clutch71
Well-known member
Picked up a quartet of Groove Tube EL-34 LS's this week. Kept the volume low most of the week and then took it to the auditorium to turn the amp loose.
For the test I brought 2 guitars - my old Squire Strat w/ SD Hotrail in the bridge, tuned to standard, and my flying V tuned to half step drop D. Nothing in front but a delay for the orange channel clean in the loop.
The first thing I noticed as I started cranking the amp was how much better it sounded in a more mid rangy feel that I'm not used too. It was definitely "tighter" but lost some of it's boominess. Not much but GT's site claims the LS have claim a heavier bass response than some of their other EL-34's.
I had planned to work on some old Jane's Addiction but ended up jamming on some System of a Down. For like an hour! I absolutley nailed the tone on Hypnotize, BYOB, Violent Pornography, and Aerials. I set it to Red Vintage/Bold/SD.
I did not find a Tool tone that I really liked for some of the older stuff but the Pot, Jambi , and Rosetta Stoned sounded pretty good Modern/Bold/Vaccum tubes.
All in all I'm very happy with the El-34's. If I had to say anything negative it would be that the cleans seemed thinner and a little more gainy. I'm not much of a clean player so...
I have very little exerience with EL-34's and it's one of the reasons I replaced my series 1 ROV w/ the 2ch DR. It's nice when you buy something based on an idea and it works out! I still like 6l6's and plan on finding a quad to replace the Sovtek's. Just too harsh for my tastes but good back ups!
For the test I brought 2 guitars - my old Squire Strat w/ SD Hotrail in the bridge, tuned to standard, and my flying V tuned to half step drop D. Nothing in front but a delay for the orange channel clean in the loop.
The first thing I noticed as I started cranking the amp was how much better it sounded in a more mid rangy feel that I'm not used too. It was definitely "tighter" but lost some of it's boominess. Not much but GT's site claims the LS have claim a heavier bass response than some of their other EL-34's.
I had planned to work on some old Jane's Addiction but ended up jamming on some System of a Down. For like an hour! I absolutley nailed the tone on Hypnotize, BYOB, Violent Pornography, and Aerials. I set it to Red Vintage/Bold/SD.
I did not find a Tool tone that I really liked for some of the older stuff but the Pot, Jambi , and Rosetta Stoned sounded pretty good Modern/Bold/Vaccum tubes.
All in all I'm very happy with the El-34's. If I had to say anything negative it would be that the cleans seemed thinner and a little more gainy. I'm not much of a clean player so...
I have very little exerience with EL-34's and it's one of the reasons I replaced my series 1 ROV w/ the 2ch DR. It's nice when you buy something based on an idea and it works out! I still like 6l6's and plan on finding a quad to replace the Sovtek's. Just too harsh for my tastes but good back ups!
