EZ81 Subs any other choices?
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EZ81 Subs any other choices?
Anyone set up there 18 watt with anything other than the EZ81? Say GZ34 perhaps 5V4. Just thinking about experimenting. I have very few EZ's and many GZ's, 5V4 etc.. I think the current rating should be Ok with those tubes. Any thoughts or opinions. Thanks.
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- chabby
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I'll tell you, since I had a little of an over powered 18 watt on my build before this most recent one (from a Hammond Organ) I started out with the 5U4GB and it was just fine.n But going on this site and listening to everyone comment, it left me feeling like I was missing out on something by not having an EZ81. DUring that time I also was able to try the GZ34 too which was just fine with the tranformer set I had.
Fast forward to now and I have converted that Transformer set into a fantastic 5E3 and ironically using a 5Y3 rectifier in that, and have bulit a new TMB with a Heyboer set. And to be 100% honest, now that I have the EZ81, they all sounded great and I can't say I notice any difference between any of them!!!!! The only thing I know is with the old rendition of LiteIIB I'd built with the over powered Trans set and the 5U4GB/GZ34 I needed zeners and resisitors to get the voltage down to 335-ish. ANd thats the only difference I can detect with my new set up, I don't need to control voltage in the same way. So the rectifier thing is very, very subtle at least in my experience. Tone changes? What tone changes? Bah!!!!
Its just a bunch of cork sniffing crap. You don't really notice anythign with these amps until you go from rectifier tube to solid state rectification, now that's stiff. Although you can use a sag resisitor and compensate for that. Just use whatever you have and keep in mind the original used EZ81, but don't think you're not getting the true 18 watt expereince just because you're not using one. Another good thing about EZ81's is I have about 20 of them because I bought a bunch of JJ' two years or so ago on a real special deal - they are cheap anyway. But Electro Harmonix is making a 5U4GB for 12.95 now that I hear is just fine. I'm using JJ GZ34's in my &0's Champ and alternating it with a 5Y3 in the 5E3 I just built. With the 5E3 the only difference I noticed with the GZ over the 5Y3 was voltage....tone is a touch cleaner with the 5Y3 which surprised me.
Fast forward to now and I have converted that Transformer set into a fantastic 5E3 and ironically using a 5Y3 rectifier in that, and have bulit a new TMB with a Heyboer set. And to be 100% honest, now that I have the EZ81, they all sounded great and I can't say I notice any difference between any of them!!!!! The only thing I know is with the old rendition of LiteIIB I'd built with the over powered Trans set and the 5U4GB/GZ34 I needed zeners and resisitors to get the voltage down to 335-ish. ANd thats the only difference I can detect with my new set up, I don't need to control voltage in the same way. So the rectifier thing is very, very subtle at least in my experience. Tone changes? What tone changes? Bah!!!!
Its just a bunch of cork sniffing crap. You don't really notice anythign with these amps until you go from rectifier tube to solid state rectification, now that's stiff. Although you can use a sag resisitor and compensate for that. Just use whatever you have and keep in mind the original used EZ81, but don't think you're not getting the true 18 watt expereince just because you're not using one. Another good thing about EZ81's is I have about 20 of them because I bought a bunch of JJ' two years or so ago on a real special deal - they are cheap anyway. But Electro Harmonix is making a 5U4GB for 12.95 now that I hear is just fine. I'm using JJ GZ34's in my &0's Champ and alternating it with a 5Y3 in the 5E3 I just built. With the 5E3 the only difference I noticed with the GZ over the 5Y3 was voltage....tone is a touch cleaner with the 5Y3 which surprised me.
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- zaphod_phil
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Ez81 and other choises
wrote: So the rectifier thing is very, very subtle at least in my experience. Tone changes? What tone changes? Bah!!!!
Yup, totally agree !
Yup, totally agree !
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- chabby
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And if I wasn't a cork sniffing fool myself I would do exactly as described above and save my money by having some 4007 diodes and a sag resistor.
Tubes are expensive and growing rarer by the day. Do your part as a conservationist and use a solid state rectifier-lol!
When my EZ81's are gone, I'll probably just convert to diodes. You could probably even put in a cool switch that would alternate between a couple different sag resisitors for tonal variety that set the cork sniffers back a little-lol!
Tubes are expensive and growing rarer by the day. Do your part as a conservationist and use a solid state rectifier-lol!
When my EZ81's are gone, I'll probably just convert to diodes. You could probably even put in a cool switch that would alternate between a couple different sag resisitors for tonal variety that set the cork sniffers back a little-lol!
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- zaphod_phil
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+1zaphod_phil wrote:Even a cork sniffer wouldn't tell the difference in a blind A/B test.chabby wrote:And if I wasn't a cork sniffing fool myself I would do exactly as described above and save my money by having some 4007 diodes and a sag resistor.
I am amused to no end by people paying big money for NOS rectifier tubes. I figure they're the same people buying things like this:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Audioquest- ... tegory=224
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- scottva59
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krx wrote:I am amused to no end by people paying big money for NOS rectifier tubes. I figure they're the same people buying things like this:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Audioquest- ... tegory=224
And don't forget...
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdet ... nd=2818820
(read the reviews for a good laugh)
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I heard Eric Johnson won't play a gig until he has his personal electrician replace all the in-wall wiring and sockets.scottva59 wrote:krx wrote:I am amused to no end by people paying big money for NOS rectifier tubes. I figure they're the same people buying things like this:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Audioquest- ... tegory=224
And don't forget...
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdet ... nd=2818820
(read the reviews for a good laugh)
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- nyazzip
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you don't HAVE to pay big $ for NOS EZ81s....after i built my LiteII this winter i stocked up on about 6 off of eBay. i paid between 6-10 bucks each i think, maybe even less. i was surprised. they are branded NEC and RCA, and i think a couple were "package deals" that included other tubes that i kinda wanted.
by the way, is it dramatic when a rectifier goes, or a gradual decline...?i expect to have to live a few lives to go thru even 6 of them
by the way, is it dramatic when a rectifier goes, or a gradual decline...?i expect to have to live a few lives to go thru even 6 of them
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Yup, EZ81s are pretty cheap. But have you checked out prices for Mullard GZ34 or GZ37 tubes? !nyazzip wrote:you don't HAVE to pay big $ for NOS EZ81s....after i built my LiteII this winter i stocked up on about 6 off of eBay. i paid between 6-10 bucks each i think, maybe even less. i was surprised. they are branded NEC and RCA, and i think a couple were "package deals" that included other tubes that i kinda wanted.
by the way, is it dramatic when a rectifier goes, or a gradual decline...?i expect to have to live a few lives to go thru even 6 of them
UF diodes and a sag resistor are less than a buck and take up a lot less space.
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- nyazzip
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to be honest, i really just wanted to see the glow of that one extra bottle; i mounted it right by the power switch so it is kind of "on display". all of my other guitar amps are SS rectified, so it is novel...but i don't need no steenking $130 MullardTM glow, the current **** looks pretty darn good in dim lightYup, EZ81s are pretty cheap. But have you checked out prices for Mullard GZ34 or GZ37 tubes? !
i forgot that there were other tube type choices for 18 watt recto tubes....
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Given the choice I always opt for an octal recto socket, by using diffrent tubes it allows you to play with the secondary voltage to a pretty wide degree. This can change the tone & feel of the amp pretty significantly. Ive had more than one 18 that, to my ears, sounded much better with a 5y3 vs a GZ34. Careful though, some rectifiers draw more curent than others. .. Joe
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- pvg_320
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I personally prefer a matched pair of EZ81's...for those times when single-ended rectification just won't do.
http://cgi.ebay.com/EZ81-TESLA-NOS-STRO ... 51932686f8
http://cgi.ebay.com/EZ81-TESLA-NOS-STRO ... 51932686f8
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