Stock tubes for 110-RD50

Eryops

I just bought a 110-RD50 in great condition. The tubes in it are Philips ECG, which I think are no longer manufactured. I'm just curious whether these might be the original tubes. Do we know what brand of tubes were stock for this amp? Normally, I'd just replace the tubes immediately, but I'm thinking that I might want to keep these. NOS Philips seem to be very expensive.

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mm210 Sat, 01/28/2017 - 15:59

First off, what are the tubes IN the 110-RD50? ASSUMING ( and we all know THAT'S a mistake!) that they are some form of 6L6GC's. Phillips would be around the right time frame but I'm NOT up on the little RD's like I should be but they SOUND like the right era. Those ARE expensive now. GGEEEEZZZZ! Mike.

lmv Sun, 01/29/2017 - 09:51

My 110 RD had blue label Phillips in it. These were last manufactured in the late 80s. Could be the original ones. Congrats on the purchase btw!

Cheers,
Lars Verholt

Eryops Mon, 01/30/2017 - 10:00

Thanks, Lars -- this little amp is a beast! It's amazing that the 35-year-old tubes still sound great, especially considering that the numbers on all the knobs are worn off. It's clearly been well-used.

inertian Thu, 02/02/2017 - 07:45

I've seen Phillips and Sylvania tubes in the "all original" MMs amps I've encountered.

Check the 12AX7 driving the Distortion circuit, if it's Phillips as well I think you are looking at factory tubes.

Has the amp been recapped? Distortion circuit modded to be more useful? MM labeled ceramic or EV speaker?

Speaker wise, the Celestion G-10 Gold and WGS ET-10 sound great with this amp.

Eryops Thu, 02/02/2017 - 10:23

Inertian, I've got the EV speaker, which sounds great. I will be taking the amp in to be checked over for recapping, etc. It seems to be in perfect working condition.

inertian Thu, 02/02/2017 - 13:30

I found the EV speaker a little too "in your face" for my style of playing, however a lot of people love them. Gotta be the heaviest speaker ever made too...

For recapping, here's an earlier post you may find helpful (#4 in the thread): http://pacair.com/mmamps3/node/2141

Good luck and enjoy!

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