GT E34LS vs JJ E34L

[Doubleneck]

OK another tube thread.

I always thought that these tubes were the same but, OMG what a difference!

The GT's I bought are a 6 rating and have a winged plate that the JJ's don't have.

Bought a matched Quad set of GT's and JJ's to compare. Burned both sets of tubes in for about 10 hours to give an honest comparison. Biased both sets of tubes to 35. Using EH12AX7 in all modules and the head.

On Saturday's band practice I used the GT's with the B'man, SL2 and Erect. The bass was nice and tight, crunchy mids to die for and a nice top end that doesn't kill your ears. Every module sounded really good with these tubes.

On Sunday's band practice I put the JJ's in with the same modules and the amp seemed to have a really loose bottom end, not as nearly as crunchy and the highs are almost shrill. All my band mates noticed the difference.

I know sound is subjective I love these Groove tubes!

 

[ComanchePD]

I have JJ 34Ls in my RM100 and I had GTs in an old one.
I dig the sound of the JJs better. I recorded from last time and to this time and I have listened to the old clips and I dig this one a lot better. The other RM100 I had sure was beat though so, there might be other things going on that I cant really explain.

Have you ever tried the Chinese tubes in your Randall stuff? I have a store that I can get four EL34s made by Penta Labs for around 20 bucks. I got some 6L6GCs made by Penta for a Fender Pro Reverb and those were very great sounding tubes so just checking to see if youve tried anything like that in your RM100.

 

[Doubleneck]

Hey Comanche,
I'm using an Egnater MOD 100 not a Randall amp so I can't comment on how those tubes work in your amp.

My observation was that I really liked the GT-E34LS tubes with my set-up.

I have tried the Tung-Sol 5881 and while I thought they were excellent for the T/D and B'man modules to my tastes they just don't cut it for the higher gain modules.

 

[EWSEthan]

Hey Comanche,
I'm using an Egnater MOD 100 not a Randall amp so I can't comment on how those tubes work in your amp.

My observation was that I really liked the GT-E34LS tubes with my set-up.

I have tried the Tung-Sol 5881 and while I thought they were excellent for the T/D and B'man modules to my tastes they just don't cut it for the higher gain modules.

Eddie,

What was it about the GT-E34LS that you like over the TS 5881 for higher gain modules?

 

[Doubleneck]

Matt,

In the diversity of music my band plays, the B'Man, SL2 and the Erect cover 90% of all the styles of music we play.

Having to settle for a tube that covers a wide range of music, I found that the GT-E34LS just sound better overall with the SL2 & Erect than the TS-5881.
The GT-E34LS cut thru better for leads, have fatter, crunchier and chewier mids than the TS-5881 and the guitar doesn't get lost in the mix. Keep in mind a guitar is a mid voiced instrument.

If I could use the TS-5881 for just the B'Man I would, and use El-34 type types for the higher gain stuff.

Hell if they are good enough for Billy Gibbons there good enough for me!

 

[EWSEthan]

I agree that TS 5881 is definitely the best for BMan, but I also find it to be great in general. Maybe Ill give the GTs a try though. Thanks.

 

[richedie]

Personally, I find EL34s to be the best for guitar. I want something thick, rich in the mids and chewy, not scooped or hard.

I tried the EL34 GT tubes and they were decent but died in short time so I will never spend a lot of money for power tubes again, they are too fragile. I also found the SED EL34s to sound better in the MOD 50 than the GTs.

The JJ E34Ls were too loose in the bass, aggressive and sounded hard to me. I found the Tung Sol 5881s lacked good mids for my taste.

I am not a fan of the all in one tube for a do it all sound, you always sacrifice somewhere. Using a good EL34, I never found myself not liking the clean tones. In fact, I think the SED EL34 yields great clean and crunch tones. The one tube I would like to try is the JJ or EH KT 88 because they are supposed to be the one tube that really does do it all, apparently sounding huge.

I know I have seen a good friend play live using nothing but his Marshall running EH EL34s and he sounds amazing for clean to classic rock to modern heavy, sounds amazing and retains that chewy midrange. I have always thought his cleans sound great as well.

I won't however spend big bucks for power tubes due tot he failure rate so I'll stick to trying SED, JJ, EH and Ruby. No Tung Sol or Mullard for me.

 

[Superunknown]

Another great tube is the Ruby EL34STR, which is what I run in my MOD100....could not be more happy!

 

[ComanchePD]

Hey how much different are the Randalls and the true Egnaters? Am I spinnin' my wheels with this Randall stuff? I am new to this board haha I signed on basically to contact Mr. Hilligan about the single channel mods and now I've stuck around for this stuff and I thinkin I might need to start savin up!

 

[jkdsteve]

Hey how much different are the Randalls and the true Egnaters? Am I spinnin' my wheels with this Randall stuff? I am new to this board haha I signed on basically to contact Mr. Hilligan about the single channel mods and now I've stuck around for this stuff and I thinkin I might need to start savin up!

You *need* both... I'm jus' sayin...

 

[richedie]

Another great tube is the Ruby EL34STR, which is what I run in my MOD100....could not be more happy!

Yep, Doug at Doug's tubes HIGHLY recommends that one. I am happy with the SED EL34 but when it goes, I'll be getting the Ruby.

 

[Buckeyedog]

Gosh, thanks Rich........just had to pick up a set of Ruby's from the classifieds!! Can't have enough tubes!!! I needed these like I need a hole in the head.......

 

[muudrock]

Doubleneck,

I couldn't agree more about the GT E34L's. They have been my tube of choice for a while in the MOD100. I had similar results with the JJ's. 5881's have something in the highs that just grates on my ears whereas the GT's don't. They are tight, but have all the EL34 tone.

 

[Doubleneck]

Hey muudrock,

I couldn't agree with you more.

Since the GT-E34LS have more headroom than an EL-34 tube, you get a somewhat similar clean sound to a 5881 type tube and the same characteristics that you love with a EL-34 for the heavier sounds but with more punch.

It seems that the majority using the MOD 50 like the TS 5881's the best. Maybe the power section between the MOD 50 & the MOD 100 sound different?

After all the different Power Amp tubes I've tried my MOD 100 sounds the best with the GT-E34LS.

What I love about this forum is you get some really great info from some great players and then you decide how to use it.

 

[muudrock]

Hey muudrock,

I couldn't agree with you more.

Since the GT-E34LS have more headroom than an EL-34 tube, you get a somewhat similar clean sound to a 5881 type tube and the same characteristics that you love with a EL-34 for the heavier sounds but with more punch.

It seems that the majority using the MOD 50 like the TS 5881's the best. Maybe the power section between the MOD 50 & the MOD 100 sound different?

After all the different Power Amp tubes I've tried my MOD 100 sounds the best with the GT-E34LS.

What I love about this forum is you get some really great info from some great players and then you decide how to use it.

Couldn't agree more about this forum--it does rock

While I do not own a Mod50, I have played them and the power section on the 50 does contribute to a slightly darker feel to the amp compared to the Mod100. That being said, I think that is why so many prefer the 5881's. At least we can all find our sound and change/try tubes all day with these amps! I love that freedom.

Egnater for President!!

 

[richedie]

I found E34Ls harsh, aggressive and edgy, EL34s are smoother and thicker. Cleans are fine with either.

 

[muudrock]

I found E34Ls harsh, aggressive and edgy, EL34s are smoother and thicker. Cleans are fine with either.

To each their own. There are so many variables and preferences it can be a battle to find something you truly like. I for one have with the E34L's. Everyone's ears hear things a little differently. I'm just glad I have an amp in which I can readily try all the different options.

 

[richedie]

I found E34Ls harsh, aggressive and edgy, EL34s are smoother and thicker. Cleans are fine with either.

To each their own. There are so many variables and preferences it can be a battle to find something you truly like. I for one have with the E34L's. Everyone's ears hear things a little differently. I'm just glad I have an amp in which I can readily try all the different options.

 

[jmgman69]

I've got a set of GT E34Ls in my mod and it sounds GREAT but so do the 5881 tungs and the 6L6GCs and the THD EL84 triode converters,Dude this AMP JUST KILLS ME!!! I can't get it to sound bad

 

[blumuz123]

Does anyone know what tubes the Seminar amp comes with?