Members Megadeth Man Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Anyone know shit about them? How are they? Anywhere close to the original? They're made by Sovtek, yeah? Single getter Mullard xf4 re-issue: Also anyone know how the Harma Retro is? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zehn Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Just like everything Mullard, they PWN. Very toneful and rich, not at all wimpy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members silverfacechamp Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Get the JJ EL34L if you want something somewhat in the neighborhood of an original Mullard. Those Sovteks are, IMO, nowhere close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth Man Posted April 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Get the JJ EL34L if you want something somewhat in the neighborhood of an original Mullard. Those Sovteks are, IMO, nowhere close. Would you say they were junk? I've used those JJ's and Winged C's for ages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NoirAbattoir Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Get the JJ EL34L if you want something somewhat in the neighborhood of an original Mullard. Those Sovteks are, IMO, nowhere close. So the original mullards were very low gain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth Man Posted April 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Also anyone know how the Harma El34 retro is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atbear Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Would you say they were junk?I've used those JJ's and Winged C's for ages. No, not junk... I like JJ E34Ls and SED EL34s better... but I like the "Mullard" Reissue EL34s better than Ruby EL34BSTRs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth Man Posted April 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 No, not junk...I like JJ E34Ls and SED EL34s better... but I like the "Mullard" Reissue EL34s better than Ruby EL34BSTRs. Ah, cool. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members silverfacechamp Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Would you say they were junk?I've used those JJ's and Winged C's for ages. I wouldn't say they were junk, but if it's the overall sound you're after, the JJ will get you closer than that Sovtek will, IMO. It's all in what your ears think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Electric Catfish Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 So the original mullards were very low gain? Isn't "gain" irrelevant in terms of power tubes? Gain is determined in the pre-amp stage, isn't it? Set me straight if I'm off the mark here, but I always thought gain was how strong the input signal is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NoirAbattoir Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Isn't "gain" irrelevant in terms of power tubes? Gain is determined in the pre-amp stage, isn't it? Set me straight if I'm off the mark here, but I always thought gain was how strong the input signal is... All I know is that I've tried some power tubes that overdrive easily and some with so much headroom they took the life out of the circuit. The JJ E34Ls were those tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NoirAbattoir Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 I also believe that GT rates their power tubes in terms of headroom and gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Electric Catfish Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Headroom, yes, but I'm pretty sure gain is related to the input stage. I'm not of the ilk to go into electronic technical detail, though, so I'm waiting for a more technically inclined forumite to chime in on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth Man Posted April 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Isn't "gain" irrelevant in terms of power tubes? Gain is determined in the pre-amp stage, isn't it? Set me straight if I'm off the mark here, but I always thought gain was how strong the input signal is... Gain is, basically, how much an amplifier amplifies a signal. The pre-amp has gain, the power amp has gain and the system, as a whole, has gain. Most people, when referring to gain, usually just mean the pre-amp gain though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth Man Posted April 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 So I'm thinking the Harma's are more of a UK thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Duesentrieb Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 So I'm thinking the Harma's are more of a UK thing? To me they look like a EL34STR, chinese made, just with their label. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth Man Posted April 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 To me they look like a EL34STR, chinese made, just with their label. Thanks for the identification. Yeah, they're just selected valves, I wasn't sure what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members outtahear Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Vintage vibe? Electro Harmonix (seriously) gets close, warts and all.SED winged "C" are good for "enhanced" vintage type tones-good all 'rounder!Siemans, and Tesla NOS-still affordable, and will outlast new production x2-5 times.Whatcha looking to do, and what's your rig like? Helps..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ¤ Matt ¤ Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 www.watfordvalves.com check out the test reports!!! Tells you all you need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bonchie Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Thanks for the identification. Yeah, they're just selected valves, I wasn't sure what. Thats not an EL34B...the EL34B glass is wider then the base. Its a big bottle design. It also doesn't have a nipple like that one. That Harma is an Electro Harmonix EL34. And gain and amounts of distortion have nothing to do with powertubes. Headroom is the only deciding factor (besides tonal differences). The E34L has the most headroom of any current production EL34. JJ claims its 20% more, but I don't know for sure. I like the EL34B's. Well balanced high quality tube. And for 21 bucks you can't beat them. (if you buy them unlabeled...GT and Ruby relabel them and sell them for 40 bucks.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members silverfacechamp Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 www.watfordvalves.com check out the test reports!!! Tells you all you need to know. Except in that article they're testing an ORIGINAL Mullard, not a reissue, and they don't test the JJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Duesentrieb Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Thats not an EL34B...the EL34B glass is wider then the base. Its a big bottle design. It also doesn't have a nipple like that one. That Harma is an Electro Harmonix EL34.And gain and amounts of distortion have nothing to do with powertubes. Headroom is the only deciding factor (besides tonal differences). The E34L has the most headroom of any current production EL34. JJ claims its 20% more, but I don't know for sure. I like the EL34B's. Well balanced high quality tube. And for 21 bucks you can't beat them. (if you buy them unlabeled...GT and Ruby relabel them and sell them for 40 bucks.) I didn't say its a "B". I have some chinese "non-B" looking like this Harma. And (to me) EHs do look slim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth Man Posted April 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 And gain and amounts of distortion have nothing to do with powertubes. Headroom is the only deciding factor (besides tonal differences). Let's agree to disagree on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulmapp8306 Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 Isn't "gain" irrelevant in terms of power tubes? Gain is determined in the pre-amp stage, isn't it? Set me straight if I'm off the mark here, but I always thought gain was how strong the input signal is... Gain when used to mean "Distortion" is a misnoma. Gain is simply the ration of input signal to output signal and nothing to do with how much or when it clips. Thats why we talk of power amp distortion - not PA Gain in these situations. Its also why pre tubes with a high gain, may not sound how you want - they may take a long time to clip, so actually give more clean headroom! What you need for lots of distortion are tubes that clip early regardless of their gain, and in both pre and power tubes. The GAIN setting on an amp is just that - it increases the op signal in relation to the IP (i.e. amplifies the ip signal more) - the fact that it clips - and when - is just a bi-product of the valves and gain circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bonchie Posted April 19, 2007 Members Share Posted April 19, 2007 I didn't say its a "B". I have some chinese "non-B" looking like this Harma. And (to me) EHs do look slim. The EL34BSTR and the EL34B are the same exact tube. At least now they are. I think a year or 2 ago the Sino China plant combined with Shuagang and now they're making the same tube. Thats just what I've read and been told by tube dealers. That picture he has is an Electro Harmonix though. If you read that waterford article that the guy linked too 3 or 4 posts up they have the exact same picture for there Electro Harmonix Retro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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