Dual Rectifier: 6L6 vs. EL-34?

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Hey guys!

Well, come March 1st, it will be my Dual Rectifier Solo Head's first birthday! As a present, I plan to get it a full retube!

I'm going with Doug's tubes, and for the preamp, will go with his recommendation (Tung Sol, LPS, Chinese 9th), and for rectifier tubes, will continue with the Mesa 5U4GBs (already have a brand new backup pair).

For the power amp, I am having quite the pickle deciding between 6L6s and EL-34s.

If I were to go with 6L6s, I would more than likely go with a Quad of SED =C='s. With these tubes, I love the chug and deep low end, but on the down side, this low end tends to be muddy...almost too deep to be natural to the guitar. Cutting through the mix in practice is fine, but when gigging, many people seem to tell me I get lost in the mix very easily.

As for EL-34s, my only experience has been with JJ E-34Ls. I liked them alot...the response was a lot tighter, and the bass seemed much more natural for the guitar. Very harmonically rich and responsive, with much more bark in the tone overall. The clean channel got a much nicer chime, and channel 2 vintage just roared. The EQ seemed to be much more responsive to this type of tube. Only down side, after a while, the tone seemed a bit too processed for me...then again, I am not a big fan of JJ tubes, so that is why I am looking into it again.

So, what would you recommend? What do you like in your recto and why? Be specific on brands if you can! After reading Tele Jas' post, I remembered how much I miss the EL-34s....but which ones should I look into? SED =C=? Sveltana?

I really think EL-34s are the tube for me, but some feedback would be great!

Thanks for all the help!

 

[siggy14]

if you are not cutting through in a live situation sounds more like a soundman problem then a guitar problem. I have seen many guitars that dont cut through due to crappy soundmen.

 

[stratman62]

You might want to consider an "integrated quad" from euro tubes. I just put a set in my roadster and I think I really like it! If you're not familiar with these it's a set of 2-6L6's and 2-EL34's (both JJ) that are matched so that you can run them in EL34 mode. I like what I'm hearing so far. It still has the recto vibe but with a little EL34 mids added.

Just a thought. Other than that, if it were me and I bought the recto because I like the recto tone then I would definately stick with the Mesa 6l6 tubes. But thats just me.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

The JJ integrated quad did come to mind, but I don't want to deal with JJ or Eurotubes again....

Any other opinions?

 

[David.W]

Man you go through tubes,

If you want to really bring the modern tone to its best I'd take whatever Doug recommends in the 6L6 department, which might be the Svetlana =C=. I have the same set up from Doug including the pre amps, and its good, great improvement from stock. It is a darker tone, but its detailed, and layered. I cant relate to the mud, I have no mud issues these days and im in drop D <at least nothing that cant be dailed out>

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

That's why I'm considering staying with 6L6s....the retube in the preamp from Dougs may help quite a bit

 

[RyanDM]

Hey ibanez4life-
I am a big fan of the Sovtek EL34Gs. I also tried the JJEL34Ls last month. I played them for 3 hours and put them back in the box. (anyone want a matched duet?) They just seemed pretty dull and one dimensional (to these ears) compared to the Sovteks that I have.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Exactly what I found with the JJ's too...got way to bland very fast.

But I'm really leaning towards the EL-34s...when playing with the 6L6s, I find myself putting the mids up and bass down to get a tighter response and cleaner overall sounds....not as "big", but it cuts and fits in the mix much better.

 

[lookslikemeband]

I use 6L6GC's in a matched quad.

Absolutely my favorite tube.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Why not go with the Winged C/SED EL34s?

If you want the EL34s, that's the one I would try. I have them in my Simul-Class sockets of my Mark III and Mark IV, and I think they are great.

Bill

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

That's more than likely what I'm planning on doing! Thanks for the advice! Any other opinions welcome!

 

[Utah]

I've used the JJ 6V6s, Mesa 6L6-str430, and JJ E34Ls in my 3ch DR. I prefer them in that order as well. Haven't tried a true EL34 yet.

 

[turmoil]

i love the tubes in my triple rec.
JJ EL34L power amp tubes, JJ GZ34 rectifier tubes, Tung-Sol V1, JJ V2 - V5.

i also tend to run the master loop volume at noon and then adjust each individual channel to taste when playing live.

How are those Winged C/SED EL34's???