Am I the first unsatisfied JJ customer?

[the human timebomb]

I retubed my dual rectifier a few days ago with 2 GZ34's, 4 6L6GC's and the high gain front end preamp setup. The verdict - horrible. I've sat for days trying to dial in a decent sound and all I get is a really painful, boomy sound, even with the bass low.

It sounds mildly better with the stock rectifier tubes but only just!

No one else had similar experiences?

 

[fdesalvo]

Dude, I do not like them at all. In the past, I bought sets for my DC-3, Peavey Classic 30, Marshall TSL100, and Fender 5E3 Deluxe (tweed).

The effect on the amps were the same: muted high end and tubby low end. These attributes could not be dialed out. It was this brand of tubes which led me to believe that tubes should let the circuit speak for itself and not add color.

JJs are to tubes as the Tone Zone is to pickups!

 

[SneakyPete]

I didn't like them as well - I got the whole line up after hearing some great things: 6L6's and 12ax7s for my Rectoverb. I had the opposite problem - ice-pick highs and a loss of sustain.

Since then, I've gone back to a set of Mesa 6L6's that work well and NOS 12ax7's. Everything sounds great and I never looked back.

 

[Kung-Fool]

I love the JJ power tubes but running all JJ preamp tubes sounds like **** in my opinion. I never liked the high gain ones either. I'm running JJ pre's in V3-V5, EH in V2, and a TungSol in V1 in my dual rec. So far it's my favorite combo. I have no experience with the JJ rectifier tubes though.

 

[cnumb44]

I don't know much about the DR. Were he rectifier tubes the GZ or 5U4G stock. I am told moving from the 5s to the GZs will make the sound more aggressive and brighter. The JJs do have a different sound. It is all in the ears of the beholder, I guess.

I like the Ruby 6L6GCMSTRs I just installed. Very nice tone.

 

[brianf]

Their pre amp tubes seem OK but I never have had luck with the power amp tubes.

In my Marshall TSL I tried both the EL34's and E34L's and it was like a heavy blanket was over my amp. I fooled with the bias and no luck. DARK DARK DARK. Put in EH EL34's and that heavy blanket came off the amp.

In my Tweed Princeton I tried 2 different 6V6 and both had so much rattle they were unusable. Like tiny marbles rattling around inside the glass.

I have never tried their 6L6. I'm gun shy now.

brianf

 

[Platypus]

I've never been happier after retubbing my power section with 2 JJ EL34L's and 2 YellowJackets/EL84s.

I really disliked the DR sound with the stock 6L6s, the JJ's have a very warm creamy crunch to them, no more harsh highs and flubby lows..

I cannot comment on the preamp section and granted I am only running 2 JJ tubes, but I think they made my amp sound 10000x better.

 

[Dale B.]

I don't like any of the JJ preamp tubes. They dull down the front end a whole lot to my ears. Other people may like that effect.

I like JJ power tubes a whole lot.

I never have tried GZ34's and don't plan to do that either. I would rather have a good 5u4g or 5u4gb in there to lower the plate voltages to the extreme.

Dale

 

[the human timebomb]

I don't like any of the JJ preamp tubes. They dull down the front end a whole lot to my ears. Other people may like that effect.

I like JJ power tubes a whole lot.

I never have tried GZ34's and don't plan to do that either. I would rather have a good 5u4g or 5u4gb in there to lower the plate voltages to the extreme.

Dale

If applicable do you run the amp in 6L6 or EL34 mode? I understand that as the JJ's are a cooler grade they get a lot hotter in the EL34 position.