Diezel VHX: KT77 or 6L6?

FLUXX

Active member
Hi all,
I finally got my working VHX, and I noticed that it has TAD Red Base 6L6GCM-STR power tubes in it.
I thought the VHX came with KT77's? The first one I got had KT77's in it?
Anyone have a VHX with 6L6's in it?

Can you switch a VHX from 6L6 to KT77?
Does it require a mod?
I don't see a EL34/6L6 Switch in there like on my VH4.
I tried 6L6's in my VH4, and ended up liking the stock KT77's better.

In the meantime, I'm gonna see what these 6L6's can do!
 
i prefer the 6l6s in all my diezels . First thing I do if they don’t have them . But that’s me . And because of availability new ones have had 6l6s instead of 77s. I actually have enjoyed the switch
 
My VHX and Herbert mk3 both came with 6l6's. No complaints from me, as like Techdeth, I prefer the 6l6's over the kt77's as well. I changed out the kt77's in the vh4 I used to own to 6l6's and preferred it: opened up the top end, less congested overall.

El-34's sound good as well. I was playing around on a mk1 Herbert recently with el-34's and it sounded rediculous good!
 
My VHX and Herbert mk3 both came with 6l6's. No complaints from me, as like Techdeth, I prefer the 6l6's over the kt77's as well. I changed out the kt77's in the vh4 I used to own to 6l6's and preferred it: opened up the top end, less congested overall.

El-34's sound good as well. I was playing around on a mk1 Herbert recently with el-34's and it sounded rediculous good!
The 6l6s really do open it up as you say . That’s what I love .plus I like some aggressive 6l6s
 
I totally hear what you guys are saying. 6L6's definitely work great for some folks,
and I like the sound of other people's 6L6 rigs, but it's not the sound for me or my fingers.
I love KT77s and their "bite". I'm a little tripped up by the VHX's two Bias Trim Pots though.

Apparently, the VHX can use both 6L6 or EL34 (KT77s), you just need to bias the amp for the particular tubes you are using.
That's really cool. Very impressive engineering from the best amp company in the world!!
 
If you try some el-34's or kt-77's let us know what you think! The main thing is having the amp sound and feel the way you want it to.

It really is a crazy impressive amp indeed. Have you tried using the pre-loop with a boost yet? Not that it needs one, but that is pretty cool you can essentially switch it in/out of the circuit on selected presets.
 
If you try some el-34's or kt-77's let us know what you think! The main thing is having the amp sound and feel the way you want it to.

It really is a crazy impressive amp indeed. Have you tried using the pre-loop with a boost yet? Not that it needs one, but that is pretty cool you can essentially switch it in/out of the circuit on selected presets.
I got to test them with the first VHX i received, but when i tested the Pre-Loop with a overdrive pedal, it wasn't working so i returned it.
But before I figured out the pre-loop didn't work, I was able to nail the tones of all 4 channels of my VH4 in the VHX (with KT77s),
and it sounded perfect! Dying to get started with KT77s.

I'm looking forward to running pedals in the pre-loop....so many choices!
 
I ended up returning the VHX with 6L6s and finally got my new VHX with KT77s,
and I'm having a blast tweaking presets for my band's live set.
This amp totally rules!!!

Pretty cool new design, that you can use any tubes you want in it: 6L6, KT77, EL34
 
The Herbert works well with 6l6 was probably the nature of 6l6 on its accentuated highs ? And high powered output tubes has lesser of the compression going ?
 
Diezel VH4 KT77 vs 6L6. TONES, RE-TUBE & BIAS.


good comparison and nice marshally sound with those greenbacks!!!
 
Jason rules!!
didn't know the guy, but he really dials it in sweet!
It's kinda Marshally but i like it better than an actual Marshall sound.

Lot's of Diezel demos on Youtube: 90% with mobile mics:(
The rest:
Ola has a good clip of the VH4 which sounds brutal and good, but also a playthrough clip where it sounds totally clinical, stiff and unnatural. Music Schmidt too. Lasse Lammert uses way too much gain for my liking (and also Ch3 on the herbert instead of Ch2+).
A lot of people associate DIezel with that sound, and it has this quality, but it depends on the setup, if it's overbearing or actually good sounding.
He is one of the few on youtube, who can do it!
 
I agree. It's really hard to hear the real character any amp from demos, you need to be in the room and under your fingers.
Videos are good for mainly showing functionality. I find even a lot of the 'pro' recorded demo's that are properly mic'd and processed, sound pretty unique to that player anyway, not what it'll will necessarily sound like for me. Then there is the media of video and soundcloud etc to listen to it, which also has its limitations of the real nature of the amp in the room.
I'd have to use a phone for mine, and that wouldn't capture anything too accurate, but it's all I have and CBF diving into the expensive world of proper recording just to do demo's.
I like those guys, but Ola sounds the same through almost every amp he demo's, I can't hear a huge contrast in his videos. Most of the well known guys are the same with their various amps. I get that they obviously dial it into the sounds they hear best with their ears and also process it a certain familiar way to them, but it all sounds homogeneous.

Swapping tubes out for me only really makes the biggest difference to my ear for the initial hour, day or maybe two, after that it just sounds like my amp with perhaps the smallest difference in tone, but maybe a tiny different feel and response. I also think you really need to have put some hours into the amp and know it's ranges on the various channels to really hear a significant difference at first. If you do it too soon when you own it, it's too hard to hear the change properly. There is also the possibility factor that perhaps nothing changes tonally at all, or is just negated but adjusting the dials afterwards.

I've got two VH4's; Silver one with 77's and Blueface RI with 6L6's. They do sound slightly different and have a slightly different feel, but is that really all due to the power tubes, or could it be the slightest difference in the component tolerances, the pot specific ranges and settings between them or the particular brand and manufacture quality of the tubes?
I use Gold Lion 77's, and they do sound better than the JJ's, but it's a very slight difference and a touch less congestion an feel, and I feel thats mostly attributable only because I spent so many hours with it and the JJ's, so their sound was firmly in my head. I confidently say no-one else would hear the same slight difference I did or do. In a mix... forgetaboudit.
I doubt I'd go with changing the VHX tubes, other than just to a more reliable brand. It's so vast in its ability to fine tune the tones I doubt I'd hear any real difference between 77/34/6L6's in it. I could just change a knob setting or two as little from 50 to 55 and it would change the sound more.
 
I agree. It's really hard to hear the real character any amp from demos, you need to be in the room and under your fingers.
Videos are good for mainly showing functionality. I find even a lot of the 'pro' recorded demo's that are properly mic'd and processed, sound pretty unique to that player anyway, not what it'll will necessarily sound like for me. Then there is the media of video and soundcloud etc to listen to it, which also has its limitations of the real nature of the amp in the room.
I'd have to use a phone for mine, and that wouldn't capture anything too accurate, but it's all I have and CBF diving into the expensive world of proper recording just to do demo's.
I like those guys, but Ola sounds the same through almost every amp he demo's, I can't hear a huge contrast in his videos. Most of the well known guys are the same with their various amps. I get that they obviously dial it into the sounds they hear best with their ears and also process it a certain familiar way to them, but it all sounds homogeneous.

Swapping tubes out for me only really makes the biggest difference to my ear for the initial hour, day or maybe two, after that it just sounds like my amp with perhaps the smallest difference in tone, but maybe a tiny different feel and response. I also think you really need to have put some hours into the amp and know it's ranges on the various channels to really hear a significant difference at first. If you do it too soon when you own it, it's too hard to hear the change properly. There is also the possibility factor that perhaps nothing changes tonally at all, or is just negated but adjusting the dials afterwards.

I've got two VH4's; Silver one with 77's and Blueface RI with 6L6's. They do sound slightly different and have a slightly different feel, but is that really all due to the power tubes, or could it be the slightest difference in the component tolerances, the pot specific ranges and settings between them or the particular brand and manufacture quality of the tubes?
I use Gold Lion 77's, and they do sound better than the JJ's, but it's a very slight difference and a touch less congestion an feel, and I feel thats mostly attributable only because I spent so many hours with it and the JJ's, so their sound was firmly in my head. I confidently say no-one else would hear the same slight difference I did or do. In a mix... forgetaboudit.
I doubt I'd go with changing the VHX tubes, other than just to a more reliable brand. It's so vast in its ability to fine tune the tones I doubt I'd hear any real difference between 77/34/6L6's in it. I could just change a knob setting or two as little from 50 to 55 and it would change the sound more.
I tried to like the 6L6s in my VH4 and my VHX, but they weren't for me. Now I'm interested in Gold Lion KT77s. Did you change the Preamp tubes to Gold Lion as well?
 
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