Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Seems like I have a long road to hoe to reach level of tube snobbery that I'm feeling.

Why isn't anyone singing the praises of NOS genelex Gold Lion or Gold Monarchs yet?

I thought that readily available US milspec power tubes would be some great stuff.

Maybe I should spend twice over what I paid for the whole amp for a set of tubes to become worthy.

As if it wasn't obvious before, color me clueless!

JAN tubes ARE superior to some Russian and most Chinese tubes.

But they are not yet a Jedi...

Tubes made when tubes were the only thing going were generally of much better quality than what is made today. Some of the tubes made today sound great, and work well, but they as a general rule don't last as long as NOS stuff. The JAN tubes were made for the military and had higher specs than most general consumer things, so are even better quality usually. The high cost nowadays for NOS is because of the better quality and because they don'tmake them any more so they are like any collectible. Things that make NOS better quality would be the higher vacuum in the tubes as compared to modern stuff, which makes the tube last longer usually. Another thing that is very important is the quality of the components used, specifically the metals and the coatings on the cathode for example. It costs too much for companies to go to that level today so they don't. What you end up with is generally good quality tubes that last long enough and sound fine, but not up to the level of the best of the old stuff like Genelex KT88 for example.

Those 6550C's that came in your amp are most likely the SED/Winged C 6550C, so no point in buying them again. If they're Chinese 6550, then the Winged C would be a step up. For an SVT or an SVT style amp, the GE 6550 is the king....all others pale, including the Genelex KT88. Its not a quality thing in this case...its just the tone. Different tubes work better in different amps.....my Sunn stuff likes JJ KT88's a lot. I run Winged C/SED 6550C's in my SVT btw, and they've been working great and sounding great for about 7 years now with moderate usage. If you can afford it, get osme NOS stuff, but if not, modern tubes will do the job well enough as long as they are biased correctly.

Thanks Greg!

I bought the Fender used and so I don't know what condition the assumed original tubes are. My plan is to buy a new set of power tubes and do a comparison to judge if they are needed right now. If they don't make a difference I would reinstall the originals and have my backups on hand.

What do you think of RCA 12AX7A short gray plates as pre amp tubes for bass? Also looking at NOS Mullard for the 12AT7WA spot.

Thanks for any help!

Ray

If you can afford them, any of the old NOS brands such as RCA, GE, Mullard, Telefunken, Amperex, Sylvania, etc (in no particular order) are better made and will sound better than today's tubes as a general rule. That said, there are many excellent new manufacture tubes being made today like JJ, reissue Tung-Sol, EH, Sovtek, EI, various chinese brands, etc. I'd suggest to get the various tube types you have in mind, experiment with them in your amp, and form your own opinions. Everyone hears different, and the various tube types and brands sound different in different applications too. What may sound great in my AC30 won't sound as good in your bass amp and vice versa.

Personally, unless I can get them cheap, I tend to stick with new production tubes as it helps to support the industry and make sure we get more good tubes in the future, and its cheaper, and its better to give a customer something they can readily get rather than something rare and expensive. I like the new Tung-Sol line a lot in addition to some of the JJ stuff and some of the EH stuff.

Not nutty at all Bob, he just became rictified after a while.

I like the matched JJ KT-88's I just put in my 95 SVT. Big improvement over whatever was in there. They just said Genuine Elcectronic tube, and 6550 but most of the writing is gone.

Got a 2nd hand Avatar 212 headed this way, we're going to hear this pup soon!

Ray,
I think you'll like the Avatar 2x12. I bought my 4x12 from Dave over at Avatar in 2000 before he made the 2x12. My 4x12 was originally a sealed cabinet, I ported it after I bought it, the 2x12 is ported.

I've been using it ever since driven by an Ampeg B-25 with great results.

I've a few fellow bassists who have bought the 2x12 and loved it. In my case I've Eminence Kappa Pro 12's, I think the 2x12 has the new Neo's.

A little follow up.

Still have the original Fender branded power tubes in the amp but replaced the pre tubes with 3 NOS short gray 12ax7a RCAs and a NOS Mullard.

My bud Scott came over from Cal and did some Squire jamming with my 4001CS through the head with the Avatar 212 and it was amazing! Rang like a bell on Silent Wings of Freedom, just like it should, I was freaking amazed at the sounds this head and cabinet combo is capable of.

Great stuff, thanks for all the good advice.