satisfied5582
Well-known member
i put el-34's in my duel rect and man this is great. these tubes really sound good with the duel rect. really hurts the clean channel but does great things for the overdrive. really opens up the mids.
el-34's in a dual rect
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mikey383
Well-known member
They are great. I didn't think they hurt the clean channel much at all, but then again, I'm running JJ E34Ls which are a little hotter than a regular EL34.
Ukalali Solo
Well-known member
Hmm, how did it change the sound? I was thinking of getting a set just for trying it out.
Would i need to get a matched set for the preamp tubes as well? Or just get a quad set of EL84s?
Would i need to get a matched set for the preamp tubes as well? Or just get a quad set of EL84s?
I've got JJ El34's in the rectoverb head I just picked up.
Love em ! They add some character to the mids and give it a little growl.
I'm going to try some KT-77's in there as I have those running in my JSX head and they really brought the JSX alive.
Love em ! They add some character to the mids and give it a little growl.
I'm going to try some KT-77's in there as I have those running in my JSX head and they really brought the JSX alive.
mikey383
Well-known member
Ukalali Solo said:
They add more higher mids to the amp. Rectos are voiced toward low mids, but EL34s make it almost sound more "Marshally".
You don't need to do anything to the preamp tubes, and you want EL *34*s. EL84s won't fit in a Recto.
Ukalali Solo
Well-known member
mikey383 said:
Heh woops, dunno why i wrote 84. Cool i'll pick up a set and try it out.
acidguitar
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Yeah, EL34L's are great, probably the tightest you'll get and they break up well. Great bottom end and they give you better mids considering that rectos struggle in that area. Also worth a big note are the KT77's, bigger bottom end and thump than the EL34L's but only slightly less tighter. A fantastic sound, they help the rectos significantly.
Put it this way, two of us use MTR's in a metal band (not the best set up, one recto is sufficient in a band to tell you the truth! A Stiletto, Peavy or better still an Uberschall is the go – whoops, back to Mesa talk), one with standard 6L6's and mine with the KT77's, mine is clearer and has way more thump and that mushiness is negligible now. You'll still need to use a tube screamer of sorts to boost for soloing though. I am in the process of convincing the other to adopt EL34L’s. Shouldn’t be too long before he submits to the better sound.
Put it this way, two of us use MTR's in a metal band (not the best set up, one recto is sufficient in a band to tell you the truth! A Stiletto, Peavy or better still an Uberschall is the go – whoops, back to Mesa talk), one with standard 6L6's and mine with the KT77's, mine is clearer and has way more thump and that mushiness is negligible now. You'll still need to use a tube screamer of sorts to boost for soloing though. I am in the process of convincing the other to adopt EL34L’s. Shouldn’t be too long before he submits to the better sound.
BradXXX
Member
I'm thinking about trying EL34's in my Triple Rec. But I read that I would have to use the tube rectifier mode if I did this? Is this true?
That's what's holding me back because I'm a much bigger fan of the diode setting.
That's what's holding me back because I'm a much bigger fan of the diode setting.
clutch71
Well-known member
BradXXX said:
No. you can still choose between tube rectification and SD. If you try SD with EL's at cranked tones I'm willing to bet you'll like them.
Just a note, while El34's will tighten your Recto considerably it will still be a Recto. Adding El34's will not make it sound like a Marshall for the crowd wanting a brown a early Metallica era tone. It is a nice choice and I highly recommend it. When I had a DR I put them in and never went back to 6l6's.
satisfied5582
Well-known member
mikey383 said:
i know about marshally, maybe a marshall with a huge set of balls. i thought they realy made the mids shine better, they also tightened up my tone a little, they helped it cut through the mix a little better to. as for the cleans i've been fighting with the clean channel on my recto since i've had it. not impressed with it. i reccamend el 34's in a rectifier, just my opinion though.
mikey383
Well-known member
I didn't say it would sound exactly like a Marshall, it's "Marshally" as in there's more dominent higher mids rather than the low growl of 6L6s. Don't expect a DSL out of a Recto just by changing tubes. It gets a little bit closer to that territory though.
Silverwulf
Well-known member
I didn't like EL34's in my last Recto I had, but I just tried them in the '92 with great results. Gonna swap back and forth between some SED Winged C EL34's, JJ EL34L's, and some various 6L6's tonight to see what I think.
Ukalali Solo
Well-known member
When buying the EL34s what do you guys recommend?
I might grab a Quad from my amp tech (he's got several brands) or should i buy a Mesa Set?
I might grab a Quad from my amp tech (he's got several brands) or should i buy a Mesa Set?
ToneAddictJon
Well-known member
I love JJ E34L's in my DR, they make a great difference in tonality for me. I suggest eurotubes.com, just because I've always had good luck (and tone) going through them and just buying their retube kits. I actually prefer the playfulness of the clean channel now, and don't think it suffers at all, but I also have my pickups wired in series and parallel so I get single coil cleans.
Ukalali Solo
Well-known member
Yeah i got a set of the High Gain Tubes for my Single Recto a few years ago and liked em alot.ToneAddictJon said:
Do you think its worth grabbing the Quad of EL34s or should i just get 2 to mess around with the 50W alternative?
ToneAddictJon
Well-known member
I'd say go for the quad over the pair, and the e34l's over the el34's (extended low end and supposedly last longer, i just like how they sound).
Silverwulf
Well-known member
Gave them a try tonight and the 6L6's won out.
stompboxfreak72
Well-known member
clutch71 said:
Actually the Dual Rec manual says to run el34's in vaccum tube mode only. Bob at Eurotubes has a great post about why this recommendation exists on his website. The funny thing is that I run el34's in my single rec which only has silicone diode mode and the el34s work just fine.
Only problem I have had is with the shelf life of stock mesa el34's. They dont last as long as 6l6's to my ears. A minor inconvenience and perhaps preference on my behalf but it is worth it for good tone.
mikey383
Well-known member
stompboxfreak72 said:
I've been running a pair of JJ E34Ls (Graded 38) in my Dual for two years on diodes and bold power with no problems. Granted, I am only running two, but I have ran all four with no problems. If you read down through Bob's Mesa posts, he runs a quad of KT88s biased at 88mA (6L6s in a Recto draw like 26mA), drawing significantly more heater current than 6L6s, and hasn't had any problems. So I wouldn't worry about putting EL34s in a Recto.
Also, the manual I got with mine didn't say anything about using the tube rectifiers with EL34s.
