My Ampeg Reverberocket is making very flubby sounds on the bottom end. My bandmate thinks a tube is shot. I figure after several years I should replace them and if it fixes the issue great, if not I will take it into the shop. It has 2 6L6s and 3 12AX7As. Where and what brand should I replace them with. Its a pretty clean amp that starts to break up nicely about 5. I play instrumental surf/rock. Ive never dealt with replacing tubes so I dont know where to start.
Ampeg Tube Time
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- Rated: 18 ↑
Jun 21, 2008 8:11 p.m. Century Bob:
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Jun 21, 2008 8:28 p.m. roadjunkie:
Call Mike at KCA tubes and tell him what you want and need. He'll take care of you.
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Jun 21, 2008 9:01 p.m. J(esse James)D:
+1 on KCANOS. Mike is very helpful, has a great website with tube info, and sells some pretty nice tubes too.
My experience is with Fender and Vox amps only, but Mike got me set in the right direction for great tone.
Shoot him an email and ask for suggestions on your amp.
It's a very fun process
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- Rated: 37 ↑
Jun 21, 2008 9:08 p.m. roadjunkie:
Yeah tube shopping can be fun! In the same line as women and handbags!
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Jun 21, 2008 11:21 p.m. Gretschadelphia:
Eurotubes has an interesting website and seem to really know their stuff. They specialize in JJ tubes, which seem to have a great rep.
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Jun 22, 2008 12:24 a.m. bonedaddy:
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Jun 22, 2008 10:16 a.m. Ratrod:
A set of Tung-Sol 5881 power tubes will work wonders on that amp. A tighter sound, lively mids and earlier breakup.
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Jun 22, 2008 12:29 p.m. Century Bob:
Thanks Bonedaddy. I am going to order a set today. As an experiment, I went with his theory that the #1 tube does 80% of the work. I swapped the tubes into the opposite order thinking the last one would be in the best condition. The bottom end was restored and the volume came way up. The amp has never sounded so good. I bought it used so who knows how it sounded new. Now the output tubes... What do they do for tone? I have russian Sovteks in it now. Do they wear and damage tone like the preamps? I see Ratrods suggestion of Tung-sols so there must be a difference. My local shop only has groove tubes so I may have to mail order them as well.
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Jun 22, 2008 1:11 p.m. cyclopssam:
i trust sovteck's more than any other tube on the market (as in big clean tones) make sure your socket seats are in good shape,they tend to dry out after a while
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Jun 22, 2008 1:41 p.m. J(esse James)D:
I love 5881's, because of the earlier breakup in my tweed Twin, but you'll lose some of the 6l6 "thump" with them.
Bob, power tubes make a difference in tone for sure, but as usual, it depends on what tone your after.
6l6's will give you more volume and headroom, while 5881's will have a little less volume, and earlier breakup.
Depends on what you're after.
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Jul 4, 2008 9:16 p.m. Century Bob:
Guys beware of 12ax7.com. I ordered from them almost two weeks ago. Not only no merchandise shipped but totally unresponsive to any emails and phone calls. I started a Paypal dispute but I think I may have been ripped or something may have happened to the guy. Either way it looks like my 60 bucks have evaporated.
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Jul 4, 2008 9:32 p.m. J(esse James)D:
Sorry to hear that Bob
You'll be happy with www.kcanostubes.com
Many transactions, and zero problems.
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Jul 4, 2008 9:57 p.m. MrAstroJet:
http://www.tubesandmore.com/
http://mhuss.com/sgtoverdrive/
http://store.triodestore.com/
http://www.nebsnow.com/LordValve
I've used a couple of these and heard good things about the others.
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Aug 19, 2008 1:14 p.m. mad dog:
I have JJ 6L6GC in my 6L6-equipped Gemini II. These tubes are excellent ... now have them in three different amps. As far as preamp tubes, that totally depends on the amp. Just try everything you've got, and keep buying more. I grab NOS stuff whenever I can find reasonable deals, and greatly enjoy trying out different stuff.
