DR with EL34's

[Russ]

I wish I could tell you man. I haven't had my DR long enough. I haven't had a chance to run EL34's yet. I wish I could have held on to those dimple tops I had though. Those really rocked in the 2210. I bet they would have been nice in a DR. There again, they may not have been within spec for Mesa. When I slip some EL34's in I'll let you know. I can tell you that NOS JAN Phillips 7581A's are very nice though. That isn't helping your EL34 question though because 7581's are like 6L6's.

 

[Russ]

I have a pretty solid Marshall background myself and always loved EL34's but I really like the 7581's and the 420's.

 

[edgarallanpoe]

I will say, however, that mixing the two on a RK kicks *** for rhythm or leads

Could you post some settings? I have had *zero* luck getting the EL34/6L6 combo to sound right. Thanks bro...

 

[slhguitar]

I played a few gigs with el34s in my 2ch dual rec. I loved it. It sounded much tighter, and less flubby in the ultra lows. Made for a nicer lead sound as well. The Vintage channel rocked, getting some sweet Allman tones I didn't think I could get from a DR. When I get another DR (soon I hope) ther first thing I am going to do is go buy some el34s to use in it.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

I had E-34Ls in my recto for a few months...loved the tone, everything about it, tight, crunchy, and a much better lead tone..... but it seemed a bit sterile to me. I think it was the fault of t he JJ tubes....never been a fan.

I'm planning on trying EL-34s in my recto again soon. :wink:

 

[oyster]

rabies your settings are interesting as are your musical references/influences.
do you have a website where can I go to hear the music?

BTW I get my tubes from Eurotubes and they set me up with ones I can run on EL34 setting (even the 6L6s).

Right now I am using a combination of 2xEL34s and 2x6V6s in my DR Roadster and depending on my mood I swap out the 34s and put in KT77s instead. I don't like to use all 34s(4) as I find it too grainy and maybe a bit harsh...the 6V6s round it out and add a fat bottom end and lower mids. The 77s have smoother mids and highs and are not as grainy as the 34s. I've also tried 6L6 together with EL34 and it is good but the ideal combo I've found is actually the 6V6 with either 34s or 77s.

With the RK you too can really mix and match further than just 6L6 and EL34!

 

[Tubescreamer]

Has anybody actually verified these readings by Bob @ eurotubes?

These setting are in the "6L6" mode.

Rectifier mode in spongy setting = 16mA which is VERY cold so you can imagine how cold a 6L6 would be!

Rectifier mode in bold setting = 18mA which is still VERY cold.

Solid State mode in spongy setting = 28mA still cold.

Solid State mode in bold setting = 32mA still a little cool.

These setting are in the "EL34" mode.

Rectifier mode in spongy setting = 44mA which is actually just getting out of crossover distortion and sounds very good.

Rectifier mode in bold setting = 50mA nice an aggressive with great dynamics.

Solid State mode in spongy setting = 78mA now this is getting some heat in the tubes and the dynamics are spectacular.

Solid State mode in bold setting = 88mA this is getting up to about 80% of max dissipation and will shorten the tube life about 10 to 15% and the tone will start to "brown" but it's a lovely sound!

I think those readings are for the interactions of KT88 tubes in a dual rec, not for EL34 or 6L6 - could be wrong tho

Getting on topic tho, I have a pair of JJ EL34L's on the way for my tremoverb and as soon as I load them up i'll let you know how they fly

 

[EOengineer]

I haven been using the Mesa EL34's in my 97 Dual Recto for years now, and I really think that the amp sounds worlds better with them.

The EL34's seem to transform the midrange a little bit, and they really tighten up the low end of the amp. The amp also feels like it has a faster response, and a bit less sag.

Additionally, I feel that there is a little more of a crunch tone in the vintage orange channel that does sound really sweet and barky (in a good way).

I have heard that Adam Jones from Tool was using EL34's in his recto (when he was still using one in his multi amp setup), and I have to say that I can hear a good bit of that character in the tone.

I would say that you should try them, and see what you think. It really does change the sound and feel of the amp, but it might be exactly what you are looking for.

 

[ThunderMonkey]

I use a matched quad set of Ruby tubes EL34bstr's in my '93 DR and I absolutely love 'em !!!
I've always used 6L6's in all my Recto's but that amp really comes to life with EL34's.

You should definitely experiment with it, you'll fall in love with the slightly different Recto tone yet again ! It's cool.


btw: I have a question (about mixing tubes) but I won't hijack this thread, so please look for: Mixing tubes in DR

 

[zackmz]

hi,

is possible pull or remove 2 tubes in a TRIPLE RECTIFIER?? i read in manual PDF from mesaboogie site (pag 14) that is possible in DUAL RECTIFIER and not with TRIPLE.

its correctly remove this tubes?? -->> OOxxOO (like DR??) what happend with the impedance??? reduce 8 to 4 ohms????

it's possible down the power to 100 w in TRIPLE???

another quiz, if i put EL34 in my TRIPLE, can i put only 4 tubes???

thanks.

 

[ThunderMonkey]

hi,

is possible pull or remove 2 tubes in a TRIPLE RECTIFIER?? i read in manual PDF from mesaboogie site (pag 14) that is possible in DUAL RECTIFIER and not with TRIPLE.

its correctly remove this tubes?? -->> OOxxOO (like DR??) what happend with the impedance??? reduce 8 to 4 ohms????

it's possible down the power to 100 w in TRIPLE???

another quiz, if i put EL34 in my TRIPLE, can i put only 4 tubes???

thanks.

Hey there, first off, Welcome to the Boogie Board !

Droppin' 2 tubes in a TR is NOT a good idea !
Yes, it would drop it down to 100 watts but you would also drop the impedance by 1/3 and there is no equivalent impedance output to match.
Let me say also that the Triple Rectifier with 150 watts ONLY equates to +3db volume.
People tend to think that 150 watts is much louder than 100 watts but in reality it's really not, it's only slightly more clean headroom again, only +3db :roll:
Which TR do you have? 2 or 3 channel?
If volume is an issue you may want to switch to a Dual Rec but AGAIN, there is only a slight difference in decibels!

 

[zackmz]

Which TR do you have? 2 or 3 channel?

i have a 3 channel TRIPLE RECTIFIER.

I want to drop down to 100 w because i use 100 w cabinets (FRAMUS 2x 12 v30). And i wanna change the sound of my TR to BRITISH with EL34 too.

thanks for the wellcome to this forum and sorry for my bad "english".

 

[ThunderMonkey]

Hey man, I would look into trading your TR for a Dual Rec if that's the cabinet setup you plan to keep. EL34's in a Rectifier is awesome, that's what I have in my DR right now and I love the tone ! Still sounds like a Recto but the midrange is so much better and low end is tight in high gain ranges, very nice.
I would call Mesa on Monday and ask the experts to be sure but I don't think pulling 2 tubes is a good idea.
The Output transformer on a TR is different than a DR to handle the wattage.

 

[blackcom]

So, EL-34 adds some midrange...are we talking mid or upper-mid?

 

[zackmz]

I would call Mesa on Monday and ask the experts to be sure but I don't think pulling 2 tubes is a good idea.

any answer???

i received 6 Mesa EL34 str447 code grey today and i still doubt if its ok put 6 or 4 tubes...

 

[ThunderMonkey]

My suggestion was for YOU to call Mesa to get the info as you need to get an answer. I would put all 6 in and leave it alone OR call Mesa :wink:

 

[zackmz]

sorry , I did not understand to you and thanks for your advise.

 

[zackmz]

i asked to the technicians of MESA-BOOGIE if its possible remove 2 tubes to a TRIPLE RECTO and they said me that its possible and there are no problems.

In fact, i put only 4 x EL34 and i dont have any problem until the moment.

the sound is more brilliant (really british sound) but i feel a lost of sustain for my solos. maybe i need a SUSTAINER