6CA7s vs EL34s. What do you think?

[braintheory]

Thanks for the post man.

I meant mids, not kids. Darn auto correct.

I also have a Bogner Shiva with KT88s that is great but I'm going to experiment with modding it for EL34s to see if I prefer it.

Honestly, I think I'm just a Bogner guy and an EL34 guy.

I've learned it's important to use what works for you.

For me, Bogner are not as aggressive as a Marshall or a Splawn but man I love the feel of my Bogner for leads. That's key for me.

I’m usually an EL34 guy too and some my all time favorite amps I have are also Bogner’s (Caveman and Rev 1 Uberschall). The Shiva might also like 6550’s or KT90’s fwiw. I usually prefer those to KT88’s and you wouldn’t have to mod the amp, but you may still just like it best with EL34’s anyway

In their own way I think at least those 2 Bogner’s I mentioned can be every bit as aggressive or more, but in different places. Their low mid growl and chewiness, while still cutting I interpret as just as aggressive and I’d argue more aggressive than any Splawn I’ve tried and certainly far superior in tonal complexity/richness and feel. I agree, they are some of my favorites for leads too

 

[PSGuitar]

I’m usually an EL34 guy too and some my all time favorite amps I have are also Bogner’s (Caveman and Rev 1 Uberschall). The Shiva might also like 6550’s or KT90’s fwiw. I usually prefer those to KT88’s and you wouldn’t have to mod the amp, but you may still just like it best with EL34’s anyway

In their own way I think at least those 2 Bogner’s I mentioned can be every bit as aggressive or more, but in different places. Their low mid growl and chewiness, while still cutting I interpret as just as aggressive and I’d argue more aggressive than any Splawn I’ve tried and certainly far superior in tonal complexity/richness and feel. I agree, they are some of my favorites for leads too

Hey dude!

Yes, I'm a big Bogner guy.
When I tried to use my EL34 Shiva 20th with a band against a Marshall DSL 100, I struggled. He cut like a knife bad was ultra aggressive. I ended up switching to my Archon and Dual Rec to fit the band.

Then again it was a very heavy modern band.

I have a buddy who had an Ecstacy but struggled in a similar context but said his EVH and Splawn Nitro worked much better with more aggression.

The Uber, however, can be aggressive.

I have a Shiva 20th about to switch it to EL34s but you mentioned 6550s. I will say I am actually enjoying the mids on my Shiva with the KT88s so I'm on thr fence about the EL34s since 88s are bigger and meaner. Not as familiar with 6550s.

I was thinking of getting a Splawn or EVH but I'd enjoy another Bogner like the XTC 50w head.

 

[braintheory]

Hey dude!

Yes, I'm a big Bogner guy.
When I tried to use my EL34 Shiva 20th with a band against a Marshall DSL 100, I struggled. He cut like a knife bad was ultra aggressive. I ended up switching to my Archon and Dual Rec to fit the band.

Then again it was a very heavy modern band.

I have a buddy who had an Ecstacy but struggled in a similar context but said his EVH and Splawn Nitro worked much better with more aggression.

The Uber, however, can be aggressive.

I have a Shiva 20th about to switch it to EL34s but you mentioned 6550s. I will say I am actually enjoying the mids on my Shiva with the KT88s so I'm on thr fence about the EL34s since 88s are bigger and meaner. Not as familiar with 6550s.

I was thinking of getting a Splawn or EVH but I'd enjoy another Bogner like the XTC 50w head.

Yeah the early Uber's and Caveman can be plenty aggressive. I don't like smooth or polite sounds. The Splawn's and EVH's I don't like much. For that price range the PRS MT100 is imo a lot better as are for me the EVH Iconic's for less money even

KT88's sound bigger, but not meaner to me necessarily. 6550's are interchangeable with KT88's in most amps (not all). Not quite as big sounding as KT88's, but IME usually a more interesting/complex sound sort of like a bigger 6L6 or 5881. I really like them, but I still often like EL34's most in high gain gain amps, but just something you'd have to try and see what your ears like. There's also KT90's that sound a bit more EL34-ish than KT88's, but also draw a bit more current than KT88's from what I've been told

 

[Zado]

When I tried to use my EL34 Shiva 20th with a band against a Marshall DSL 100, I struggled. He cut like a knife bad was ultra aggressive. I ended up switching to my Archon and Dual Rec to fit the band.

No surprise, "new" Marshalls are always a pain to deal with, they have those high treble frequencies that are super annoying when playing at home, but are a total overkill when playing in a band, especially if the other guitarist has a darker/smoother amp like a Bogner.

 

[dead-pan]

Any amp set up for EL34's can run KT77, 6CA7, 6L6, 6550 or KT88's usually but you may have to swap a couple of bias resistor in the bias circuit to add or subtract bias voltage so the tube can be biased correctly. Some amps have a pretty wide bias range it just depends on how hold or cold biaswise you lilke running you amps that will dictate who you set up your bias circuit.

Now conversely an amp designed strictly around only 6L6's may not be able to take EL34 type variants because of how the power tube pinout is wired on the tube socket so be careful there and double check how the socket is wired. The pinouts are different from EL34's to 6L6's/6CA7's.

Note, the older 5150 boards can not use el34s stock. The later models have the necessary pins connected on the PCB from the factory. Not sure when this changed.