Tonal characteristics of 6V6 & EL84 tubes.

[tot_Ou_tard]

So my new H&K 20th anniversary Edition Tube is at home, but I haven't gotten a chance to try it out yet. It got me thinking about the difference between 6V6 & EL84 power tubes.

My only experience with a tube amph is the new Fender Champion 600 which sports one 6V6 tube.

I found this description on the Mesa/Boogie website discussing the difference.


http://www.mesaboogie.com/US/Smith/bad_attitude.html

[Ch0jin]

I'm afraid I can't really help with either of those as both my tube amps are 12AX7's and 6L6's

I did find this site recently (as I'm looking to retube one of my amps pretty soon) and he describes a lot of different brands/types of tubes.

He's selling them though so I can't say how much is real and how much is marketing, but it might be worth a look.

http://www.dougstubes.com/

[TS808]

I always liked the sound of EL84's, and I think you will too once you plug in to the H&K. Alot of 18-watters use the EL84 power section, as well as the Peavey Classic 30 and Delta Blues. I always thought they possessed a really nice midrange, without sounding overly flubby on the bottom or brittle on the top. I tend to prefer the tone of EL84's over 6v6's.

[just strum]

I'm afraid I can't really help with either of those as both my tube amps are 12AX7's and 6L6's

I did find this site recently (as I'm looking to retube one of my amps pretty soon) and he describes a lot of different brands/types of tubes.

He's selling them though so I can't say how much is real and how much is marketing, but it might be worth a look.

http://www.dougstubes.com/

Our resident amp man pointed me here:

http://eurotubes.com/

I contacted them for new tubes on the valve jr and they were extremely helpful.

I also contacted Doug at dougstubes.com. Again, very helpful, pointed out the tubes I thought I needed, but also pointed out one that was three times the cost.

I ended up going to Eurotubes and should get the tubes early next week.

[tot_Ou_tard]

I always liked the sound of EL84's, and I think you will too once you plug in to the H&K. Alot of 18-watters use the EL84 power section, as well as the Peavey Classic 30 and Delta Blues. I always thought they possessed a really nice midrange, without sounding overly flubby on the bottom or brittle on the top. I tend to prefer the tone of EL84's over 6v6's.
Very nice indeed.

It takes me some time messing to understand gear, but so far they both have their charms.

[Bloozcat]

Yeah, the EL84 is a more versatile tube for amps in the 15-30 watt range. It's not that the 6V6 can't sound good too, it's just that many of the common circuits wired for them have the bad characteristics mentioned here. They get too thick, undefined, and "farty", as I've heard it described pretty accurately.

I have heard some amps that were designed around the 6V6 to sound like "mini-plexi's", and they sound quite good. Some over at the 18watt.com site have created amps like this.

A good thing if one wishes to try a 6V6 amp, is that the JJ tubes sound terrific in this application. There's little or not drop off in tone from NOS.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Yeah, the EL84 is a more versatile tube for amps in the 15-30 watt range. It's not that the 6V6 can't sound good too, it's just that many of the common circuits wired for them have the bad characteristics mentioned here. They get too thick, undefined, and "farty", as I've heard it described pretty accurately.
So it's easier to wire a good sounding EL84, than a good sounding 6V6? I didn't know that.

What are some of the drawbacks of EL84s?

[Bloozcat]

So it's easier to wire a good sounding EL84, than a good sounding 6V6? I didn't know that.

What are some of the drawbacks of EL84s?

Well, it's not that it's easier to wire a circuit for EL84's, it's just that they sound better in many of the low wattage circuits. There were a lot of similarities between the circuits that Fender made and those that Marshall came out with (read, copied). The main difference was that Marshall was using EL84's, EL34's, and KT66's, while Fender was using 6V6's, 5881's, and 6L6's. Not that this was a bad thing by any means, it's just that the EL84 powered Marshall's and Vox's had a rock edge that many guitarists find so pleasing to the ear.