Tube recommendation - Super Reverb

[Gibsonman63]

I have a 1972 Super Reverb. I changed the bias and cosmetics a couple of years ago to AB763 specs and replaced all of the electrolytic capacitors. It sounded pretty good, but never amazing like some of my older Fenders.

Now I have gone completly crazy with it. I gutted the amp. completely cleaned the chassis and ground bus. Stripped the boards cleaned up the eyeletts with a small wire brush and used a heat gun to get rid of any moisture. Replaced the tube sockets. I bought a bunch of new carbon comp resistors and tested each one for close tolerances before installing and am in the process of rewiring the amp with the cloth push-back wire.

I am about two weekends from finishing if all goes well. What do you guys recommend for tubes for blackface Fenders? I am looking for that signature chime sound with a little dirt when I push it.

[Cliff Schecht]

NOS RCA all the way!

[Gibsonman63]

Thanks Cliff. Does this include the power tubes?

[Cliff Schecht]

Sure, RCA 6BQ5's are great tubes. I don't know what the street value is but I suspect that aren't very cheap..

[vibratoking]

I am not a fan of paying top dollar for NOS tubes. I refuse to support that market. I will use old tubes only if I can find them for free or very low cost. I found some nice old stuff this morning on my drive to work. An old HiFi set sitting on the side of the road. Scaveneged the chassis and tubes. I'll see what was there when I look at it tonight.

I have a 65 Super Reverb that I run Winged Cs in the power section and a combination of TungSols and JJ in the preamps. Works for me and the amp sounds great. Fat and chunky as hell when dimed and clean with loads of chime when backed off a bit.

BTW, that amp doesn't use 6BQ5 tubes.

[M Fowler]

Many suppliers sell complete retube kits and I use JJ brand mostly.

[Blind Lemon]

I'm with vibratoking; =C= 6L6 have more depth and aren't as brash, TungSolskie in 5881s are nice also. JJs pre-amp tubes are fine, I find myself using them in all positions but V1 and then I like the TungSolskie 12AX7 or a nice NOS 5751.

BL

[David Root]

I like RCA blackplates for 6L6GC power tubes, Tungsolski 5881s for 6L6, and Amperex 12AX7 or (better) 7025s elsewhere except the 12AT7 PI, Amperex or Mazda.

Might try an EH 12AT7 in the PI as it's a longplate 12AT7 (have not done that yet).

Reverb driver JJ 12AT7 no NOS here! Don't waste a NOS in the tremelo tube either, my two cents worth.

[C Moore]

Are saying you that you have stripped the chassis bare, and are trying to dry out the original eyelet board for re-use.?
Pardon me if I am mistaken. If I am not, make sure you spend another 45 dollars for a set of new boards....
Good Luck

[Gibsonman63]

Mostly bare. It is dangerous when I run out of projects. I have been playing around with this amp for a while and I decided to try rewiring it with the cloth covered wire to neaten up the lead dress and see if I could find a little more blackface Mojo. The original boards are not in bad shape, but since I was rewiring the amp anyway, I decided to strip them and clean them up. I live in a humid environment and this amp spent a couple of years in a studio that was only climate controlled when we were practicing so I decided to go over them with a heat gun while I had them stripped down.

[David Root]

They will rehumidify themselves very quickly, especially in your climate. I have recycled just about everything in an old Bassman head except the boards.

When you think they are completely dry and have been then left exposed to your normal ie not air conditioned environment for a few days, do yourself a favor and put a DMM across two widely separated eyelets and see what the resistance is.

Then go out and do what hiredhand said. You won't regret it.

[aclempoppi]

I've found the NOS GE power tubes and matched GE 12AT7(6201) to be real good in the BF amp's power section. The price is not too bad. If you can swing for RCA 7025 in the V1, V2, and V4 positions, that's gold. A JAN 12AT7 for V3 and a decent 12AX7 for V5 should get you that Fullerton sound. Yeah, I realize it's a SF-763 conversion. That's pretty interesting about the humidity effects on the board. I've not found any conductivity on the mid sixty Fenders here in Illinois, during 30yrs of teching, maybe these dry out in the winter. Art

[Gibsonman63]

They will rehumidify themselves very quickly, especially in your climate. I have recycled just about everything in an old Bassman head except the boards.

When you think they are completely dry and have been then left exposed to your normal ie not air conditioned environment for a few days, do yourself a favor and put a DMM across two widely separated eyelets and see what the resistance is.

Then go out and do what hiredhand said. You won't regret it.

The heat gun was actually and afterthought for good measure since I had the board stripped. I wish I had measured resistance before I populated the board, but I am close to finishing now and I am too far along to go back. The amps spends almost all of it's time now in a converted garage with a 2 ton dedicated central air conditioner, so I doubt there is much humidity in there.

Thanks for all the tube recommendations, guys.