EL 34 vs 6L6

[bonzapanter]

Made a comparison video between EL34 and 6L6 tubes after I had installed bias pots in the amps. The amps are 90´s carvin x amps. The eq is flat, and setting is set to 5 ( or 12 o´clock)the gain is set on 3/4
YouTube - carvin x100b el 34 vs x50b with 6l6 power tubes

[Jason Poulin]

excellent post


thank you!

[Jason Poulin]

these little details IMO are more important and more significant than the difference of two preamps

[danbronson]

Keep in mind there are a few other factors that determine which tube is best for the amp, not just how they're biased. That said, you can still safely run either tube type as long as the bias is set correctly.

Cool comparison, but youtube video isn't exactly the best quality to listen on.

In my experience:
6L6 - wide frequency response, tight/hard sounding
EL34 - more midrange focused, softer/more pleasant

Both have their place of course, neither is better. Right now I'm rockin' all 6L6s in my amps but I'm considering a quad of EL34s for a more British voicing.

[bonzapanter]

Gona agree with you on that danbronson. Neither is better, but my favourite for the time beeing is the 6l6 amp. I use dimarzio paf pro in two of my guitars, and in my ears the 6l6 tubes " open" the sound with those pups, but with the el 34 the sound is more is "muddy".

[Jax]

I had an x100b and it never sounded anywhere close to that good. I didn't know that amp was capable of such sounds. If I still had it, I'd be picking your brain to figure out how to make it come alive. Maybe the bias pots were a big factor, or maybe my amp was way out of spec, but it sounded like shit when I had it.

[JoeyM]

My 2 cents worth:

6L6s typically have a soft top end and are FAT, and EL34s are thinner and meaner. There are exceptions like the Peavy Rockmaster, 4 6L6s and huge tone, immense.

IMO 6L6s are more versitile and EL34s are a one trick pony, AKA Marshall.

Running the tubes either in Class A or Class AB drastically changes the sound.

I'm grateful to Mesa Boogie for making interchangeable output tubes; my Mk III is going on 21 years old!

[bonzapanter]

Originally Posted by Jax

I had an x100b and it never sounded anywhere close to that good. I didn't know that amp was capable of such sounds. If I still had it, I'd be picking your brain to figure out how to make it come alive. Maybe the bias pots were a big factor, or maybe my amp was way out of spec, but it sounded like shit when I had it.

New tubes from eurotubes and trim pot installed finally made my amps sound the way I wanted, so yes. The possibility to adjust the bias on these amps seems like the way too go to make them alive.