Which EL34's are you all using?

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I hold Siemens, Winged C in the same category as vintage Mullards. Next level for me. A close second are the GT EL34LS, similar to the JJ EL34L but with larger heat wings. They are also killer but getting harder to find.
I don't have much experience in new production since I have a fairly large stash of vintage tubes but for what it's worth the Tung Sol EL34 sounded really good when I've used them in vintage Marshalls. I'd stay away from the JJ EL34L in a Marshall though...too tubby and overbearing in the lows. But they probably kill in a Recto.
 
Racerxrated said:
I hold Siemens, Winged C in the same category as vintage Mullards. Next level for me. A close second are the GT EL34LS, similar to the JJ EL34L but with larger heat wings. They are also killer but getting harder to find.
I don't have much experience in new production since I have a fairly large stash of vintage tubes but for what it's worth the Tung Sol EL34 sounded really good when I've used them in vintage Marshalls. I'd stay away from the JJ EL34L in a Marshall though...too tubby and overbearing in the lows. But they probably kill in a Recto.
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Semens are $800 a quad right now. I can get just as good tone for $90.
 
Mullard reissue for normal Marshall bark, Ruby is the only EL34 with high plate voltages I trust. In a pinch Id use Svetlana.

If money was no contest my ears prefer Siemens/RFT EL34 but they’re considered Mullard vintage and too expensive for my amps.

For 6550s there’s only one I will use - new production tung sols.
 
Racerxrated said:
I've never seen Tungsram EL34s...I love the pre tubes though.
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They're absolutely fucking phenomenal. And also bulletproof. They are original to my mid 90s Larry and still test like basically new.

For me, power tubes are far more about durability than tone, after a certain point of "good sounding." Imo most high quality power tubes (of the same type) sound very close to identical. You can even get some new brands that do. The new ones just don't last anywhere fucking near as long.
 
Well 2 months ago P. Thorn did a EL-34 tube shootout and he & Friedman both said China stopped making vacuum tubes last year with no plans to start again.
That leaves Russian & shitty JJ, thats it.
 
Samhain said:
Well 2 months ago P. Thorn did a EL-34 tube shootout and he & Friedman both said China stopped making vacuum tubes last year with no plans to start again.
That leaves Russian & shitty JJ, thats it.
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The e34l are good, I used them in my last mod and changed the circuit impedenance to compensate, im pretty sure shuguang is going to have a new factory, hope so.
 
Beyond Black said:
Great tube. EL34 with next level aggression and low end.
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Aggression when pushed, yeah, but cleaner than your usual el34 otherwise. More low end? No doubt about it, and smoother and thicker in the upper frequencies, turns your Marshall into a Whitesnake-Sykes amp if it makes sense. But imho it loses some some cut
 
EH 6CA7 are supposedly not pentode tubes so they are not a direct replacement for all EL34 amp. I was told they are tetrode? I dont know.
 
Samhain said:
Semens are $800 a quad right now. I can get just as good tone for $90.
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800 is ridiculous. You can easily find some strong used (ANOS) Siemens for far less. But, I'll never believe any new production 34 sounds equally as good as the Siemens; at least in a vintage Marshall.
Been there, done that.

Bottom line is this: If you feel the 10% difference in tone is worth it, then spend the money on some reasonably priced Winged C or Siemens, RFT, Tesla etc. As Dan said at a minimum they are VERY reliable and will last 5000-10000 hours if new. If the difference in tone is not very noticeable then pass. But I would stock up now on whichever tubes you like...in 20 years they may not even be produced anymore.
 
panhead said:
EH 6CA7 are supposedly not pentode tubes so they are not a direct replacement for all EL34 amp. I was told they are tetrode? I dont know.
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I've had these show up in a used Jubilee; they worked fine and sounded good. I switched them out for a pair of Winged Cs and no problems...
 
Monomyth said:
My favorite tubes are el34bstr, the top end rings like a bell.
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Where do you buy yours from? I see Doug's Tubes have them, but I have not been thrilled with Doug's tubes service in the past
 
Also how does the JJ KT77 stack up quality and durability wise against the JJ E34L and other JJ tubes?

The $20 a pop price is intriguing
 
I see Mesa selling NOS Siemen's EL34s for $180/pair. I'm not sure how that price compares to other sources, but I'd imagine you're getting Mesa's usual tube screening/testing as part of that. I think Mesa were doing something similar with Winged Cs until their supply ran out.

Might be worth it for how long they're supposed to last, especially if you travel a lot. Sometimes I think transit is harder on EL34s than playing them hard. I seem to remember an interview with Myles Rose in which he talked about EL34s being more fragile due to something about their internal structure, but I don't remember exactly. Not that QC wasn't way better decades ago when production volumes allowed for tighter tolerances, but even with the state of tube production 40+ years ago, Marshall moved away from EL34s on their exports for awhile in the late 70s due to survivability/longevity.

I've got a quad of Winged Cs in my main amp, but I use CP everywhere else. I don't want to dial in my rig around tubes for which I can't easily source spares. Still fun to splurge sometimes though ;-)
 
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