TungSol 5881s in RM100?

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mThomasDutch

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Hi all. I have been considering trying out some TS5881s in my RM100. I was looking at them on one of the tube vending sites and they have a note of caution about using those particular tubes in amps with plate voltages over 400 volts. Have any of you guys using the 5881's run into any issues with the 500+ plate voltage in the RM?

My understanding is that many of the 5881s on the market aren't significantly different in tone to the 6L6s, but the TS's are supposedly a little bit truer to the old school sound and flavor. Any thoughts?
 
I thought I had a set of those, but I can't find them so maybe not.
I have a set of TS-6L6GC's. They are supposed to sound very similar.
Powerful, and lots of headroom, but... No thanks.
 
I use Tung Sol 5881's in my MOD50 combo. It is primarily used as a grab and go blues jam amp and usually houses two of the following: JF Blackface, JF Tweed, JF Vybe Deluxe. I find the 5881's perfect for this application. I wouldn't run 5881's for general purposes/in an amp I was using mid to high gain pre-amps, but that's just me. YMMV.

I have not run into any issues with running them in the MOD50.
 
Sovtek 5881 is a great tube and can handle the high voltage. Soldano uses these throughout their whole (6l6) amp line. Many other manufactures use these too.

As for sound, yes 5881's sound different than 6l6, to me I like them better than say a 6l6gc.
 
Thanks for the info. I have JJ6L6 GC's in my RM100 head. I was thinking of trying the 881's in my combo to bring the wattage down a bit and shoot for a little bit earlier breakup. I know the slightly reduced wattage won't lower the volume much, but earlier breakup and a slightly more EL34ish sound seems like something I would like in that amp. I don't use the combo for high gain stuff - mostly clean and tweener tones.

I like EL34 tones, but I have found absolutely poor reliability with those types over the last few years. My amps have spent way too much time on my bench because of shorted EL34's for me to trust them any more.
 
From what you describe, I think the 5881 is what you want. It's not as loud as a 6l6gc, and it is more tonally balanced, unlike the jj 6l6gc where to me seems like there is too much lows, and too much highs with scooped mids.

Sovtek 5881's are pretty reliable, handle high voltage, and have a nice snarl (kind of el34ish to me)
 
Also, you may want to consider a pair of JJ 6V6's. They can drop right in to an RM. Definitely quieter, earlier breakup, beautiful top end and big fat lows. Great tubes!

Btw, I have a pair of JAN Phillips 6L6WGB's, small bottle, very similar to a 5881. They went too expensive, and much higher quality than the newer stuff. Sound good too! But, I do prefer the 6V6's...
 
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