El34 and 6550 comparison-greenbacks and g12-65's comparison

[nitro]

Mark, Ive been using the Sovtek 6550we and I like them the best out of all the new production 6550s,they have the crunchy-aggressive-midrange going on, I also bias them up nice and toasty. Ive tried all of the new production 6550s and like the Sovtek the best (my opinion), they are also the cheapest,go figure......

 

[rockstah]

Hank,
i have a quad of those sitting here that i will eventually put into a plexi circuit.
i'm betting i can get more out of their freq response with some tweaks in the circuit.
i'm not sure in Marshall amp i would bias them any different than el34's(25w tube) though in running the risk of taxing the PT and or OT which were not designed for 6550's (35w tube) when Marshall decided, without PT or OT changes, to use 6550's simply because el34's were hard to come by.
IMO 6550's should be treated like el34's as far as bias formula goes in a Marshall.
Mark

 

[FourT6and2]

I actually really liked the G12-65 clip. I have been trying to get my hands on an original quad of those things for ever. I use Greenbacks right now. But I hear the 65's are a darker, higher-powered Greenback.

 

[verderacer]

As rockstah Mark put it earlier, I prefer the EL34's also because of smoother saturation and what I perceive as a better bottom end also. Also with my cabs, G-Flex 2x12's, they are not as bright. When I first got the 2204 it had 6550 and from what I could tell they had been in there for quite a while. I picked up a couple of matched EL34's, had them installed and biased. To me it was pretty clear to keep the EL34's.

 

[FourT6and2]

Just grabbed a quad of G12-65's! I'm stoked. Gonna throw them in my Bogner 4x12.

 

[rockstah]

Just grabbed a quad of G12-65's! I'm stoked. Gonna throw them in my Bogner 4x12.

you're kidding me?!? what do you like about them? lol

 

[FourT6and2]

Just grabbed a quad of G12-65's! I'm stoked. Gonna throw them in my Bogner 4x12.

you're kidding me?!? what do you like about them? lol

They are basically darker Greenbacks that can handle more power. And they're probably one of Celestion's best hard rock speakers. They have really nice, prominent mids, a tighter low-end and a rolled off, smooth top-end. Which is perfect for what I'm looking for. They growl like Greenbacks, but you can hit them with a lot of wattage and volume without worrying about blowing a speaker.

You own some, so I assume you don't like 'em? lol

If your two clips up top of the EL34's into Greenbacks and G12-65's were with the same amp settings, then it's pretty apparent what the differences are. The Greenback clip actually sounds scooped compared to the 65's.

Also, keep in mind I don't play 80's rock/metal. I'm into heavier shit. And I loves me some mids.

Here are some examples from SgtThump (these are ET65's, but same thing pretty much

 

[jcj]

For me there's no comparison...the 6550's through the Grennback cab clip has a definition that I really dig; it just SOUNDS like it would respond the way I'd like....if that makes any sense

 

[glassjaw7]

Thanks for the comparison, really helpful! They all sound really good to me but I think I like the el34s with the greenbacks, but the 65s are not far behind.

65s are really good speakers for the right application. They smooth out overly bright amps and they mix REALLY well with V30s.

 

[thegame]

Normally I like 65s but the GBs sounded much better in these clips.

 

[mentoneman]

each sounds cool-i'm more used to the spongy 34 sound but there was an angry edge to the 6550 i liked too.

i don't gel with 6550s in general-had the plush 4000G loaded with those and it had a very hard square wave odd harmonic distortion to it i couldn't pass off as musical no matter how i sliced it.

the old ampeg V4 with 7027As had a great sound for a higher wattage tube similar to the 6550 but really needed to hurt you before it started breaking up.

kt88s can be musical and i love old kt66s in the plexi 45.

 

[petejt]

Thanks for the comparison Rockstah.


I wish my ET-65s would arrive soon................

 

[Anonymous]

i thought you guys maybe interested in listening to a 6550 to el34 clip comparison.
two different amps but basically the same circuit. both are 50w amps.

6550's (greenbacks)
https://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_so ... D=11292242


EL34'S *greenbacks)
https://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_so ... D=11294718


Here is the same amp used in the el34 clip but now through g12 - 65's
https://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_so ... D=11234593

it is night and day for me between speakers but for the reputation 6550's get, i think they are an interesting tube that are not to be over looked in ones quest for tone.

Mark

Whoa good comparison, 6550 are way bigger sounding... el34 felt like 'home' because we're used to hear that kind of sound in rock tunes.

I wanted to run my Laney GH50L on 6550 just to check it out... You've made my choice easier now