How can you tell who makes the tube if it's unmarked?
- Thread starter caesar
- Start date
There are folks over at AK that can tell a tube just by looking at it. They can even date it. Tube collectors ought to have there own name if they don't have one already.
Grab at the base, not the glass, and gently rock it out. Some have a little hold-down clip so be sure to press that down if needed. In very stubborn cases I have used contact cleaner and let it soak a bit them tried again. Make sure the amp is perfectly cool before spraying!
Thanks for all of the replies. I feel a bit dumb. I moved the amp away from the wall to get more leverage to "rock out" the tube. I shined the flash light on the tube, and I saw faint gray print on the tube next. (I was not able to see the markings before as the tubes are fairly close together.)
The tube says:
Svetlana Electron
6550 C
Made in Russia
0211
Is anyone familiar with this?
Thank You
The tube says:
Svetlana Electron
6550 C
Made in Russia
0211
Is anyone familiar with this?
Thank You
they are the usual Svetlana 6550C output tubes which many manufacturers use
they can be substituted with KT88's which have somewhat less bass than the 6550C but have a much better midrange
they can be substituted with KT88's which have somewhat less bass than the 6550C but have a much better midrange
Yes, it does. Don't have much experience with this, and it does sound like an expensive proposition with all of the tubes the amp needs. I do like the sound of the amps now, so I am a bit worried about shelling out the $,$$$ and then not liking the sound.
Is there a way to tell how much life the tubes have on them, or is it just wait and see? Thanks
Thanks. The VTL Ref 750 is the only tube amp I have heard so far that does a great job with the bass in setting a great foundation and has fast transients. This is exactly why I am hesitant to drop a grand on tubes that I may not like...
Depending on the age of the tubes, they may or may not be "real" Svetlana 6550s. Like many crazy things that happen in this wacky hobby, the real Svetlana company lost the right to their name and their tubes now say SED. They are also commonly known by their "winged C" insignia that graces all of their output tubes. Newer production tubes that are sold as Svetlana are actually made by Sovtek. My point in all of this is that if your tubes are old enough, they might be real Svetlana tubes before they were forced to change their name and if you buy new production "Svetlana" 6550c tubes you may be getting an entirely different 6550 than you thought you were buying. Take a close look at your 6550 tubes and see if you see the winged "C" insignia.
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