tube tube tube tube

[chesterburmingham]

ok so i currently am using the stock el34's and i LOVE my tone, but the more i read these threads, the more i read good things about 5881 tubes.
as far as the bias goes, i'm basically running it at the highest suggested setting.
i was hoping for some kind of comparison between the 5881's and the el34's.
the more info i get here, the happier i will be, AND more appreciative i will be. any input is wonderful, so if you've tried the both feel free to rant, and ramble.

 

[khingpynn]

6L6/5881... tight & focused, punchy, with good projection... bell like, American tone.

EL34... Big wide wall of sound with a more 3 dimensional sonic quality, Chime, British tone.

Khing

 

[chesterburmingham]

thanx!!

 

[3 Mile Stone]

I have found them to be a good split between the 6L6 and EL34. I think the Tung Sol 5881 has characteristics of both which is what makes it my favorite power tube. It does have a great spank on clean sounds like the 6L6 does, but it is not as crispy crunchy on the high gain sounds. It still reminds me of the EL34 although it has a brighter sound than a EL34 would. I still think it is WAY thicker sounding than a 6L6. Like I said it still retains some of the thickness of the Marshall type sound. If you run a module or two that are Fender based and another module or two that are Marshall based I think it's the perfect tube because it sits in the middle territory.

 

[maximus1]

if your gonna play metal with palm muting and chunking then el34 will dissapoint you but they do have nice aggressive tone. they just lack bass bigtime. they will get farty quick on you. 6l6 on the other hand has deep full bass and chunks up nice plus they are clear and have a good all around tone. some russian 6l6 are actually 5881 they just label them different like a 6l6gc is a real 6l6 but i believe a 6l6wgb is actually a 5881. sovtek does this with their wxt line 5881 is very close a 6l6 but stil retains el34 type tone.kt-77 are a replacement for el34 and in my experiences sound alot better, they have a deeper chunkier low to them and sound twice as huge as el34's. jj makes a nice kt-77

 

[EWSEthan]

I think everyone is pretty much right on here. Like Tommy, I prefer 5881 for its marriage of what are the best parts of both 6L6 and EL34. 5881 is a punchy, clear tube and its tone is very focused and sharp. To me, it has a much more stiff feel compared to the squishiness I felt from the EL34s so I like the attack I get from them.

-Matt

 

[khingpynn]

The true origional 6L6 is not compatable with todays 6L6... origional 6L6's biased much lower and had a metal envalope. The modern 6L6 is really a 6L6GC which is a 5881. The Tung is a 6l6GC/5881 what you are really saying is you like it's tonal qualities form a manufactureres spec perspective.

origional 6L6... http://store.tubedepot.com/nos-6l6.html


modern 6L6 or the 6L6GC/5881... http://store.tubedepot.com/so-5881.html

Khing

 

[okstrat]

The true origional 6L6 is not compatable with todays 6L6... origional 6L6's biased much lower and had a metal envalope. The modern 6L6 is really a 6L6GC which is a 5881. The Tung is a 6l6GC/5881 what you are really saying is you like it's tonal qualities form a manufactureres spec perspective.

origional 6L6... http://store.tubedepot.com/nos-6l6.html


modern 6L6 or the 6L6GC/5881... http://store.tubedepot.com/so-5881.html

Khing

A real 5881 is NOT a 6L6GC - an old 5881 will blow up at voltages that a GC laughs at. They also had 6L6GA, and GB. I've had metal 6L6s and also some GA's that looked like coke bottles.

http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/files/tsol5881.pdf

max plate voltage on a 'real' vintage 5881 is 400 volts.

http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/files/jj6L6S.pdf

A JJ 6L6GC will take 500 volts.

However, a SOVTEK 5881, which doesn't have a whole lot in common with a real Tung Sol from the 50s, will take a lot more voltage - more like 500 or more. More than likely what you're talking about.

This is why I haven't put some of my old TungSol 5881s in my MTS amps - I don't want to blow them to hell!

Pete

 

[khingpynn]

"A real 5881 is NOT a 6L6GC - an old 5881 will blow up at voltages that a GC laughs at. They also had 6L6GA, and GB. I've had metal 6L6s and also some GA's that looked like coke bottles.

http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/files/tsol5881.pdf

max plate voltage on a 'real' vintage 5881 is 400 volts.

http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/files/jj6L6S.pdf

A JJ 6L6GC will take 500 volts.

However, a SOVTEK 5881, which doesn't have a whole lot in common with a real Tung Sol from the 50s, will take a lot more voltage - more like 500 or more. More than likely what you're talking about.

This is why I haven't put some of my old TungSol 5881s in my MTS amps - I don't want to blow them to hell!

Pete"



Thants awsome info thanks Pete.

Khing