Thinking about some DR eurotube kits....

[OneMoreAugust]

I was wondering if anyone's got the 6V6-GZ34 or the EL34L-GZ34 Dual Rect retube kits from Eurotube?
I am running Mesa 6L6's now, and enjoy the thick bottom and punch-a-chug I get w/ them, but am looking to be able to soften some of the distortion w/o loosing gain....kinda of a modern sound w/ 70's warmth...a Dual/VoxAC30 to throw out names.
I've tried the EL34's and didn't like the loss of 'chug' and low end Will the EL34L kit be a good mix, or should I stay along the lines of the 6V6's? Maybe I should give the EL34 line another try? Thanks!

 

[jbird]

Consider the Integrated Quads! :idea:

 

[OneMoreAugust]

Does the integrated kit give back some of the low end like they claim to. Reason I ask is because I noticed when I threw in a set of EL34(by themselves mind you) I lost 60% of that low end chug. Does changing the pre's make them a different animal?

 

[Botch]

I tried the EL34/6L6 intergrated quad and the combination of the two doesn't sit right with me. Obviously it's all subjective but I'm not into mixing two such different sounding tubes together.

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

Maybe take a look at the new KT-77 type. Its still basically an EL34, but supposed to have more headroom and deeper bass response. I have not tried them myself but they are getting good reviews.

And yes, try out the GZ34/5AR4 rectifiers. Makes the amp much tighter and punchier in the tube-rec setting. This gets much more noticeable the louder you turn up.

 

[Platypus]

I'm using JJ EL34L's and JJ EL84's and JJ GZ34 tubes all from Eurotube in my Dual Rec and I'm extremely happy so far. Much MUCH better than the stock tubes.


The EL34L's don't have quite the thump of a 6L6 but it's much better than the standard EL34 for bass and I prefer the sound of EL34's anyway.

 

[OneMoreAugust]

do the kt-77 and kt-88's give a modern feel?

 

[OneMoreAugust]

I'm using JJ EL34L's and JJ EL84's and JJ GZ34 tubes all from Eurotube in my Dual Rec and I'm extremely happy so far. Much MUCH better than the stock tubes.

is it 2 EL34's and 2 EL84's?

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

do the kt-77 and kt-88's give a modern feel?

Not sure on the 77's, but KT-88's have so much headroom you would probably never reach the point of power-tube distortion. Read: massive bass, crisp (piercing?) highs. Probably good for modern metal if your speakers can handle it.

 

[Platypus]

I'm using JJ EL34L's and JJ EL84's and JJ GZ34 tubes all from Eurotube in my Dual Rec and I'm extremely happy so far. Much MUCH better than the stock tubes.

is it 2 EL34's and 2 EL84's?

Yes, two EL34L's and two EL84's. I use THD yellowjackets as adaptors for the 84 tubes.

 

[OneMoreAugust]

Not sure on the 77's, but KT-88's have so much headroom you would probably never reach the point of power-tube distortion. Read: massive bass, crisp (piercing?) highs. Probably good for modern metal if your speakers can handle it.

This is true, although that used to be my style, it's what I am trying to stray away from. I just want more tone out of my amp. I don't like the 'Marshall-style' sounds...hell that's why I didnt buy one. I suppose that's why I am leary of the EL34L kit. I like modern tones, but more voice than modern metal sounds.
Think SevenMaryThree(American Standard album) with a bit more balls. I know he used Tele's w/ VoxAC30s, and some Marshalls. But Marshalls don't have that balls out sound a mesa has.

 

[Platypus]

Not sure on the 77's, but KT-88's have so much headroom you would probably never reach the point of power-tube distortion. Read: massive bass, crisp (piercing?) highs. Probably good for modern metal if your speakers can handle it.

This is true, although that used to be my style, it's what I am trying to stray away from. I just want more tone out of my amp. I don't like the 'Marshall-style' sounds...hell that's why I didnt buy one. I suppose that's why I am leary of the EL34L kit. I like modern tones, but more voice than modern metal sounds.
Think SevenMaryThree(American Standard album) with a bit more balls. I know he used Tele's w/ VoxAC30s, and some Marshalls. But Marshalls don't have that balls out sound a mesa has.

I posted a thread in the Rigs/Tones forum with some sample metal clips, you can decide for yourself how the 34L's sound. (sorry the cam I used sucks and makes it sound dark)

 

[fatboy135]

only power tubes??' so do a favour to yourself, please change the tube preamps with the jj ecc83s and let the rock flows from your amp :wink:

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

I don't like the 'Marshall-style' sounds...hell that's why I didnt buy one.

Not to worry...I dont think there's a tube in the world that will make your DR sound like a marshall.

 

[pacm2002]

I was a Marshall guy for 15 years, but always felt there was a fullness and percussive bottom that these amps were missing. I always thought Mesa was too thumpy and too loose in the low end (but I like the tube rectifier sound in this amp). The tone I always hoped for landed somewhere between the Dual Rec & a TSL. With that said, I ordered the Eurotubes E34L High Gain kit and replaced the rectifier tubes with GZ34's. Only played it an hour, but in general, this is exactly the spot I want to be in: A compromise of the EL34 greasiness (using the E34L) of the TSL and the low-end (WITH tightness) of a DR. Whats more is I get to enjoy the features of the Dual Rec which the Marshalls can't come close to. Does it sound like a Marshall? No. But it doesn't sound like a stereotypical dual rec all that much either (which I was always afraid of being a 70's & 80's style player). FWIW: I will be gigging with the amp next weekend and will post a more detailed review after working these tubes for a full 2 nights.

 

[CaughtLikeFire]

The JJ KT-77 is a very "full" sounding EL-34 type tube. Breaks up well, very warm. It doesn't maintain all the thump of my SED 6L6s, but no EL34 type ever will. I found that I preferred the SED 6L6 but that the JJ KT77 was an excellent way to get a different sound from a Rectifier. They're a really ballsy EL34 - haven't tried the E34L, but Eurotubes markets the KT-77 to be one step up in terms of thickness and bass response.

Preamps are another story. The ECC83S sounded way too dark in my Rectoverb and not very clear - I hate to use this worn-out phrase, but it was like a "blanket over my amp." I tried the more expensive 803's and the mids were too strong for my taste. I like JJ power tubes for my Mesa, but the preamps just don't work well at all in my opinion.

For preamp, the GT 12AX7M Mullard reissue and 9th Gen Chinese (Shuguang) have given me the most balanced sound from a Rectifier preamp. Nice distortion, no spikey mids, harsh highs, or blanket-over-the-amp feel.

 

[OneMoreAugust]

I was a Marshall guy for 15 years, but always felt there was a fullness and percussive bottom that these amps were missing. I always thought Mesa was too thumpy and too loose in the low end (but I like the tube rectifier sound in this amp). The tone I always hoped for landed somewhere between the Dual Rec & a TSL. With that said, I ordered the Eurotubes E34L High Gain kit and replaced the rectifier tubes with GZ34's. Only played it an hour, but in general, this is exactly the spot I want to be in: A compromise of the EL34 greasiness (using the E34L) of the TSL and the low-end (WITH tightness) of a DR. Whats more is I get to enjoy the features of the Dual Rec which the Marshalls can't come close to. Does it sound like a Marshall? No. But it doesn't sound like a stereotypical dual rec all that much either (which I was always afraid of being a 70's & 80's style player). FWIW: I will be gigging with the amp next weekend and will post a more detailed review after working these tubes for a full 2 nights.

I think this might be where I'm looking to go. Last night I threw in my set of EL34s again and played with the knobs. I found that the orange/modern/tube rect/bold setting sounded much more definitive and thicker than w/ the 6L6's in the red/modern/solidstate/bold. It made my approach to these channels completely opposite.
Before I thought that the red channel should be the heavy distortion, and the orange more of a light distortion/overdriven clean sound. But the EL34's don't sound good with that line of thinking. They sound good now and I think I might go with the EL34L high gain kit after all.


CaughtLikeFire:

Preamps are another story. The ECC83S sounded way too dark in my Rectoverb and not very clear - I hate to use this worn-out phrase, but it was like a "blanket over my amp." I tried the more expensive 803's and the mids were too strong for my taste. I like JJ power tubes for my Mesa, but the preamps just don't work well at all in my opinion.
For preamp, the GT 12AX7M Mullard reissue and 9th Gen Chinese (Shuguang) have given me the most balanced sound from a Rectifier preamp. Nice distortion, no spikey mids, harsh highs, or blanket-over-the-amp feel.

I definately don't want blanket sounds...was this w/ the KT-77's or the 6L6's? It took awhile to get rid of that w/ the EL34's. Although they are a hotter tube, they seemed to have a lower tone than the 6L6's with the setting I originally had. I had cranked up the presence and master volume to make em sing.
Have you compared the GT's with Ruby pre's?

 

[Guitarzan]

Have you compared the GT's with Ruby pre's

Ruby buys mostly Chinese tubes for their 12AX7's. GT buys from most companies that make tubes. The 'Mullard' reissue they market is Chinese made but it does sound great in V1. I go between the JJ ECC803 and the GT 12AX7M for my V1 position. You may want to experiment with a 5751 in V1, Less gain-great voicing. I was not impressed with one particular tube in all positions, you have to mix and match to the sounds your looking/hearing for. You can pretty much cover the spectrum with GT. The 'S' suffix means they are JJ's, 'R1' means Svetlana, 'R2' is SED/Wing C, 'C' is Chinese/Shuguang. Several people have posted their formulas here you can find them by digging through the posts. If your short on tube swapping time then just talk to Bob at Eurotubes.com and get his pre matched hi gain set. Bob's a good guy and is highly recommended on this board. Good luck and let us know what you decided on.

 

[CaughtLikeFire]

The "blanket" sound was a preamp tube issue - had nothing to do with KT77 vs. 6L6. The opinion that the ECC83S do not work well in Mesa preamps is shared by many (but certainly not all) members of this board. If you want to try one or two and can get them cheap - go for it. But I'd think twice about doing a full JJ preamp section.

 

[Platypus]

OneMoreAugust: I had similar findings with my DR. I just had to stop thinking about it like channels and more like sounds in my head. The second channel on vintage sounds WAY more sizzly and sharp/authoratative with the EL34L's and the third channel is super punchy low bass.. I would almost use the second channel for metal now and the third for basic rythm/hard rock sounds. It works especially well with my 7 string tuned to C# because it can handle that massive low end and still get a nice bite.

The second channel became my solo/riffing channel for sure after the conversion, with the 6L6's it was a different story.