EL34 STR-447...any opinions on current stock?

[TremoJem]

Looking to replace power tubes in my two Tremoverbs.

I currently run one with SED =C= 6L6 and the other with the same, but EL34s.

I love the EL34s.

Time to swap...anyone used Mesa's current offering?

 

[elvis]

To my ears the Mesa EL34s are good, but unremarkable. Either way, the =C= will not last forever, so you'll have to put SOMETHING in there.

Incidentally, I found that I preferred the Mesa 6L6 to the =C= 6L6. I never got to try the EL34, though.

 

[TremoJem]

Thanks Elvis...do you suspect Mesa's EL34s are Tung-Sol tubes?

 

[TremoJem]

What do you think of Tung-Sol?

Or, can you suggest a good replacement for SED =C= EL34.

I see there are alot still out there and some are as low as $55.00...but I don't trust they are any good at this point in time...just left over crap that did not cut it.

 

[elvis]

I have no idea who makes the Mesa EL34, but I would bet JJ, since that seems to be the case for most of their tubes now. Not many sources for them any more.

I recently retubed my Shiva and had to use Ruby BHT, as that is the only current-production tube that can handle the high plate voltage of that amp. Bogner used to use =C= exclusively for the same reason. So that might be something to try, in that the BHT has at least one thing in common with the SED.

Outside of that, I have zero experience with any EL34 other than Mesa. I have Mesa EL34 at the moment in my Dyne and just picked up a Royal Atlantic with Mesa EL34 in it.

I wouldn't pick up NOS for myself because they are pricy and you'll have to change them out again anyway. And I wouldn't try used tubes because who knows what they've been through. I still have the =C= EL34s that I pulled from the Shiva, but I don't trust them since I have no info about the amp's history.

You may need to bias the amp if you use other brands, or maybe one of the resellers can get you an appropriate bias level for Mesa.

 

[Authorized Boogie]

I have no idea who makes the Mesa EL34, but I would bet JJ, since that seems to be the case for most of their tubes now. Not many sources for them any more.

I recently retubed my Shiva and had to use Ruby BHT, as that is the only current-production tube that can handle the high plate voltage of that amp. Bogner used to use =C= exclusively for the same reason. So that might be something to try, in that the BHT has at least one thing in common with the SED.

Outside of that, I have zero experience with any EL34 other than Mesa. I have Mesa EL34 at the moment in my Dyne and just picked up a Royal Atlantic with Mesa EL34 in it.

I wouldn't pick up NOS for myself because they are pricy and you'll have to change them out again anyway. And I wouldn't try used tubes because who knows what they've been through. I still have the =C= EL34s that I pulled from the Shiva, but I don't trust them since I have no info about the amp's history.

You may need to bias the amp if you use other brands, or maybe one of the resellers can get you an appropriate bias level for Mesa.

We are currently using Russian-made EL34s. Thanks!

 

[TremoJem]

Thanks Mark III, so that is Tung-Sol.

I was just wondering.

 

[TremoJem]

I went thru my tube inventory.

Unless a tube has failed in some way, I do not toss them.

So, I have some used 6L6s and EL34s.

I grabbed my used STR-447 from 2011 and put them into the amp with the 6L6s and switched the bias switch.

This allowed me to compare them against my second amp with SED =C= EL34s.

Both amps are Tremoverbs.

I can say that there are some differences, but in all the Mesa tubes sound great.

I would rather have the SED, but the Mesa tubes are not so inferior that I would not use them.

I wonder how they sound against the Tung-Sols

 

[Nick Lehman]

I might get lit up for this, but have you considered using the KT-77?

Its like an EL34 but with more bottom end like a 6L6, I've been running a set of JJ's for about a year or so and love them. Tight and punchy, awesome midrange but not too ice picky like EL34's can get.

 

[TremoJem]

No, I have not tried that.

I want the upper mids from the 34s and I think they are tight.

The TS 34s are O.K., but NOT better than the Mesa 34s.

Oh, well.