Electro Harmonix failed, my long loss favorite guitar shop sold me two Sovtek 6L6's, the bottles slightly differ, but these have been the most rugged tube in my possession. Quiet when biased 23 watt, not a sexy blue glow, little strident bite on the top end when dimed.
What experience have you had with power tubes?
Here are some of mine reliability of power tubes.
I had a pair of old 6V6's, guessing Westinghouse or RCA, my first build, 12 watt like em, until I dropped one, oops. Found another oldie, they reside in that build somewhere on the planet, I think, went west years ago
Next attempt was 50 watt build, red plated the JJ6L6, probably the screens melted, hit the head, kinda noisy protest.
Next tubes, Selventa EL34, same head, reconfigured, biased at 17 - 18 watts, resided in a studio, 3 yrs, then a year with a younger musician on the road, started humming softly after 4 years of use, the octal bases darken a little, still have them in a drawer, back up.
That build ended up with Rubby tube EL34 that looks more like a 6CA7 bottle, over a year on the road, head took a tumble from a stage move, fixed the broken pots and jack, good tubes, time will tell.
One day while I spotted a builder dream of a red chassis housing laying in a dumpster from a house being gutted, massive power tranny and classic hammond potted output. That build is my big blue, painted the red tranny with chrysler blue paint, same colour as my van.
Various tubes came and went, biased 25 watt .... mostly studio low volume recording, so hum has to be low.
Electroharmonix 6L6's one failed, 2 years, found a identical tube at a music store, kept them as spares. Thing about those tubes, I like the blue glow from the hot bias, used them about a year, one went bad, lately, the amp would lose volume, give the amp a bump, all good, until I noticed the blue glow extinguish, massive noise ... so so tubes.
Next, bought a pair of KT88 Groove tubes, pricy. These tubes are big bottles, they have a large filament, need a big power tranny to light those beast. No failure, but strange hum, soft, biased them at 28 watt, beefy sound, not so brittle highs. Not great for low level recording, unless the house is clear.
When the Electro Harmonix failed, my long loss favorite guitar shop sold me two Sovtek 6L6's, the bottles slightly differ, but these have been the most rugged tube in my possession. Quiet when biased 23 watt, not a sexy blue glow, little strident bite on the top end when dimed.