EL 34's

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seanseanhd

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Put in some Mesa EL 34's last night and wow so much better than 6L6's anybody else share this opinion.
 
I thought the same when I swapped the el34s in. After a while I had an opportunity to test with new 6L6s and boy I was sold on those... el34s doesn't have such wide frequency range as the 6L6s have... My next tubes will be 6L6s again :)
 
I found the EL34s work way better for me. They have very vocal mids and don't have the excess bandwidth of the 6L6GCs. I should highlight that I like to set my bass pot very low even with the EL34s so YMMV.
 
A while ago I swapped pickups to my LP and after that I've been able to raise the bass pot from minimum :shock: the low end was overwhelming even with el34s...

the LP had JB/Jazz combination and it was too bass heavy with pole pieces topped and pickup height lowered.. new pickups are the not-so-much loved Gibson burstbucker pro set. :lol:
 
Totally agree with EL34's I've been using them in my dual rec for 15 years. Has a great upper mid bite and cuts through really well.
 
KH Guitar Freak said:
Personal preference, I still love those Winged C 6L6s in them Rectifiers 8)

I enjoyed those bottles in Mark III. Never had enough cash to buy quartet of =C='s
 
+++++1 on the =C= 6L6GC. Sweet tube with lots of bite. Even better driving a quad of EV's.

I too have tried the EL34 (several types actually including the =c= set I use with my RA100) took too much away from the tone that I enjoyed most about the Roadster. Perhaps it depends on what Rectifier amp you used them in as you did not specify..... An alternative to keep some bottom and get the rest would be 6CA7. I was overwhelmed how they sounded in my Mark V but did not have the Roadster at that time.
 
I've tried EL34s and didn't like them. Killed the percussive sound that I typically go for. I used to keep a set handy since it's easy to swap back and forth on a Mesa, but I eventually stuck them in an amp I was selling so I could keep the 6L6s that were in it as spares.

I don't hear much about them anymore, but JJ E34Ls were a good compromise option. More bottom than your typical EL34.
 
bandit2013 said:
+++++1 on the =C= 6L6GC. Sweet tube with lots of bite. Even better driving a quad of EV's.

I too have tried the EL34 (several types actually including the =c= set I use with my RA100) took too much away from the tone that I enjoyed most about the Roadster. Perhaps it depends on what Rectifier amp you used them in as you did not specify..... An alternative to keep some bottom and get the rest would be 6CA7. I was overwhelmed how they sounded in my Mark V but did not have the Roadster at that time.

I know someone who uses KT77s with his, and he loves it
 
Just ordered some for my Tremoverb. Liked it fine with 6L’s but decided to put the ones in my MK V in the TVerb to try it out. Undeniably more articulate for riffs and more clarity in general. Still sounds big and bad like a recto does.
 
Now that I have a quad of EH6CA7, will have to squeeze them into the Roadster and see what happens. I tried them in the RA100 combo just for kicks. I did not care for the KT77 in the Roadster but those tubes rocked quite well in the Mark V.
 
I've always been a 6L6 guy with Rectos. A buddy has a 3 channel (non-Multi Watt) Dual that has EL34s in it that sounds great though.
 
bandit2013 said:
Now that I have a quad of EH6CA7, will have to squeeze them into the Roadster and see what happens. I tried them in the RA100 combo just for kicks. I did not care for the KT77 in the Roadster but those tubes rocked quite well in the Mark V.
I have a quad of JJ 6ca7 and really liked them in my Roadster, but after a month of use, two just red plated out of nowhere. I got them replaced under warranty and asked for a colder biased set and unfortunately, they just don't sound as good as the first set. I was really digging the tone from the first ones, but I ended up switching back to stock Mess 6l6's. The EL34B's and KT77's just don't get the tone I want using them.
 
V3 said:
bandit2013 said:
Now that I have a quad of EH6CA7, will have to squeeze them into the Roadster and see what happens. I tried them in the RA100 combo just for kicks. I did not care for the KT77 in the Roadster but those tubes rocked quite well in the Mark V.
I have a quad of JJ 6ca7 and really liked them in my Roadster, but after a month of use, two just red plated out of nowhere. I got them replaced under warranty and asked for a colder biased set and unfortunately, they just don't sound as good as the first set. I was really digging the tone from the first ones, but I ended up switching back to stock Mess 6l6's. The EL34B's and KT77's just don't get the tone I want using them.

The EH 6CA7 tubes are not the same as the JJ versions. Tone is a bit different. Those JJ 6CA7 sounded killer in the Mark V but that only lasted for two weeks of moderate use since one tube became intermittent forcing the other to overheat.
 
Sounds common then! It's a shame, because the first set was the best sounding tubes I have had in the amp.
 

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