What power tubes do you guys use in your R30?

macg1 · Post by **macg1** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 9:46 pm

Just wondering what the general consensus is, if any, what you guys are using in your Rocker 30's. Do any prefer the 6CA7 vs EL34?

jason41224 · Post by **jason41224** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 10:20 pm

haha wait till Tesla gets a hold of this thread

i just have JJ E34L's (not to be confused with EL34s). they sound to me as sort of a cross between a EL34 and a KT77. bigger bass, but no reduction in mids really. it sounds great. if you're looking at getting JJs, you really should check out Eurotubes. they have entire Retube kits for the Rocker 30 that save you a bit of money. and the customer service there is fantastic.

Randy Bass · Post by **Randy Bass** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 11:58 pm

I still have the stock Winged Cs in there and I am happy with them.

OU818 · Post by **OU818** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 12:03 am

I used the JJ KT77s.
Hands down the best tube that I ever used in the Rocker 30.

Bandeapart · Post by **Bandeapart** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 12:21 am

I used the JJ KT77's when I had an R30, I loved them!

brianr0131 · Post by **brianr0131** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 2:50 am

GTEL34M best I have Tried so far

TESLA_EL34 · Post by **TESLA_EL34** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 2:52 am

tesla will kill this thread!

funky_wrench · Post by **funky_wrench** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 3:16 am

So far I've used EH 6CA7's, Winged C EL-34's and EH EL-34's and they all have their pros and cons.

The 6CA7's sound huge on the dirty channel and give the roundest full sounding clean sound IMO (probably because they share some traits with a 6L6). The downside is they sound a little on the muddy side at lower volumes.

The EH EL-34's are a lot more mid based and have a least pronounced bottom end of the three I've tried. Least impressive cleans for me, but probably the best sounding dirty tone at lower volumes.

The Winged C I got based on a recommendation from Tesla himself and I like them too. I think they probably sit in between the other two in terms of tone, with the clean being pretty good but not as round as the 6CA7's. These sound pretty good at lower volumes too and have a more pronounced bottome end than the EH EL-34's. They seem to be a nice compromise between the two.

I also own some Groove Tube Substi-tubes (same thing as THD Yellow Jackets) so I want to test the Rocker out with EL-84's but haven't got round to it yet.

If I get the time I want to do a comparison of all the tube types I have playing a clean, mild overdrive and distorted riff through each, though I'm not sure when I'll get around to doing it!

macg1 · Post by **macg1** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 2:55 pm

Yeah I am curious about the KT77's and the 6CA7's. I had used the latter in a musicman combo I had and really loved that tone.

ironlung40 · Post by **ironlung40** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 4:23 pm

will the rocker self bias well to the 6CA7's?

blackcloud45 · Post by **blackcloud45** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 4:29 pm

I used to use the EH 6CA7's and have recently switched to TungSol EL34B's. I have to say I prefer the TungSols.

macg1 · Post by **macg1** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 4:46 pm

ironlung40 wrote:will the rocker self bias well to the 6CA7's?

It should. Actually in the youtube video for the rocker 30 from orange it is said that the power tubes used are 6CA7's. Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBm9JKisP7Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was actually surprised once I got the amp to see EL34 written on the back and not 6CA7.

ironlung40 · Post by **ironlung40** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 9:10 pm

macg1 wrote:
ironlung40 wrote:will the rocker self bias well to the 6CA7's?
It should. Actually in the youtube video for the rocker 30 from orange it is said that the power tubes used are 6CA7's. Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBm9JKisP7Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was actually surprised once I got the amp to see EL34 written on the back and not 6CA7.

Cooool....me goins to gets me some of dem toobs reel soon then

macg1 · Post by **macg1** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 12:24 am

I am going to give the KT77's a spin! I had KT88's in my old Marshall... I love KT66's and the only one missing to try is KT77

TESLA_EL34 · Post by **TESLA_EL34** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 5:19 pm

EH6CA7 - they sound darker as other EL34's with less midrange and more bottom and topend. kind of a 6L6 in a EL34. I really like that they sound less grainy/compressed as other EL34's they give the amp a more open feel

SED Winged C's - They sound more classic. Strong midrange but less bass response as the 6CA7's.
They also feel less tight and more gainy/compressed in comparison.

EH EL34 - to be honest i didn't like them at all. i found them to be a bit... boring/lifeless? the other two tubes sounded so much better.
In my ears they sounded thin and grainy.

Tung Sol EL34B - they are okay in the Rocker30 but i found them to be very round&warm sounding with good headroom.

NOS Teslas - Awesome. They also enhance the touch sensitivy but they don't sound as loud as modern EL34's.
The tone is different. Very classic rock but with strong bass. They sound different from JJ's. It's like you took the blanket of the JJ's.
More harmonics and highs, more presence.

JJ KT77 - These are cool too. In my opinion they have that JJ tone, which means they are slightly dark and muffled if you compare them to the SED's/NOS Teslas. But they have more top end and a good bass response. Not a bad tube... I get why people like them!

I think for the money the EH6CA7's and the winged C's are the best. You can't really go wrong with either of them.
The EH6CA7 is better if you want a tighter, more stoner rock tone with more headroom and less compression/mids. You could always dial in some mids, i have them on 12!

The Winged C is better for the classic rock thing and it has more harmonics and it sings a bit more because of the compression/midrange.

I can change the powertubes in my combo without opening it up. So i can get a very good impression.
It took some time but i have the skills

What power tubes do you guys use in your R30?

What power tubes do you guys use in your R30?

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