Buying EL84's for Budda Superdrive 30

[The Whale]

Hey All,

I recently blew a power tube in a newly acquired SD30i. I'm not sure how long those power tubes have been in the amp, or how frequently the previous owner changed them out, so i thought to replace all 4. Budda recommends Groove Tubes in their literature. What should i look for in an EL84? I don't know anything about tube ratings and what the numbered scale means. Should I replace all four at the same time, or just the one? Fill me in on things i should know about EL84's, brands and their respective ratings.

mike

 

[small axe]

i would replace all four and make sure they are matched.....if you want good tubes i would check out kcanos tubes online....they know a lot

 

[StompBoxBlues]

Hey All,

I recently blew a power tube in a newly acquired SD30i. I'm not sure how long those power tubes have been in the amp, or how frequently the previous owner changed them out, so i thought to replace all 4. Budda recommends Groove Tubes in their literature. What should i look for in an EL84? I don't know anything about tube ratings and what the numbered scale means. Should I replace all four at the same time, or just the one? Fill me in on things i should know about EL84's, brands and their respective ratings.

mike

Yeah, you should definitely replace all four, and I think even though it is "self-biasing" or not needing bias, I still would get 4 matched tubes.

If I were you, I would talk to I think it is Bob at Eurotubes, or any of the other (Tube Amp Doctor is another) tube specialists and ask them...
Also, if I were you, since you have them on the phone, would ask about the preamp tubes and just get a set at the same time. Even if yours sound great now, it's nice to have backups.

 

[Andre357]

Make sure you get the El84 S tubes. The amp was built around these.

The more available " El 84 R or " JJ " sounds thinner in the amp and the amp has less body.

The El 84 S has a physically larger bottle and fits snuggly in the tube sockets the smaller R or JJ will wiggle around.....

You can use the r's but definitely less low end and you lose of that famous organic budda tone.

Groove tubes S tubes are just relabeled sovteks, but that's the brand I use, MF has em on line

EDIT PS - Do not buy the s " high ( 8-10 ) " tubes fron Musicians Friend ! They mislabeled them in their warhouse and no matter how many times you send them back or try to explain you'll keep geting R's, the smaller bottle EL 84 !

The mediums ( 4- 7 ) are labeled correctly and you will receive the appropriate S tube....

 

[VanR]

Those Groove Tube EL84S are JJ's. The S is for Slovakia. Or they were the last time I bought them.

 

[spyeman]

You will certainly not do yourself wrong by calling Bob at Eurotubes (or any of the other great folks listed, but Bob does JJ's only and is a buck or so cheaper) and ordering a matched quad of JJ EL84's, they are fine tubes, sound great, and you can drive yourself giddy looking around and listening to all the advice, like this advice, lol

 

[Terry Hayes]

Those Groove Tube EL84S are JJ's. The S is for Slovakia. Or they were the last time I bought them.

I believe you are correct for the Groove Tubes 6L6S. However, Andre is correct that the Groove Tubes EL84S are Sovteks.

I have tried various tubes in my Budda SD18 and I always think the factory recommended tubes sound best.

 

[Terry Hayes]

Make sure you get the El84 S tubes. The amp was built around these.

The more available " El 84 R or " JJ " sounds thinner in the amp and the amp has less body.

The El 84 S has a physically larger bottle and fits snuggly in the tube sockets the smaller R or JJ will wiggle around.....

You can use the r's but definitely less low end and you lose of that famous organic budda tone.

Groove tubes S tubes are just relabeled sovteks, but that's the brand I use, MF has em on line

EDIT PS - Do not buy the s " high ( 8-10 ) " tubes fron Musicians Friend ! They mislabeled them in their warhouse and no matter how many times you send them back or try to explain you'll keep geting R's, the smaller bottle EL 84 !

The mediums ( 4- 7 ) are labeled correctly and you will receive the appropriate S tube....

This is good advice. As I mentioned in my other post, I always find that the factory-recommended tubes sound the best with the Buddas.