BE100 owners.. any JJ el34II reviews

[HilltopExplosion]

Has anyone used the JJ el34II in their BE100? And if so what do you think? I have tried EH 6ca7, had to cut bass to 0, eh el34, nice crunch but 2 went red in 8 hrs.. done, jj el34, 4 of em went red, done, but i liked the sound. Currently using TAD el34b's with NO problems, but still prefer the JJ's. I was curious before I pulled the trigger.

 

[webrthomson]

Are you checking the bias when you replace the tubes? Most JJ tubes are normally pretty reliable so for them to red plate that quickly is unusual in my experience in other amps that the Friedman JJ? Also do you know what your plate voltage is?

 

[HilltopExplosion]

Yeah, the bias was 32 ma.. using Alessandro bias and matching meter, and voltage was 478.. I think.. I havn't had any problems since switching to TAD's.

And far as reliabilty, I have no problems with the JJ 6l6gc, I have em in 2 amps and they get ABUSED.. It just seems to be the el34.

 

[RACKSYSTEMS]

The Tad is the best choice. Really more natural and open I used to to think I liked the jj better but very very unreliable. I changed my production tube to the TAD because of this.

 

[mniel8195]

The Tad is the best choice. Really more natural and open I used to to think I liked the jj better but very very unreliable. I changed my production tube to the TAD because of this.

Can you add a link to the tubes your using for pre and power. Thank you.

 

[webrthomson]

The Tad is the best choice. Really more natural and open I used to to think I liked the jj better but very very unreliable. I changed my production tube to the TAD because of this.

From the man himself - good to know!

Dave - can we use KT77's as a drop in replacement for EL34's in your amps and just bias them up like EL34's?

 

[HilltopExplosion]

Thanks Dave! I'll stick with what I have.

 

[RACKSYSTEMS]

The Tad is the best choice. Really more natural and open I used to to think I liked the jj better but very very unreliable. I changed my production tube to the TAD because of this.

From the man himself - good to know!

Dave - can we use KT77's as a drop in replacement for EL34's in your amps and just bias them up like EL34's?

You could yeah.

 

[Umyeahyeahyeah]

Dave, do you sell the TAD tubes? All my tubes are still kicking it, but I'm thinking of buying a set to have on hand.

Also I'm really happy since putting my smallbox into the combo. Making it to a lot more jams now, where maybe I wouldn't of before. It sounded great last night!! But I'm still interested in the mods you're doing with the smallbox lately.

 

[webrthomson]

The Tad is the best choice. Really more natural and open I used to to think I liked the jj better but very very unreliable. I changed my production tube to the TAD because of this.

From the man himself - good to know!

Dave - can we use KT77's as a drop in replacement for EL34's in your amps and just bias them up like EL34's?

You could yeah.

Thanks Dave - good to know

 

[John 14:6]

The Tad is the best choice. Really more natural and open I used to to think I liked the jj better but very very unreliable. I changed my production tube to the TAD because of this.

I do not see the TAD tubes listed on ARS Electronic's website. Are you getting them directly through TAD? The JJ's in my Smallbox have a 41 rating on top. Where can I buy some TAD power tubes with the same 41 rating? I am hoping not to have to rebias my amp and I want to buy some spare tubes to carry with me that I can just pop in if needed.

 

[HilltopExplosion]

I bought mine through amplifiedparts.com for 90 bucks or so (matching quad) I asked them for 32ma rating. The rating on my ARS tubes was 62.. when i switched over, the TADs were at 40ma, so I just turned the bias down a bit to 32 and rocked on.

 

[RACKSYSTEMS]

Have to rebias. I get them from TAD direct oem. Try valve queen for the tubes.

 

[Adambomb]

Having went through 2 sets of ARS branded JJ's within the first month, I agree the ARS's are unreliable. Out of two quads one tube redplated within days. This was last year when I bought the BE100. The 3rd set of ARS JJ's finally worked but still had tube rattle and some noises with them. Of course I always check bias regardless what the numbers say. So after 2 sets of ARS JJ's I followed Daves advice and bought a quad from Valve Queen. They burned them in for 2 days, and they were the closest matched tubes I've ever seen.. within .4ma all of them. So I highly suggest Valve Queen.

A few weeks ago I got my amp repaired from Friedman and it came back stocked with a new quad of the TAD EL34B's, nice little surprise. The amp really does sound more open with a little more bite and the lows seem tighter. But I'll say to my ear that there is a couple tonal properties about the TADs that weren't as good as the JJ's I think. I liked the JJ's mid range a little better, they seem to have a little more of that EL34 mid punch. The TADs mids are still there and in your face with good bite but a little more 6L6 scoop in mids, but not a bad thing at all. If I could have the TAD lows-highs and JJ's mids then that my friend would be the perfect new production tube for me.

All said and done the TADs have more of that open "Marshall" type sizzle and presence with clearer-tighter lows and great highs that aren't near as dull like the JJs. Would also like to point out that I am a big fan of screened and tested Shuguang El34s (Ruby & TAD) and were the best in my Splawn QR. All in all I think they are a way better choice of tubes for the BE100 and glad Dave switched them. Have had too many JJ's go bad over the years.
Long story long, just try the TAD EL34B's, simply a wonderful upgrade in tone and reliability.

 

[HilltopExplosion]

I liked the JJ's mid range a little better, they seem to have a little more of that EL34 mid punch. The TADs mids are still there and in your face with good bite but a little more 6L6 scoop in mids, but not a bad thing at all.

That's what I thought too, and was looking for something other than the TAD's in the "eternal search for tone". Not unhappy with them at all, they rock VERY hard, but stumbled across the JJ el34II and was curious. I just don't want to buy 'em and not like 'em.