Tube Switching..

[ikkyu88]

Newbie question, but which amps could you change the tubes in (6L6 to EL34)? Also, what preferences are there between the two tubes in these amps?

 

[oyster]

Beyond just EL34 and 6L6 there are a lot of possibilities.

Anyhow, for my DR Roadster, be careful about bias (I don't understand bias properly so I just order matched sets/quads from eurotubest) but I am using combinations of 6V6, 6L6, EL34, KT77 and all tubes have different tone. My favorite (current) combination is an integrated quad of KT77/6V6.

The sound of these tubes? I find EL34s nice and clear sounding but top end is a bit grainy, KT77s smooth that out. I find 6L6s have great thick bottom end thump but sometimes a bit muddy, 6V6s have a nice round bottom end with not as much thump as 6L6s, but lower mids seem more articulate and have good harmonic content. So that is the combination I prefer at the moment. My tastes change at a moment's notice though!

 

[scotbot]

as long as the bias is adjustable enough, any amp could run 6L6's or EL34's.

 

[MesaENGR412]

Am I correct in the question is which amps have a bias switch on the back to be able to run EL's and 6L6's?

Check out this pdf.
http://www.mesaboogie.com/catalog/acrobats06/Specs.pdf
Look at the "Where Used" column in the EL and 6L6 rows. Keep in mind that the Solo 50 they are talking about is the current production model, and NOT the 1st Generation models. They do NOT have a bias switch for EL-34's. The amp would need to be internally biased to run them, unless you could talk to a tube vendor and get some EL-34's that run around the same power band as the 6L6's. Anyways, hope this helps.

-AJH