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Can anyone give me a quick primer on 5881s, KT88s, and KT66s for power tubes? Like what their general tonal properties are and such? I'm usually a sucker for EL34 overdrive tones but I'm always looking for cool things in other tube types.

Educate me.

bump

The kt's were first praised for being 'Kinkless triodesquot; when it came to their EQ. Unlike 6L6's that had quite a bit of mid scoop, KT's are essentially flat. This means you'll get alot more mid bite and awesome breakup with kt type tubes.

The KT66 is one of my favorites in fender amps since they have big bass, headroom, and volume, but they also breakup amazingly.

5881's are lower powered 6l6 type tubes. They breakup sooner than kt66's, you'll probably like all of these tubes, but i think the KT66 would fit the bill for most applications, especially for an EL34 guy looking for a 6l6. (KT's were the british 6l6's, the early marshall sound is the sound of distorted kt66's in JTM45's and bluesbreaker combos.)

Don't forget the lowly 6L6WGB, similar break up to a 5881.

If my Legacy can accept 5881's and 6L6's, will it also accept KT66's as well?

6L6's, 5881's, and KT66's are all in the same family, although the 6L6 and 5881 are more alike than the KT66 is. The 5881 is a bit lower output and will break up earlier. I am not fond of the Sovtek 5881, but I've read the occasional rave about genuine NOS 5881's...might have been Tung Sol, might have been Philips, GE, or RCA.

The KT66 is somewhere between a 6L6 and an EL34. It has some of the headroom and punch of the 6L6 and some of the mids and graceful transition into breakup of the EL34. I think of it as a stout, barrel-chested 6L6 sound.

The KT88 is one of the big bottle tubes. It puts out more power than 6L6's in the right amp and has a bigger tone to it. JJ KT88's grunt and sweat when they break up. Sounds beefy but with some liquid smoothness to it. The 6550 is the other common big bottle tube, which will sound cleaner and brasher than a KT88. You may or may not like that.

6V6, 5881, 6L6, KT66, KT88, and 6550 all have the same pinout. The big question is the voltages involved. The Legacy schemo says it has 455V on the plates and 445V on the screens, so a KT66 should be OK. Call Carvin to make sure if you want to avoid taking the risk.

Bump... cuz i saw a similar more recent thread with answers here plus I reminded myself of some info here, too.


Originally Posted by Quencho092The kt's were first praised for being 'Kinkless triodesquot; when it came to their EQ. Unlike 6L6's that had quite a bit of mid scoop, KT's are essentially flat. This means you'll get alot more mid bite and awesome breakup with kt type tubes.

The KT66 is one of my favorites in fender amps since they have big bass, headroom, and volume, but they also breakup amazingly.

5881's are lower powered 6l6 type tubes. They breakup sooner than kt66's, you'll probably like all of these tubes, but i think the KT66 would fit the bill for most applications, especially for an EL34 guy looking for a 6l6. (KT's were the british 6l6's, the early marshall sound is the sound of distorted kt66's in JTM45's and bluesbreaker combos.)

KT stands for quot;Kinkless Tetrodequot;


Originally Posted by STRATDELUXER97KT stands for quot;Kinkless Tetrodequot;

Yeah, but what if they made kinkless single triode preamp tubes? Then what would they name them?

KT66 - Yum. I love that tube.

This is pretty interesting. I didn't know there were so many options. I want to try some 5881's and KT66's in my Bassman.

Ok.... It6's two years later... Has anyone tried the new JJ Audio (JJ/Tesla) KT66?

Kt88,s usually run higher plate voltages and have a higher power draw.
quot;6V6, 5881, 6L6, KT66,s quot;have lower power draw and an amp set up for them probably won,t have enough to drive quot;88,s.6550,s are the same as the 88,s.66,s have a higher filament draw than 6l6,s.
If you want some tech info ,check out this link. - from : localhost/ - It also has many other tube references there.