Electra-Dyne/ 6L6 or EL-34s?

[bseamus]

Just got my and Electra-Dyne and wondered if people are keeping the 6L6s in or putting in el-34s. I have a Nomad 55 and I perfer EL- 34s, but with 4 power tubes I going to wait to spend more money.

 

[bseamus]

bump

 

[Radagacuca]

i just tried the el34´s (matched jj´s) in mine.
imho they sound somewhat thinner and less 3d-like.
they won´t give you more of a marshally sound than the amp already has.
i for one prefer the original 6l6´s in there.

 

[rcl]

i just tried the el34´s (matched jj´s) in mine.
imho they sound somewhat thinner and less 3d-like.
they won´t give you more of a marshally sound than the amp already has.
i for one prefer the original 6l6´s in there.

Same here. Tried el34s and went back to the stock stuff.

 

[teletalkin]

The amp sounds so good with 6l6.....I don't even have the desire to try anything else.

 

[peanutavalon]

any others like el34's? what sounds good?

 

[anoobis]

Be careful with El34s. I put some in and a tube was not seated correctly in the ceramic sockets and burned out. The tech told me that El34s like the Electroharmonix ones I put in have slightly smaller pins than some others ( not sure if he meant all EL34s compared to 6l6s or that certain El34s had smaller pins than other El34s). I found it difficult to get them properly seated.

I liked the tone with the el34s for the high gain- noticed a little more mid punch- but the 6l6s are overall a better choice for all 3 modes to me and I didn't have any problems with getting the 6l6s inserted.

 

[peanutavalon]

Be careful with El34s. I put some in and a tube was not seated correctly in the ceramic sockets and burned out. The tech told me that El34s like the Electroharmonix ones I put in have slightly smaller pins than some others ( not sure if he meant all EL34s compared to 6l6s or that certain El34s had smaller pins than other El34s). I found it difficult to get them properly seated.

I liked the tone with the el34s for the high gain- noticed a little more mid punch- but the 6l6s are overall a better choice for all 3 modes to me and I didn't have any problems with getting the 6l6s inserted.

were the 6l6's easy to remove or was it difficult to get them out?

 

[peanutavalon]

Be careful with El34s. I put some in and a tube was not seated correctly in the ceramic sockets and burned out. The tech told me that El34s like the Electroharmonix ones I put in have slightly smaller pins than some others ( not sure if he meant all EL34s compared to 6l6s or that certain El34s had smaller pins than other El34s). I found it difficult to get them properly seated.

I liked the tone with the el34s for the high gain- noticed a little more mid punch- but the 6l6s are overall a better choice for all 3 modes to me and I didn't have any problems with getting the 6l6s inserted.

I also like el34's for more high end. The stock 6l6's have a ton of low end.

 

[ChorusCrackpot]

I heard an Electradyne in person and swore that it had EL34s in it.

Truth be told- it had 6L6. I reckon adding EL34s would be redundant.

 

[les_paul]

As a general rule I like 6L6s in all Boogies. The only exception is in the Mark IV I like to put EL34s in the outer sockets and run in simul-class. The cleans aren't quite as good but they're still above my standards for clean.

To stay on topic, though, it seems to me like they ship from the factory with 6L6s for a reason.

 

[kram21]

have tried 34,6v6 and 6l6 in my heartbreaker and i have kept 6l6's in and no longer use the others

 

[peanutavalon]

6l6 in boogies go hand in hand, but I love el34 bite. I'm anxious to see what it sounds like.

 

[anoobis]

I heard an Electradyne in person and swore that it had EL34s in it.
I reckon adding EL34s would be redundant.

No there's definitely more mid punch in there with EL34s. It's a mid-heavy amp in the first place, that's certain. But I noticed a definite difference with EL34s.

 

[ChorusCrackpot]

No there's definitely more mid punch in there with EL34s. It's a mid-heavy amp in the first place, that's certain. But I noticed a definite difference with EL34s.

Ah ok, thanks.


I noticed a more projected midrange in my MarkIV when I used a mix of EL34 valves with 6L6 valves. I definitely prefer it to a quartet of 6L6s.

 

[macmax77]

it depends on what you like.
I never played a Mesa Amp that i liked with El34's.

As a matter of fact, i like big tubes, hence i prefer the 6l6's.
Try the amp with the tubes that are in it and if you like it , don't mess with it.

 

[SgtThump]

This is one of those areas where I'm just not on board with most people's opinions... I really don't think much about EL34s vs. 6L6s. To me, the amps voicing is what's important and going from one tube type to another has never been all that significant to me.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they don't sound different. But I can't imagine loving an amp eith EL34s and hating it with 6L6s. My ears just can't pick up a HUGE difference.

That said, I did many gigs on my Electra Dyne 1x12" combo with the stock 6L6s. I decided to put in some SED EL34s, because I've always loved those tubes. I actually think my ED combo sounds a little bigger with the EL34s, which isn't what I was expecting. I think alot of that is because they're SED, though.

Maybe a little fuller sound or something. Either way, I could use this amp with either tube without any issues. Maybe I should go back to the stock 6L6s to see if I hear a huge difference this time around.