6550 tubes question

[CarlVanDam]

can our amps take these tubes? I heard they are pretty tight sounding. I currently have 2 kt88s and 2 el34s and I am tired of the huge amounts of bass that my tone has. So I am looking for something new and tight sounding since I shred a ton of metal!! Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[JKD]

Yes...they are not a huge amount different to KT88s but certainly the Svet 6550C is tighter than the KT88s I tried from Ruby, JJ and even the Tung Sol 6550.

 

[CarlVanDam]

Yes...they are not a huge amount different to KT88s but certainly the Svet 6550C is tighter than the KT88s I tried from Ruby, JJ and even the Tung Sol 6550.

what are your thoughts on the 6550 v. kt88s? and what brand of 6550 would you recommend?

 

[JKD]

Yes...they are not a huge amount different to KT88s but certainly the Svet 6550C is tighter than the KT88s I tried from Ruby, JJ and even the Tung Sol 6550.

what are your thoughts on the 6550 v. kt88s? and what brand of 6550 would you recommend?

I only tried two 6550 tubes and of the two I recommend the Svets:

http://thetubestore.com/ne-6550.html

 

[aeroic]

I've tried 4-5 different kinds..TS 6550s, Sovtek 6550s, EH 6550s, Svetlana 6550s, etc.

Svetlana 6550s are the best for me honestly. I have them in a Mod100, Mod50, and a RT2/50, and LOVE it in every amp.

I've been running 6550s in amps for 6-7 years...Marshall 9200, VHT 2/50/2, VHT 2/90/2, VHT 2150, Marshall JCM800, Marshall Silver Jubilee, etc. and it's by far my favorite tube.

I did a test on my VHT 2/90/2 putting KT88s vs Svet 6550s. For me...the KT88s lacked the sweet, juicy, thick mids that the Svet 6550s have. The KT88s packed a punch...but in a mix the Svets just sounded better, less harsh high end, and just have the tone I wanted. I feel the Svet 6550s really lend themselves tonally VERY WELL across the modular spectrum. I find them a very underated power tube (just like the Celestion K100 is underated for its versatility as a speaker!!).

I can get killer clean tones w/ it, killer JTM45 tones with it, killer marshall tone with it, etc.

It's by far the "island power tube" for me.

 

[Julia]

The SED =C= 6550C from Ruby is the closest you're going to get to a NOS GE 6550A.

The others are 6550Rs which are harder and not as warm.

I don't know about the KT88s. Except that I don't know if the transformer can handle them very well. See the 6550C is a 35W rated tube. The KT88 is rated at 42W.

KT88s show a 50% bias setting at 39.6 mV and a 70% bias at 55 mV.

The 6550C shows a 50% at 33 mV and 70% at 46 mV.

 

[aeroic]

The SED =C= 6550C from Ruby is the closest you're going to get to a NOS GE 6550A.

The others are 6550Rs which are harder and not as warm.

I don't know about the KT88s. Except that I don't know if the transformer can handle them very well. See the 6550C is a 35W rated tube. The KT88 is rated at 42W.

KT88s show a 50% bias setting at 39.6 mV and a 70% bias at 55 mV.

The 6550C shows a 50% at 33 mV and 70% at 46 mV.

I wasn't very fond of the SED =C= 6550 though. I thought it was a bit more stale than the Svetlanas...and the Svet 6550s were warmer. But...again...I could be a bit biased from my ear...as I've been using the Svetlana 6550s for 6-7 years...and that's what I find the most versatile for me. I'll be the first to admit I'm biased to the Svetlana 6550s...but I did do the VHT 2/90/2 A/B tests w/ all the tubes I mentioned...and I still picked the Svetlana 6550s.

My second favorite 6550 was actually the TS 6550. It was pretty squishy compared to the Svet 6550s..in a really cool way for certain styles.... It just didn't vibe w/ my personal style.

 

[CarlVanDam]

The SED =C= 6550C from Ruby is the closest you're going to get to a NOS GE 6550A.

The others are 6550Rs which are harder and not as warm.

I don't know about the KT88s. Except that I don't know if the transformer can handle them very well. See the 6550C is a 35W rated tube. The KT88 is rated at 42W.

KT88s show a 50% bias setting at 39.6 mV and a 70% bias at 55 mV.

The 6550C shows a 50% at 33 mV and 70% at 46 mV.

I wasn't very fond of the SED =C= 6550 though. I thought it was a bit more stale than the Svetlanas...and the Svet 6550s were warmer. But...again...I could be a bit biased from my ear...as I've been using the Svetlana 6550s for 6-7 years...and that's what I find the most versatile for me. I'll be the first to admit I'm biased to the Svetlana 6550s...but I did do the VHT 2/90/2 A/B tests w/ all the tubes I mentioned...and I still picked the Svetlana 6550s.

My second favorite 6550 was actually the TS 6550. It was pretty squishy compared to the Svet 6550s..in a really cool way for certain styles.... It just didn't vibe w/ my personal style.

what is your style of playing?? I play speed/thrash. I like a real tight, warm tone.

 

[aeroic]

The SED =C= 6550C from Ruby is the closest you're going to get to a NOS GE 6550A.

The others are 6550Rs which are harder and not as warm.

I don't know about the KT88s. Except that I don't know if the transformer can handle them very well. See the 6550C is a 35W rated tube. The KT88 is rated at 42W.

KT88s show a 50% bias setting at 39.6 mV and a 70% bias at 55 mV.

The 6550C shows a 50% at 33 mV and 70% at 46 mV.

I wasn't very fond of the SED =C= 6550 though. I thought it was a bit more stale than the Svetlanas...and the Svet 6550s were warmer. But...again...I could be a bit biased from my ear...as I've been using the Svetlana 6550s for 6-7 years...and that's what I find the most versatile for me. I'll be the first to admit I'm biased to the Svetlana 6550s...but I did do the VHT 2/90/2 A/B tests w/ all the tubes I mentioned...and I still picked the Svetlana 6550s.

My second favorite 6550 was actually the TS 6550. It was pretty squishy compared to the Svet 6550s..in a really cool way for certain styles.... It just didn't vibe w/ my personal style.

what is your style of playing?? I play speed/thrash. I like a real tight, warm tone.

I play a LOT of different styles from Eric Johnson to Sevendust to SRV to Killswitch Engage to Red to Joe Bonamassa to grunge to jazz. I'm very eclectic. The Svet 6550s w/ my egnater gear really does well for ALL of my modules...albeit a Twin, DLX, VX, COD, XTC, EG3/4, EG5, SL2X, Recto, etc.

 

[Julia]

I'm playing blues/blues rock/classic rock/stoner rock/grunge/ and stuff like that. Low to medium gain. I don't play much hi-gain The =C= 6550s, although I got "Late Distortion," still breakup pretty nicely and do so around noon on the MV.

 

[CarlVanDam]

ok well it looks like im giong to do a little mor research but im leaning towards the Svetlana 6550s. seems pretty popular with good reviews on this forum.. thanks

 

[bruce egnater]

If your sound has too much bass, can't you just turn down the Density or the Bass controls?

 

[Julia]

That's a novel concept.

I was getting insane amounts of bass on my Deluxe module... Solution? turn down the bass. It doesn't have to be at noon or more.

 

[jmgman70]

If your sound has too much bass, can't you just turn down the Density or the Bass controls?

:lol:

 

[shred-o-holic]

I've had the Svet 6550's in my RM 50 for a while now. To me it's just a well-balanced all around nice sounding tube. Part of me wants to go back and try the JJ 34L....but those tubes haven't been the most reliable ones the few pairs I've tried the last couple years.......

 

[Julia]

I've had the Svet 6550's in my RM 50 for a while now. To me it's just a well-balanced all around nice sounding tube. Part of me wants to go back and try the JJ 34L....but those tubes haven't been the most reliable ones the few pairs I've tried the last couple years.......

Does it work (yes/no)? Yes = no problem

No = did you screw around with it (yes/no)?
No = no problem
Yes = does anyone know (yes/no)?
Yes = can you blame someone else (yes/no)? No = you poor *******.
Yes = no problem.

Basically if it ain't broke.....

 

[shred-o-holic]

I've had the Svet 6550's in my RM 50 for a while now. To me it's just a well-balanced all around nice sounding tube. Part of me wants to go back and try the JJ 34L....but those tubes haven't been the most reliable ones the few pairs I've tried the last couple years.......

Does it work (yes/no)? Yes = no problem

No = did you screw around with it (yes/no)?
No = no problem
Yes = does anyone know (yes/no)?
Yes = can you blame someone else (yes/no)? No = you poor *******.
Yes = no problem.

Basically if it ain't broke.....

I only understood the last sentence of your post... :lol:

On that note definitely agree for the most part. The last thing I want in my amp is a blown resistor or worse. The only thing that tempts me at all is the sound I was getting a few years back with E-34L's I had in the RM-100's I had. Very clear headroom and wicked. But as I stated....the last few sets of that tube I tried in a Mesa Recto and Roadster were faulty and didn't sound good. A tube vendor indicated that the production runs on the JJ-E34L just haven't been as good as they used to be. So yeah if it ain't broke leave it be.....

 

[Julia]

At the risk of annoying people who hate flow charts.... thei is what I meant.

Just remember the JJ E34L is a 25 watt tube just like the EL34 and should bias the same. The transformer puts out 530 plate volts acc'd to the info I got from Randall tech support. Which means for a 25W power tube:

50% Max is 24 mV
60% Max is 28 mV
70% Max is 33 mV

http://www.jj-electronic.com/pdf/E34L.pdf

Also the KT77 is in this group.