The best power tubes and brand for Mod 50 thread.

[richedie]

I thought this would be a good thread that could help a lot of people.

I was thinking we could all post the best make or brand of each tube we found to work best with the Mod 50 and/or Mod 100 head. All amps are different so I think it is important to keep this to the Mod 50 since for example, I know certain tubes I like better in my Mod 50/100 than other amps and vice versa, not to mention reliability issues. So anyway....I don't have a huge list myself. Hopefully others will add.

EL34:
SED Winged C EL34 - Best I found! Very reliable, balanced, warm, thick, musical and seems to be a great all around do it all EL34, Bass is very controlled, mids are sweet and syrupy, highs are smooth. Works great for me with the Bassman as well and loves the SL2
JJ EL34 - Not as musical and sweet to my ears, and sorry, didn't give them much time.
TAD EL34s - Seemed hotter, gainier, and ballsier....but a bit more than I felt I needed. Not as good for an overall EL34 in my opinion.

E34L:
JJ E34L - Bass, outof controll and boomy - did not like this one! I found something about the mids and highs to be harsh.

5881:
Tung Sol 5881: This is the only one I tried and I love it. So thick, balanced, crisp, clear, great for all styles various levels of gain. Tight bass, balanced mids and crisp, but not harsh highs! Punchy.

 

[muudrock]

I've been using GT E34L's and have had good results. Very balanced tone, a little bit agressive with the extra headroom I like.

TS 5881's are growing on me. I have not been a big fan of the 5881 in other amps, but I gave it a good listen for a couple weeks and did like it. Right now I have 2 Tung Sol 5881 and 2 GT E34L in my Mod 100 and am really diggin it.

I will have to try the SED 34's. I have been very unimpressed with most of the EL34 based tubes out there right now.

 

[richedie]

I've been using GT E34L's and have had good results. Very balanced tone, a little bit agressive with the extra headroom I like.

TS 5881's are growing on me. I have not been a big fan of the 5881 in other amps, but I gave it a good listen for a couple weeks and did like it. Right now I have 2 Tung Sol 5881 and 2 GT E34L in my Mod 100 and am really diggin it.

I will have to try the SED 34's. I have been very unimpressed with most of the EL34 based tubes out there right now.

Interesting, I went through a lot of EL34 tubes and then tried the JJ E34Ls and couldn't wait to yank those out. I found them way too aggressive and harsh, scooped compared to standard EL34s.

 

[jmgman69]

To tell the truth,I find what ever is in there at the moment to be the shit except the 6L6GE tubes I put in there a year ago,and they were harsh and nasty!!!I've got the EL84s in there and I like them too Fuck I love this AMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Doubleneck]

I've been using GT E34L's and have had good results. Very balanced tone, a little bit agressive with the extra headroom I like.

TS 5881's are growing on me. I have not been a big fan of the 5881 in other amps, but I gave it a good listen for a couple weeks and did like it. Right now I have 2 Tung Sol 5881 and 2 GT E34L in my Mod 100 and am really diggin it.

I will have to try the SED 34's. I have been very unimpressed with most of the EL34 based tubes out there right now.

I agree with muudrock, My fave's are still the GT-E34L's. I've tried TS 5881's and Sovtek 5881's and they just don't do it for me, the mids are gone. I might try mixing up some leftover Sovtek's 5881 and some GT-E34L's for the hell of it!

 

[richedie]

I've been using GT E34L's and have had good results. Very balanced tone, a little bit agressive with the extra headroom I like.

TS 5881's are growing on me. I have not been a big fan of the 5881 in other amps, but I gave it a good listen for a couple weeks and did like it. Right now I have 2 Tung Sol 5881 and 2 GT E34L in my Mod 100 and am really diggin it.

I will have to try the SED 34's. I have been very unimpressed with most of the EL34 based tubes out there right now.

I agree with muudrock, My fave's are still the GT-E34L's. I've tried TS 5881's and Sovtek 5881's and they just don't do it for me, the mids are gone. I might try mixing up some leftover Sovtek's 5881 and some GT-E34L's for the hell of it!

Interesting, I hated the JJ E34L. Are they like the GTs?

I find the 5881s have fine mids with the right modules...like the EG5 which has huge mids.
Maybe I'll give the JJ E34Ls another try.

You guys try 6550s or KT77s?

 

[broknstuff]

Don't have much to add (yet...it's going to be about a month till I have enough free time to sit down and do it ) but what about people also include at what bias they ran the tubes too?

 

[Doubleneck]

richedie,
The JJ E34L is not the same tube as the GT 34L. The GT's have a wing on the side plate that the JJ's don't.
The GT's bass response is nice and tight with great mids and highs that aren't piercing and very balanced, the JJ have a very loose bass response and sound harsh to me as well.
About 2 years ago I spoke to Bruce Egnater and he recommended the GT-E34L rating #6 biased at 34 and have been using them ever since.

 

[richedie]

richedie,
The JJ E34L is not the same tube as the GT 34L. The GT's have a wing on the side plate that the JJ's don't.
The GT's bass response is nice and tight with great mids and highs that aren't piercing and very balanced, the JJ have a very loose bass response and sound harsh to me as well.
About 2 years ago I spoke to Bruce Egnater and he recommended the GT-E34L rating #6 biased at 34 and have been using them ever since.

Thanks sir! Now i am wondering how the GT EL34s are!

On my list to try:
JJ KT88s
TS 5660s
GT E34L

I still like the SED Winged C EL34s a lot.

 

[EWSEthan]

Still using Tung-Sol 5881s. Love em!

 

[muudrock]

richedie,
The JJ E34L is not the same tube as the GT 34L. The GT's have a wing on the side plate that the JJ's don't.
The GT's bass response is nice and tight with great mids and highs that aren't piercing and very balanced, the JJ have a very loose bass response and sound harsh to me as well.
About 2 years ago I spoke to Bruce Egnater and he recommended the GT-E34L rating #6 biased at 34 and have been using them ever since.

+1 The GT's are the way to go. Best sounding 34 tube I've used in this amp. I am currently mixing 2 of those with 2 of the TS 5881's in my MOD 100 and it is a nice balance. I'm liking the results so far.

 

[aeroic]

In my mod-50 I have the TS 5881's and are loving them too! Svetlana 6550s are in my VHT 2/90/2 and those are the shiznit!!!

Eric

 

[mackid]

I don't play out, just record so I wanted low volume. I put a set of JJ 6V6's in my Mod 50 and run her at 1/2, and she sounds excellent! I'm sure that set at full, these tubes will sound great and let you push them early and easily. Might be nice for small venue or miked through P.A.


mac

 

[richedie]

I don't like the 5881s for high gain.

 

[jkdsteve]

I don't like the 5881s for high gain.

TS or Sovteks? They sound very different to me...am guessing the TS is closer to being a real 5881 and the Sovtek more like a ruggedized 5881 and closer to a 6L6...

...every time I try to stray away from a 6L6 type tube, I end up coming back...I tried many EL34 types, to quite a bit of cost, but just can't get on with 'em.

 

[Buckeyedog]

...every time I try to stray away from a 6L6 type tube, I end up coming back...I tried many EL34 types, to quite a bit of cost, but just can't get on with 'em.

Agreed and I love the EL34 Marshall tone, but in the Mod, I think the 5881/6L6 type just give me that extra clarity I like.

 

[Valtiel]

...every time I try to stray away from a 6L6 type tube, I end up coming back...I tried many EL34 types, to quite a bit of cost, but just can't get on with 'em.

Agreed and I love the EL34 Marshall tone, but in the Mod, I think the 5881/6L6 type just give me that extra clarity I like.

Agreed, this is what I prefer. Any loss in mids, which I think is pretty negligible in the bigger picture, can be easily made up for with any number of other things like pickups, EQ, speakers, etc. It isnt as if the power tubes are responsible for your entire EQ curve, just one piece of the puzzle.

 

[richedie]

TS 5881s were too stiff and dry for me in the Mod50, not inspiring. I like a real thick and squishy tone so I stick to the SED EL34s.

 

[Superunknown]

I think the best route is to try everything you can get yor hands on and decide which tube works best for you. Personally, I really don't get along well with 5881's.....the EL34 just fits me better.

For example, I'm really digging the Ruby EL34STR's in my MOD100. The old Svetlana's (now SED) sound really good too. I ended up just by trial and error switching out the NOS Svetlana's that I had in my MOD100 with the Ruby's which came stock in my Diezel Herbert.....worked out great for the tone I was chasing! My Herbert now sounds much better with the Svets and the MOD sounds better with the Ruby's.....

 

[richedie]

I think the best route is to try everything you can get yor hands on and decide which tube works best for you. Personally, I really don't get along well with 5881's.....the EL34 just fits me better.

For example, I'm really digging the Ruby EL34STR's in my MOD100. The old Svetlana's (now SED) sound really good too. I ended up just by trial and error switching out the NOS Svetlana's that I had in my MOD100 with the Ruby's which came stock in my Diezel Herbert.....worked out great for the tone I was chasing! My Herbert now sounds much better with the Svets and the MOD sounds better with the Ruby's.....

Sounds like you and I prefer EL34s. No right or wrong, just taste. Nothing feels or sounds like an EL34...no matter what I do with pickups, EQ, speakers, etc. Even for clean, I love EL34s. I have a friend who gigs all the time who is the same....all his amps, Mesas, Marshalls, Peaveys, etc all have EL34s. We just like em!

I have the SED winged C El34s in my MOD 50 but you have me tempted to get some Rubys! I heard the TAD STRs are basically the same tube and I have those.