[adam79]

I've been posting tube threads because I'm planning on re-tubing my
Peavey VTM-120. Since they don't make the original stock tube (which I'm
still using in the amp output and preamp sections), which was a
Phillips/Sylvania, I'm looking for a current production 6L6 as
replacements. I wrote Peavey and they told me that they now use Ruby
6L6s for these type of amps, but I think that's just because they wanna
save money; a Ruby 6L6 quad costs only cost $60-70. The price doesn't
means it's bad, but 90% of the reviews I've read on them are negative.
Most people recommend JJ 6L6s. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to
listen to a variety of 6L6s first hand.. nor do I have the money to buy
a bunch of different brands and keep the ones I like best! Does anyone
have any opinions on the best current production 6L6? On the VTM-120
board it says that the amps takes 6L6GCs, but can other variants be used
successfully? I've also noticed that when you look for 6L6s, they are
always grouped with 5881s and KT66s. Are these basically the same tube?
I love the VTM-120 for it's heavy sound, so I'm looking to keep with
that sound. I'm assuming swapping out 20+ year old tubes would be like
putting a new engine in a car from 1990.

Thanks,
-Adam

[Fred[_13_]]

Hey Adam,

Ruby is a rebrander; they don't make tubes. Most likely their 6L6 is a rebranded
Sovtek 5881 (it's easy to tell; the Sovtek logo is still on the glass under the Ruby
logo). That's pretty much the standard 6L6 for guitar amps these days, and I buy
from Magic Parts (Ruby) or New Sensor (Sovtek) depending on the spot price the
day I'm buying. Note that Magic does not sell retail and New Sensor doesn't want
to - their retail prices are way high so as not to undercut their retail dealers.

I prefer Winged-C (formerly Svetlana) power tubes for guitar amps because
they're very rugged, but I'm not sure if they make a 6L6 type. And if they do, it
may be unavailable right now - they're overhauling their factory in Russia and
several of their tubes are currently unobtanium.

You should be talking to your local guitar amp dealers and repair shops - if they
know their business, they'll know what tube works best in your amp, given the
sound you want.

Regards,
Fred

"adam79" wrote in message net...
I've been posting tube threads because I'm planning on re-tubing my Peavey VTM-120. Since they don't make the original stock tube
(which I'm still using in the amp output and preamp sections), which was a Phillips/Sylvania, I'm looking for a current production
6L6 as replacements. I wrote Peavey and they told me that they now use Ruby 6L6s for these type of amps, but I think that's just
because they wanna save money; a Ruby 6L6 quad costs only cost $60-70. The price doesn't means it's bad, but 90% of the reviews
I've read on them are negative. Most people recommend JJ 6L6s. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to listen to a variety of
6L6s first hand.. nor do I have the money to buy a bunch of different brands and keep the ones I like best! Does anyone have any
opinions on the best current production 6L6? On the VTM-120 board it says that the amps takes 6L6GCs, but can other variants be
used successfully? I've also noticed that when you look for 6L6s, they are always grouped with 5881s and KT66s. Are these
basically the same tube? I love the VTM-120 for it's heavy sound, so I'm looking to keep with that sound. I'm assuming swapping
out 20+ year old tubes would be like putting a new engine in a car from 1990.

Thanks,
-Adam

[Scott Dorsey]

adam79 wrote:
I've been posting tube threads because I'm planning on re-tubing my
Peavey VTM-120. Since they don't make the original stock tube (which I'm
still using in the amp output and preamp sections), which was a
Phillips/Sylvania, I'm looking for a current production 6L6 as
replacements. I wrote Peavey and they told me that they now use Ruby
6L6s for these type of amps, but I think that's just because they wanna
save money; a Ruby 6L6 quad costs only cost $60-70. The price doesn't
means it's bad, but 90% of the reviews I've read on them are negative.

I forget who makes the Ruby tubes... I think they are the 5881 from the
Reflector factory in Russia. Sovtek probably imports the same tubes.

Personally I am very much a fan of the Sovtek 5881WXGT, which should
sell for around $8 each. They are actually 7027 designs... I don't
know how they sound in a guitar amp but they have enormous amounts of
headroom and way more dissipation than a normal 6L6 or 5881.

Most people recommend JJ 6L6s. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to
listen to a variety of 6L6s first hand.. nor do I have the money to buy
a bunch of different brands and keep the ones I like best! Does anyone
have any opinions on the best current production 6L6? On the VTM-120
board it says that the amps takes 6L6GCs, but can other variants be used
successfully? I've also noticed that when you look for 6L6s, they are
always grouped with 5881s and KT66s. Are these basically the same tube?

The 5881 is a 6L6 variant. The KT66 is actually something very different,
but since nobody today makes a real KT66 it's basically academic.

Again, the numbering scheme no longer bears any connection with reality.
Just because it has the same number as the tube in the 1935 RCA book doesn't
mean it meets any of the RCA specs.

I love the VTM-120 for it's heavy sound, so I'm looking to keep with
that sound. I'm assuming swapping out 20+ year old tubes would be like
putting a new engine in a car from 1990.

Maybe, or maybe not. But the power amp tubes are apt to need replacement
long before the small signal tubes.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[RD Jones]

On Dec 13, 5:54*pm, adam79 wrote:
I've been posting tube threads because I'm planning on re-tubing my
Peavey VTM-120. Since they don't make the original stock tube (which I'm
still using in the amp output and preamp sections), which was a
Phillips/Sylvania, I'm looking for a current production 6L6 as
replacements. I wrote Peavey and they told me that they now use Ruby
6L6s for these type of amps, but I think that's just because they wanna
save money; a Ruby 6L6 quad costs only cost $60-70. The price doesn't
means it's bad, but 90% of the reviews I've read on them are negative.
Most people recommend JJ 6L6s. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to
listen to a variety of 6L6s first hand.. nor do I have the money to buy
a bunch of different brands and keep the ones I like best! Does anyone
have any opinions on the best current production 6L6? On the VTM-120
board it says that the amps takes 6L6GCs, but can other variants be used
successfully? I've also noticed that when you look for 6L6s, they are
always grouped with 5881s and KT66s. Are these basically the same tube?
I love the VTM-120 for it's heavy sound, so I'm looking to keep with
that sound. I'm assuming swapping out 20+ year old tubes would be like
putting a new engine in a car from 1990.

In it's original design the 5881 is effectively the same as a 6L6GB,
more
specifically the 6L6WGB. (W=military)
They may not handle the higher plate voltages that the GCs will so you
need to check your voltages before just sticking any tubes in there.
You should already know this from dealing with the Music Man amp.

Most new production tubes won't meet the specs of the original
Sylvania's
anyway. Is the amp ultralinear ? What kind of screen voltage and
current
is there ? These are the kinds of things that really determine what
tube will
be needed. Most newer tube production have really wimpy screens, and
will melt down (perhaps catostrophically) if there's heavy screen
current.
You may need to add (or increase) screen limiting resistors for
safety.

rd

[PStamler]

On Dec 13, 7:36*pm, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

Maybe, or maybe not. *But the power amp tubes are apt to need replacement
long before the small signal tubes.

Depends on the amp. In a lot of Fenders, the 12AT7 driver tube goes
more often than anything else.

Peace,
Paul

[adam79]

On 12/13/10 8:22 PM, Fred wrote:
Hey Adam,

Ruby is a rebrander; they don't make tubes. Most likely their 6L6 is a rebranded
Sovtek 5881 (it's easy to tell; the Sovtek logo is still on the glass under the Ruby
logo). That's pretty much the standard 6L6 for guitar amps these days

Rubys are actually from the Shuguang factory. I remember reading on a
forum that a tube can be rebranded, but is also made by the actual
manufacturer. They went on to say that is the reason why you should only
buy from a solid retailer. Is this guy totally off base, or is he correct?

Has anyone tried the Ruby 6L6 tube? Comments?

Thanks,
-Adam

[Mike Rivers]

On 12/14/2010 3:18 AM, adam79 wrote:

Rubys are actually from the Shuguang factory. I remember
reading on a forum that a tube can be rebranded, but is also
made by the actual manufacturer.

Well, of course. Somebody has to make it. g

They went on to say that is
the reason why you should only buy from a solid retailer. Is
this guy totally off base, or is he correct?

Isn't that always good advice, unless you're looking for
something different and are willing to take a chance on not
finding what you had hoped to find? But it seems that not
even "solid retailers" are always sure of what they're
getting when it comes to Chinese tubes. I suppose that a
"solid retailer" is one who will let you return a tube if it
didn't give you the sound you were looking for, but that's
pretty chancy.

Tubes from Eastern Europe may be more likely to come from
the factory you think they're coming from, or at least be of
the design you expect.

Has anyone tried the Ruby 6L6 tube? Comments?

You'd probably get information that's more useful to you if
you ask a crowd that works with guitar amplifiers. At least
you'll get a wider sampling of usage.


--
"Today's production equipment is IT based and cannot be
operated without a passing knowledge of computing, although
it seems that it can be operated without a passing knowledge
of audio." - John Watkinson

http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com - useful and
interesting audio stuff

[Scott Dorsey]

PStamler wrote:
On Dec 13, 7:36=A0pm, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

Maybe, or maybe not. =A0But the power amp tubes are apt to need replaceme=
nt
long before the small signal tubes.

Depends on the amp. In a lot of Fenders, the 12AT7 driver tube goes
more often than anything else.

That's shameful. What's Vgk on that?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Scott Dorsey]

adam79 wrote:
On 12/13/10 8:22 PM, Fred wrote:
Hey Adam,

Ruby is a rebrander; they don't make tubes. Most likely their 6L6 is a rebranded
Sovtek 5881 (it's easy to tell; the Sovtek logo is still on the glass under the Ruby
logo). That's pretty much the standard 6L6 for guitar amps these days

Rubys are actually from the Shuguang factory. I remember reading on a
forum that a tube can be rebranded, but is also made by the actual
manufacturer. They went on to say that is the reason why you should only
buy from a solid retailer. Is this guy totally off base, or is he correct?

Just about everything you see on the market today is rebranded, sometimes
more than once. Life is just like that.

Has anyone tried the Ruby 6L6 tube? Comments?

No, but I have used the Shugang 6L6 and it's junk that doesn't even come close
to meeting the original 6L6 specs.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Fred[_13_]]

Adam,

Go he http://www.magicparts.com/main.htm
Click on Product Catalog
Click on Tubes ( top left of page)

You will see Chinese, Sovtek, Electro-Harmonix, Winged-C (CBETLAHA factory) and JJ tubes. All come branded RUBY
over the top of the original brand. Ruby doesn't make any of these tubes.

Note that the 1st 6L6 type listed is from the Shuguang factory. Ruby says it's their best 6L6. I suspect that means it's
their most profitable 6L6, so it's best for their bottom line. Ask anyone with experience in tubes (like me) and they will tell
you to stay away from Chinese power tubes unless you are a fan of fireworks and smoke. Shuguang's tubes may be
better than the average Chinese tube, but they are still Chinese tubes and I wouldn't advise risking an output xfmr on any
Chinese tube.

Regards,
Fred


"adam79" wrote in message net...
On 12/13/10 8:22 PM, Fred wrote:
Hey Adam,

Ruby is a rebrander; they don't make tubes. Most likely their 6L6 is a rebranded
Sovtek 5881 (it's easy to tell; the Sovtek logo is still on the glass under the Ruby
logo). That's pretty much the standard 6L6 for guitar amps these days

Rubys are actually from the Shuguang factory. I remember reading on a forum that a tube can be rebranded, but is also made by the
actual manufacturer. They went on to say that is the reason why you should only buy from a solid retailer. Is this guy totally off
base, or is he correct?

Has anyone tried the Ruby 6L6 tube? Comments?

Thanks,
-Adam

[darrelld]

On Dec 15, 9:48*pm, "Fred" wrote:
Adam,

Go hehttp://www.magicparts.com/main.htm
Click on Product Catalog
Click on Tubes ( top left of page)

You will see Chinese, Sovtek, Electro-Harmonix, Winged-C (CBETLAHA factory) and JJ tubes. *All come branded RUBY
over the top of the original brand. *Ruby doesn't make any of these tubes.

Note that the 1st 6L6 type listed is from the Shuguang factory. *Ruby says it's their best 6L6. *I suspect that means it's
their most profitable 6L6, so it's best for their bottom line. *Ask anyone with experience in tubes (like me) and they will tell
you to stay away from Chinese power tubes unless you are a fan of fireworks and smoke. *Shuguang's tubes may be
better than the average Chinese tube, but they are still Chinese tubes and I wouldn't advise risking an output xfmr on any
Chinese tube.

I just bought a Jet City 33 amp and before I had a chance to swap out
the crap Chinese toobs that came stock that everyone disses, I was
forced by circumstance to play through it for four gigs (about 18
hours).

Imagine my surprise when running it at distortion levels with pedals
and overdrive I was unable to make audiophile sound comparisons!
Imagine my surprise when it did not burst into flames! Imagine my
surprise when we were paid by the bar owners exactly what we would
have erned if I used my 43 year old RCA 6L6GCs! What were they
thinking??? Catch my drift anyone? It's only rock and roll.

Regards,
Fred



"adam79" wrote in messagenews:ZuKdnWGxs53btZrQnZ2dnUVZ_vSdnZ2d@poste d.toastnet...
On 12/13/10 8:22 PM, Fred wrote:
Hey Adam,

Ruby is a rebrander; they don't make tubes. *Most likely their 6L6 is a rebranded
Sovtek 5881 (it's easy to tell; the Sovtek logo is still on the glass under the Ruby
logo). *That's pretty much the standard 6L6 for guitar amps these days

Rubys are actually from the Shuguang factory. I remember reading on a forum that a tube can be rebranded, but is also made by the
actual manufacturer. They went on to say that is the reason why you should only buy from a solid retailer. Is this guy totally off
base, or is he correct?

Has anyone tried the Ruby 6L6 tube? Comments?

Thanks,
-Adam- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

[Mike Rivers]

On 12/15/2010 10:48 PM, Fred wrote:

Go he http://www.magicparts.com/main.htm
You will see Chinese, Sovtek, Electro-Harmonix, Winged-C (CBETLAHA factory) and JJ tubes. All come branded RUBY
over the top of the original brand. Ruby doesn't make any of these tubes.

But do you know (or does Ruby know) if the "original" brand
is really the original brand? I don't know if it's really
that bad out there, but if you really care about the brand
of tube, you need to know.



--
"Today's production equipment is IT based and cannot be
operated without a passing knowledge of computing, although
it seems that it can be operated without a passing knowledge
of audio." - John Watkinson

http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com - useful and
interesting audio stuff

[Scott Dorsey]

Fred wrote:
Ask anyone with experience in tubes (like me) and they will tell
you to stay away from Chinese power tubes unless you are a fan of fireworks and smoke. Shuguang's tubes may be
better than the average Chinese tube, but they are still Chinese tubes and I wouldn't advise risking an output xfmr on any
Chinese tube.

Believe it or not, there are actually some good quality Chinese power tubes
out there, and the reason that they are good is that they are used by the
Chinese military and the military forces the tube plants to make decent
products that meet valid specs. These include the 807 and 6146 tubes.

The reason Shugang mostly makes worthless crap is because American importers
will buy it.
--scott


"If idiots did not go to market, bad wares would not be sold." -- Ibo Proverb

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Scott Dorsey]

Mike Rivers wrote:
On 12/15/2010 10:48 PM, Fred wrote:

Go he http://www.magicparts.com/main.htm
You will see Chinese, Sovtek, Electro-Harmonix, Winged-C (CBETLAHA factory) and JJ tubes. All come branded RUBY
over the top of the original brand. Ruby doesn't make any of these tubes.

But do you know (or does Ruby know) if the "original" brand
is really the original brand? I don't know if it's really
that bad out there, but if you really care about the brand
of tube, you need to know.

Well, presumably a legitimate broker like Ruby or Sovtek is getting the tubes
directly from the original factory and not from the hands of dozens of
middlemen like your typical hamfest or Ebay vendor. So they probably have
reliable information about provenance which some random guy on Ebay may not
have.

Mind you, counterfeits get into the system in weird ways. I even got some
counterfeit 2N3055s from Digi-Key once, and it's really shocking that something
like that could ever happen.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Fred[_13_]]

darrelld wrote:
On Dec 15, 9:48 pm, "Fred" wrote:
Adam,

Go hehttp://www.magicparts.com/main.htm
Click on Product Catalog
Click on Tubes ( top left of page)

You will see Chinese, Sovtek, Electro-Harmonix, Winged-C (CBETLAHA
factory) and JJ tubes. All come branded RUBY
over the top of the original brand. Ruby doesn't make any of these
tubes.

Note that the 1st 6L6 type listed is from the Shuguang factory. Ruby
says it's their best 6L6. I suspect that means it's
their most profitable 6L6, so it's best for their bottom line. Ask
anyone with experience in tubes (like me) and they will tell you to
stay away from Chinese power tubes unless you are a fan of fireworks
and smoke. Shuguang's tubes may be
better than the average Chinese tube, but they are still Chinese
tubes and I wouldn't advise risking an output xfmr on any Chinese
tube.

I just bought a Jet City 33 amp and before I had a chance to swap out
the crap Chinese toobs that came stock that everyone disses, I was
forced by circumstance to play through it for four gigs (about 18
hours).

Imagine my surprise when running it at distortion levels with pedals
and overdrive I was unable to make audiophile sound comparisons!
Imagine my surprise when it did not burst into flames! Imagine my
surprise when we were paid by the bar owners exactly what we would
have erned if I used my 43 year old RCA 6L6GCs! What were they
thinking??? Catch my drift anyone? It's only rock and roll.

No one, and certainly not I, suggested using valuable NOS tubes in a guitar
amp. Ruby sells about a half dozen 6L6 types; all of them are current
manufacture and cost about the same as Chinese crap. But the Russian
and European tubes are way more reliable than the Chinese ones. And
power tubes have a nasty habit of taking output transformers with them
when they flame out, especially when the 3 amp fuse has been replaced
with a 10 or 20 amp type as musicians have been known to do.

Fred


Regards,
Fred



"adam79" wrote in
messagenews:ZuKdnWGxs53btZrQnZ2dnUVZ_vSdnZ2d@poste d.toastnet...
On 12/13/10 8:22 PM, Fred wrote:
Hey Adam,

Ruby is a rebrander; they don't make tubes. Most likely their 6L6
is a rebranded Sovtek 5881 (it's easy to tell; the Sovtek logo is
still on the glass under the Ruby logo). That's pretty much the
standard 6L6 for guitar amps these days

Rubys are actually from the Shuguang factory. I remember reading on
a forum that a tube can be rebranded, but is also made by the
actual manufacturer. They went on to say that is the reason why you
should only buy from a solid retailer. Is this guy totally off
base, or is he correct?

Has anyone tried the Ruby 6L6 tube? Comments?

Thanks,
-Adam- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

[boardjunkie]

On Dec 16, 5:23*pm, "Fred" wrote:
darrelld wrote:
On Dec 15, 9:48 pm, "Fred" wrote:
Adam,

Go hehttp://www.magicparts.com/main.htm
Click on Product Catalog
Click on Tubes ( top left of page)

You will see Chinese, Sovtek, Electro-Harmonix, Winged-C (CBETLAHA
factory) and JJ tubes. All come branded RUBY
over the top of the original brand. Ruby doesn't make any of these
tubes.

Note that the 1st 6L6 type listed is from the Shuguang factory. Ruby
says it's their best 6L6. I suspect that means it's
their most profitable 6L6, so it's best for their bottom line. Ask
anyone with experience in tubes (like me) and they will tell you to
stay away from Chinese power tubes unless you are a fan of fireworks
and smoke. Shuguang's tubes may be
better than the average Chinese tube, but they are still Chinese
tubes and I wouldn't advise risking an output xfmr on any Chinese
tube.

I just bought a Jet City 33 amp and before I had a chance to swap out
the crap Chinese toobs that came stock that everyone disses, I was
forced by circumstance to play through it for four gigs (about 18
hours).

Imagine my surprise when running it at distortion levels with pedals
and overdrive I was unable to make audiophile sound comparisons!
Imagine my surprise when it did not burst into flames! Imagine my
surprise when we were paid by the bar owners exactly what we would
have erned if I used my 43 year old RCA 6L6GCs! What were they
thinking??? Catch my drift anyone? *It's only rock and roll.

No one, and certainly not I, suggested using valuable NOS tubes in a guitar
amp. *Ruby sells about a half dozen 6L6 types; all of them are current
manufacture and cost about the same as Chinese crap. *But the Russian
and European tubes are way more reliable than the Chinese ones. *And
power tubes have a nasty habit of taking output transformers with them
when they flame out, especially when the 3 amp fuse has been replaced
with a 10 or 20 amp type as musicians have been known to do.

Fred





Regards,
Fred

"adam79" wrote in
messagenews:ZuKdnWGxs53btZrQnZ2dnUVZ_vSdnZ2d@poste d.toastnet...
On 12/13/10 8:22 PM, Fred wrote:
Hey Adam,

Ruby is a rebrander; they don't make tubes. Most likely their 6L6
is a rebranded Sovtek 5881 (it's easy to tell; the Sovtek logo is
still on the glass under the Ruby logo). That's pretty much the
standard 6L6 for guitar amps these days

Rubys are actually from the Shuguang factory. I remember reading on
a forum that a tube can be rebranded, but is also made by the
actual manufacturer. They went on to say that is the reason why you
should only buy from a solid retailer. Is this guy totally off
base, or is he correct?

Has anyone tried the Ruby 6L6 tube? Comments?

Thanks,
-Adam- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Aahhh horse****. The Chinese will make whatever you spec. If you spec
lowest possible cost, you get junk. Major players in the tube import
biz can have tubes made to thier specs for improved performance. Mike
Matthews (EH/Sovtek) does it, as does Tom McNeil (Ruby). The Chinese
made Ruby 6L6GCMSTR is a good sounding solidly built tube not based on
any previous Chinese 6L6 variants. I've had these in my personal stage
gear for over 2 years biased warm without a single problem. The
Chinese tubes got a bad rap early on 'cause they were churning out low
quality output tubes to try to fill the void in the market. They
didn't know any better..... With the proper guidance, any tube mfgr
can make a good sounding durable pwr tube.