6V6 / 6L6 vs EL84 / EL34 or America vs Europe

[jckid66]

Hi Guys,
Please understand I'm not trying to start any kind of war here... LOL!! But in my opinion the American Tubes 6v6 / 6L6 have more bottom end thump than their European counterparts EL84 /EL34 could this be in the way the amp is designed ? Don’t get me wrong I love the clarity of the EL84 / EL34 but they seem to lack low end punch..Speaking metaphorically if you put a 6V6 and EL84 in a blender you would have the PERFECT tube !!!


Bill

[zaphod_phil]

Well yes, and no. First of all you can't place EL84s and EL34s in a similar category. They are night and day apart. Yes, the EL84 sounds bright and less bassy than the others. However, EL34s have plenty of low end and warm mids, laden with rich harmonics. In that general sense so do 6V6s, although they sound a little smoother than EL34s when they break up. But they make for a great lower power substitute for EL34s in Marshall amps.

6L6s and 6550s are different yet again, as they tend not to break up much and have scooped mids. In other words 6V6s and 6L6s also sound almost totally different from each other, and IMO 6V6s have a closer affinity to the tone of EL34s than 6L6s.

But yes, you would get great tone if you could combine EL84s and 6V6s. And of course it is possible to build an amp (like a 36W say) with a pair EL84s and a pair of 6V6s in parallel. In fact Mezza's Blue Angel has just that combination.

[chris_deveau]

But yes, you would great tone if you could combine EL84s and 6V6s. And of course it is possible to build an amp (like a 36W say) with a pair EL84s and a pair of 6V6s in parallel. In fact Mezza's Blue Angel has just that combination.

Do you know of any amp that combines say 1 6L6 and 1 EL34 as the power section? Is that even possible? Would it have to have two OTs, i.e. be like 2x single-ended, maybe stereo out? Could it be made to work with the two tubes in pushpull? Are these very stupid questions?

-chris

[zaphod_phil]

One or two of the guys on AX84 have done that and say the combination sounds great. The THD Bivalve will also let you mix two different types of power tube. As 6L6s and EL34s prefer different load impedances, there will inevitably be somewhat pf a compromise. A 6CA7 or KT77 would also sound like something between an EL34 and a 6L6.

[chris_deveau]

One or two of the guys on AX84 have done that and say the combination sounds great. The THD Bivalve will also let you mix two different types of power tube. As 6L6s and EL34s prefer different load impedances, there will inevitably be somewhat pf a compromise. A 6CA7 or KT77 would also sound like something between an EL34 and a 6L6.

Somehow i had just overlooked the Bivalve entirely. Now i have a thousand questions, as i think this is something i would really like to try to do.

Are there any amp designs like the Bivalve available for the DIYer? The amp looks to be two single-ended channels, but with one output transformer? Is it just cathode biased to some middle of the road value? I just read a review where they ran it with one 6V6 and one EL34, i suppose this is in the same way that a Trainwreck can be biased for both at the same time? What would happen if you ran a Trainwreck with one of each tube? Fire?

How does the twin single-ended design share one volume knob? I know that in percieved loudness terms the difference is not so much between the tubes, but would it make more sense to have a Output tube 1, Output tube 2 volume control?

There, i think every one of those is a question. I have some more, but that is probably too much to get answers for as is.

-chris