gibsonboogie
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- Joined
- Dec 16, 2010
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Just curious to see if any DC-3 owners out there have tried these yet.
http://www.eurotubes.com/euro-EL844.htm
I bought a DC-3 a few months ago. The previous owner had put in 4 JJ EL84 tubes and it sounded pretty good with the expected high-mid emphasis. I recently replaced them with JJ EL844 tubes. The tubes have a 25% reduction in power dissipation (12W down to 9W). This does not automatically translate to a 25% reduction power output and from many sources I heard that the power reduction may not be all that noticeable. But compared to the hot JJ EL84's there were in there before, the drop in volume was noticeable, though not extremely dramatic. It basically made the output level knob more bedroom friendly, and that was my main goal.
Another noticeable change is the heat, or lack of. With the EL84's, the power and standby switches would get hot after the amp was running for 20-30 mins, even at bedroom levels. This is no longer the case with the EL844's. The switches remain cool to the touch.
Now, for the most important part: how it sounds. The marketing line I have seen is "Reduced power and a more balanced frequency response" and so far it is true. The "balanced" response is a lack of the jangly, high-mid emphasis of the EL84, resulting in a flatter frequency response. But I did notice a slight loss in bass response. No problem, though, the bass controls were previously set low on both channels. I just increased the levels, no big deal. I also preferred the sound of the EL844's when driven to the breaking point. It actually reminds me of JJ's ECC83S (normal gain 12AX7). The EL84's had a certain harshness in this DC-3 when driven hard, being that this is a very midrange-heavy preamp, and the typical response of EL84's.
I have yet to try it out with a drummer or in a band setting, but it still sounds like it has enough power to hang with a loud rock drummer.
I'm still holding on to the older EL84 tubes as backups, and if it needs a little more juice, swapping either the inside or outside pair of power tubes might do the trick.
This tube is highly recommended if:
1. You want some power reduction in any EL84 based amp
2. You want a little change of tone, a smoother tone than normal EL84's
3. Just want to try something different
4. Tired of your DC-3 running up cooling bills
http://www.eurotubes.com/euro-EL844.htm
I bought a DC-3 a few months ago. The previous owner had put in 4 JJ EL84 tubes and it sounded pretty good with the expected high-mid emphasis. I recently replaced them with JJ EL844 tubes. The tubes have a 25% reduction in power dissipation (12W down to 9W). This does not automatically translate to a 25% reduction power output and from many sources I heard that the power reduction may not be all that noticeable. But compared to the hot JJ EL84's there were in there before, the drop in volume was noticeable, though not extremely dramatic. It basically made the output level knob more bedroom friendly, and that was my main goal.
Another noticeable change is the heat, or lack of. With the EL84's, the power and standby switches would get hot after the amp was running for 20-30 mins, even at bedroom levels. This is no longer the case with the EL844's. The switches remain cool to the touch.
Now, for the most important part: how it sounds. The marketing line I have seen is "Reduced power and a more balanced frequency response" and so far it is true. The "balanced" response is a lack of the jangly, high-mid emphasis of the EL84, resulting in a flatter frequency response. But I did notice a slight loss in bass response. No problem, though, the bass controls were previously set low on both channels. I just increased the levels, no big deal. I also preferred the sound of the EL844's when driven to the breaking point. It actually reminds me of JJ's ECC83S (normal gain 12AX7). The EL84's had a certain harshness in this DC-3 when driven hard, being that this is a very midrange-heavy preamp, and the typical response of EL84's.
I have yet to try it out with a drummer or in a band setting, but it still sounds like it has enough power to hang with a loud rock drummer.
I'm still holding on to the older EL84 tubes as backups, and if it needs a little more juice, swapping either the inside or outside pair of power tubes might do the trick.
This tube is highly recommended if:
1. You want some power reduction in any EL84 based amp
2. You want a little change of tone, a smoother tone than normal EL84's
3. Just want to try something different
4. Tired of your DC-3 running up cooling bills