I've got some Tung-Sol 5881's

[Ratrod]

Yep, they're in my Ampeg Superrocket. They're not NOS but new reissues.

What an improvement. The amp has become more lively. The sound is really in your face. Very nice midrange. A very full but fierce sound. With a little extra volume you get a wonderfull breakup sound. The dirty channel has improved too. It's tighter and more articulate.

A must have for any 6L6 amp. I want a set for my Fender Hot Rod as well.

[HTH AMPS]

Nice work, glad to see there are some nice small-bottle 6L6s around.

I used to run Philips 6L6WGBs in my Bluesbreaker and they were fantastic.  Apparently they were made on the original Tung Sol machines and are the closest you can get to the real thing.

The last small-bottle 6L6s I used were some TAD 6L6WGBs - not sure where they're made (probably China).  They sounded nice, broke up like small bottle 6L6s should and had that rawer edge that the big-bottle 6L6GCs don't have.

 :twisted:

[Ratrod]

These new reissues are made by the Reflektor plant in Russia. They're made to the original USA specs. The originals are hard to find and very expensive. These only cost about 75 Euros for a matched quad.

The NOS are probably even better but I need to have some money left over for beer.

[Ratrod]

Houston, we have a problem!

I played it a few minutes today. Suddenly the volume dropped and some ticking noise. Yes, 4 orange glowing lamps in the back of my amp.

I think it hasn't been biased correctly.

It hasn't run hot for more than a minute so I hope the tubes and the amp's internals are all OK.

I'm taking it to another tech today.

Words cannot express how I feel at the moment. I was planning on gigging with it tonight and tomorrow. Luckily I still have my Fender.

[viking]

I wanted these Tungsol 5881's for my MB Nomad but they can't handle the high-voltage amps.I don't know about your Ampeg,Ratrod, but that could be the problem...

[Ratrod]

I wanted these Tungsol 5881's for my MB Nomad but they can't handle the high-voltage amps.I don't know about your Ampeg,Ratrod, but that could be the problem...

Others have put these tubes in their Superrockets so I don't think that's the problem. Or, I HOPE that's not the problem.

If I'm lucky, everything's OK and it just needs a bias checkup. If I'm a bit unfortunate, the new tubes are gone. If I'm really up a certain creek without a paddle, the output transformer's blown.

I'll get a phone call next week and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[Roobubba]

/me crosses fingers for you

[viking]

me crosses fingers for you

Me too ! :?          PS:Please,tell us about it when you will know..but only if it's good news... :)

[HTH AMPS]

I know that the original 6L6WGBs weren't spec'd as high as 6L6GCs so it's worth checking out.

actually, wait a minute... (5 mins later)... according to the spec sheets...

* 6L6WGBs have a max plate voltage of 400v
* 6L6GCs have a max plate voltage of 500v

 :twisted:

[Ratrod]

I don't have the manual with me at the moment so I can't check the plate voltage.

If that is the problem I could try Tung-Sol 6L6GC-STR's. A pretty similar tube but it's 30 Watts and 500 Volt.

I've only had a small taste of these short bottle tubes but I'm hooked already.

[Kilby]

I'm just ressurecting this as I was wondering how it all worked out

God surely I have something better to do with my time !

[Ratrod]

It all worked out fine. It simply wasn't biased properly. Everything, including the tubes survived.

The only problem is that it isn't the amp I'm looking for. It's not a good match for my Gretsch and rockabilly.

Two weeks ago I had some other guitarists try it. Both play Strats and most music was heavy blues and rock. The amp sounded bloody awesome! It really works well with single coil Fenders. The amp has a very deep sub bass and relatively little upper mid push wich seems to complement those guitars perfectly.

All my guitars already have plenty of deep bass and upper mid push so with that amp it's all a bit too much.