6550 recommendations

lespaul6

lespaul6

Well-known member
Looking for current production only.. at a decent price. I like a brighter tube that is still somewhat balanced.. I do not want all bass and treble with no mids, if that helps. What are you using and why?
 
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Not to be Debbie downer, but I’ve tried a few different kinds like Svetlana and JJ and both were garbage compared to my GE 6550’s
 
My used 2555x I grabbed a few yrs back came with new production Tung Sols, they sounded nice n balanced. I also had a 2204 with GEs at the time, I wanted to compare the Tung Sols so I put a pair in and re biased the 2204 and while some of the detail was not there, it wasn't that far off. Close enough to recommend them for new production.
GEs are still king though.
 
That's the second good review on the tung sols so far.... I know about the GE stuff but that's out of the price realm right now. Do these tubes last longer than other tube types? they seem heavy duty and durable.... our bass player has an SVT with 6550;s getting pummeled regularly for years
 
i have tried Tung Sol reissue and didnt like them for guitar, for bass they where good, hi fi tone

Hetfield use 6550we and i want to try them
 
I recently tried a pair of Tung Sol 6550 valves in my GNL. The only other 6550s I've had in the amp were Sovteks, and that was way back when I first got the amp. I didn't like the Sovteks at all. I pulled them out and went straight back to EL34s (Winged C's and then moved onto EHX biased cold).
But I really like the Tung Sol 6550s. They are still in the amp and I'm not planning on changing them out anytime soon. While my GNL isn't quite as juicy in the mids as it was with EL34s, it isn't that far off. And for whatever reason, my amp is a lot quieter with the 6550's in it. Almost no background noise when on the high-gain channel. I did have to re-EQ but that's to be expected.
 
JMP2203":3260p5zd said:
i have tried Tung Sol reissue and didnt like them for guitar, for bass they where good, hi fi tone

Hetfield use 6550we and i want to try them
Click to expand...
Yeah I perceived it as a wider tonal footprint than with EL34s. So far I'm digging it.
 
I just ordered a quad of the tung sols.... I'll see how they compare to the Marshall labeled tubes that came stock (I think Chinese?)
 
Anyone tried the Sovtec 6550WE? what did you like or dislike? too bright? too dark? no dynamics etc?
 
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