VHT fanbois and tube guru's

  • Thread starter Thread starter greg apocalypse
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greg apocalypse

greg apocalypse

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Welp, time for new tubes in the UL again. :cry: goodbye extra cash lol.


Anyways, This is only the second time I've had to change the tubes in this thing. What would you recommend? What have you guys played in yours, what do you think would work best?


and, just to clarify (want to see if I'm right or wrong) - 6550's are KT88's with a different name, right?
 
I'm pretty sure any amp that takes 6550's will also take KT88's,

HOWEVER,

They are NOT the same. I'm pretty sure they have a different fundamental design. :thumbsup:

KT = Kinkless Triode.
 
guitarslinger":2zmosb35 said:
I'm pretty sure any amp that takes 6550's will also take KT88's,

HOWEVER,

They are NOT the same. I'm pretty sure they have a different fundamental design. :thumbsup:

KT = Kinkless Triode.
Click to expand...

Sort of, and sort of not.

To oversimplify, KT88s and 6550s are both essentially bigass 6L6s - which were the original Kinkless Tetrode (not Triode).
The main difference is that KT88s came from the UK and 6550s came from America.
A KT88 will handle more of everything (800v on the plate vs. 600v, 50 watts vs. 35), but they're pretty similar.
Their design is different, but only enough to get around patent restrictions.

As far as tone goes, I prefer =C= 6550s to the Sovtek KT88s that came in my UL.
I think they make the amp a little more forgiving and less stiff.

Some people (gsxrbusa, for example) prefer KT88s. YMMV.

In most amps, you can swap the two, no problem...however, if the amp is running KT88s near their limits, it could fry 6550s (or at the very least, severely limit their lifespan).
 
I just put KT88's in my Herbert and am loving them over EL34's. I went with JJ myself. It seems in almost every thread where 88's come up, it's a general consensus that people really like SED and JJ the best with SED probably being the favor. The down side to SED is the cost, which is substantial when you have 6 power tubes in your amp like mine. :doh:
 
This should be interesting, and good timing too. I'm debating a switch in my UL myself. About a year ago I went with JJ's in the power section and Tung Sol's in the pre's. At gigging volumes it's like a Marshall on steroids, very bitey, not all that smooth, which I think is more because of the Tung Sol's. It still sounds awesome but I think I'm missing some smoothness. I'm gonna try some 9th gen Chinese in there asap and see what happens. The JJ KT88's gave the amp life, made it sound more 3D which I like, but I'm not opposed to seeing what the Sovtek's sound like in it again now that I'm playing the amp at gigging volume only. When I did the switch I was doing low volume stuff.

Oh, just a warning, the Tung Sol's do pick up radio frequencies. It's somewhat getting on my nerves. If I was recording right now I'd probably be pissed.

To be continued I guess... lol
 
The best power tubes in the VHT UL that I liked were the Chinese KT88's. You can get them rebranded and tested under the Penta name or Valve Art.

I didn't like the Sovtek KT88... Blah!

The EH KT88 was pretty good, but I preferred the Chinese a little more.

The GE 6550s were cool, but they sounded like a bigger SED 6L6GC did in the amp. I didn't really like the 6550s because they felt so stiff in that amp. They didn't have the bouncy feeling of the Chinese or EH KT88s.

The JJ KT88s sounded too clean in the UL for my tastes.

The =C= KT88 has been around for a while, but I haven't ever tried them.
 
RJF":jk4qoh5c said:
I just put KT88's in my Herbert and am loving them over EL34's. I went with JJ myself. It seems in almost every thread where 88's come up, it's a general consensus that people really like SED and JJ the best with SED probably being the favor. The down side to SED is the cost, which is substantial when you have 6 power tubes in your amp like mine. :doh:
Click to expand...


Well, the tube store has a matched set of SEDs for $100 and JJs for $75. So, 1
$12 more a tube for SEDs. Only a dollar a month if they last a year. Pretty good deal if you like the SEDs more. ;)
 
Shark Diver":11irmte0 said:
RJF":11irmte0 said:
I just put KT88's in my Herbert and am loving them over EL34's. I went with JJ myself. It seems in almost every thread where 88's come up, it's a general consensus that people really like SED and JJ the best with SED probably being the favor. The down side to SED is the cost, which is substantial when you have 6 power tubes in your amp like mine. :doh:
Click to expand...


Well, the tube store has a matched set of SEDs for $100 and JJs for $75. So, 1
$12 more a tube for SEDs. Only a dollar a month if they last a year. Pretty good deal if you like the SEDs more. ;)
Click to expand...
I paid $200 for the blue glass JJ's for 6, where I was looking at $300 for the =C= tubes.
 
the Shuguang chinese Kt88, it's a killer tube, I've had them in my SigX and it was an awesome tube, super durable, great tone better headroom than the Winged C or the Sovtek. It's just a great tube. Plus they are cheaper than winged C or JJ I'm pretty sure. go to http//www.thetubestore.com I'm not a 6550 fan, to me there is a difference in sound.
http://www.thetubestore.com
 
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