V2's and tubes

[Jon K]

Hey!

Just got here from the v4 board. Thanks a lot for the instructions for the tone stack modification. Been thinking about doing that for some time now.

I've got a couple of V2's. I use TAD 7027a's in them. I dont push them to hard (volume at 10 o'clock) because i'm using OD/Fuzz pedals. I like the way i can combine some grit from the amp with my pedals.

When i got my first V2 a couple of years ago i imediatly tried out every setting and of course pushing the amp quite a bit. After a minute or so, the power tubes blew up. I checked the specs for the 7027a wich i figured was JJ produced and TAD tested, and found this:

http://www.jj-electronic.com/pdf/7027.pdf

http://www.jj-electronic.com/pdf/6L6%20GC.pdf

Looks to me like it's the same tube as a 6l6GC with a different pinout, and that the JJ 7027a isn't capable of taking 600v on the plates. I had 2 more TAD 7027a's for backup. I have been using them for 2 years now with the volume at about 10 o'clock.

I wonder if the Sovteks are the same. Anyone got specs on those?


I'm looking forward to reading and posting more on this board. Here is a clip of my band. On this gig i used a Yamaha SG1000 with Lollar Imperial humbuckers, a Catalinbread SFT and an Xotic EP booster, through my V2 with a 2x12 V30 cab.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhxnM7iIqaI

[Hangman]

The sovteks aren't very robust. Like the JJ they are 6L6 tubes with a sligtly modified pinout. Otherwise. They are the sovtek 5881wxt which I have never liked.


For the v2. Why not try the kt88? It is rated for the kind of voltage the v2 puts on it. It requires some modification, but nothing crazy. New screen resistors, new tube retainers, rebias and go!

I have done this on many v2 amps and they always sound amazing.

[Jon K]

Maybe that's not a bad idea. Does it get much louder with KT88 tubes than with 7027/6l6?

[Hangman]

Not really. It does sound a little bigger, but volume wise it is similar. When we first tested it, we got 62 watts clean with 6L6gc tubes and 66watts clean with the kt-88 tubes. There was no audible change in volume.
The sound is amazing though, and I don't worry about the tubes since they are made to handle those kinds of voltages.

[Jon K]

Ok! Thanks. I'll try that. Any brand you would recommend?

[Hangman]

when we first did this mode we used winged c Kt-88s. Those are impossible to find now, and the factory is closed. I have had good luck with the Svetlana branded KT-88s from new sensor so far, some people really dig the EH. The JJ Kt-88s had some serious issues for a while, so i haven't been using them, don't know if they solved the issue or not, but we had so many of them short out after only light use.