NOS Mullard and Winged C retube!

[Deleted member 3520]

Got an old Mullard today, i61! Put it and an old Tungsgram in the Boogie! Also through in 2 Winged C 6L6 and 2 Winged C el34. Amp is pretty quite even with gain pushed. Really rounded out the top end but kept it harmonic, detailed, and present in the warmest way. From bright and deep cleans to a perfectly classic rock mid gain tone to a smooth higher gain lead tone, so far so good! Still waiting on a few more preamp tunes to arrive.

I make terrible recordings, but may see if I can get some cleans and rock in a quick clip.

What are some favorite tubes? I hear the Bugle boy is killer!

https://youtu.be/kW1piG2IaNI

 

[JTyson]

Nice!
Theres a bunch of them I like, the NOS Mullards are great if you can find them, the Amperex Bugle Boys are probably my favorites. I have a 40 year stash of all kinds of stuff that sound great, RCA's, GE's, a few Telefunkins, I ran up on an old German guy who did radio and tv repair years ago and got all his stock, he retired and was actually going to send it all to the dump to clean out his shop!! He asked me if there was anything in there I could use, and took me in there and I almost pissed myself he had a bunch of Amperex stuff in there, some were bugle boys and some were just the regular Amperex stuff. They all sound great, there's not a huge difference between the BB's and the regular Amperex tubes that I can hear, but the BB's seem to have a tad (yes, just a tad) more thickness to them but still have all the harmonic content of the regular Amperex stuff. I should have gotten all of it, but there was a ton of them that don't work in anything but old radios and tv's. I just got the familiar stuff I knew I could use..
I have a Bugle Boy in V1 of my BE Deluxe and it sounds amazing.

 

[Deleted member 3520]

Nice!
Theres a bunch of them I like, the NOS Mullards are great if you can find them, the Amperex Bugle Boys are probably my favorites. I have a 40 year stash of all kinds of stuff that sound great, RCA's, GE's, a few Telefunkins, I ran up on an old German guy who did radio and tv repair years ago and got all his stock, he retired and was actually going to send it all to the dump to clean out his shop!! He asked me if there was anything in there I could use, and took me in there and I almost pissed myself he had a bunch of Amperex stuff in there, some were bugle boys and some were just the regular Amperex stuff. They all sound great, there's not a huge difference between the BB's and the regular Amperex tubes that I can hear, but the BB's seem to have a tad (yes, just a tad) more thickness to them but still have all the harmonic content of the regular Amperex stuff. I should have gotten all of it, but there was a ton of them that don't work in anything but old radios and tv's. I just got the familiar stuff I knew I could use..
I have a Bugle Boy in V1 of my BE Deluxe and it sounds amazing.

How does the BB compare with the Mullards? I hear the BB are amazing, and the RCA as well! I would like to put one of these Mullards in the PI slot and check it out! If you ever need to move a Bb let me know!

 

[Racerxrated]

Got an old Mullard today, i61! Put it and an old Tungsgram in the Boogie! Also through in 2 Winged C 6L6 and 2 Winged C el34. Amp is pretty quite even with gain pushed. Really rounded out the top end but kept it harmonic, detailed, and present in the warmest way. From bright and deep cleans to a perfectly classic rock mid gain tone to a smooth higher gain lead tone, so far so good! Still waiting on a few more preamp tunes to arrive.

I make terrible recordings, but may see if I can get some cleans and rock in a quick clip.

What are some favorite tubes? I hear the Bugle boy is killer!

https://youtu.be/kW1piG2IaNI

The only power tube for these is the Mesa 415, otherwise known as the Sylvania 6L6gc. I kid a little, but those tubes will absolutely make a noticeable difference for the better, even over Winged Cs which I love in most any other amp. They increase the clarity, feel and give even more of a 3D thing if you will. They aren't cheap but you will notice a difference, when you can turn up especially. I've tried them in Rectos and they aren't the same difference maker. But I can't stress enough how they improve a Mark.
Have fun with the pre tubes, they should make some nice noticeable differences as well.


I should add that the Mesa 416, the Sylvania 6CA7 big bottle are also the original tubes in the simul spots...the Mesa versions are really hard to find but you can find the Sylvania. The trick is finding a non Mesa label to fit within the fixed bias.

 

[Deleted member 3520]

Got an old Mullard today, i61! Put it and an old Tungsgram in the Boogie! Also through in 2 Winged C 6L6 and 2 Winged C el34. Amp is pretty quite even with gain pushed. Really rounded out the top end but kept it harmonic, detailed, and present in the warmest way. From bright and deep cleans to a perfectly classic rock mid gain tone to a smooth higher gain lead tone, so far so good! Still waiting on a few more preamp tunes to arrive.

I make terrible recordings, but may see if I can get some cleans and rock in a quick clip.

What are some favorite tubes? I hear the Bugle boy is killer!

https://youtu.be/kW1piG2IaNI

The only power tube for these is the Mesa 415, otherwise known as the Sylvania 6L6gc. I kid a little, but those tubes will absolutely make a noticeable difference for the better, even over Winged Cs which I love in most any other amp. They increase the clarity, feel and give even more of a 3D thing if you will. They aren't cheap but you will notice a difference, when you can turn up especially. I've tried them in Rectos and they aren't the same difference maker. But I can't stress enough how they improve a Mark.
Have fun with the pre tubes, they should make some nice noticeable differences as well.


I should add that the Mesa 416, the Sylvania 6CA7 big bottle are also the original tubes in the simul spots...the Mesa versions are really hard to find but you can find the Sylvania. The trick is finding a non Mesa label to fit within the fixed bias.

Awesome, thank you. Quite a few people told me the 415/416 is the way to go without a doubt! I’ll start the search.

 

[JB 1970]

The 415/416 combo is the way to go in a Simul-Class IIC+. I have had great success with Tungsram in V1,V2, and RFT in V3,V4 with this setup.

 

[Deleted member 3520]

The 415/416 combo is the way to go in a Simul-Class IIC+. I have had great success with Tungsram in V1,V2, and RFT in V3,V4 with this setup.

Do the 415/416 tighten the amp or round it out, do they give extra sag or do they bring extra aggression? What is it about them?

 

[Racerxrated]

The 415/416 combo is the way to go in a Simul-Class IIC+. I have had great success with Tungsram in V1,V2, and RFT in V3,V4 with this setup.

Do the 415/416 tighten the amp or round it out, do they give extra sag or do they bring extra aggression? What is it about them?

Best way to put it, imo, is increased clarity, better harmonics..just everything about the tone becomes better. Tightness doesn’t change imo. Just a nicer more pleasing all around tone.

 

[SpiderWars]

The 415/416 combo is the way to go in a Simul-Class IIC+. I have had great success with Tungsram in V1,V2, and RFT in V3,V4 with this setup.

Do the 415/416 tighten the amp or round it out, do they give extra sag or do they bring extra aggression? What is it about them?

Best way to put it, imo, is increased clarity, better harmonics..just everything about the tone becomes better. Tightness doesn’t change imo. Just a nicer more pleasing all around tone.

This and it just seems to sound BIGGER.

You can occasionally get lucky, I bought a closet classic MkIV combo with EV and Mesa ext cab for $750 and it had 4x 415s in it. The 415s are all I have left. A lot of people don't know how much the glass is worth in that old amp they never use anymore.

 

[JB 1970]

The 415/416 combo is the way to go in a Simul-Class IIC+. I have had great success with Tungsram in V1,V2, and RFT in V3,V4 with this setup.

Do the 415/416 tighten the amp or round it out, do they give extra sag or do they bring extra aggression? What is it about them?

Best way to put it, imo, is increased clarity, better harmonics..just everything about the tone becomes better. Tightness doesn’t change imo. Just a nicer more pleasing all around tone.

Well said, it is all about clarity. It will really let you know the true tone of your guitar. I've tweaked my old Les Paul very much since going to this setup, and it is for the better, with any amp.