Members knnr Posted September 29, 2018 Members Share Posted September 29, 2018 Along the with JJ EL34 Marshall recommends them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted October 1, 2018 Members Share Posted October 1, 2018 I prefer the Russian tube manufacturers like Svetlana over the Chinese made tubes. Better tone and durability in my book. Last set of EL34's I had were JJ's that came with my Music Man Head. That head uses extremely high B+ voltages, much higher then Marshall does and the JJ's EL34's were the only tubes that could substitute for the 6CA7 tubes those amps were designed to run which is an testament to their durability. Any of the other EL34's would blow instantly according to most technicians. Luckily they started making the 6CA7's again, shorty after buying the amp so I didn't have to verify that first hand. I was able to be Electro Harmonix tubes for it and never looked back. I did try the JJ 12AX7 and 6L6 tubes in my Fender Bassman. The power tubes were very noisy and I wound up pulling them out as soon as I could get another set in. The preamp tubes sucked badly too. The EQ had less response and there was a big dip in gain. In comparison to the Groove tubes I had in there it seemed to produce a 20% dip in volume. Instead of the amp sounding like it had new fresh tubes it sounded like it had old tubes. You can overdrive JJ's and get a tight nasally response. That may be something you want from a metal amp but Its something a Marshall already has plenty of. Marshall's EQ stack is mild at best when adjusting the pots. I can see JJ's limiting the controls even more. If anything you want to open them up and get a wider variance out of them. Back in the 70's when I bought my first Marshall, I was still able to buy American Made EL34's and preamp tubes. I loaded my head with RCA tubes and loved the sound of them. Today the tubes that come closest to that sound are the EH and Groove Tubes. Mullard are supposed to be good and the Tung Sol. I been using the EH because of the low noise, low microphonics, high output, and crisp tones the others simply don't come close to on the amps I use. Maybe the circuitry of your amp will vary enough to make the JJ's sound good for you but be careful where you buy them. Tubes don't tell you how many hours they have on them. There's a bunch of people selling used tubes as new and pirating vintage tubes by silk screening vintage labels on new tubes. Don't be a sucker. The stockpile of vintage tubes dried up several decades and haven't been made in 40 years. The few that survived sell for $200 and $1000 each which is ridiculous. New tubes are just as good as the old ones ever were if you find the right set. If anything you may come across more duds because of the long shipping distances and the elements get beat up in shipping. Don't fall for the Voodoo BS about vintage tubes being so great. I used them for nearly 30 years and was educated in tube technology as an electronic tech. New tubes have been reverse engineered so closely now there isn't much difference with noting with the better ones. Just realize most of the manufacturing is done by hand so the quality can vary from tube to tube. If they do a good job matching you shouldn't have any problems at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daehtihs Posted October 4, 2018 Members Share Posted October 4, 2018 Is anybody really making a good el34 now a days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CamaroKid2SS Posted March 23, 2019 Members Share Posted March 23, 2019 I'm using those right now in my Peavey Invective. It sounds killer I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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