by hawaii121 » Sun Jul 08, 2012 12:23 am
Daniel and I have talked a lot about this stuff. Interestingly many of the tube "guru's" of TGP over the years have posted how overrated the Mazda are. I think this has been good because you can still come across them at reasonable prices if you are patient. To me, in a Fender'ish circuit, there is nothing better for big 3D cleans. They have excellent harmonic content and lots of headroom that makes for that 3D vibe. I actually joked with Daniel not to post how much we both like them. Kind of like talking too much about a secret surf spot.
With regards to power tubes, until recently, I had never tried vintage Tung Sol 6v6gt and there doesn't seem to be much written about them. Having finally tracked down a matched quad, I think they might be my new favorite 6v6. Great smooth OD and very "singy" if you know what I mean. They make some other NOS 6v6 I've tried seem harsh.
One big surprise in current production 6v6 are the JJ's. If you bias them like a normal 6v6 (12 watt) they sound very sterile, but if you bias them the right way (14 watts) they actually become a pretty good sounding tube. For me this means setting them close to 20ma per tube at 445v. My only complaint is that they don't have the same note separation that some of the better NOS stuff has when overdriven.
Hawaii121
Constant state of flux...