Tung-Sol 6L6WGB?

[Bob-I]

I aquired a stash of tubes from a swap meet and included were a pair of these Tung-Sol 6L6WGB. From what I can tell on the interweb they're early 50's vintage 5881's. I can't tell if they're NOS or used because the boxes were rotted away. I suspect NOS because everything else in the box was.

Can anyone tell me about these tubes? Should I just give them a try, or would I be better off finding a tube tester first?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[pine]

I'm not sure about the max. plate voltage on the old ones, you may want to check the literature

[Bob-I]

I'm not sure about the max. plate voltage on the old ones, you may want to check the literature

Good point, thx. I googled and found a data sheet. It says 400V max plate and 300V max for G2. That leaves them out as a candidate for one of my 50 watters, but the 25 watter based on Princeton iron should be ok, About 380V on the plates on that one, screens are a tad high at about 360 though.

[talbany]

Yeah!! Too bad to those are good sounding tubes.. I wouldn't go over 400 volts on em!!


T

[Bob-I]

Yeah!! Too bad to those are good sounding tubes.. I wouldn't go over 400 volts on em!!


T

What about the screens? I have about 360 on the screens of the 6V6's. Would these be these tubes be ok with that?

[hairyandy]

Those tubes are all that I use in my D'Lite 44. They sound pretty damn good if you ask me!

Andy

[talbany]

What about the screens? I have about 360 on the screens of the 6V6's. Would these be these tubes be ok with that?

Bob

Yeah!!
I think that should be fine...These are built to military spec so the 400v rating is conservative....It utilizes a micanol barrier which absorbs less moisture.. This reduces the chance of voltage breakdown between pins as well as shorting issues due to heavy vibration.. Those 1960's Tungsol 6L6WGB are true Tungsol 5881's, sonically excellent - they called them 6L6WGB for military ordering purposes..Also the plate and screens dissapation was increased by 20% than that of a 6L....
Sonically a very smooth creamy tone with a nice slightly compressed low end...I have an original 1948 tweed TV front Pro that sounds wonderful Let me know how they sound...


Tony VVT''

[Bob-I]

What about the screens? I have about 360 on the screens of the 6V6's. Would these be these tubes be ok with that?

Bob

Yeah!!
I think that should be fine...These are built to military spec so the 400v rating is conservative....It utilizes a micanol barrier which absorbs less moisture.. This reduces the chance of voltage breakdown between pins as well as vibration breakdown's Those 1960's Tungsol 6L6WGB are true Tungsol 5881's, sonically excellent - they called them 6L6WGB for military ordering purposes..Also the plate and screens dissapation was increased by 20% than that of a 6L....
Sonically a very smooth creamy tone with a nice slightly compressed low end...Let me know how they sound...


Tony VVT''

Thank you my knowledgable friend. I was hoping that the military spec would make these usable as every report I've read says they sound great.

[Bob-I]

Quick test report....

I put these tubes in my Princeton Reverb clone (I know, not a Dumble) and fired it right up. There was a big POP and crackle then all was fine. Bias came in a 35ma @ 390V so I left that alone. The bias comes out within .5ma of each so they seem well balanced at least at idle.

Overall, very warm, far warmer and brighter than the EH6V6's I had in there. I have not cranked it up enough to break them up yet but clean they sound great.

I don't know what that pop was about but I haven't been able to reproduce it.

[talbany]

I put these tubes in my Princeton Reverb clone (I know, not a Dumble) and fired it right up. There was a big POP and crackle then all was fine. Bias came in a 35ma @ 390V so I left that alone. The bias comes out within .5ma of each so they seem well balanced at least at idle.

Overall, very warm, far warmer and brighter than the EH6V6's I had in there. I have not cranked it up enough to break them up yet but clean they sound great.

I don't know what that pop was about but I haven't been able to reproduce it.

Bob

Yeah !!! I knew you would like them.. Just so you know the new Tung Sol reissues I put in the fair sounding category...Though they sound NOTHING!!! like what you have there!!!.. Makes you wonder if they even did a side by side comparison with the real deal before they stamped 5881 branded reissues...After you burn em in a bit crank em up that's when they shine...
Don't know what's up with the pop.. My be they have been sitting a while had some moisture collect?..Enjoy em!!!

Tony

[Bob-I]

Yeah !!! I knew you would like them.. Just so you know the new Tung Sol reissues I put in the fair sounding category...Though they sound NOTHING!!! like what you have there!!!.. Makes you wonder if they even did a side by side comparison with the real deal before they stamped 5881 branded reissues...After you burn em in a bit crank em up that's when they shine...
Don't know what's up with the pop.. My be they have been sitting a while had some moisture collect?..Enjoy em!!!

Tony

I had a chance to crank it up a bit today, in a word, awesome. Sweet and smooth when you hit the threshold into distortion. I dropped V1 down to a 12AT7 to prevent the preamp from distorting and allowing the power tubes to really shine.

[talbany]

I had a chance to crank it up a bit today, in a word, awesome. Sweet and smooth when you hit the threshold into distortion. I dropped V1 down to a 12AT7 to prevent the preamp from distorting and allowing the power tubes to really shine

.


COOL!!!


T
.

[BobW]

A real great find Bob.
Wish we had better swap meets here in rocket city (Huntsville, AL)

[Bob-I]

A real great find Bob.
Wish we had better swap meets here in rocket city (Huntsville, AL)

I wish we had them here in NJ as well. This was a friend in California who grabbed a box of tubes for me. The guy he bought from has a relative who was a TV / Radio repairman in the 50's and 60's and is clearing out his stuff. If I was there I might be able to grab some other treasures like xformers, caps, resistors etc.