Which EL34's?

lovedat800 · Post by **lovedat800** » Tue 05/27/08 8:24 pm

Yes, 34, not 84. I have a pair of EL34LS that i love from back when the Tesla factory was making them for Groove tubes. These are not the same LS as you see today from GT or JJ or anyone. They are double getter and sounded much different than the JJ's, which i think is what the Groove Tubes LS tubes now are. They (GT) began selling the JJ tube after Tesla went under and called them LS also, but they were single getter and sounded like **** compared to the *real* ones. Tesla became JJ and when they started making tubes under that name the single getter "LS" took thier place in GT's linup, but of course GT never told us they had changed. I only found out when i bought a new set and was shocked when they sounded like ****, then looked close at them and saw they were single getter. So i knew they weren't the same. Later i bought some JJ's and they sounded bad too, in the same way. Looking at them i could see they are what GT had started selling when the real ones ran out.

So that said, my last set is old and i need to know what is out there that sounds as close as possible. Those real LS tubes sounded thicker and with more hi harmonics than the JJ. They sounded a lot like those old german tubes. In fact, it was the halting of german EL34 production that led me to seek out a similar sounding tube when i found the LS. Nothing good ever lasts does it? Anyways, i haven't kept up with EL34's in several years because i began using different amps around 2000 or so. I have a pair of EH, and they aren't what i want. JJ's are out obviously. Had a set of svets when they fiorst started making 34's and i thought they sounded more like 6L6 than el34's ! So whats out there now thats good in the way i described..........thick, smooth, and rich?

pylet2000 · Post by **pylet2000** » Wed 05/28/08 10:56 am

I'm sure we're talking about EL34's to be used in a SE 18 watt, right?

I've been a big fan of the Svetlana EL34, that is right up until New Sensor somehow ended up with the US distribution rights or some kind of shady crap like that. The end result is that the same awesome EL34 is available under the name SED (short for Svetlana Electronic Devices). This tube has 90% of the 'mojo' of the classics.

The current "Svetlana" brand EL34 is a rebadged Sovtek, and the sound is what you would expect...

Capitalism at its finest I suppose.

Post by **zaphod_phil** » Wed 05/28/08 1:56 pm

I think they're for his hot-rodded TMB. There's more ways than one to get 36W out of one of these amps

Those SED EL34s are considered to sound pretty close to Mullards, and are based on the same design.

lovedat800 · Post by **lovedat800** » Wed 05/28/08 2:53 pm

Well, 2 for the SED's. I'll check em out. By the way Phil, i converted the amp to fixed bias and wow....it just went to the top of the list of best amp's i've ever owned ! I don't get it, but it seems like cathode bias just didn't work for me on either amp, yet oddly i cathode biased my peavey classic 30 years ago and it made it a much better amp with none of the issue i had with my 2 builds.
On the other hand, i tried nfb and just as before i thought it sounded much richer w/o. Maybe those JCM's i had woulda sounded killer had i removed the nfb ! In any case, you have no idea how relieved i am that i no longer have to spend hours scratching my head over this amp. Think i'll try this on the 18 again. ( i already did, but i think i never biased it right, plus that was with EL84's)

Alexo · Post by **Alexo** » Wed 05/28/08 2:56 pm

They were making Peavey Classics 30 years ago?

+1 on the Siemens and older Svetlanas, but for not tooo much $, you can get unmatched lightly used euro manufactured EL34's from AES, you just need separate bias pots.

leslie · Post by **leslie** » Wed 05/28/08 6:46 pm

I had '96 or '97 production EL34 svetlana ,and they sounded pretty similar to NOS Siemens which had a tad bigger bottom in my '71 marshall 1987X.
Valvo and Siemens sounded almost indentical in that amp.
Siemens was probably made by Ei .

Post by **rjgtr** » Fri 05/30/08 6:08 pm

Buy the SED version. They are not too expensive and are as good as the older Svetlana branded tubes. I think they are every bit as good sounding as the Siemens. I've had several pairs of Siemens and I can't justify the extra price with SEDs being so good.

The tubes currently branded Svetlana by New Sensor are not anywhere near as good.

grizdeluxe · Post by **grizdeluxe** » Mon 06/16/08 8:19 pm

I'm impressed with the GT EL34-M's in my 4210 JCM 800.

They definitely have the signature Marshall crunch.

Post by **rjgtr** » Wed 06/18/08 9:21 am

grizdeluxe wrote:I'm impressed with the GT EL34-M's in my 4210 JCM 800.

They definitely have the signature Marshall crunch.

I tried these and honestly, the SEDs sound every bit as good. One of the pair of GT EL34-Ms I had just gave up completely after four months of pretty light playing. Just died and it turned out it was the fillament that just wouldn't conduct any more. Since I really like the SEDs and the price is better, I haven't bothered with the GTs a second time. I do like the GT12ax7Ms, but they are also pretty spotty QA wise. One out of five can have issues and at that price, I've basically given up on them. At least this was my experience.

lovedat800 · Post by **lovedat800** » Thu 06/19/08 5:19 pm

Well, i decided against the SED's because i owned a pair of those first svet 34's that came out what, 10 years ago? Maybe less, but in any case i hated them. And from what you all said and from my research they're the same tube. they sounded more like 6L6's to me. Nothing like any el34 i ever tried. So any more suggestions other than NOS?

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Fri 06/20/08 12:31 am

Have you read the EL34 report available from Watford valves?

http://www.watfordvalves.com/cgi-bin/do ... ort_46.pdf

They do a range of other reports on other valves as well

http://www.watfordvalves.com/reports.asp

lovedat800 · Post by **lovedat800** » Fri 06/20/08 8:37 am

Not sure if i have, but if it's a new one, no. I'll check it out, thanks.

Post by **zaphod_phil** » Fri 06/20/08 9:23 am

lovedat800 wrote:Well, i decided against the SED's because i owned a pair of those first svet 34's that came out what, 10 years ago?

AFAIK those aren't the same tubes. IIRC Svetlana started making Mullard EL34 clonish tube only around 3 or 4 years ago. Those are the tubes referred to in the Watford Valves report.

lovedat800 · Post by **lovedat800** » Fri 06/20/08 10:36 am

If you're sure about that then i'll certainly try them. The ones i had were the first EL34's svetlana produced. My memory is bad, but it was probably late 90' to early 2000's when they came out. By the way,what about this...

http://thetubestore.com/mullardel34.html

Also made bt svetlana. Is it different than the SED? Which is better?

EDIT: that watford test says "this is a really excellent el34 and will be a hard act to beat. *The original svetlana* offers NOS type sound quality with a current production price tag".
That statement worries me because the phrase in asterisks. It makes me wonder if they are saying this tube is the original svet 34, or in other words the one i tried and hated.

sub · Post by **sub** » Fri 06/20/08 8:11 pm

SED "winged C" Svetlana (the real Svetlana) is better!

IMHO..... 2 cent.......

Post by **rjgtr** » Mon 06/23/08 10:43 am

The problem is the rights to the Svetlana name in the USA was bought by New Sensor (Sovtek). They put out a line of tubes under that name that aren't made in the real Svetlana factory in St. Petersburg Russia. They NS tubes also aren't as good sounding.

The original Svetlanas, which are marketted in the US as SED or Winged C, where originally designed in league with Marshall as a reproduction of the Mullard EL34s of days past. Marshall had gone to 6L6s in all their amps because they couldn't find a good EL34. Tesla had closed down, and the Sovtek stuff was pretty dreadfull. Even if the SEDs don't sound exactly like the old Mullards, they are extremely well built, reliable and IMHO sound great. Best new production EL34 out there today and have been for over 10 or so years.

Phil_S · Post by **Phil_S** » Mon 06/23/08 7:42 pm

For silly cheap, you can get a pair of Shuguang EL34B that actually sound very good and for not much more, you can get the Svets. If you don't like them, you can dump them on eBay for almost what you pay, so just think of any difference as "rent".

lovedat800 · Post by **lovedat800** » Sat 06/28/08 12:46 am

Ok, i now NEED to buy some soon because one of my old teslas that i love lost e getter. Darn thing literally fell off and is rolling around in the tube ! (i was wondering why the tone seemed worse till i pulled them and heard one jangle) So i have one last question. The SED winged C's compared to the mullard reissues in the link below....how do they differ?

I can get opinions on what sound better, but that tells me nothing because what sounds good to you may not to me and visa versa. So can anyone describe how they differ sonically using Siemens as the standard? I loved Siemens and when they were gone i liked the tesla dual getter LS they made before the factory tanked in about '94 which sounded similar. Very smooth and transparent mids with a very sparkly top end and zero harshness. I hated the sound of the 1st EL34's Svetlana made in the late 90's or thereabouts. Sounded sorta 6L6 like to me. All that said, how do they sound relitive to each other and which would be closest to what i prefer?

http://thetubestore.com/mullardel34.html

Alexo · Post by **Alexo** » Sat 06/28/08 1:02 am

Can't really answer any of your questions, but if you love the Siemens, Angela Instruments still sells them.

lovedat800 · Post by **lovedat800** » Sat 06/28/08 10:37 am

Yeah, but i'm talking reasonable prices ! I can't afford to spend 100 or 200 bucks on a couple tubes that may go bad in a few months. Even if i could be sure they wouldn't, it's just too much IMO. If i were still playing out all the time i might consider it, but i just want whatever is closest of the new production. $50 a pair is about as much as i want to spend.

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Which EL34's?

Which EL34's?