Suhr Badger- 6l6s instead of el34s but not kt66s??

Catthan

hi guys, I have a Badger 30 with el34s and read somewhere a post by Suhr saying that they can be swapped for 6l6s but no kt66s; I thought that 6l6s and kt66s are interchangeable? Do you have any technical assumptions-advice as to why I shouldn't put kt66s? I wouldn't expect it to turn into a JTM but I'd like to try, were it safe.. The amp is self-biasing with ss rectifier iirc and if it makes any difference.. Thanks, T.

ESchap

If it'll take 6L6GC's "electrically" it should take KT66's. However, looking at a photo of it I suspect the reason is that they simply won't fit inside the box! KT66's are big bottles

octatonic

Email John Suhr and ask him.

He is one of the most accessible people in the biz.

https://twitter.com/johnsuhr

john@suhrguitars.com

Catthan

Just got word from Suhr support,

kt66s won't hurt the Badger, they just didn't like how it sounded when they tried them

I'm tempted now,,

Catthan

ok so a pair of gold lions has been in the badger for a few hours.
though they sound old and woody, they may be somewhat anispiring. they did mellow out the eq a bit.
I ll probably give them a few days to make up my mind.

ESchap

I'd give them a few hours use, the Chinese KT66 I had sounded much better after about 10 hours or so.  You might also want to up the bias a little as the modern KT66's seem to sound best at 6L6GC bias levels which will be a bit higher than the EL34's.  

Catthan

ESchap said:

I'd give them a few hours use, the Chinese KT66 I had sounded much better after about 10 hours or so.  You might also want to up the bias a little as the modern KT66's seem to sound best at 6L6GC bias levels which will be a bit higher than the EL34's.  

Thanks @ESchap, that's what I thought too. I'm afraid I cannot do anything with the bias though.

Catthan

Ok, after about 15 hrs with the kt66s, I decided I like the stock el34s more. As i said, The kt66s sounded a bit more woody and old and mellow but the amp lost some presence. There is a tube that sits between the 2 sonically iirc, the 6c smth.. I might give them a try if I move the kt66s. But throwing kt66s in a badger 30 is doable and safe and does affect the tone. Then it's just a matter of taste. Brgrds,