Jim Alfredson

Hey wolff, check your PM.

Dang... looking at all these pictures of Tung Sol 6550s I just remembered that a Leslie 147 amp I sold to a friend of mine two years ago had the "coke bottle" tubes in it... I didn't know any better. I sold it to him cheap, too becaue he's a friend. Dang.

I read something funny about those tubes just last night... supposedly when they first came out they were much cheaper than Tung Sols and touted as a good replacement for Leslie amps. Supposedly a lot of people tried them and discovered they actually sounded like shit in that application. Now they are worth $$$$! But they still won't sound good in a Leslie amp. In a hi-fi amp, yes.

It may not be damage that happens right away. It may just cause the tube to fail, or something worse. I'd check with your tech guy or someone who knows the Leslie amp you are using. I had an emergency once were one of my 12AU7s went out. My tech said to replace it with any of the 12**7 series and it would be fine. Leslie amps aren't picky!

Hmmm. Just found this on google: I didn't have any problems in my Leslie. Like I said, the tone was different and the signal was definitely hotter, but it didn't seem to have any adverse affects on the amp. Then again, those amps are built like brick shithouses!

12AU7, 12AT7, 12AX7... all the same thing. You can interchange them. There are differences, but they are negligable. The main difference is the gain. The 12AU7 has the least, the 12AT7 has more and the 12AX7 has even more. I think... I know the 12AX7 is the hottest of the bunch. I've got some new Electro-Harmonix 12AX7s I should try in that amp. Although the Tung Sol sounds so good, I think I'll just leave it!

Interesting 'review' of the new Tung Sol re-issues: I found this on the alt.music.hammond-organ list. Obviously to be taken with a grain of salt, but it sounds promising. I've noticed some online Hammond dealers are selling these now and proclaiming good things. It might be worth giving a pair a shot.

wolff, Today before rehearsal started, Joe and I swapped out various old 12AU7's that I have, including the Tung-Sol I found in my Hammond M3. I tried the Tung Sol, two different RCAs (one with red lettering, one with white), two Sylvania's (one with green lettering, one with yellow), and a couple different Amperex tubes. I also tried the Tung Sol 12AX7. Our favorite was the Tung Sol 12AU7. Perfect blend of high end clarity without being harsh and a smooth midrange. The RCAs were very similair to each other and were a close second. Sticking the Tung Sol 12AX7 in there was very interesting... it was louder (to be expected) and as such it added a nice, growly tone to the Leslie. I may have to experiment more between the two Tung Sols. The 12AU7 was very clean and beautiful sounding... the 12AX7 was a little dirty, which is not a bad thing.

I was semi-watching because my wife was tuned in, but now she's to bed and I'm watching the Pistons!!!!

There sure is.

I think that would be really cool! I'll send a nice letter with it and ask him and/or his wife to stop by!

That's cool too!

i am really bothered by this. i think we, as an organized jazz community should do something. I would be willing to contribute all of Organissimo's February donations to the cause.

That's a BAD record! Good call!

Is that because of the $15 dispute at the local bar? That would be deep shame Nope, this one was due to the incompetance of the people hiring the band.

My gig tonight got cancelled, that's why I'm here. Doing research on vacuum tubes... exciting!

So I just checked the 6550s in my 122... they are indeed Svetlana 6550C tubes. However, the amp uses two 12AU7... one for the Leslie motor control circuit, and one for preamplification. So one of those tubes is very much a part of the sound of the amp. In my Leslie, both are new chinese tubes. On a whim I went into my garage and looked in the back of two Hammond M3 organs that I have, which I do not use. I have them mainly for parts. In the preamp of one I found an RCA 12AX7 and an RCA 12AU7. In the preamp of another I found... Tung Sol 12AX7 and 12AU7!! Woot! So I'm going to stick that 12AU7 into the Leslie 122 amp and see what difference that puppy makes! I'm still seriously considering getting a NOS Tung Sol 6550 pair for recording, even though they are upwards of $115 per pair.

Man, doing some reading on the 'net and looking at pictures, I'm beginning to think I have Svetlana 6550C tubes in my Leslie right now, which are supposed to be about as good as you can get for new tubes. I guess I should go unload the van and take a look. The old Tung Sol 6550s are supposed to be the best for Leslies, from what I've been reading. Maybe the thing to do is keep my Svetlana's for the road and buy a pair of NOS Tung Sols for special occasions (like the upcoming recording sessions). All I know is that I have a quad Tung Sol 5881's in my Leslie 21H which I keep in my home studio, and that Leslie sounds amazing. I have another 21H amp with GE tubes in it, and I've swapped the tubes out and did comparisons and the Tung Sols blew the GE's out of the water. More research...

No... I hear the old Tung Sols are the best, and indeed Leslie actually used them in their stock Leslies (and the tubes have the Leslie name on them). Like I said, I'm not sure what's in there now... I don't think they are stock. I have the newer Hammond-Suzuki 122 amp, which is identical to the old 122 amps, but all new parts. The stock tubes in that were horrible Chinese crap so my tech put in some new Russian tubes (I think). But they are on their way out... for reasons not relating to the tubes themselves... just the rigors of the road.

Just two.

It be funky.

This whole conversation reminds me of my comment about Sonny Stitt and the Varitone awhile back.

This one. Kevin Kevin, thanks. I'm not going to delete anything from before today (I did delete a couple of posts from another thread that were made today) but from now on I'm going to use my discretion as far as deleting such posts. I'll read through the thread, but I'm not going to do anything.

Good one. I'm serious... what thread are you guys talking about? Exactly...., what thread? What, did it already get deleted? I'm not worried about what's already on the board. I'm just asking everyone to be a little more conscious of the issue in the future. That's all.

Good one. I'm serious... what thread are you guys talking about?