Best 6L6 tubes for MTS?

[tung]

I'm really happy with my current RM100 rig. Going to run a second amp, RM50 combo, but I want to retube it with 6L6s.
What do you guys recommend for 6L6s, I'm going for that EVH 5150 III 6L6- type-tone. I'm leaning towards the JJ, but the Tubestore also recommend the Gold Lion, which is a lot more money.
Thanks,
T.

 

[jmgman70]

Tung Sol 5881s,they Rock this category!!!

 

[maximus1]

if you want to sound like a 5150 put in e34l tubes and get a grail module, never said this before but after playing the other night with a 6505 i noticed that the sound of my grail modded recto was identical to my buddy's 6505, it wasn't quite as gainy but **** close and with a boost outfront it had more gain but still they sounded identical. my ultra xl i use to think was dead on on but after the other night it was aparent that the grail was the closest i ve heard yet to the 5150 series, it was dead on , we even switched heads and cabs and guitars around and still the peavey and the grail were identical. i have the jj e34l in my rm100 and the peavey had jj 6l6 and kt-88 both with jj 12ax7's on the chassis. i had chinese in the the modded recto / grail or whatever i call it. i was shocked to say the least. i spent like a year in a half modding ultra's toward that peavey sound all the while i had a recto never being played that seemed to be the better choice and it turned out the ****** is dead nuts identical in sound. i'm sure 6l6' swouldn't change things too much but seems the el34 is alot ballsier in this amp. 5881's sound tempting :idea:

 

[rectifier]

the el34L tubes rule....

 

[tung]

if you want to sound like a 5150 put in e34l tubes and get a grail module, never said this before but after playing the other night with a 6505 i noticed that the sound of my grail modded recto was identical to my buddy's 6505, it wasn't quite as gainy but **** close and with a boost outfront it had more gain but still they sounded identical. :idea:

thanks a lot, man..thanks to everyone's input actually.
I got the JJ E34L in my main RM100 head, so for the RM50 combo I want something different, that's why I'm checking out the 6L6, since the EVH 5150 III runs 6L6s, and I'm really digging that tone. Got it pretty close with the XTC with a boost out front on my RM100 head.
I run both amps at the same time, so the idea was to get the RM50 sounding a little different to cover all the sonic frequencies.

 

[maximus1]

thats kinda what i figured, try some tad 6l6str, or go kt-88. jj 6l6s sound very nice as well. next time you get around a 5150 put some kt-88's in it :twisted: no need to bias but they have to be paired with 6l6's to keep the bias from getting to high. 5150's are biased so cold from the start that the 88's bring them up where they need to be. really makes a big difference in tone for that amp, takes a little bit of the dry out and brings the low end in.

 

[TheHunter]

I use Mesa 6L6s and JJ EL34s in one head,
And JJ KT88s and JJ E34Ls in the other head and both are very brutal sounding.

 

[tung]

Check out this modded Marshall with 6L6s , vintage Van Halen with a real nice biting mids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=briJQ4hQ07c&feature=channel_page

that's kinda what I'm looking for in the 6L6s

 

[tung]

thats kinda what i figured, try some tad 6l6str,

Check out that Marshall clip I posted above, I think the guy used TAD 6L6GC STR. Now I'll be picking a pair tomorrow, let you guys know how it works out.

 

[tonymustang302]

thats kinda what i figured, try some tad 6l6str, or go kt-88. jj 6l6s sound very nice as well. next time you get around a 5150 put some kt-88's in it :twisted: no need to bias but they have to be paired with 6l6's to keep the bias from getting to high. 5150's are biased so cold from the start that the 88's bring them up where they need to be. really makes a big difference in tone for that amp, takes a little bit of the dry out and brings the low end in.

My other guitarists 5150 has 6L6's that are way hotter then the stock cold ones and with some high gain pre-amp tubes ive never heard a amp sound more brutal in my life. He owns my RM100 with the Ultra XL and a boost. He had KT88's in it but it sounded godawful. I'm going to try a 5150 because it sounds stupid mean.

 

[tung]

My other guitarists 5150 has 6L6's that are way hotter then the stock cold ones and with some high gain pre-amp tubes ive never heard a amp sound more brutal in my life. He owns my RM100 with the Ultra XL and a boost. He had KT88's in it but it sounded godawful. I'm going to try a 5150 because it sounds stupid mean.

Is it the new eVH 5150 III or the older first 2 generations Peavey 5150s?

BTW I got a pair of TAD GC STR 6l6s today. Threw it in my RM50 and the whole thing came alive with very much that Fender mids, but with more gain on the higher gain modules, with clarity and a nice tight low end. Still haven't got a chance to play too much on it, just test drive the tubes, and they are impressive.

 

[Dallas Marlow]

The SED Wing =C= 6L6GC are supposed to be the best you can get, but I'm sure the tung-sols are good too, they make some great tubes.

I just ordered a pair for my RM100 - I'll let you know my opinions tomorrow when they come in.

Dallas

 

[tung]

I just ordered a pair for my RM100 - I'll let you know my opinions tomorrow when they come in.

Dallas

Please do, would love to hear your input, if I remeber correctly, you're running LesPaul right? they should really kick with the 6L6s :twisted:

 

[Dallas Marlow]

Lately I've been playing my PRS single cut Trem with dimarzio's in it - it's a bit different from the LP but still pretty thick.

 

[tonymustang302]

My other guitarists 5150 has 6L6's that are way hotter then the stock cold ones and with some high gain pre-amp tubes ive never heard a amp sound more brutal in my life. He owns my RM100 with the Ultra XL and a boost. He had KT88's in it but it sounded godawful. I'm going to try a 5150 because it sounds stupid mean.

Is it the new eVH 5150 III or the older first 2 generations Peavey 5150s?

BTW I got a pair of TAD GC STR 6l6s today. Threw it in my RM50 and the whole thing came alive with very much that Fender mids, but with more gain on the higher gain modules, with clarity and a nice tight low end. Still haven't got a chance to play too much on it, just test drive the tubes, and they are impressive.

Early 5150

 

[tung]

Got a chance to test drive the TAD 6L6 GC, I think they're not being talked about very much, but they're totally killing. Just made my RM50 came alive with more sparkling mids and sweet highs. Really happy with these With my 1086, it sounds much more warmer but still cuts with nice balanced EQ that covers the full spectrum, a real versatile 6L6.

 

[Shinozoku]

Got a chance to test drive the TAD 6L6 GC, I think they're not being talked about very much, but they're totally killing. Just made my RM50 came alive with more sparkling mids and sweet highs. Really happy with these With my 1086, it sounds much more warmer but still cuts with nice balanced EQ that covers the full spectrum, a real versatile 6L6.

How do they sound in your RM100? And how might they sound mixed with a nice pair of EL34s (not the JJ E34L, I actually am looking for a great combination to give me more of a 50-watt bass response at the 100 watt level)?

 

[tung]

How do they sound in your RM100? And how might they sound mixed with a nice pair of EL34s (not the JJ E34L, I actually am looking for a great combination to give me more of a 50-watt bass response at the 100 watt level)?

i haven't got a chance to try them on my RM100, but I suspect the results would be pretty close, except for the fact that the RM100 has alot more low end, so you might need to roll back the Density, no big deal.
If you're going for the mixed combination, definitely give the TAD a try. The Tung Sol 5881 seem to be a popular choice here too, but I wasn't that impressed with their 12AX7s , so I decided to give the TAD GC a try.

 

[Shinozoku]

How do they sound in your RM100? And how might they sound mixed with a nice pair of EL34s (not the JJ E34L, I actually am looking for a great combination to give me more of a 50-watt bass response at the 100 watt level)?

i haven't got a chance to try them on my RM100, but I suspect the results would be pretty close, except for the fact that the RM100 has alot more low end, so you might need to roll back the Density, no big deal.
If you're going for the mixed combination, definitely give the TAD a try. The Tung Sol 5881 seem to be a popular choice here too, but I wasn't that impressed with their 12AX7s , so I decided to give the TAD GC a try.

Actually, what I mean is, I took two tubes out of my RM100 (I made a thread on this) and preferred the overall feel of it at that wattage, but I wanted to get the increase in headroom that it gives at 100 watts (plus having all 4 tubes in there just looks cool ), and was wanting to try and emulate that feel with the extra headroom.

 

[9985]

Anyone have experience with Shuguang 6L6GC tubes in RM100 (or other MTS series head?)

Also can someone post a link to the proper method of mixing/biasing EL34 & 6L6 tubes without torching the amp?