What brand of 6L6 tubes do you like an why?

[Ephemeria]

Just curious to know what brand of tubes the 6L6 players enjoy out there, and why? I'm completely overwhelmed by the choice I should get for my Peavey 6505+ and Bugera 333/6262 amp. I've heard JJ tubes are really good, as are Ruby. But theres millions still to choose from. Also what do people think about c--ktailing different tube brands in certain positions? The sound I'm looking for btw is to play metalcore. Something that sounds huge, but also very tight and gives you searing leads and a good solo tone, etc. I'm sure you get the point haha. Anyways any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

[Roobubba]

They won't affect your tone all that much. Especially not for high gain stuff. I have JJs in the preamp section of my 5150-II (identical to 6505+) and Svetlana Winged =C= in the power section. The amp tech I got to check over the amp and do the tube change/bias when I bought it said the Svetlanas were good and would do fine, but he preferred to spend a little bit more and get - something - I forgot... Anyway, the reason he said was that his favoured tubes lasted longer (in his experience). With that said, I've had no problems with these current tubes for well over 2 years now (and quite possibly a bit longer... oops).

I don't doubt that once you're down to tiny tweaks in your overall tone, the tubes do make a difference that you can probably detect, but for the vast majority of people (especially those with high gain amps), things like a string change will have MASSIVELY more impact on your tone ;)

So get some JJs for the Preamp, -something- for the power (lol, sorry, I'm happy with svetlana winged Cs) and don't look back until it's time for a swap and rebias.

Roo

[juansolo]

+1 to Winged =C='s

Remember only real Svetlana tubes have the Winged =C= logo,  others may say Svetlana but are really Sovteks.

[Elliot]

I also use Winged =C='s

[darkbluemurder]

Winged =C= or JJ are fine with me. The JJs tend to be a bit darker, though.

Cheers Stephan

[Pete24v]

I've had a few Winged C valves go pop, some from Watford Valves and some from HotRox. The amp is a red knob twin, it had the original fender valves in it when i bough it, and i gigged it like that for a few years. I decided to replace them as a bit of preventative maintenance, but i only had 6 months use out of the WV quad and about 13 out of the HR.

My tech who adjusted the bias before the new valves suggested TAD small bottle 6L6's. They must have been in over two years now with no problem.

I have JJ's in an MJW/Ceriatone that also seem to be very reliable

[Telerocker]

Had TAD's in my (sold) Fender Vibrosonic. Nice tubes. I like JJ's too, specially for their roundness and reliability.

[JacksonRR]

TAD's and NOS GE's. Clean and defined.

[Ratrod]

Unfortunately I had some bad luck with JJ's in the past.

Very happy with TAD.

[HTH AMPS]

If people can stump up the extra, I nearly always recommend those GE repro 6L6GCs that Groove Tubes put out a few years back - great 6L6s.

=C= ones are great too but, like all their stuff, expensive.

[timski]

For high gain stuff where all the sound-shaping comes from the pre-amp the output tubes have neglible influence on tone unless your amp is totally dimed (including the master volume).

It's more important that the tubes are reliable.

[Transcend]

I have found that in modern amps power valves do change the sound and quite drastically.

I have noticed huge differences between
JJ (good and reliable)
EH (shrill in the highs and generally makes amps sound thin)
=C= excellent in every aspect but double the price of most other valves

[Transcend]

Oh and as for 6l6.... i dont i find them horrible and bloated sounding

EL34 or E34L all the way for me

[HTH AMPS]

For high gain stuff where all the sound-shaping comes from the pre-amp the output tubes have neglible influence on tone unless your amp is totally dimed (including the master volume).

It's more important that the tubes are reliable.

I think this is one of the biggest myths out there - you will definitely notice a difference in punch with good valves versus cr@p ones.

[Dmoney]

For high gain stuff where all the sound-shaping comes from the pre-amp the output tubes have neglible influence on tone unless your amp is totally dimed (including the master volume).

It's more important that the tubes are reliable.

I think this is one of the biggest myths out there - you will definitely notice a difference in punch with good valves versus cr@p ones.

+1

I'm sure people think this because it's written on the Soldano website, but you'll notice a difference even at low volume between something like an EL34 and a 6550 for example.