Herbert: KT77 out -> EL34 IN

shadow070

Member
Hi,

First: Im biased, im a EL34 guy!

As most people here also i needed a retube and got the KT77. I had my fair share of tubes failing before so i wanted to go with what Peter recommended. At first i really liked them. Characters of the KT77 in my amp: Punchy, more pressence, less presented mids but more the a 6L6, stiffer dynamic response. I also would call it a modern tone.

If your switching or thinking of doing so, i hope my experiance can be of help.

Why i needed to go back to EL34:
- Had them in the Herbert already 4 or 5 years
- I was used to the dynamic response and character of the EL34
- I didnt find my tone balanced: the KT77 being more low and high focused. I would notice the difference most when doing muted runs, the tone would be thin and dull.

These are my findings. I had the EL34BHT before and got them again. I know there is a chance they wont hold up long but its a risk im willing to take. The KT77 i will keep as the spair set.
For me the difference between these 2 types of power tubes is big. The things i disliked might be the things you like.
 
I agree. If you like grinding, aggressive, growling, mean-mids... EL34s are the only way to go. I've got KT77s in mine now, but I have a bunch of other amps with EL34s... so I know the feeling. I had EL34s in my old Herbert MKI and it sounded great with those tubes.
 
Peter advises the KT77. The El34's arent reliable.
I got my EL34BHT new and guess what, 2 tubes failed.

Im running 2 KT77, 2 older BHT's and 2 new BHT's untill i get replacements. This combo sounds really good.

BTW i love the Mullard 12ax7. First i thought it was a preamp tube that failed. I checked them al and had my older V1 tube in it.
I think it was a TAd 7025 but im not sure.
The Mullard is darker and warmer, just what i wanted!

Peter you where right! but im whilling to sacrifice for el34's.
 
Ok so while I was waiting for tube replacements I had 4 El34 and 2 kt77 running. IT sounded Ok but I thought id give the sixtet kt77 a change again. My head was stil out of the casing so why not.

Biased 3 pairs between 70 and 71.

My tone was amazing!
How could this be?
Well, I had a tube change and new strings so my sound was quite sterrile before and just amazing now.

Its been a week almost so here are my findings:
Clean is really clean and has more sparckle
Ch2 is punchy, raw, open and mean.
Ch3 is more open and singing

To get my tone how I liked the El34 i only had to lower the pressence just a bit, instead of 13:00 Its now on 11:00

Overall the difference with the El34:
Less compression so I have a more open tone
Better note clarity when playing single lines or riffing
Tighter bottom end in a really good way, Less boomy
A tad lesser mid focused sound.

While im waiting on my El34's to arrive again I Dont think ill be putting them in now

Maybe my bias was also a bit off before, who knows but right now I can say the kt77 improved my herbert. Im also using a bit more gain on the Chanels but the clarity is amazing and these tubes have a wicked grind to them.

I stil had the El34 sound in my head and the moment i changed them again, simply put Its like I removed a blanket from the speakers. I always wanted a bit Less compression and this did the trick.

If you love your El34 but have kt77 tubes please give them a try. Lowering the pressence did wonders for me.
And im starting to prefer them much more then the El34 BHT.
 
I couldn't imagine pulling the tubes from my Herbert. The kt77's sound amazing to me. I wouldn't want to change anything from how it sounds now. Congrats on the tone revalation :rock:
 
I have el34 in my herbert and was considering the kt77 but was worried it would have more of a scooped tone on the mids and wouldnt cut as much as the el34.
 
Les Zombie":1uh2k4l0 said:
I have el34 in my herbert and was considering the kt77 but was worried it would have more of a scooped tone on the mids and wouldnt cut as much as the el34.


Nah man, it cuts just as much. Just doesn't have the EL34's breakup. Which if you like you will immediately notice is gone. I thought the 77's sounded great though... I just like that 34 character more
 
LunatiBSW":1rkgtbvh said:
I couldn't imagine pulling the tubes from my Herbert. The kt77's sound amazing to me. I wouldn't want to change anything from how it sounds now. Congrats on the tone revalation :rock:

This +1,000,000

I've got mine dialed in just about perfect... so I ain't changin a darn thing. Pups, tubes, cables, picks... nothin!!!

:no:

:D
 
Les Zombie":3ftvlxpb said:
I have el34 in my herbert and was considering the kt77 but was worried it would have more of a scooped tone on the mids and wouldnt cut as much as the el34.

Try them... they aren't that mid scooped like 6L6GCs for instance. Just a different flavor of EL34... like a 6CA7 or E34LB. Still plenty of crushing aggressive mids... even when dialed out with the mid-cut... there are still plenty of mids to dominate all.

:yes:
 
I was afraid, I missed the El34 crunch and whent back. To be honest I was comparing to much and just hating, this time around I worked on settings. I used to have the pressence at noon, I only had to dail in a bit les pressence and voila! Its now on 11 o clock.

Crushing gain and sparkling clean. Its different but I love it.

Switching from El34 to kt77. A positive view:
Less muddy in the lows
being more focussed
A rounder tone
Less compression
RAW and up front

I played About 4 hours today and couldnt be happier.

The mids provided by El34 is just a bit more but wouldnt have effect on cutting in a mix. Like stated before iT isnt a 6l6 so Dont worry.

What also make these a great choice are Peters choice for the preamp tubes. These are darker and warmer then what I had before so Its a perfect match.
 
I'm an EL34 guy all the way. This matched sextet was overnighted from Germany.
 

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