Tubes Asylum

Posted by sukwonjung@yahoo.com (A) on February 19, 2015 at 16:02:10

In Reply to: RE: If the 5755 sounds anything like their BP 5751... posted by GSH on February 19, 2015 at 15:35:21

YES!! Only "Sylvania" 6bg6ga "Gray Plate" can substitute nos 6L6GC gray plate. You are right datasheet for sylvania 6bg6ga also says lower plate voltage.

However, it just shows specs.
If you measure actual plate voltage of sylvania 6bg6ga gray plate, you will know it can handle with higher voltage.

What I tried to say was it is good to refer the datasheet but they don't say what is going to happen in actual applications.

Sylvania 6bg6ga gray plate is just an example.

Now back to raytheon 5755 and western electric 420a, to be honest, they are not very bad at all. Like i said, im not a tech so I dont understand what the datasheet says.

It says 5755 and 420a are designed for DC amp.
I said myself lets forget about what those tubes designed for, so I wanted to give it a try.

Datasheet never tells us whats gonna happen in application.

I am using two western electric 420a in my guitar amp.

The result is awesome and very musical!!

It has good focused mid, bottom end, and articulation. This tube was what I have always been looking for. Mullard feels like little flobby and unfocused for my taste. Telefunken was cleaner and articulated but little airy. RCA was too muddy for my taste.

Another example is 12by7 and 6cl6 which can substitute el84 but lower power.

If too loud volume is an issue like me in an apartment, trying 12at7 in phase inverter and 12by7 in the power section.

12at7 has less Amplification Factor and less volume so you can push power tubes little harder. Using 12by7 instead of using el84 drops power so you can get power tube saturation really easily.

Using this configuration gave me good sound and solved volume issue at the same time.
(12by7 is still loud but i can get more power tube overdriven sound at the same volume level for el84.)

The most important thing is to perform your own experiment in your amp. Trying tubes is all about applications, enjoying experiences and your taste!!

Edits: 02/19/15   02/19/15   02/19/15   02/19/15   02/19/15   02/19/15   02/19/15   02/19/15   02/19/15