euro-m

04/29/08 The "Guitar Info" page has been updated with a page for Orange Amps and VOX Amps along with some additional info for you B52 players on the B52 page.

04/04/08 The new Vintage Cream "Tubes Are Good" Tee shirts are ready! So many of you ask us to screen these in a color other than the standard Rock & Roll Black (white was most requested) that we experimented with some different colors and decided on Vintage Cream. These really look great and are now available in the online store!

03/14/08 NAMM 2008 was again the ultimate candy store! The three of us (Jay, Eddie and myself) spent a full three days pawing thru all the available booths leaving no stone unturned!

There were lots of new amps unveiled from quite a few major companies and boutique builders. Marshall was touting the new Randy Roads 1959 100 watter in white and it demoed it in the Marshall booth dimed out or course! I personally thought it sounded very nice but when A/B’ed to the Vintage / Modern, my son Eddie and I both thought the VM was a better sounding amp. Interestingly enough the VM half stack disappeared from the sound booth Saturday afternoon. Maybe they also thought it was too much competition for the Rhoads…

I talked with Bob Burriss or Burriss Amps for a while and listened to his amps, all are very nice hand wired units. The little Royal Bluesman is sure to catch the eye of players looking for a lunchbox size head with verb and trem which can easily ride on top of even the smallest 1/12 cab.

The other stand out guitar was a traditional Telecaster made by HAHN. The attention to detail and build is beyond excellent. You can check them out here. http://www.hahnguitars.com I’m sure Eddie will elaborate on these as he also thought it was the nicest Tele he ever played.

01/25/08 The new prices are in affect... Maybe if we all vote for Ron Paul he will stop our government from giving away all of our money and the dollar will once again rule the world and prices will go down!! I'm an eternal optimist...

The prices listed in the online store are good thru this Friday. Unfortunately we received the largest price increase in our ten year history with JJ Electronic at the first of this year. Now that we are out of older stock we will be raising the prices 01/25/08 The reason for the increase is because the value of the American dollar has fallen drastically compared to the European Euro thanks to our government…

11/20/07 The new "Tubes Are Good!" Tee Shirts are in! Yes, they made it ahead of schedule and are shipping out NOW!

11/07/07 You Orange Amp players may be interested in seeing what we did with an AD30HTC over on the bottom of the Weber page here; http://www.eurotubes.com/euro-weber.htm

11/03/07 THE NEW EUROTUBES TEE SHIRTS WILL BE READY 11/28/07!!! That's right! We have a brand new Tee shirt design and even a few Hoodies that will be ready for Christmas! The centerpiece artwork was done by local Portland artist Amanda Davis. I discussed the project with her back in September and conveyed the concept as a 40's to 50's pinup style with a very happy and classy lady riding a rather large tube! After getting the general idea sketched out Amanda was finished with the piece a couple weeks later. I scanned the original, added the text and headed for the screeners. It turned out that it was going to be a 14 screen print. That's correct FOURTEEN screens!!

The shirts are in process now and will be ready the 28th of this month. I'll get them up in the online store shortly where we will be accepting pre-orders for these. So whether you're buying a Christmas present for yourself or for a friend you can order them ahead of time and we will hold all the orders and process them only after the shirts are ready to ship the last week of this month.

10/25/07 Due to an overwhelming number of requests from VOX players we now have retube kits up in the online store for the 90's reissue AC30's and for the new Custom Classic AC30CC's and AC15CC's.

10/24/07 Two subjects today! The first on KT77's in XXX and JSX amps and second, Integrated quads for 5150II - 6505+ amps!

#1. KT77's. We have been getting LOTS of mail and phone calls about running KT77's in Peavey XXX and JSX amps. It seems that PV has decided to advise their customers that this would damage the amp and they are advising players NOT to use the KT77's. This of course is simply an answer given by a paranoid and most certainly unqualified individual...

Anyone who knows anything about tubes in general and about the KT77 in particular would know that the KT77 was originally built by Genalex back in the 70's to be a drop in replacement for any EL34 and is not any harder on an amp than an EL34 is. We have been running the JJ KT77's which were built at my request by JJ Electronic (for which I sacrificed a prized pair of my own Genalex KT77's for them to tear down) in the later part of 2005 and we have been running them in XXX amps for two and a half years and in JSX amps for a year and a half. They sound great! And no, they will not blow up your amp... We also use these in Marshall's, Orange Amps, Laney's, Bogner's and Mesa amps just to name a few. They are a wonderful alternative for players looking for an EL34 type sound but needing to retain a maximum amount of low end.

#2. Integrated quads for 5150II - 6505+ amps with KT66's! After receiving quite a few requests about running KT66's in 5150 II and 6505+ amps we decided it was time to answer the call, and once again, go where no one else dare! So we did.

There is not enough room between the tube sockets to run a quad of KT66's but there is enough room for two KT66's in the outside holes and a pair of 6L6GC's in the inside holes so we used the same Integrated quad that we use on the original 5150 and the newer 6505. You can see a pic of them below all fired up.

The sound? Very cool! You get the creamy smooth mids and top end of the KT66's mixed in with the cutting edge of the 6L6GC's! This equals a big fat tone that is truly unique and full of harmonics. This is a plug and play option for 5150 II and 6505+ amps. Just install and turn the almost useless bias pot fully counterclockwise and ROCK! I just put up kits for these in the online store.

07/13/07 We just returned from another visit at the JJ factory. This was our first time in their new building and it was spectacular! They have built a lot of new test and production equipment. A new factory tour is here, http://www.eurotubes.com/euro-r.htm

Meetings went very well and there will be new products which we will announce in about 3 to 4 months!!

As for the latest new release, the JJ KT66, it is proving to be a great tube and we have been supplying Mike over at Dr Z with these for a few months now and he is VERY happy with them as the rest of our Route 66 customers are!

A customer of ours pointed me to a post on the Dr Z forum. Since I do not post on forums I figured I would address it here. This is the post:

Re: Some confusion with KT66 tubes , which to use
« Reply #15 on May 12, 2007, 7:27pm »

A friend of mine was warned not to buy from eurotubes. He was told that they sell all kinds of relabeled and used junk, etc... I imagine these would be safe though, since they're easily identifiable.

So to address this all I can say is we have never sold any re-branded tubes and never will. In fact we pride ourselves on selling ONLY factory branded JJ Electronic and NOS tubes and as Myles Rose has stated over on Harmony central "Eurotubes testing and matching is what I would call up to medical standards."

06/17/07 We just put up a new "how to" bias video which is a generic bias video done on an 800 Marshall and the procedure shown applies to almost any adjustable bias amp. I have also included a list of amps from A to V and their average plate voltage and bias points. You can jump to it straight from here.

06/09/07 We have been working on a new combination of tubes for the ever popular Mesa Dual Rec again and have found yet another great setup. I set out to design a retube kit for you drop tuned players who want a "kill on contact" low end but have out grown the scooped mid thing and need a good solo voice along with a massive chug. In the past we have used a quad of KT88's for this because they are SO fat with a thunderous low end, but because of how thick they sound they don't cut in the upper mids and highs quite as well as 6L6's or EL34's do.

As you probably know we are the guys that like unconventionality and I'm always keeping tabs on different grades of tubes that have potential for abstract applications so, we did a little experimenting and found specific grades of KT88's and KT66's that will work together in a Dual Rec! So what do you get? Well the KT88's handle the thunder and punch and the KT66's give you a great open mid and high end that cuts and crunches up at higher volumes. This combination is VERY cool and even though I'm not a drop tuned Metal player I must admit that these are going to stay for a while in my DR because they seem to do everything very well!

I just put up kits in the online store for these! The pic below shows the black base 66's and 88's along with the GZ34 rectifiers but the Integrated quad of 66's and 88's match up so nicely that you can run them in the 6L6 mode in either the solid state or tube rec mode and in either bold or spongy with no bias mods or worries. The clean tones are spectacular and the drive tones can tip the Rickter scale!

04/08/07 We have the first production run of the long awaited JJ KT66 in stock!! Yes, everyone who was on the waiting ling has been satisfied and we have stock left! They are now available in the online store.

We have been running these in my Anderson Amp, my Univalve and in my Dual Rec and these are a wonderful option. To quote my son Eddie "I LOVE these tubes!" They are his new favorite. A great option for Single and Dual Rec heads. The bases are the same diameter as the KT88's so these are not a good option for combo amps with the Bear Trap style tube retainers. You can however replace the Bear Traps with the cap style spring retainers which will work nicely, but remember that you need to stretch these out just as with KT88's because too much pressure on the big double curve bottles can cause breakage when the tubes get hot!

Just about any 6L6 amp can use these if there is room. The KT66's like the KT88's measure 2 1/8" in diameter so you need a very minimum of 2 1/4" measured from center to center of your tube sockets.

03/29/07 We have just finished testing on the new JJ EF806! The JJ EF806 is a premium version of an EF86 and we could not be happier with its tone and performance! I have been asking JJ for this tube for years now and have always stressed the fact that microphonics must be very low. Well they have pulled thru again! Its quieter than any of my NOS EF86’s and the construction is almost identical to the Telefunken EF86 and it has the same sweet open sound!

We just ran these thru a Dr Z, Z28 and they were VERY quiet with only a slight knock heard thru the speakers just like it should be when the amp was cranked all the way on. The JJ EF806 is now available in the Eurotubes online store and they are priced at 22.00

03/16/07 We have some more first run KT66's in the house and just ran these in our Dual Rec. (See pic) These are going to be a great tube for Dual, Triple and Single Rec heads, not to mention other 6L6 amps! They have a big tight low end and a huge open mid and high end that crunches up at high volumes just like the original Genalex. These tubes draw a lot of natural plate current so the warmer grades get the cold fixed Mesa bias right up where it should be in the 6L6 mode. The pic below shows a quad of them running in the tube rectifier mode with a pair of JJ GZ34's and you can also run them in the solid state rectifier mode if you like.

The bases on these tubes are the same large metal base that is used on the KT88's but it's black in color. A very cool look! Because of the large diameter base the bear trap spring tube retainers will not fit around the base of these tubes so they can either be pushed down as shown in the pic or removed. If you want to use these in Mesa combo's you would need to remove the retainers and install spring style retainers if the amp is a gig amp and constantly moved around.

For applications in other 6L6 amps you will need to have at least 2 1/4" measured from center to center of your tube sockets because the JJ KT66's are 2 1/8" in diameter!

We are expecting a larger shipment of the JJ KT66's in the first week of April! For now I am compiling a KT66 list because the quantity will be limited at first. Email me if you want on the list.

01/28/07 The big news is the JJ KT66! Yes, we have first run KT66's that we are now testing and running thru a bunch of amps. So far this tube has exceeded our expectations! We ran it up against some of our NOS Genalex KT66's and it not only held its own but it was simply more musical with greater harmonic content so to say the least we are very excited about these tubes. The first production run is scheduled for the end of February and we will be getting them! I don't have any pricing yet. The second new tube is the long awaited EF806 which is the premium version of the EF86. We are busy testing this one with reports to follow. These should also be available in early March.

NAMM Report! So we have been back from the NAMM show for a week now and have finally caught up with all the email and orders! I'll cut right to it and say that this years show was excellent! The standout amps were once again the 65 Amps and for new models the new Marshall Vintage/Modern which is the best new Marshall that I've personally heard in a long time! The new JVM amps which are replacing the TSL's are also a big improvement. The new hand wired VOX AC15 was back to sounding like a real VOX. Fender has a new Tweed Deluxe that is very vintage looking and sounding. Ashdown is now under a new name which is Hayden. B52 has a new four channel head and a new AT Elite series head.

The Vintage/Modern Marshall is a single channel amp with a foot switchable boost and low and high range settings with an extra preamp tube for the boost along with reverb. It's a KT66 based amp and really is the most versatile single channel Marshall I've ever heard. I may have to get a 50 watter to set on top of one of my vintage 8X10's!

Below are a few pic's including the new Tweed Fender, The hand wired AC15, Eddie with his favorite fretless guitar and Jay with pretty outstanding Dean V, and a few outrageous Bass's. We were in the Fender room again Sunday morning where Edie and Jay both played the new scalloped fret board Strat's where we were treated to an Yngwie warm up and sound check. We were only a black curtain away and as they say "the boy can play!"

12/20/06 The new Eurotubes Bias Probes are HERE! As lots of you know, we are now a Weber dealer and we also carry the Weber probes and will continue to carry them. We have found that while these are great units they are also very tall, so in amps that need a short probe we now have one!

We are making these from high quality JJ ceramic sockets and JJ tube bases. They are the type of probe that measures in Milliamps. These are now in the Eurotubes online store for 25.00!! It's shown here with one of our "Cheap" $10.00 Multimeters.

11/28/06 The new Eurotubes stickers are HERE! So many guys have been asking for stickers that we finally got off dead center and got the job done. They are nice full four color, laminate coated, so no tearing and they stick big time! We have been shipping out all orders with a free sticker since last week and if you want to purchase more of them they are two for a buck in the online store!

10/19/06 The new Eurotubes Sweat shirts are here just in time for winter! Check them out here! These are up in the online store for 25.00 They are heavy duty!

10/19/06 Weber is what's new! Yes, we have sent so many of our customers to Weber over the years that after talking with Ted we decided to take on Weber Bias Probes, Attenuators and select models of Weber Speakers. There is a Weber page describing these products and you can now find Weber products in the online store!

10/10/06 There is now a "How to" bias video up for all you Carvin players. The video shows both the Carvin method of measuring across the standby switch and using a bias probe. These methods can be use for the V3, the MTS and Legacy amps and the older Valvemaster amps.

08/29/06 We just received a new shipment of the JJ KT77's which now have the larger oversize pins so you guys that have been waiting, we're ready for you!

We have had a lot of inquiries from Mesa Single Rec owners about using the JJ 6V6's like we have been doing with the Dual Rec's. Well we finally got of dead center on this. Last week Eddie Spent some time with a Single Rec and we have a grade of the JJ 6V6's that will put the bias right where it belongs! This is only for the Single Rec's and Rectoverbs that are switchable from 6L6 to EL34 mode because the 6V6's should be run in the EL34 mode.

The outcome? A great warm clean tone because the bias is where it should be and it drops the power down to about 25 to 28 watts so you get earlier power tube distortion! The 6V6's also have a very big low end thump when the lows are dialed up if that's your thing.

08/28/06 We just put up the "How To" video bias page! This is something that I have been wanting to do for a while now because of all the calls and emails we get on the subject. Look here. http://www.eurotubes.com/euro-video.htm

06/30/06 We have spent some time now with the gold pin tubes in several amps and these are a premium grade tube and the main difference with them is that they are smoother in the top end and a little richer in the mids. This holds true with both the ECC83S and the ECC803S so they are very nice tubes for a V1 position for players looking for a richer smoother tone. For these reasons I don’t think they will be a popular tube for death metal or what I call screamer metal if you're after a real hard edge on your tone.

In vintage Fenders these are great tubes and the ECC83S Gold pins proved out to be very nice in the Classic Peavey's and the Fender Blues, Pro Jr's and Hotrod Deluxe's. We really liked the way this tube smoothed out the Valve Jr combo amp.

The Gold pin ECC803S did very well in my Dual Rec for a V1 tube and I also have one in the V1 position of my Anderson 20/45 which made an unbelievable amp even better. I also ran the ECC803S in the Valve Jr head and it was "butter!"

So if you're after the best of the best in a V1 tube or across the board the Gold pin tubes are very nice indeed!

The ECC83S Gold pin tubes are priced at 18.00 and the ECC803S Gold pin long plate tubes are 21.00 and we do have these in stock! As we go thru them we will be offering them with matched triodes and balanced triodes which will be showing up in the online store shortly.

05/02/06 We just received first run test samples of the new Gold Pin JJ preamp tubes! In the pic below the tube on the left is the new long plate standard ECC802. Going from left to right the second tube is the new Gold Plate ECC81 and the next tube is the long plate Gold Plate version of the ECC802 followed by the E88CC, the ECC83S and the ECC803S.

I do not have pricing on these yet and we will be busy testing these in lots of amps over the next couple weeks!

From: Michael Boyer [mailto:boyer@cfl.rr.com] Sent: Saturday, March 11, 2006 5:48 PM To: Bob
Subject: Re: Peavey JSX Tube SOS

Bob,
I just wanted to give you a quick update on how my Peavey JSX head sounds. I had the amp biased and retubed by a local tech. The head came stock with a quad of JJ EL34’s and EH 12AX7’s. The tubes were replaced by a quad of your JJ KT77’s, three high gain JJ ECC83S’s, and one graded/balanced JJ ECC83S for the phase splitter (V4). First of all, let me say that the difference is night and day! I am soooo pleased with the tone I am now getting. I liked the JSX before, but some days were great while others left me guessing. That is not the case now. The bottom end is tighter, thicker, and deeper (as promised). The mids have the great EL34 crunch, while the highs chime with lots of head room. I feel the amp now has a better attack too. I am simply blown away at how this head growls. My JSX is NOW a tone machine!
Lastly, I just wanted to thank you for putting out such an informative website. Not to mention responding to emails in such a prompt fashion. With out the information and visitors posts, I honestly believe I would still be searching for that dream tone. Possibly dropping a few grand more on another head, when a hundred bucks in replacement tubes did the job. If you have any other customers wanting a great modern voicing out of their JSX, mention the above tube combination…It definitely worked for me!
Thanks Again,

Michael Boyer

-----Original Message-----From: msmith@comcast.net [mailto:msmith@comcast.net] Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2006 2:09 PM
To: Bob
Subject: KT77's

Bob,
Put a pair of KT 77's in my Blueverb 40-112 combo amp. This was a great sounding amp with JJ EL-34's in it, but HOLY MOLY!
This amp sounds better than ever...more singing feedback, more chime at clean settings. The amp sounds richer in 2nd order harmonics, sweeter all around.
Smitty(Blueverb Builder),said these are some of the best sounding tubes he's ever heard. I have to agree with him. WOW! The tubes have about 24 hours on them and have settled in well.
Thanks for getting these tubes made,

Mark Smith

-----Original Message-----From: Good Jason [mailto:soulcrusher@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2006 9:00 PM
To: eurotubes@cnnw.net
Subject: KT77 review

Let's see, matchup tonite:

JJ KT77 vs. JJ E34L vs. Mesa/Electro-Harmonix EL34. The two rings: Mesa/Boogie Stiletto Deuce, Peavey JSX.

The JSX has had it's JJ E34Ls for almost a year now with no problems, chugging away it's song. They are by
far tighter and meatier sounding than the EH EL34s they replaced, but the JJ KT77s took it a step
further. They ALMOST have the girth of a 6L6 in this amp, but still retain that awesome EL34 crunch. The
tone from these bottles is nice and thick: nice fat, highs....thick, crunchy, mids, and a tight, deep
bottom end that never fell apart. I'm sure the two JJ ECC803's and two JJ ECC83s's in the preamp helped too,
but who's counting?

On to the Mesa. The stock tubes seems WAY too mushy to be in a nice amp like this. On the gain channel in
"Fluid Drive" mode, the stock EH tubes seemed to compress too much and totally mush out. With the JJ
KT77s in place the amp totally woke up. The bottom end was much tighter, bigger and fuller. The mids were
more present and cutting, and the highs didn't feel like icepicks in your ears. I am very impressed with
these tubes. I'll be sure to retube with these guys!

~Jay

02/25/06 Here is yet another review from a Hifi customer of mine Blain. He wrote me with his initial impressions and then again after a few hours when the tubes had sweetened up.

-----Original Message-----
From: scarey52@charter.net [mailto:scarey52@charter.net]
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 6:08 PM
To: eurotubes
Subject: KT77

I JUST RECIEVED MY JJ KT77S TODAY.. NOW I DO NOT USE THESE FOR GUTAIR AMPLIFIERS BUT FOR HIFI USE. I INSTALLED THEM IN MY VELLEMAN 4040B 90 WATT PER CHANNEL AMPLIFIER. AT FIRST THEY WERE A BIT STERILE BUT DIFFERENT THAN ANYTHING I HAVE HEARD.. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, WOW.. I COULD NOT BELIEVE HOW BIG MY SOUNDSTAGE WAS.. EVERY ASPECT OF MY SYSTEM WAS NOW DIFFERENT. SOUND WAS MUCH CLEARER MORE DEFINED, BASS WAS TIGHTER AND HIT A BIT LOWER WITH AUTHORITY THAN MOST OF THE 6CA7 TYPE TUBES. NOW I HAVE OWNED TELEFUNKENS THE REAL ONES WEST GERMAN ONES. I HAVE OWNED MULLARDS XF2, 3, AND 4 TYPE. I HAVE SPENT SO MUCH MONEY ON ALL THESE SO CALLED SPECTACULAR NOS TUBES. NOW I WISH I HAD NOT. THESE TUBES SOUND MUCH BETTER THAN MOST OLDER TUBES 70'S AND OLDER. AND AT 1/20TH THE PRICE.. SO I ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO IS AS BAD AS ME AT TUBE ROLLING TO SELL THERE STOCK AND BUY THESE. MAYBE USE THE PROFITS TO TAKE THE FAMILY ON VACATION. ALL IN ALL I RATE THEM A 11 OUT OF 10. NOW I AM JUST WAITING FOR JJ TO REVERSE ENGINEER SOME GOOD OLD SYLVANIA 6550'S.

-----Original Message-----
From: scarey52@charter.net [mailto:scarey52@charter.net]
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 9:21 PM
To: eurotubes
Subject: kt77

Bob The 5 hours have now passed... one word to sum it all up SPOOKY. Listening to Jack Johnson on his accoustic guitar sounds so real it is not even right... in other words it does not sound like recorded music. that is why i say spooky. I love em never will i buy another el34 type again.. i guess i am done searching. I have found my TONE..

02/25/06 The new JJ KT77's are now available in the online store! Everyone on the waiting list has ordered them and I have some more of them in stock and ready to go!

02/23/06 OK!!!!! My phone has been ringing off the hook more than usual and my email is at 200% instead of it's usual 150% capacity and the reason is because of the statement below about the KT77's settling in and sweetening up after about 5 hours of use.

I have never seen a statement cause so much trouble! So if you have left me a phone message or an email about this here is your answer.

All power tubes will sweeten up after about 5 to 10 hours of use even after the 24 hour burn in that they receive. This is normal, I repeat, this is normal! DO NOT LEAVE YOUR AMP ON FOR 10 HOURS!!!!! Just play as you normally would!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From: Pieter Franken [mailto:pieter@tkb.ne.jp] Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 6:07 AM To: eurotubes@cnnw.net
Subject: Re: Tubes

Bob, the stuff arrived yesterday in good shape. I ended up listening till early morning after installing the KT77 in my 'reference' 8B (heavily tweaked). Well, I was quite surprised by the sound. Especially the bass is extremely powerful, and overall the sound is from bottom to top clean and very fast. Compared to the Philips Metal-base, they're doing extremely well, if not to say better in power, and this is only after a few hours of break in. Also the bias is very stable, just what you expect from a Mullard or Telefunken -- no drift after doing the initial bias routine.

Thanks for your great service and hope more folks find out about these!

Cheers, Pieter

02/20/06 I have been getting quite a few calls from you Hifi guys about the KT77's so here is a review from one of my Hifi customers Ken. The question was asked about a burn in and the answer is yes! 24 hours, but as you noticed they really settle in after an additional 4 to 6 hours.

From: ken r [mailto:ear_me@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, February 20, 2006 11:30 AM To: Bob
Subject: KT77 impresions

Hello Bob,

Not knowing if the KT77's had previous burn in, this is my take after ~ 20 hours.

Sounded like an EL34 up until the 5 hour mark at which time they came to life. The KT77's are much more high definition, better harmonically with lots of texture, and the sweetest, purest, most extended highs I've heard. The 77's let all the low level detail shine through, almost transporting me to the studio on well engineered material. Don't know if it's a distortion product but the EL34' I've used (NOS Mullards, Sventlanas, dimple top slimmies) all sound grainy in comparison.

This is one great tube and one I predict will kill the NOS EL34 market as well as the new EL34 market - why buy a 34 when the 77 is so much better?

Thanks again for the tubes and if it's not too much to ask - can I buy another quad?

Regards,

Ken

02/17/06 The KT77 reviews are starting to pile in here are a couple of them. The first is from John S. He is using the 77's in his Genz Benz El Diablo 100. He included a pic and it was so nice I just had to put it up!

From: 47driver@comcast.net [mailto:47driver@comcast.net] Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2006 3:58 PM To: Bob
Subject:

Click on the pic to enlarge. Thanks John!

The second KT77 review from today is from Roy V.

-----Original Message----- From: Roy Villa-Agustin [mailto:metalhead@msn.com] Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2006 9:03 PM To: Eurotubes
Subject: Thank you!

Bob,

I just want to let you know that I got my KT77s for my Carvin X100B and I could not be happier. Not only are they chunkier, creamer and rounder then my JJ E34Ls but they also smoother. It cuts like a hot knife through butter. I am so impress with them. My Carvin already sounds very good but now it sounds great! I am speechless. All I can say is wow and double wow!

Thanks again,

Roy

02/10/06 The first full production run of 1000 of the new KT77's has just cleared customs!

All of you that I currently have on my waiting list are covered! I will be busy contacting all of you this weekend while the 77's are being matched up and graded. The plate current draw on the new ones are exactly the same as the EL34's and E34L's so they are compatible will all amps using EL34's like Marshall's, Mesa's, Laney's, Traynor's and most all other amps

Those of you who have called me this week are on the list for the next 1000 pieces that are scheduled to leave the JJ factory next Wednesday 02/15/06 and should clear customs by the 23rd at which time there will be enough of them for me to list them in the online store!

01/25/06 For everyone asking about the KT77's I still have a waiting list for the third batch that is on the way right now! If you are not on the list and want to be, you can email me here. Please let me know what amp or amps they are for and how many you would like. They are 32.00 a pair and 64.00 a quad. The KT77's on the way now are expected to arrive on about 2/10 and should clear customs a couple days later.

The first test run and the pre-production run of the KT77's were very hot grades but JJ has dialed them in now so that they are coming in right where the JJ EL34's and E34L's are so they are compatible with virtually any amp using EL34's.

The 06 NAMM show was fun as usual and here are a few shots and highlights. The first pic was taken by Carla of my son Eddie and I outside the main entrance (some of you may have already talked with both Carla and Eddie who are now both a big part of Eurotubes).

The middle shot was just one of the many performances and these guys ROCK! It was the House Band from the INXS Rockstar show, all killer players! So now we know for sure that there will be another "Rockstar" show and it won't be Van Halen! I wonder who??

The third shot is a few of the amps made by the "65 Amp company" http://www.65amps.com/ These were probably the best of show in my opinion, check them out!

The forth shot ( bottom row ) is a prototype from THD using four EL84's and you can channel switch and assign the power tubes by pairs to either channel or use the full quad. A VERY nice sounding amp! The fifth shot is of the new Fender Supersonic, I stole the shot from the Fender site because there were always too many people around these to get a good shot! It's a total rip off of the old Prosonic for the drive channel and a clean channel that switches from a Vibrolux tone to a 66 Baseman tone and does it very nicely I might add. I included this because I thought it was the best new amp by one of the major amps companies.

The final two shots are a couple of the Australian guitars that shared the THD booth. The finish and quality were some of the best period. The final shot was Eddies favorite which was a fretless. I'll dig thru my business cards and see if I can add the name and link.

01/08/06 A few of the latest KT77 customers are getting back to me with reviews. Here is one from Tony using the KT77's and ECC83S's in his Mesa Dual Rec. Thanks Tony!

----- Original Message ----- From: tony ramirez To: Eurotubes Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 1:12 PM

12/22/05 A lot of you have been asking for a spec sheet on the KT77's so here you go!

Howdy Bob, HOLY GUACAMOLE these KT77s are SOOO cool in my Carvin V3. I'm not as eloquent at giving reviews as MK, all I can say is they have made this amp an absolute crunch monster! And the cleans, yeeehawww!! I'm not into country but I just might have to with the kind of twangy, gritty, bootkickin' ruckus these things make. WOW is damn near the best thing I can say. Thank you for the opportunity to be among the initial recipients of this new tube, and I agree with MK... YOU RULE! ...Crunchmaster Chris...

12/20/05 Just tried another combination of tubes which might interest you Mesa players. The pic below of my Dual Rec shows a pair of the KT77's in the outside holes along with a pair of the JJ 6V6's in the middle two holes.

This was a great combination of tones combining the heavy chunk of the 77's and the fat cleans from the 6V6's. At a little higher volumes the 6V6's broke up first which sounded very nice while the KT77's were fat warm with a great sizzle on top.

A quad of KT77's in the DR yielded a killer clean channel that simply roared at higher volumes and I hate to use this very over used term but they had almost a Plexi grind to them. The drive channels ( my DR is a three channel ) sounded very fat and the lows were as deep and punchy as any 6L6 so the KT77's will even fit the bill for fans of dropped tune Metal.

So I promised a report as I cycle the new KT77's thru different amps. If you have been around the Eurotubes site you probably know I have a Block letter 5150 that I have done a split bias mod on so that the inside two power tubes can be biased independently from the outside pair. In the past my favorite combination of power tubes have been two KT88's in the outside sockets and two E34L's in the inside two sockets. ( As a side note, the amp is completely stock except for the bias mod, the amp still has the factory 100 ohm screen grid resisters ).

I now have a new favorite! I think I will rename the 5150ex ( originally named for 5150 "experimental" ) to the 5150KT! I'm now running two of the JJ KT77's along with two JJ KT88's and it's even more brutal than before! It can go from a mild mannered crunch to the thickest tone I've heard yet from this amp! Here is a pic!

I will be running some KT77's in my Dual Rec over the next few days so I will report on the compatibility!

So here's the scoop, for those of you who are not familiar with the KT77 it was designed and introduced back in the mid 70's by MO Valve to be the king of EL34's. It has a slightly shorter plate structure than an EL34 but as you can see by the pic's the plates are a lot larger and just clear the glass. It's capable of a max dissipation of 32 watts and has an extended low end response and a crunch that is more of what I call a chunk! It's very tight and thick sounding with a very crisp high end presence. It can be used in most any amp that uses EL34's for a different flavor.

I sacrificed a pair of my NOS Genalex KT77 to JJ for them to use for R&D on this tube and JJ has done a beautiful job recreating the incredible sound of a legend. Over the next few weeks I will be addressing the use of these tubes in lots of different amps for you.

I have a very limited quantity of them which is spoken for but I will be getting the first full production run by the last week in December so if you want on the waiting list just shoot me an email. The price will be 32.00 a pair and 64.00 a quad.

A couple of weeks ago I sent out a test quad to a good customer of mine Michael Klein for review because Michael is not only a guitar player but also a tube Hifi guy. Here is Michael's review of the new JJ KT77.

Good morning Bob,

Fortunately, I've been blessed with the opportunity to spend more time with the test-batch quad of KT77s that you graciously sold to me. The "official" results and findings are in, and I'll go into more detail below, but all I can say is WOW!

My Hi-Fi stereo is an Antique Sound Lab AQ1003. I just recently purchased this amplifier and was running it with a quad of "hand-me-down" Electro-Harmonix EL34-EHs. My speakers are PSB Image 4Ts. My CD player is an NAD, my turntable is a Music Hall MMF, my cartridge is a Goldring Elan, my phono preamp is a Pro-Ject, and my interconnects and speaker cable are all Audioquest. Not particularly "upper crust" Hi-Fi, but a great sounding system at a reasonable price.

After installing the new JJ KT77s and biasing them to about 35ma, the improvement in every sonic aspect was startling. Immediately, it was clear how much more balanced they are across the frequency spectrum. The bass extends lower than before, but is tighter, punchier, and more natural (i.e. - less boomy) than I've ever heard on a stereo in this so-called budget range (approx $1k). The harmonic richness in the midrange frequencies was just stellar. Instruments not only sounded more life-like dynamically, but harmonically as well. On well-produced albums, this was particularly evident. The treble response that the KT77s added gave me a permanent smile - brass instruments sounded less clamped than before, and again the harmonic richness of things like cymbals was just phenomenal. The background noise with these tubes was non-existent.

At high volume levels, the KT77s never lost their definition or clarity...and fantastically the frequency response remained constant and linear. Whether you listen to primarily orchestral music, jazz, blues, rock, metal, hip-hop...these tubes have the linearity, richness, and headroom to deliver in spades. I will NOT search for a different EL34 for my stereo.

As for guitar, my rig is relatively straight forward. My guitars are two dramatically different PRS's, a Gibson Flying V, and a Fender Eric Johnson Sig Strat. My amplifier is a THD BiValve, and my cabinets are an Avatar open-back 1x12 (w/ Celestion G12H30...used primarily for jazz and blues) and an Avatar closed-back 2x12 (w/ Celestion G12H30 and Vintage 30...used for everything else). My pedal board is a little more complicated, but I feel its irrelevant to the KT77s. Cabling is George L's.

I used eight different preamp tubes for this: 2x JJ ECC83s (120 gain), 2x JJ ECC803S (105-110 gain), 2x JJ ECC81 (120% gain), 2x Mullard CV4024. Power tubes I compared the KT77s to are (I only selected from my EL34-types): Mullard EL34s (Xf2), Matsuhisha "fake Mullard" EL34, Amperex Bugle Boy EL34, JJ E34L, and Electro-Harmonix EL34-EH.

With conviction, all I can say is a resounding WOW!!!! These KT77s are literally my favorite tube that I have of any type, including some of the late greats like the aforementioned or the RCA 6L6GC Black Plate, Brimar 6V6...and the entire line of JJ tubes. Not necessarily that they're better than the other JJ's, they're just more what I'm looking for sonically.

Clean, these tubes have a fantastic deep low-end extension that isn't the least bit boomy, but instead chunky and defined. The midrange is EXTREMELY rich and incredibly musical. The treble frequencies are articulate, glassy, and very very sweet. They worked great for everything from fingerstyle jazz comping, to Strat-toned jazz blues, arpeggiations...everything just jumped out of the speakers with authority and musicality. Lots of sweetness, gobs of harmonic overtones, PERFECT frequency response. Just insane....

Overdriven, the KT77s have probably the coolest crunch of any single tube I have. They have the midrange focus of EL34s, but they don't get harsh in the high-end, nor do they lose any bass. If anything, they get thicker as you crank them up. They were extremely dynamic and linear...I was able to control them easily with my playing dynamics. Extremely musical...and have a certain "Hi-Fi" overdriven sound in that they are so rich yet balanced.

Cranked, the KT77s DELIVERED. Talk about a huge, yet singing tone. I guess the words "Marshall-esque" or "British-sounding" apply, but the KT77s give much more than the midrange crunch those phrases describe. They give bass CHUNK, and somehow give a sweet, angelic treble response in the process. It's as if my favorite characteristics of 6L6s, 6V6s, EL34s, and KT88s were all wrapped up into one tube, and then balanced with each other so they work in harmony.

I'm sorry this is SOOOOO long, but there's so much to praise on the new JJ KT77s. Someone could give me $5,000 to spend on any EL34 type ever created, and I wouldn't look past the JJ KT77 (although, in honesty it does have me curious about the original Genalex :).

Thanks for the opportunity to get my hands on a quad of these early. Its been fantastic, and I can't wait to get the other pair dedicated solely towards my BiValve.

You rule!
- mk

12/03/05 During talks with JJ Electronic in January I was asked the question "what tube should we build next?" JJ had responded to one of my last requests which was the JJ 6V6, and as everyone who has tried these tubes knows, they knocked that one WAY out of the ballpark!

So my answer was simple, I said what we need is a *******! Well, they have done it! It's a wonderful tube! I have been testing them now for about a week and it's another BIG time winner! All you Marshall, Mesa, Laney, Carvin players just to name a few, get ready!!

I will be getting a limited number of these in the end of next week and the first real production run will be here between Christmas and New Years which I'm sure won't last long! We are so excited about this tube that you will see the first ever Eurotubes add in the February issue of Guitar Player! Here is a sneak peek!

09/09/05 For all of you guys that have been after me on this, the new Eurotubes T Shirts are FINALLY here! These are vivid nine screen beauties ( Yes! Nine screens! ) depicting what else? A tube powered Earth! We all know that tubes make the Earth just a little warmer and more beautiful so here's your chance to show it!

These are available in black only in regular T's and tank tops in the online store for 15.00

08/10/05 The new JJ EZ81 has arrived! This is a rectifier tube that replaces the 6CA4 which is used in a lot of older Hifi amps and smaller guitar amps. This is a great sub for the new 20 watt hand wired Marshall.

04/30/05 Here is another option for you Mesa Dual Rec players! I have been wanting to get around to this for a while and with the help of my son Eddie who has become more involved with Eurotubes over the past couple of years we finally got to it!

The pics above show a quad of the JJ 6V6's running with two of the JJ GZ34's. These are running in the EL34 bias position and the 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.

The sound? Very cool! The JJ 6V6's have a very big low end that is tight and well defined. The mids and highs are thick, sweet and harmonically rich and at higher volumes they crunch up like only a 6V6 can do. To date this is the warmest clean tone I've heard from a Dual Rec.

So if you want to get a little more of that cranked up tone a bit earlier and want a great clean to go along with a very warm and punchy drive tone from you Dual or Triple Rec the JJ 6V6's and GZ34's may just be what your looking for!

As a side note the preamp tubes we used were three of the graded high gain ECC83S's in V1, V2 and V3 with a standard ECC83S in V4 and a high gain balanced ECC83S in V5. This is the most popular set of Mesa front end tubes that we do and they are available in the online store under the title "Mesa high gain front end".

03/10/05 Another review of the new ECC803 from Chris Holtz who was on my waiting list for the first batch!

So to Answer this question, it won't be long! JJ is ramping up production of the ECC803 and I will have more coming in about a month!

02/08/05 OK, so we have been stuffing the new JJ Long Plate ECC803's into everything we have and I have a few out to some tone hound friends for review.

So far what we have found is that the 803 is not quite a hot gain wise as the ECC83S's. The 803 is however right between 105 to 110 on my VTV Characterizer which is right where the vast majority of my Telefunken and Mullards measure so it's not whimpy by any standard. We did find that the silver plate 803 was not quite as smooth and fat sounding as the Gray plate and I'm happy to announce that JJ has decided on the Gray plate with welded construction. Here is a little closer look at it.

I get lots of email everyday asking "is it a Telefunken copy?". So the answer to the most asked question is no! The plates are longer and the construction is different, as for the sound yes, it is probably the closest to a Tele I've heard and it's the only 12AX7 type tube that we have NOT been able to distinguish from a Tele with any amount of accuracy in a blind test.

The second most asked question is "how does it differ from the ECC83S?". The answer is that there are a lot of similarities in the tone, especially in the low end. Both tubes are very deep, tight and defined with no flab. The differences start to become more evident in the mids where the 803 is simply thicker sounding. The highs on the 803 are pretty close to the ECC83S but the 803 has a little more pronounced high but with no tendency to get brittle and this is where it most resembles a Tele. So for darker voiced amps like Mesa's this would be great tube for V1.

So far where the 803 has shined the most is in vintage amps like old Fenders and Marshalls where it's fat tone sounds great. It breaks up very nicely in the tradition of the ECC83S.

Here is a couple of excerpts from reviews so far on 803's that I have out for testing.

"What can I say.......the highs never got nasty and always stayed cutting but sweet. The mids were so flexible I could control their crunch factor with pick attack alone..... Pick softer near the neck=smooth and warm. Pick harder near the neck=creamy!!

Really dig in at the bridge and it could almost cut you...move up a little w/med attack and the mids went "crunch" I could go on and on, but I know you know "exactly" what I'm trying to say.

"WOW! What took them so long! Very smooth with the best mid and high that I have heard from any new production tube ever, it destroys my GT 12AX7M's... Don't know if you want to use my comments or not because I'm already a big JJ fan.

It's 01/25/05 and we are back from NAMM! Here are some pics of the first JJ Long Plate ECC803's!! The pic on the left shows the silver and coated plate ECC803's. The silver is a classic crimped plate like the Telefunken and the gray plate is a welded plate style. I didn't have much time to really A/B them hard yet but my son Eddie and I both heard a nice thickness and richness in the mids with a brilliant top end. They are nice and quiet with a pretty high gain structure. The plates are about 1/16" longer than any long plate style 12AX7 I have. The second pic shows them next to a Telefunken and a Mullard just reference.

So far there has been no difference from the silver to the gray plate in tone but we will be doing some extensive listening and comparing soon. Jamona is deciding between silver, gray, crimped or welded for production so let me know what you think.

It's Tuesday 09/14 and I just returned from clearing everything thru customs! I will be up all night testing and grading tubes so all of you who have patiently waited with back orders for the ECC81's, your orders will ship first thing in the morning!

09/02 OK, the latest!! YES! The new JJ 7591 is a reality and I have some on the way! They should clear customs by about the 10th. I already have a waiting list so if you want to be on it just shoot me an email and I'll let you know when they are matched, graded and ready to ship!

The word from Jamona at JJ on the new long plate ECC83 is "close but not yet". Have patience, good things take time. If you want on the waiting list for these tubes just shoot me an email.

07/27/04 It has finally happened!!! You can now order online at Eurotubes! Yes, it has been a three year struggle with more dips and curves than I could have ever imagined but it's finally done!

The Eurotubes online store is NOT a third party add on so no one else will be looking over your data! I still encourage you to call and email me with you questions or as many of you like to do, simply shop on line!

03/04 OK it's been a month now since I've been hammering on the new JJ 6V6's and I've now got them running in about half a dozen Hot Rod Deluxes and Devilles so I feel very safe in saying that these are a very viable alternative for HRD players looking for a little earlier breakup and that upper mid range crunch that only a 6V6 can get so if your after that cranked up Deluxe Reverb vibe here it is!

OK, the latest JJ 6V6 news! Hang on... I have been torturing the JJ 6V6's in my 66 Bassman head now for several weeks at 460 plate volts biased at 22mA per tube and they sound GREAT! Jamona told me that they would run at up to 500 plate volts so I decided to give them a thrashing and they are holding up just fine. I also have a pair in a friends Hot Rod Deluxe at 445 plate volts and 24mA per tube and this is a gig amp for him so it will be a good test. So far the JJ 6V6's make a surprising amount of power and tend to breakup a little earlier with a mid and upper end crunch that is VERY cool! I'll keep you all posted on how they do over the long run but so far I'm very impressed! This should be a nice option for players looking for a little earlier breakup and that classic 6V6 crunch in bigger amps.

The 2004 NAMM show was a ZOO as usual but LOTS of fun! Carla came with me this year, some of you know her as "Mrs Bob" because she's the gal with the sexy voice who takes your orders when I'm out putzin around! Here she is cuddling up with Jerry Only from the Misfits.

Joey DeFrancesco who is my B3 hero played a killer set on the third floor. There is non better! We had a spot right on the stage!

OK, the latest news from Jamona at JJ Electronic is that they are not resting after introducing their new JJ 6V6, they are hard at work building a brand new ECC83 which will be a complete departure from past designs as it will be a long plate tube! Before you send that email asking what it's modeled after, I'm sworn to secrecy about anymore of the details! This will not replace the ECC83S but will be in addition to it! The release date for the new Long Plate ECC83 is scheduled for July 04.

Now I spent some time trying to get a commitment from Jamona for a real KT66 and he is on the verge of saying yes. He says he could build one in a fairly short amount of time if he were to use a 6L6 bottle but it would take a while longer and be a little more expensive to build the larger curved bottle. So here is the question and I'm looking for your feedback on this. Would you all prefer the larger bottle if the performance of the tube was exactly the same? Email me and let me know what you think!

JJ is also building a new Hifi amp which should be great for you players who want to get into a real high quality tube Hifi rig for less than a grand. It will be somewhat like the JJ 828 but it will run a quad of JJ 6L6GC's for power and will have it's own integrated tube preamp built in!

Here is the first custoner review I have received on the new JJ 6V6! Thanks Dennis

My apologies to all of you who tried to reach me Saturday 12/05/03 but I couldn't stand it any longer! I had to take the time to roll a bunch of 6V6's so here are the results. The test amp was a 1959 Deluxe recently overhauled by my good friend and tech Doug Howerton of Howertone amps. It's a beauty with a 1961 P12N. We used an American Strat with Van Zant pups. The plate voltage on the amp was right at 350 to 360 depending on the tubes. Check out the pics!

During the evaluation I wrote my thoughts and impressions down and then Doug gave his verbal review followed by my written review, we were both pretty amazed at how close we came to each other. Here are the results!

Brimar 6V6's: Good clean with a very linear sound. Definition was nice and when driven hard they stayed pretty even and smooth. The breakup was slightly edgy but nice.

Tung-Sol 6V6's: A full clean tone with a little more low end than the Brimar's with a little more aggressive breakup that was a bit bright and slightly edgy.

RCA Black plate 6V6's: Very sweet and full played clean with a great upper mid and high end. When driven hard these tubes stayed focused and even without getting edgy.

Sylvania 6V6's: Nice high end chime with a deeper low and a little smoother breakup than the RCA which was a surprise to both Doug and myself, so far this was our 6V6 of choice. It seemed to have a better dynamic response than the others.

EH 6V6's: These had an overall cold sound to them that was bland and harsh. When driven hard the had a very splatty breakup that was not pleasing to the ear. We later revisited these tubes along with a few others and our opinions both stayed the same.

Raytheon 6V6's: A little shallow on the low end but not in a bad way, still pretty full sounding but when driven hard these were the big surprise of the day. These tubes had a VERY aggressive and focused breakup that was harmonically rich, they just simply sang. Very ballsey! This was the clear winner in the distortion department.

Hytron 6V6's: These had a laid back sound that was mellow and sweet. These were the least aggressive in the bunch, they had a pretty focused breakup but nothing like the Raytheon.

Kenrad 6V6's: Big low end but not boomy, very full when played clean but the breakup was very edgy, not splatty like the EH but pretty hairy. A great Surf tube!

JJ Electronic 6V6's: We tried these early on in the day just because we could not stand the suspense any longer and we were both delighted at the sound. After we rolled all the other tubes again we went back for a long listen. These clearly had the deepest low end extension of any of the 6V6's we tried including the Kenrad's but once again it was not boomy, just deep. The mids were very nice with good harmonic content and nice dynamic response much like the Sylvania's. The high end didn't have quite the chime that the Sylvania's had but it was close, the JJ's were more like the RCA's in the high end. When driven hard the JJ's stayed very full and were big and ballsey with a little edge but still smooth and focused. The JJ's did not surpass or equal the Raytheon 6V6's for distortion but they were on a par with the Sylvania 6V6's which delighted both of us and we both liked the Sylvania's and the JJ's better than the RCA's which was more than either of us expected.

The bottom line is that FINALLY we have a good 6V6 that rivals the NOS tubes... I would say that the five years I have spent pestering Jamona at JJ Electronic for a good 6V6 have paid off!!

It's about 7pm 12/4/03 and I just returned from customs with a skid of tubes and the first JJ 6V6's. This is a pic of the first quad to hit my matcher and they were within 1mA of each other after burning for about 30 minuets! I just ran a pair in a Deluxe for the last few minuets and my first impression is that they are somewhere between my silver top Sylvania's and my gray glass RCA's. Nice attack and pretty ballsey. I will of course know more after I take time to roll them with everything.

Now the bad news is that I could only get a limited number of them and as my regular customers know these are ALL SOLD!! So if you want to be on my rapidly growing back order list send me an email. I should be able to get more in the next month or two as production increases.