More blown tubes....

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richedie

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Why do EL34s blow so easily? Last month I had a new set of GTs go bad, and now a set of SEDs? I am on my third pair in two months and I don't even play much these days. I have heard EL34s these days are not the most durable but I do not like any other tube. For this reason I guess it is buy a stock pile of EL34s or go back to digital which at least was reliable. :doh:

I tried 5881s and didn't like those.

I hear EL34s are not very durable these days but I'll have to put up with it, because they sound best to me.
 
Or just use the 5881s! I had Sovtek 5881s in my old SLO for over 2 years. Im my MOD 50, Ive had Tung Sol 5881s for 1.5 years and I regularly play LOUD.

Plus, as a bonus 5881s sound better anyway. :lol: :LOL: j/k Rich
 
What we have been saying all along...there isn't a 34 tube out today that is worth a shit! Miles Rose from GT told us the same thing at NAMM.
 
I agree with you Rich. Since I came to the modular side last summer the only tubes I have ever blown were a pair of JJ EL34L's.....that were 2 weeks old and had under 6 hours on them! I love the EL34's for the same reasons you do, but I will say that out of the 9 pairs of power tubes I have sitting at home right now, 4 of them are EL34's. I can't trust them in my RM50 without bringing a backup pair. But since I mostly run them in my RT2-50 I don't worry because I can always just use the tubes in the other side. I would just say keep a spare set on you always and have your meter handy in the gig bag. Only takes 5 minutes or less to swap them and get up and running again.

They are the only tube type I have seen this issue with as well lately. Hell, Ryan (our other guitarist) has been running the same set of EL84's in his Peavey FOR 8 YEARS and they still sound great! Go figure right?
 
Retubed our proto type RT252 power amp weds with 34's on one side and 5881 on the other...20 minutes later the fuses blow on the 34 side.
 
For the most part, I have been staying away from el34's for a while. Mostly because of the reliability issues. I have heard from several sources that the current production 34's are all over the place. Seeing it hare just further confirms it for me.

With that said, for some things, I just flat out prefer el34's tone. I am trying a few sets of 5881's in my MOD50 to see how I like them. If I do like them, they may be my tube of choice.
 
Jeff Hilligan":393mevbk said:
Retubed our proto type RT252 power amp weds with 34's on one side and 5881 on the other...20 minutes later the fuses blow on the 34 side.
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Exact same thing that happened in my RT2/50. Fuse went, replaced it, fired it up that night again and goodbye! The JJ logo had turned from red to black! :cry:
 
I hear EL34s are not very durable these days but I'll have to put up with it, because they sound best to me.

5881s, just don't sound right to me and 6550s too sterile. KT88s are too much like 6L6 tubes which I do not like other than for clean and maybe modern scooped metal.

I guess I am stuck with EL34s. Must be how they operate with the MOD 50. I never had the problem in other amps, Mesa, H&K,etc.

I have a friend with EL34s in his DSL 100 with no problems.

I have never gotten more than 6 months to a year out of power tubes. Ryan must have 'magic' tubes.
 
EL34s may not be durable (although I've never heard or experienced this before) but it still seems odd that they're blowing so often.
 
dfrattaroli":31psw0k0 said:
EL34s may not be durable (although I've never heard or experienced this before) but it still seems odd that they're blowing so often.
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+1. They seem to be blowing way too fast.
 
EWSEthan":34ksxssb said:
dfrattaroli":34ksxssb said:
EL34s may not be durable (although I've never heard or experienced this before) but it still seems odd that they're blowing so often.
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+1. They seem to be blowing way too fast.
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I like it when the blowing is fast! :thumbsup:
 
Jeff Hilligan":ywr7ywvj said:
EWSEthan":ywr7ywvj said:
dfrattaroli":ywr7ywvj said:
EL34s may not be durable (although I've never heard or experienced this before) but it still seems odd that they're blowing so often.
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+1. They seem to be blowing way too fast.
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I like it when the blowing is fast! :thumbsup:
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Giving or receiving? :lol: :LOL:

Just kidding Jeff. ;)
 
Dude, that's pretty high for the standard EL34's. Bruce recommends 32 to 40 I'm pretty sure, so I'd go with like 36 to 38. You can get away with that with the E34L's I think. You may just be running them too hot.
 
Kevin you are right....running 34's at the very upper range which should really end at 38 will cause them to fail. Put that with the fact 34's are terrible right now, quicker failure will happen.
 
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