DC-5 which Power Tubes are you running?

hi forumites,

which kind of power-tubes are you running in your DC-5/DC-10s?
mine came stock with 6L6GC STR420 code gry, but one of the tubes lost its vacuum, so the pre-owner replaced it with sovtek 6L6GBs.
i´m not sure if this is a good choice for the DC-5, but before i buy a set of tubes, i just want to hear your opinion and which tubes you folks are running.
-joe

I mistakenly put some 6L6GBs in my 50 Caliber + and it didn't like them at all when I cranked up the volume.
Worked fine when I switched it back to the correct 6L6GCs.

I have mine with the STR 420s, they're gigantic, fattest 6l6s ever!!

I can highly recommend the TungSol 6L6GC-STRs....call Dirk Munzinger at Tube-Town and tell him you need Boogie spec'd TungSol 6L6GC-STRs... great service!

The used DC-5 which i bought recently come with Groove Tubes GT6L6R installed from the previous owner.
Very good tubes i have to say.

But ? have some Mesa 5881/6L6 STR 425 (yellow stick.) which are spare/used tubes from a 50/50 power amp and i tried them.
Man, let me tell you that the tone was smoother with sweet highs but also tighter and no lack of gain.
Just perfect for my jazz/fusion style.
I don' know why but i felt that they was the right tubes for the amp.

In the next days i'll try a brand new pair of Mesa 6L6 STR 440 which also i have and i see.

A friend of mine with the same amp has JJ from eurotubes - the high gain set - (https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php?page=view_products&category_id=6&sub_category_id=92) but he's in more in Dream Theater style and the amp really smokes...
Only with trial and error you'll find the right one for you, unfortunately.

Ruby tubes from Doug's tubes for Mesa boogie single rect

Triaxstasy said:

I can highly recommend the TungSol 6L6GC-STRs....call Dirk Munzinger at Tube-Town and tell him you need Boogie spec'd TungSol 6L6GC-STRs... great service!

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hi,

mine actually runs old STR420, ive put back str440 and .... removed it, pants !

shughang old 6l6GC / mesa STR420 were cheap and killer, somes hints about actual shughuang GC's? !

just orderd TS 6l6GC str, whats differences it makes with the str420?
thx

Got mine used and it came with winged =c= 0745 bias point 29 or 24 can't tell, don't know much about them but some people seem to think I should leave them in instead of getting Boogies.

got a pair 6L6GC-STR (Sylvania Style) tubes from www.btb-elektronik.de here in nürnberg.
these tubes have no brand-label on it, but it´s a matched pair and they are as hot as red label mesa tubes.
they sound great with the DC-5! with a lot of punch and a tight low-end - just great tubes.
got a used pair of original Mesa STR420s as well (code gry) but they sound thin against those "no label" 6L6-GC STRs.

joe web said:

got a pair 6L6GC-STR (Sylvania Style) tubes from http://www.btb-elektronik.de here in nürnberg.
these tubes have no brand-label on it, but it´s a matched pair and they are as hot as red label mesa tubes.
they sound great with the DC-5! with a lot of punch and a tight low-end - just great tubes.
got a used pair of original Mesa STR420s as well (code gry) but they sound thin against those "no label" 6L6-GC STRs.

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(sylvania style) they are chinese made, i bet your fading str420 are close to dead !

i tested alot of tubes, new production,
my raking's here

winged C SED
Shuguang GC
TS 6l6 str
mesa str 430
JJ 6l6gc (not caracter, only dynamics and clear)
mesa str 440

Real SED (not ReIssue) Winged-C 6L6GC. Love em.

Edward

edward said:

Real SED (not ReIssue) Winged-C 6L6GC. Love em.

Edward

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SEd are not reissued , in fact !

i got both, the one of the 80's with a big S on it, and the new ones with a big C, they are exactly the same, material builded and sound!

I am not certain that is entirely correct (but you could be right).

I recall seeing that some of the nerwer SED Winged-C, while not a "ReIssue" per se, that there is a differentiation between the original Russian tube and these newer batches now available. Not sure if my using the "reissue" word is confusing the point ...or perhaps I am wrong altogether. But for anyone considering them, I love the tone they bring ...the original Russian SED tubes, FWIW

Edward

hi,

I think reissued tubes means they stopped manufacturing in the 70's or 80's in USA or europe , and a brand brought it years after to acutal tube manufacting locations in russia or china, not same peoples , not the same building material, etc...

The SED never stopped winged C production in St petersbourg, materials and manufacturing machines are the same !

newer tubes are more appropriate term than reissue !

regards

Gotcha ...makes sense.
I can't recall exactly what I had read, but thought it was (or perhaps it was) that the orig SED stopped production, and someone else picked up their mfg in the same plant. I do recall reading that there is a diff between the SEDs that are NOS vs SEDs that are current production. Well in any event, I don't want to cloud the water with what I "think" I recall reading so I'll just defer to what you just said. Thanks for clarifying!

Edward

edward said:

Gotcha ...makes sense.
I can't recall exactly what I had read, but thought it was (or perhaps it was) that the orig SED stopped production, and someone else picked up their mfg in the same plant. I do recall reading that there is a diff between the SEDs that are NOS vs SEDs that are current production. Well in any event, I don't want to cloud the water with what I "think" I recall reading so I'll just defer to what you just said. Thanks for clarifying!

Edward

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JSC Xpo Pull st petersbourg plant, and reflektor Xpo pull Saratov was was owned by same compagny Reflektor , Reflektor sold saratov plan who was no more building tubes, with the brand tube "svetlana" exepted "military tube winged C tech" to USA new sensor , and JSC kept reflektor st patersbourg xpo pull site with "winged c tech" wich never stopped production of this militatry tubes !

today new sensor sell svetlana tubes 6l6gc who build reissue usual gc tubes
http://www.svetlana.com/ProductHighLight.aspx?ProId=37

and JSC build and sell the never ending military 6l6 gc called "winged C" 6l6 gc

JSC Svetlana is a Russian company that owns and operates the Svetlana factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, which has been making vacuum tubes for almost a century. These tubes have been known in the United States as Svetlana brand tubes and have had the "S" logo and/or the logo (a Cyrillic S) on them. Because of a change in ownership of the former American distributor, JSC Svetlana recently lost its ability to sell vacuum tubes bearing the "Svetlana" name, while maintaining the ability to sell the tubes bearing the logo in the United States and Canada.

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http://www.svetlanajsc.ru/en/about/history/

St petersbourg plant never stopped to make winged C tubes, so they aren't really reissued or NOS for them!

fusguitar said:

But ? have some Mesa 5881/6L6 STR 425 (yellow stick.) which are spare/used tubes from a 50/50 power amp and i tried them.
Man, let me tell you that the tone was smoother with sweet highs but also tighter and no lack of gain.

Click to expand...

I just started a thread on if it was cool for me to use 5881's in my DC-5, I guess I just got my answer. I love the way my Mark IV sounds with them, as dirty as the graduating class of Saint Mary Catholic School for Girls.

Beauregard said:

..... as dirty as the graduating class of Saint Mary Catholic School for Girls.

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This thread is worthless without pics 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)