Question about tubes

[jazzbo]

I'm clueless here so bear with me....

 

If I have an amp that uses 6L6GC tubes, will other tubes that start with 6L6, like 6L6WGC, work just as well?

 

Secondly, is it OK to mix and match, so that I have two 6L6GC and two 6L6WGC?

 

The reason I ask is that a salesperson sold me 6L6WGC and claimed they were the same as the ones in my amp. They are a little smaller though.

 

The amp is not working with two 6L6GC and two 6L6WGC....

 

One of the tubes seems a little loose. Is it possible the socket needs to be "tightened up"?

[jazzbo]

Anyone?

[jazzbo]

hmm

[guitarzan]

Originally posted by jazzbo I'm clueless here so bear with me.... If I have an amp that uses 6L6GC tubes, will other tubes that start with 6L6, like 6L6WGC, work just as well? Secondly, is it OK to mix and match, so that I have two 6L6GC and two 6L6WGC? The reason I ask is that a salesperson sold me 6L6WGC and claimed they were the same as the ones in my amp. They are a little smaller though. The amp is not working with two 6L6GC and two 6L6WGC.... One of the tubes seems a little loose. Is it possible the socket needs to be "tightened up"?

 

Yes to all the above although it might be best to use all one type and try and get a matched quad. Sockets do come loose, one reason is some tubes have larger pins than others. What amp do you have. Most amps with 4 OP tubes need to be biased after a tube change.

Hope that helps.

[Dale B.]

A 6L6WGC isn't the same thing as a 6L6GC. A 6L6wgc is a 5881.

A 6L6GC is rated at 30 watts. A typical 6L6wgc is only rated at about 22 watts. The 6L6wgc will break up a little quicker and will normally feel a little softer and will sound a bit rounder than a 6L6GC, but that's not written in stone or anything due to a vast majority of other factors. Most of the time you can interchange them.

Back in the day, Philips sold 5881's under the 6L6wgc badge. They were only rated to handle around 440 volts on the plates. Some folks have used them in amps with higher plate voltages, but they won't last nearly as long as they would if they were in an amplifier with a lower plate voltage.

I have a sextet of TAD 6L6wgc's. I don't know if they can handle higher plate voltages. The ones I have are a little too hot to be run in my Naylor Superdrive 60. I can back the bias pot all the way down and the amp is dishing out a plate voltage of about 530 and the bias (cathode) current is coming in at about 38 mA, which is too hot.

The Sovtek 5881's aren't true 5881's, but they can handle fairly high plate voltages above 500.

I've rambled enough.

Dale

[jazzbo]

Originally posted by guitarzan Yes to all the above although it might be best to use all one type and try and get a matched quad. Sockets do come loose, one reason is some tubes have larger pins than others. What amp do you have. Most amps with 4 OP tubes need to be biased after a tube change. Hope that helps.

 

 

I have a Peavey Heritage VTX, which came with 4 Peavey Super 6's.

 

It stopped working, and I removed the chassis and looked around, and I found that the center base of one of the tubes had broken off in the socket.

 

So I removed that, and bought a pair of replacement tubes which were 6L6WGC.

 

It seems like it wants to power up at first, but then it drops down into standby mode after a few seconds.

 

Also, one of the tubes seems loose.

[guitarzan]

Originally posted by jazzbo I have a Peavey Heritage VTX, which came with 4 Peavey Super 6's. It stopped working, and I removed the chassis and looked around, and I found that the center base of one of the tubes had broken off in the socket. So I removed that, and bought a pair of replacement tubes which were 6L6WGC. It seems like it wants to power up at first, but then it drops down into standby mode after a few seconds. Also, one of the tubes seems loose.

 

 

Chances are that the center base guide pin being broken had little to do with the amp dying. If the tube is inserted the right way it does not need the guide pin. It sounds like you have a short somewhere. Your relay flips to SB mode as soon as the current exceeds a preset limit.

You could try pushing the pins in on the powertube sockets. Leave the amp off over night to allow the filter caps to drain first unless you know how to discharge them. I doubt this would help though. Sorry it sounds like tech time.