Off Topic 6l6 vs el34

[billy carr]

My amp is able to take either 6l6 or el34 tubes. I'm using a Mesa Electra Dyne. Does anybody else prefer one type of tube over the other. I think the 6l6 tube sound a little fuller and cleaner but the el34 tubes sound brighter and more crispy. If you had to choose, which one would you use? I have been preferring the El34's but my Luke3 is telling me that the 6l6's sound better.

 

[Defender2000]

This is one subject that will certainly stir up some debate. The only advice I can give is make sure the tubes are biased properly and follow your ears. If the 6L6's sound better, then those are the tubes to go with.

 

[billy carr]

My mesa has a switch for bias in the back, up for el34, down for 6l6. Nice feature! Most amps I understand only take one or the other.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I like the EL34 personally - it just does it for me. I believe the gurus on the MM amp forum go for the EL34's too?

 

[Siddius]

It took me a long time to realize that every amp I ever liked had EL34s, or more importantly, not 6L6s. I have heard other players sound completely in the contrary. I guess some people will probably mesh well with both, but I have never gotten the kick in the chest or the wailing leads I like out of a 6L6 amp. I played the 6505 and 6534 back to back at the Peavey store in Hollywood, and I sounded like "me" out of the 6534. Just more, i dunno, upper mids, and my pick attack was a smack in the face. Then again, this is all with thrash riffs and soaring leads in mind.

 

[billy carr]

Ya, if Im goin tight n dirty, I like el34s, for a big kinda clean, 6l6s I prefer.

 

[Warg Master]

6l6 for me all the way. I've tried to like the el34... no dice.

 

[agt]

I like EL34s but if I had to pick, it would be 6V6s or 6L6s. I can compromise somewhat on my dirty tone, but my clean tone is most important to me and it must be big, fat, and punchy.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

6l6, i have more experience with them and 5881 s than any el34, i have an amp with an el84 that i like.

 

[ksandvik]

I was raised with Marshalls so EL34 is the sound that sounds familiar...

 

[mikeller]

I have a Dyne and keep -6l6s in it. My band mate has a Dyne combo and put in EL34s. As I recall the tonal difference was minimal the biggest difference in that amp was clean headroom and overall output being less with the 34s

 

[BUC]

Sorry to be a little off topic but I actually like E34L's...not EL34s. Never thought one little letter could make such a dif.

 

[joe web]

with my Mesa Roadster or my (sold) Dual Recto i prefer the EL34 over the 6L6, to get a bit more midrange crunch.
my DC-5 can only take 6L6s and it sounds great with it as it is.

 

[Craiguitar]

It's a myth that tubes 'sound' different they don't produce sound as such. but they do react differently in your amp causing IT to sound different. That relationship is better explained here...

Why Power Tubes Sound Different

 

[DrKev]

EL84 (throws cat amongst the pigeons and runs like hell)

Craiguitar - thanks for the link! That is a good article!

Tubes don't really have a sound. Speaker manufacturers publish frequency response curves and Thiele-Small parameters because different types of speaker react and sound very different. But to the best of my knowledge nobody has ever published frequency response curves for tubes, either by type or by brand. Ever. Why? because it's of no use. The difference are too smal and/or depend on other actors, like circuit design.

Your amp's circuit design and speaker characteristics are everything. Think of the amplifer as three tone-shaping sections - preamp, power amp, and speaker. At the very least, if we want to compare the sound of power tubes or power amps, do it the comparison with in similar voiced pre-amps and with the same speakers (and even then we will be comparing the sound of the power amp with those tubes, and not the tubes on their own).

 

[damirpuh]

I prefer EL34 designs. Also, I like EL84s a lot. Having said that, I'm not very picky about clean tones.

In the end, it doesn't really matter if it's the tubes or the interaction between the components that makes the difference. If your amp takes multiple types of tubes, swapping from one to another will definitely make an audible difference. Headroom, compression / sag, EQ curves, etc...will all be different.

 

[dedeman]

I go with 6L6 in my MK5. Cleans are better and warmer. However, EL34 have a nice breakup characteristic which may be useful for some songs. I suppose each should chose what it sounds best with his playing. But I would suggest: EXPERIMENT WITH BOTH!

 

[Warg Master]

I didn't know we were throwing other type in here.

I have My Mark with some tasty JJ 6L6 tubes and then I have a Peavey Classic 50/50 power amp with el84s that I also love. I'm not picky about clean, but I love the gain from stacked 12AX7s in a pre-amp section more than anything...

 

[billy carr]

I gigged my electadyne with the 6l6s tonight, definitely more bass, almost to muddy. Putting the el34s back in, tighter and more focused. I didn't really notice too much at room volume, but with it up pretty loud onstage I could really hear a big difference. It didn't really have that crisp clack with a heavy pick attack. Made me work harder to get harmonics too.

 

[guitrr]

Although both types of tubes you name can sound terrific, I personally prefer 6L6's; I find them to be a little less warm than the '34's, but more of a crystalline quality for clean tones, and to my ear I seem to get more highs and lows, and less mids, when I use 6L6's. For a Fendery sort of sound, that's the ticket.