Guitars

To anyone who has 5u4 rectifier tubes in their amp.. This guy just sent me the pimpest tubes I've seen and heard so far. Check out his matched pairs or quads of Svetlana-nos military tubes.

They sound as good as they look, which is flawless..

http://myworld.ebay.com/xryn/

Hi mate.I had 5U4 in Mesa DR.Now I have Laboga Mr.Hector there are Svetlana 5C3S whitch should be similar to 5U4.I`m planning to replace them for JJ GZ34 they are more balanced then 5U4.

http://eurotubes.com/index.htm

Hi there..

Each tube is tested for balancing after they've been manufactured to my knowledge. For example, a reading of 140/145 is still considered a good balanced tube. ( as compared to a reading of 145/90), the unbalanced ones will be thrown out. Then the rest are matched by similar readings after the readings are documented if you want a matched pair.

To say that a particular "brand" or "type of tube" is "more balanced" would be incorrect. That would be like me saying that my Buick is more balanced than your Volkswagon when driving at 60 mph. Unless one has an alignment problem, both will drive perfectly straight.

Keep in mind that power tubes make no difference to your sound. They are just responsible for powering the preamp. You will notice a difference in response (ie. Tight, Bold, Spongy, Saggy), and you will notice when they get weak or go bad, but that should be about it.

These tubes from XRYN in my first post are NOS tubes that are very well constructed. I noticed no difference between them and my RCA nos 5u4's which are highly regarded for their strength and bold response. But if you look at the construction of the tubes, the SED =C= nos tubes are extremely meticulous compared to anything else I've seen.

This guy is offering pairs for $18, and quads for $36. In the U.S. they are typically sold for $60 a piece (per tube). It's a freaking steal. That's why I posted this. I've personally bought 8 of these (enough to last me 20 years.) And I can tell you they are phenomenal. I'd take these any day over JJ's. But it's mainly based on the construction, and bold response. They're Russian military tubes, so you can bet they're durable.

**By the way, "5C3S" is an equivalent of 5u4, a "GZ34" is equivalent to a 5AR4. The voltages are different. It wouldn't be a good idea to put them in your Mesa if it a fixed bias amp. If you make the change to a "GZ34" in an amp designed for a 5U4, you need to check with an amp tech, or the Manufacturer as to whether it is safe. Otherwise you can do internal damage to your amp. I'm pretty sure you would have to re-bias your amp if you make that change, and a DR is a fixed bias amp.


Hope this helps. Cheers.

Shred


vvvvvv Edited 14-times!!! Damn, need to go back to school!! vvvvv

Also. Just in case anyone was wondering, I didn't post this thread to gain anything. In other words, I don't make anything from the selling of these tubes or the advertisement of them.

It was just a common courtesy to fellow musicians to post a good deal when you find one, and a token of my appreciation to an honest seller who is selling a flawless product for an insanely reasonable price.

Better hurry though, there's no telling how many of these he has left. They are Nos tubes from the 50's and 60's and the stock will eventually run out. After that, don't be surprised when you have to pay $120 a pair for these from someone else later.

[quote]
**By the way, "5C3S" is an equivalent of 5u4, a "GZ34" is equivalent to a 5AR4. The voltages are different. It wouldn't be a good idea to put them in your Mesa if it a fixed bias amp. If you make the change to a "GZ34" in an amp designed for a 5U4, you need to check with an amp tech, or the Manufacturer as to whether it is safe. Otherwise you can do internal damage to your amp. I'm pretty sure you would have to re-bias your amp if you make that change, and a DR is a fixed bias amp.
Hope this helps. Cheers.
Shred


Hi.Thanx for useful info.
This wrote Bob from Eurotubes in his huge section about Mesa DR.

I quite often use the JJ GZ34's in place of the 5U4's to get a punchier and less mushy sound in the tube rec mode and the voltage drop is only about 10 volts down from the solid state diode mode. If the amp is played at high volumes with the GZ34's depending on your line voltage you may need to jump the fuse up from 4 amps to 5 amps which is what I do in my Dual Rec because no matter whether I'm running a combination of 6V6's and KT77's or KT66's and KT88's I'm always in the tube rec mode and usually in the Bold setting where the voltage is at it's highest.
Bold setting and in the tube rectifier mode utilizing the two GZ34's which gets the plate voltage to 450 volts and the current draw to 28mA per tube which is perfect! Using the solid state rectifier gets them a little too hot.
Using the GZ34's will get you that tube rectifier sound without the saggy feel that the stock 5U4 rectifier tubes give you so it's like playing in solid state bold but you get the rectifier tube dynamics.

http://eurotubes.com/euro-n.htm

And all of that may very well be true.

I still would be very careful about this type of replacement. I personally haven't tried this replacement, but generally an average person might think you can just plug them in and go at it. Bob is a professional in his field, and if he says it's ok, maybe you should give it a try.

It seems like you've done your homework, let me know how it sounds ok.

Peace,

Shred