anybody try JJ EL84's in their AD30TC?

justin · Post by **justin** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 7:05 pm

I really like the stock Ei's, but I've known JJ's to be good in many applications. Can anybody out there tell me what difference they heard with the JJ's as opposed to the Ei's (or any other tubes for that matter)? I'm trying to gather as much info as I can since I really shouldn't be spending money to set up a listening experiment. I figure I'd ask around first and just go with Ei's again if I can't get any info. Thanks.

Iron Man · Post by **Iron Man** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 11:23 pm

yes, and yes, they sucked.

justin · Post by **justin** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 4:53 am

iron man, i had a gut feeling that JJ's wouldn't sound as good as the Ei's based on my personal experience with both (in different amps). But just for kicks would you mind elaborating on why they sucked?

sunnee · Post by **sunnee** » Thu Apr 15, 2004 3:32 pm

no direct experience, but before recently retubing mine, guitargeek members (orange owners too) seemed to think that the jj's were too dark for the tc...i'm glad i restocked with Ei's.

justin · Post by **justin** » Thu Apr 15, 2004 7:24 pm

Yes, I had a feeling the JJ's would sound too dark and wouldn't really have the chime I want from my Orange. I remember not liking the JJ's too much in my Budda Superdrive 30. If I had put Ei's in that amp I might have kept it and saved me a lot of money in the long run. I sold that amp to get a Superdrive 80 and I loved it. But I bought my AD30HTC on a whim and I fell in love with the sound. The Buddas are no longer in my possesion and my wallet is very thin - but at least my rig sounds good!

I re-tubed with Ei's that I got from ebay. They sound great and I was even able to put the old Ei's in a "class-A" 15 watt amp I have (which had JJ's). They brought that amp to life too!

AD30HTC
OR series 4x12 w/V30's

Iron Man · Post by **Iron Man** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 2:38 am

good move justin. Ei's are OEM factory recommended for the Class A amps.

el-84 power amp tubes i have experimented with:

Sovtek: Worthless
Sovtek M class: Tank
Electro Harmonix: Blows
JJ/Tesla: pile of poop
Ei: Good
Ei Gold Elite: Better
Mullard NOS: Best

justin · Post by **justin** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 5:48 pm

I got the Ei Gold Elites. I had no idea they sounded any different from the regular Ei's. I just thought they were constructed a little better.

I've used Ei ECC83's too and they sound really good.

AD30HTC
OR series 4x12 w/V30's

justin · Post by **justin** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 5:48 pm

I got the Ei Gold Elites. I had no idea they sounded any different from the regular Ei's. I just thought they were constructed a little better.

I've used Ei ECC83's too and they sound really good.

AD30HTC
OR series 4x12 w/V30's

Iron Man · Post by **Iron Man** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 9:50 pm

you got good tubes short of NOS son,

now go rock on much faster...

irish_admiral · Post by **irish_admiral** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 1:43 pm

I've found the Ei's to degrade a little too quickly. The guy at my local tube store said they don't stock them any more as the quality is unacceptable.

I figure tube sound is a matter of personal preference. The EH tubes are OK, but quite full and crunchy, Svetlana you've got more sparkle and headroom, Ei I just don't like... got rid of mine. Haven't tried GrooveTubes yet. I hear they've got a good write up, so we'll see.

Don't tell me the best way, just tell me the cheapest way...

justin · Post by **justin** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 5:55 pm

It seems that as long as you get your Ei's from a good source that weeds out the bad ones, you'll have tubes that will last pretty long. I've never tried the EH's, and Groove tubes can be anything. They just re-label other manufacturers' tube and charge a higher price. Does Svetlana make an EL84? If so I'd be willing to try those out. I loved the Svetlana 6L6's that I used to use in another amp.

AD30HTC
OR series 4x12 w/V30's

irish_admiral · Post by **irish_admiral** » Mon May 03, 2004 3:23 am

Think Svetlana just make the EL34s etc, not the EL84s. Groove Tubes EL84s are sound... lotsa people use them now. They overdrive pretty soon, so it's fine if you either mic up in a live situation, or do recording, but if you want to push a big stack hard, it might be nice to get something with a little more headroom. A UK firm www.watfordvalves.com does a whole bunch of classic valves that - if you've got the cash to splash - would be good... like the old Phillips ECG, Sylvania or Harma.

Happy hunting.

Don't tell me the best way, just tell me the cheapest way...

anybody try JJ EL84's in their AD30TC?

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