racko7566
New Member
Oh yea Marty, It says the 52 has a 45 degree angled D getter. I'm not sure, does the angle make a difference?
Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?
- Thread starter joshuaaewallen
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Wegman, I think I missed a post somewhere. Did you buy new preamp tubes or power tubes? I bought a new set of GTEL34 Mullard reissues and thought they sounded awful. Turns out the bias had to be set a lot colder for GTEL34Ms. Once I got them dialed in, they weren't bad.
wegman
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I bought a set of Svetlana power tubes because the tubes in my amp were never replaced and I had it for like 10 years so I figured it was due. I put the Svetlana's in and took the amp to have it biased. The tech tells me my new tubes are bad and so are my pre's. He replaces both the power tubes and the pre amp tubes with GTs. He returns my pre-amp tubes but I did not get my power tubes back. I get my amp back and it sounds and plays like crap. It is bright, harsh just horrible. I called him and complained and he is like that is how Marshall sounds. I figure maybe is just me and I am just not used to the new sound. Several months later I am still not used to it.
I put my original pre-amp tubes back in and sound sort of sound like me again but the amp just does not sound or play the same since having the work done. It has to be the power tubes or the amp is biased incorrectly.
I have learned from experimentation and this thread just how much your tone changes by using different pre amp tubes. It's amazing. I can just imagine what a set of NOS pre amp tubes will do to your sound.
MartyStrat54
Well-Known Member
WEG...
Can you not return the GT's? How long have you had them? I find it suspicious that your tech did not return your power tubes. I would have liked to been able to make some suggestions before you bought tubes. 800's are really finicky, but they do respond well to certain tubes.
So your tech said your new tubes were bad? Meaning the GT's? Boy this is all too weird. I've never heard a tech make the remarks he did that all Marshall amps are harsh. That's 100 per cent bull shit.
Sounds like he is a shifty little f**ker.
Can you not return the GT's? How long have you had them? I find it suspicious that your tech did not return your power tubes. I would have liked to been able to make some suggestions before you bought tubes. 800's are really finicky, but they do respond well to certain tubes.
So your tech said your new tubes were bad? Meaning the GT's? Boy this is all too weird. I've never heard a tech make the remarks he did that all Marshall amps are harsh. That's 100 per cent bull shit.
Sounds like he is a shifty little f**ker.
wegman
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At the end of the day that is pretty much what I think and I will not use him ever again. This was a whille ago so it is all water under the bridge now. I knew nothing about tubes or anything when I had the work done.WEG...
Can you not return the GT's? How long have you had them? I find it suspicious that your tech did not return your power tubes. I would have liked to been able to make some suggestions before you bought tubes. 800's are really finicky, but they do respond well to certain tubes.
So your tech said your new tubes were bad? Meaning the GT's? Boy this is all too weird. I've never heard a tech make the remarks he did that all Marshall amps are harsh. That's 100 per cent bull shit.
Sounds like he is a shifty little f**ker.
I have the name of new guy who comes highly recommended to me. So I will check him out since I need to have the amp biased after putting the Svetlana's back in. He said it will be $20 to bias it. I think that is fair.
So to get back on track. There is a huge difference between the pre-amp tube I originally had in the amp and GT's. I mean maybe some guys like GTs but compared to my old pre's the GT's just sound like crap. I would never stick another GT in my amp again.
I have tried to get a shot of my original pre amp tubes in the hopes one of you guys could tell me what kind it is but the pics aren't turning out to good.
MartyStrat54
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Read my ^^^picture post.^^^ I stated that if you use an "auto" setting, you will need to manually reset the camera to a "close up" mode. Once I figured this out, it takes perfect pictures. Also, set your tubes in styrofoam and rest your camera on something flat. This makes a cheap man's tripod. On those close ups, you don't want any movement.
MartyStrat54
Well-Known Member
Joe...
I was doing some looking for real 6CA7's. I cannot believe the prices that KCA wants. Most places were $250 for a pair NIB. KCA wants $390 for a pair NIB. I did however find this little ditty about the 6CA7EH. Apparently I would not be able to use them in my 602.
electro harmonix 6ca7eh (matched pair)
I was doing some looking for real 6CA7's. I cannot believe the prices that KCA wants. Most places were $250 for a pair NIB. KCA wants $390 for a pair NIB. I did however find this little ditty about the 6CA7EH. Apparently I would not be able to use them in my 602.
electro harmonix 6ca7eh (matched pair)
wegman
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My camera doesn't have a close up mode so this is the best I can do. This is one of my pre-amp tubes. The have Ecc83 in red on the side. No other markings. I don't know if you can make anything out from picture.
racko7566
New Member
Thank you MARTYSTRAT54, I just got the Raytheon Black Plate you sent me. Oh my god, I have a new amp. Now my DSL has a bite and roar that it was missing. Don't get me wrong, it sounded good before, but now it sounds great. Notes and chords sound big and sustaining. Hard to explain but I love it. The combination Marty recommended for what I was after was an Amperex for v1, a Raytheon Black Plate for v2, and Sylvania Grey Plates for v3 and v4. Thanks to his experience, he more than likely saved me a ton of money buying the wrong crap. Thanks again Marty.
Now as I dive into the world of tube rollin, this combo will be my standard to test other tubes by. Wiil post some pics of them. Later, Racko
Now as I dive into the world of tube rollin, this combo will be my standard to test other tubes by. Wiil post some pics of them. Later, Racko
MartyStrat54
Well-Known Member
Yeah, the Amperex is still my favorite even though we are all suffering from Telefunken fever. An Amperex in V1 with the BP is a killer one, two punch. The Sylvania's in V3 and V4 add reliability. ROCK ON!
Man what the hell. The descriptions of these point to how well they will handle higher voltages and how stout of a tube they are. According to KCA I shouldn't be running them either. My PV is 475v right now with them in. I'll get ahold of the Tubestore and Doug's(he tells me what tubes to avoid even if he sells them)and see if they confirm what Mike has on his site about them. Thanks for the heads up.
ProfChaos
Member
The greedy people who now sell NOS tubes online--for wayyy too much money--went around like pack-rats and collected them from the drawers below those tube testers, out of old TV's, from drawers in grandpa's garage, etc.
MartyStrat54
Well-Known Member
The greedy people who now sell NOS tubes online--for wayyy too much money--went around like pack-rats and collected them from the drawers below those tube testers, out of old TV's, from drawers in grandpa's garage, etc.
I wouldn't call every person who went tube hunting greedy. A lot of us have been on tube hunts. I personally sell tubes and I don't think any of my customers would call me greedy. I hope that they would call me fair.
There are sellers that are off the charts, but no one forces you to buy from them. I shop around and buy smart. The price of tubes varies greatly. Right now, tubes are on the upswing and have gone up by around 30 per cent. There are many reasons for this. The bottom line is there is a demand and there are a lot of buyers. The average selling price on EBAY has spiked, especially on choice tubes, Black Plates, old RCA's, Telefunkens, Mullards, Amperex and such. These sellers aren't greedy, they are just benefiting from the active market.
I didn't intend to go tube hunting today, but we were in a town an hour or so away that we don't know that well. We were cruising downtown and there was a nice looking thrift store. They had a Conn organ right up front for only $800 (these people are very optimistic). I'm looking at the thing and walk around back and there's like this slot that you could kinda fit your hand in if you tried. There were AT LEAST six vertical rows of preamp tubes in this beast with six tubes in each row, plus an amplifier on one side that I couldn't see well, possibly with 6V6s. Anyway, I'm standing there trying to get my hand into the back of this thing, just to wipe the dust off the tubes and see what they are of course. I think each row was a different kind of tube. I know that one row was six clear top RCA 12AU7As, and the row that I was messing with when the store person gave me the "Can I help you?" cue to move on was definitely all Raytheons, but I couldn't see a number. I'd heard people say that organs were a good source of tubes, but holy shit, I've never seen so many tubes in one appliance in my life. I doubt seriously if there's enough in there to justify the $800 price tag, but I'd love to see what all is in there.
MartyStrat54
Well-Known Member
Two of my main sellers do nothing but "pull" tubes from organs. Some have way more tubes than what you saw. Some have up to 60+ 12AX7s in them, plus other 12XX7 tubes. The power tubes can be anything from 6BQ5's all the way up to BP RCA 6L6GC's. Boy, I'd love to rob a big organ. That would be nice. Oh...did I say a lot of the early 60's models used Raytheon BP's?
The Ei tubes aren't bad. Their website says they used the old Telefunken machinery and the tube is supposed to be a knockoff of a smooth plate Tele. It definitely leans in that direction. I tried one in V1 and it's a tone I could live with. They are a little more gainy than I like, but the tone is well rounded with nice upper mids and smooth highs. That extra gain seems to make it a good PI candidate, too. It's nice to find good tubes in your own stash.
How do these do with high voltages? Will they burn up quick in V3 and V4?
How do these do with high voltages? Will they burn up quick in V3 and V4?
MartyStrat54
Well-Known Member
V4 should never be a problem. The Ei was a good tube and should not have a problem with V3. As I said, Marshall was glad to have their tubes. All of the 90's Marshall amps had Ei's. Ever see any Marshall's with these?
Ei EL34's One of the few EL34 tubes I've ever seen with a tip like a smaller tube.
MartyStrat54
Well-Known Member
Here you go Alan. Another country of manufacture. These are copies of the Sylvania Fat Boys. Made in South Korea for the U.S. Military. Era approximately 1982.
South Korean 6CA7's The Sylvania's have three round holes on the plate.
South Korean 6CA7's The Sylvania's have three round holes on the plate.
racko7566
New Member
So heres my starting line up. The gruesome foursome.:Ohno:
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