RM100 5881s mixed with?

[nitrous12]

Anyone running 5881s in their RM100 or a mix of 5881s and something else? Curious what they might mix well with.

I really dig the 5881s in the MOD50. I only dropped a pair of EL34s in it for a short while, but I didn't like the SL-OD100 or XTC SE with them as much and I switched back.

Now that I have the RM100 too I am finding I still prefer the SL-OD100 in the MOD50 by a narrow margin.

 

[LunatiBSW]

One of my e34l's blew today, so I swapped the fuse and had a pair of tung sol 5881's and a pair of ruby 6l6's at the house, biased it up and it sounds crushing and tight.
Find myself playing my snakeskin mesa recto 2x12 the most with this tube combo. The slo sounds so amazing through this setup also.

BTW what an amazing amp to be able to recover from a tube failure that painlessly.

 

[eyeball987]

5881's are the only tube I haven't spent much time with in the RM100. I think I might pick up a pair.

My go to combo has been 34's with 6CA7's for a couple years now.

 

[Jaded Faith]

FWIW, for all the tubes I go through in the shop in customer amps and my personal collection, the current Tung Sol 5881 is my personal favorite tube. It just makes every amp sound killer and it's in all my personal MTS amps.

 

[nitrous12]

FWIW, for all the tubes I go through in the shop in customer amps and my personal collection, the current Tung Sol 5881 is my personal favorite tube. It just makes every amp sound killer and it's in all my personal MTS amps.

Straight 5881s or do you mix?

 

[Jaded Faith]

Straight TS 5881's never disappoint and never leave me wanting for anything. When mixing, some favorite combos are EH KT88/TS EL34B or EL34/6L6.

 

[stemlife]

Im running EHKT88 with EH6CA7... Real tight, punchy on the distortion. The cleans were more eh... Until I swapped out the pre amp tubes in the module for some 12at7 and what a difference! I use to run 6l6/el34b and that sounds awesome as well. I use to think I was a 6l6 guy but I really do like the el34s' mixed with others better than the 6ca7s...

 

[Corium_AZ]

I'm currently running a pair of JAN Philips 6L6WGB's, which are purported to be much more like a 5881 than a 6L6. In any case, I love these tubes, and I run them with a pair of Mesa labelled 6L6's. I tried them by themselves, but found them to be too warm for my tastes on the high-gain stuff. Mixed with some TS EL34's, it sounded very similar as the WGB's by themselves. The 6L6's sharpened things up, and honestly it seems like the WGB's kinda go away tonally on my high gain stuff, and the 6L6's become very apparent. And, with the lower/mid gain stuff the 6L6's kinda go away, and the WGB's just shine with their warmth and spank. I love this combo, as I feel like I've got the best of both worlds without compromising either.

 

[JKD]

FWIW, for all the tubes I go through in the shop in customer amps and my personal collection, the current Tung Sol 5881 is my personal favorite tube. It just makes every amp sound killer and it's in all my personal MTS amps.

Rob,

what bias do you typically go for with 5881s?

 

[Jaded Faith]

Typically anywhere between 28-32mV. I start low, plug in and play while the meter is still hooked up and tweak by feel. Somewhere in the range will be the ticket, but all the variables come together (guitar, module, amp and speakers) to create the big picture. This keeps you in the zone but gives the best results. I'll even turn the meter around and do it blind if I am doubting myself to avoid preconceived notions. Give it a try and I'll bet you get the best results to date.

 

[Johnny Wadd]

I love a quad of ts5881's in my rt2/50
And love gold lion kt77 / 6ca7's in my RM 100..
Tone of the Godz...
Never thought I was an el34 guy until yesterday...