current production 6550's....which ones?

[rollyerown]

My preference is for a 6550 that is as clean and full as possible with good low end. What new production matches that closest? (w/o being unreliable) I have some old GE's that are great, and want something as close to that as possible for when these croak.

[Ted B]

I have a mid '70s Ampeg SVT that I procured some years ago with original GE 6550s. The original tubes were in excellent electronic condition and had few hours on them. I wanted to preserve them for future reference, so like you, I went looking for a suitable replacement. Obviously, with a bass rig such as this, I wanted something with excellent clarity and strong low end. I ended up swapping in a set of JJ KT88s, which performed (and still do) very well in this rig. The frequency response is flat, with strong, but controlled bottom that doesn't get goofy. I was pleased enough such that I'd use them again.

There are more options now then at that time. It seems the Shuguang KT88 also gets similarly favorable reviews, but I haven't used them.