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Post by ldm on Apr 12, 2010 9:32:47 GMT -5
My Nitro was modded for Kt88's/6550's. I have tried the following KT88's/6550's in the last 24 hours and this is what I found:
JJ KT88's-Sound great. Smooth and a bit more compressed in comparison to SED and Ruby
SED KT88's-Love 'em. Crunchy, tons of clarity and very open. Downside-pricey...
Ruby KT88's-Great. Less crunch in comparison to the SED and brighter and less clarity in comparison to the JJ or the SED. Lot's of bite though.
Svetlana 6550's-I love these. Maybe a bit too mushy though. They make the Nitro thick. The Nitro is more open and organic with Kt88's though.
SED 6550's-Nice! Crunchy and thick with tons of clarity when strumming heavily distorted chords.
My pick...well...probably gonna go with the SED Kt88's for now. Would probably go SED 6550 and then JJKt88's after that but it is a tough call. Long story short, 6550's if you want a bit thicker tone and more compression out of the Nitro. JJ Kt88's if you want a bit more compression and you want to open it up a bit more. SED KT88's for the crunch and clarity. Ruby's for a bit more bite. Sorry for the crappy review but I figured I should share my findings now that I am deaf. FWIW-I have tried Tung Sol's (6550's and EL34's) and I did not care for them. I have not used them in over a year now so my opinion may change if I get around to plugging those in again.
I should also add that I was mainly listening through a Kress 4x12 that is loaded with V30's/G12T75's and I no longer get the Nitro/V30 hate. That is my favorite cab right now and I love it with all of my amps.
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Post by chrismac on Apr 12, 2010 11:39:09 GMT -5
Very nice post! I still want to try out the KT88's in my QR, but I can't imagine getting a better sound that I am with TS EL34B's. I have 2 QR's so it may be a cool idea to try 88's in one and leave the 34's in the other.
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Post by wizardy on Apr 14, 2010 21:27:12 GMT -5
nice post.. Which preamp tubes did you use for the test??
thanks.
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Post by flgearnut on Apr 15, 2010 0:21:02 GMT -5
i never understood why there was all the hating on V30 loaded cabs too. My nitro sounds fricken great through my Mesa cab.
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Post by ldm on Apr 15, 2010 7:08:19 GMT -5
nice post.. Which preamp tubes did you use for the test?? thanks. A JJ in V1, Mullard in the PI and a Sovtek WA. I have a Jan in the socket that effects the cleans in order to give it a cleaner chime. From the back of the amp right to left it would be Jan, JJ, Sovtek, Mullard. |
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Post by ldm on Apr 15, 2010 7:12:17 GMT -5
i never understood why there was all the hating on V30 loaded cabs too. My nitro sounds fricken great through my Mesa cab. My Mesa's sounded flubby and terrible with my Nitro. Waaaayyy too boomy. The Splawn cabs were a dramatic improvement but again, I am diggin' the V30/G12T75's quite a bit as well as my Scumback H75/M75 loaded cab. Here is a crappy video clip that I did before the re-tube and right after I got my QR... |
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Post by flgearnut on Apr 15, 2010 11:35:25 GMT -5
i never understood why there was all the hating on V30 loaded cabs too. My nitro sounds fricken great through my Mesa cab. My Mesa's sounded flubby and terrible with my Nitro. Waaaayyy too boomy. The Splawn cabs were a dramatic improvement but again, I am diggin' the V30/G12T75's quite a bit as well as my Scumback H75/M75 loaded cab. Here is a crappy video clip that I did before the re-tube and right after I got my QR... did you have a mesa recto standard cab or the stiletto? Ive heard the "oversized" mesa cabs definitely sound a little too boomy with the nitro, but ive got a 2x12 recto cab and my friend who just got his Nitro has a 4x12 stiletto cab and both of our setups sound great. Not boomy at all. My amp has KT88's and he went with Sino EL34B's...i really like the sound of the nitro with el34's too. |
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Post by ldm on Apr 15, 2010 19:40:59 GMT -5
did you have a mesa recto standard cab or the stiletto? Ive heard the "oversized" mesa cabs definitely sound a little too boomy with the nitro, but ive got a 2x12 recto cab and my friend who just got his Nitro has a 4x12 stiletto cab and both of our setups sound great. Not boomy at all. My amp has KT88's and he went with Sino EL34B's...i really like the sound of the nitro with el34's too. I had 2 OS Recto 4x12's. I have 2 Splawn 4-x12's (on with SB/BB's and one with Gov/MoW's and 2 Kress 4x12's (one with V30's/G12T75's and one with Scumback M75'sH75' (65 watters)). I also have a Kress 2x12 with EVM12LS's. |
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Post by splawndude on Apr 16, 2010 8:46:20 GMT -5
Cool little tube review Laura. From the vids I've seen of yours you like your tone on the darker side - like me. I'll probably be shooting for SED =C= EL34s for my next set of tubes in my Quick Rod.
Question - did you bias amp when swapping tubes or just plug n play and where do you buy your tubes from.
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Post by wizardy on Apr 16, 2010 20:56:51 GMT -5
Ok, well I have a Mesa OS Recto 4x12's Road-King cab here loaded with V30 in the closed section of the cab and Black Shadows c90 in the open section of the cab. It sound pretty good with my Nitro. I'm going to test with a DIY 1x12 Mesa thiele cab loaded with EVM12L soon.. I'm almost done building it. I wonder if it'll sound good with the nitro because my 1x12 open back combo loaded with a g12t-75 is doing a good job at home. I might try both in stereo...
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Post by bubbastain on Apr 16, 2010 22:56:32 GMT -5
.
Your playing is nice and tight. I think you should concentrate on getting some decent equipment now. ;D
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Post by flgearnut on Apr 16, 2010 23:33:04 GMT -5
THAT was your problem right there...ive heard the oversized recto cabs are the worst for the Nitro. The stiletto cab is smaller in size and has a tighter bass response and punchier mids and sounds way better.
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Post by ldm on Apr 17, 2010 5:21:34 GMT -5
Cool little tube review Laura. From the vids I've seen of yours you like your tone on the darker side - like me. I'll probably be shooting for SED =C= EL34s for my next set of tubes in my Quick Rod. Question - did you bias amp when swapping tubes or just plug n play and where do you buy your tubes from. I bias my amps using a bias rite. There is not a lot of range on the bias control so you have to find tubes that are in the range. |
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Post by ldm on Apr 17, 2010 5:30:12 GMT -5
THAT was your problem right there...ive heard the oversized recto cabs are the worst for the Nitro. The stiletto cab is smaller in size and has a tighter bass response and punchier mids and sounds way better. I am sure that was part of the problem. I don't miss my Mesa gear at all and I blame Splawn. |
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Post by splawndude on Apr 17, 2010 11:26:00 GMT -5
^ ha ha I bias my amps using a bias rite. There is not a lot of range on the bias control so you have to find tubes that are in the range. Not a lot of range on Splawns on your Nitro? I honestly figured for quick testing that you would not bias but I'm glad you did. Makes the comparisons more valid obviously. Did you take note of the mismatches too when you first put in? I replied to your PM. Thanks. |
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