EL34 tube recommendation for RA100, any suggestions?
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The Mark V is the tube eater.... That is the amp I had the KT77 in use for a few months, not sure how long. This amp can burn up tubes in a matter of a few hours if they are weak. I have to proceed with caution though, since I had the KT77 in the Mark V when I blew out one of the screen resistors. A few things need to be checked out with that amp to confirm what is the issue. All I need to do is confirm the bias is at -51V when powered from the same AC source. Of course getting a bias meter would also help.
As for the RA100, I do not have any issues with it eating tubes. The KT77 failed or shut down due to soft short or contaminants. Nothing has red plated yet. I marked the suspect bad tubes and set them aside. I have tried them again in the RA100 and they are working fine. The HT fuse is still good and the LED was not lit either. Could be loose pins, not sure the issue. So it appears the quad of KT77 may still be okay for a little while. As for the old Mesa tubes, I cracked one by accident (dropped one of the tubes that hit and cracked the one on the carpet) and did not realize it until I turned the amp on. However, one of the sockets is loose, so perhaps pulling the amp out, remove the upper board to gain access to the power tube board for inspection of all solder joints may be in order if the issue becomes persistent. Issue does not arise with new tubes, so considering old tubes failing or shutting down if they are near end of life is no reason to take apart the RA100 to confirm amp or tube related (95% convinced it is tube related and 5% the amp since I bought it used).
As for the SED tubes, I have use them for nearly 6 months and always used the power soak which will wear tubes a bit faster especially when pushing the master volumes up. I have to consider that the preamp tubes I have been using in the RA100 have been use quite well back in the 90's when I was in a band. I wound up with a small stock pile of Mesa tubes that were either spent or still good. Some of them were given to the person I sold the Mark III. I held on to a few of them.
As for the Ruby EL34BHT, there are two that will glow a bit like a 6V6. It does not matter what amp I have them in, Roadster, RA100 or Mark V, just two of the tubes are not so great. That was kind of sucky actually. I should have returned the pair back to Doug's Tubes but considering how long it took to have an RMA on a Rectifier tube evaluated, I simply said to myself, "screw it".
Also have to consider I am on a tone quest. I am hoping to fine a quad of power tubes that are as pleasing as the SED =C= EL34. Since I am preparing to record various power tubes, I believe I will be able to include the KT77 (used up but still have some life left I hope), I will throw in the Ruby EL34BHT, even the Ruby 6L6GCMSTR, perhaps a Quad of Mesa STR440, I should have new Mesa EL34 in by mid week, SED =C= 6L6GC (put them in last night and Holly $h#t, they sound incredible in this amp), Tung Sol EL34B, Mullard EL34, and SED EL34. Possibly Tung Sol 7581. Basically I am going to run though my stash of power tubes if I have the time to do it.
As for the RA100, I do not have any issues with it eating tubes. The KT77 failed or shut down due to soft short or contaminants. Nothing has red plated yet. I marked the suspect bad tubes and set them aside. I have tried them again in the RA100 and they are working fine. The HT fuse is still good and the LED was not lit either. Could be loose pins, not sure the issue. So it appears the quad of KT77 may still be okay for a little while. As for the old Mesa tubes, I cracked one by accident (dropped one of the tubes that hit and cracked the one on the carpet) and did not realize it until I turned the amp on. However, one of the sockets is loose, so perhaps pulling the amp out, remove the upper board to gain access to the power tube board for inspection of all solder joints may be in order if the issue becomes persistent. Issue does not arise with new tubes, so considering old tubes failing or shutting down if they are near end of life is no reason to take apart the RA100 to confirm amp or tube related (95% convinced it is tube related and 5% the amp since I bought it used).
As for the SED tubes, I have use them for nearly 6 months and always used the power soak which will wear tubes a bit faster especially when pushing the master volumes up. I have to consider that the preamp tubes I have been using in the RA100 have been use quite well back in the 90's when I was in a band. I wound up with a small stock pile of Mesa tubes that were either spent or still good. Some of them were given to the person I sold the Mark III. I held on to a few of them.
As for the Ruby EL34BHT, there are two that will glow a bit like a 6V6. It does not matter what amp I have them in, Roadster, RA100 or Mark V, just two of the tubes are not so great. That was kind of sucky actually. I should have returned the pair back to Doug's Tubes but considering how long it took to have an RMA on a Rectifier tube evaluated, I simply said to myself, "screw it".
Also have to consider I am on a tone quest. I am hoping to fine a quad of power tubes that are as pleasing as the SED =C= EL34. Since I am preparing to record various power tubes, I believe I will be able to include the KT77 (used up but still have some life left I hope), I will throw in the Ruby EL34BHT, even the Ruby 6L6GCMSTR, perhaps a Quad of Mesa STR440, I should have new Mesa EL34 in by mid week, SED =C= 6L6GC (put them in last night and Holly $h#t, they sound incredible in this amp), Tung Sol EL34B, Mullard EL34, and SED EL34. Possibly Tung Sol 7581. Basically I am going to run though my stash of power tubes if I have the time to do it.
Apparently this will take much longer than anticipated. My current PC does not have support for the IEEE firewire card. Bummer.
That only means I have to rebuild the old one, it seems to be working again but not sure how long since it has a history of crapping out. Last time I used it was sometime in 2012. I really want to be able to share the sound of the different tubes with the RA100. Hearing it will provide more information than what I can try to describe in words.
That only means I have to rebuild the old one, it seems to be working again but not sure how long since it has a history of crapping out. Last time I used it was sometime in 2012. I really want to be able to share the sound of the different tubes with the RA100. Hearing it will provide more information than what I can try to describe in words.
Still having the blue screen issue with the capture pc. I believe I resolved the problem by disabling the internal video hardware since I actually got windows to start without crapping out. In the meantime, I have been recording using different tubes. So far, playback through a portable monitor sounds okay and not distorted or clipped so this may be something I can complete before the holidays. The editing may take some time since I have about 2 hours of recordings to condense / edit. If all goes as planned, hopefully I can post something. I must be really board in life since I have taken on this project. Not trying to cow bell here. So far the most pleasing tube I have installed in the RA100 is the SED =C= EL34. That tube makes the others sound sub par. Tung Sol EL34B sounds nothing like either SED =c= EL34 or the 6L6GC. Perhaps it sounds closer to a 6L6GC than the EL34. When I installed the Mullard EL34 again with the Mesa stock preamp tubes it just did not sound as great as it did with other preamp tubes I have rolled in. I did get new replacement Mesa branded EL34 on Monday. They sound the same as the old tube that came in the amp, just a bit louder. The Mesa 12AT7 for V3 added a fizzy tone to the amp so I put back the NOS RFT 12AT7. Also have a few JAN/Phillips 12AT7 for that position. Cost of the NOS 12AT7 are comparable to current production 12AT7 and performance I believe is much better than current production. Wish me luck in getting the project compete. At least you will have something to laugh at since I got stuck in safe mode when playing in front of the camera.
I did complete a video, tried to keep everything the same but that never happens. Sound comparison between TungSol EL34B, SED EL34, KT77, and a few others. Video dose not seem to play on the PC I am using at the moment. Perhaps I over compressed the file. If it works for you, I overlaid the tube type in use so there is no guessing what tube you are listening too.
http://vid1272.photobucket.com/albums/y400/bandit2013/el34tubes_zpskg4on5vd.mp4
http://vid1272.photobucket.com/albums/y400/bandit2013/el34tubes_zpskg4on5vd.mp4
I actually like the Tung Sol EL34B much better than the Mullard with new Mesa preamp tubes. Hard to tell much of a difference in the video, oh well. The SED =C= EL34 were the best overall, Mullard similar to the EH EL34 in gain structure. However, more like the SED =C= EL34 with earlier distortion. The TS EL34B does come close to the SED =C= EL34 but lacks that sweet character in the clean channel with high gain setting and -4db power soak enabled. The Tung Sol EL34B fits between the SED=C= 6L6GC and the SED =C= EL34. I did try them in the Roadster, I prefer the 6L6 overall in that amp.
Good video !
I agree the SED tubes do sound the best, what I hear is the right amount of crispness with the right amount of grit and aggression and balanced tone. The Tungsol's sounded a little softer than the SED's. I like the Mesa tubes in my RA, but they sounded a little boxy and a little harsh compared to the others here.
What settings were you using ?
I agree the SED tubes do sound the best, what I hear is the right amount of crispness with the right amount of grit and aggression and balanced tone. The Tungsol's sounded a little softer than the SED's. I like the Mesa tubes in my RA, but they sounded a little boxy and a little harsh compared to the others here.
What settings were you using ?
Typical settings were with the Hi channel, Base at 1oclock to 2 o'clock, mid and treble set to 12 with the gain at 2 or 3 o'clock, 100W with no power soak. I tried to watch the video on my pc, does not do the actual recording any justice. I had to compress it in order to post, color is out of whack as well as some of the sound.
With stock Mesa tubes (all new) The Mullards seemed a bit harsh, similar to the EH EL34 (not in video). Basically very bright. I can get a great tone from them with different preamp tubes. The Stock Mesa EL34 seemed to be the muddiest of them all.
What was most desirable is the tone, gain and character I am able to get with the SED =C= EL34 in the clean channel with -4db power soak and a moderately high gain setting (not in the video). I had to select portions that were similar and had over 2 hours of video to go though. Began to get tedious. Guitar used is a Carvin DC400W (active tone controls, maple walnut neck though, walnut body sides and walnut cap). What I did like which is also not in the video were the SED =C= 6L6GC. They sounded very close to the Tung Sol EL34B but without the EL34 tone when pushed. I did get a new PCIe FireWire card to use with the better computer. The other PC I used I had frame dropping issues. I may end up redoing the entire thing but different.
I would recommend the Tung Sol EL34B but if you want more of a hard rock heavy metal tone, go with the Mullard Reissue, but you will have to use Mullard CV4004 in V1 and V2 or a mix of Mesa in V1 and Mullard CV4004 in V2 for a boost in gain. Also change the PI tube to a sovtek LPS will push the power tubes a little harder. I am still experimenting with the tubes. So far the TS EL34B work well with the stock Mesa preamp tubes.
With stock Mesa tubes (all new) The Mullards seemed a bit harsh, similar to the EH EL34 (not in video). Basically very bright. I can get a great tone from them with different preamp tubes. The Stock Mesa EL34 seemed to be the muddiest of them all.
What was most desirable is the tone, gain and character I am able to get with the SED =C= EL34 in the clean channel with -4db power soak and a moderately high gain setting (not in the video). I had to select portions that were similar and had over 2 hours of video to go though. Began to get tedious. Guitar used is a Carvin DC400W (active tone controls, maple walnut neck though, walnut body sides and walnut cap). What I did like which is also not in the video were the SED =C= 6L6GC. They sounded very close to the Tung Sol EL34B but without the EL34 tone when pushed. I did get a new PCIe FireWire card to use with the better computer. The other PC I used I had frame dropping issues. I may end up redoing the entire thing but different.
I would recommend the Tung Sol EL34B but if you want more of a hard rock heavy metal tone, go with the Mullard Reissue, but you will have to use Mullard CV4004 in V1 and V2 or a mix of Mesa in V1 and Mullard CV4004 in V2 for a boost in gain. Also change the PI tube to a sovtek LPS will push the power tubes a little harder. I am still experimenting with the tubes. So far the TS EL34B work well with the stock Mesa preamp tubes.
