EL34 recommendations/biasing

[boost]

Haven't had an EL34 amp in over 15 years. Have one arriving tomorrow. I remember my favorite tube being the Tesla dark blue glass ones with the brown bases. Not even sure if I can find these today or if they will be insanely expensive. So what is the current favorite EL34's out there right now (NOS or current production)?

Also, the amp has external bias points and a pot. Is there a chart/how to somewhere on recommeded values to set the bias at?

Amp is a Trainwreck Express clone (Ceriatone Expression).

Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Tons of threads on this but:
=C= if you can afford them
Tungsol EL34B is also good
Chinese (Ruby branded also) are pretty good for the price
I don't personnally like JJ for EL34 (or E34L)

Bias range is usually between 25 and 35, check your product manual

 

[boost]

Thanks. Winged C's are the ones I hear about alot, but I thought that had quality issues lately and the price jumped way up. Any NOS recommendations?

This will be a guitar-cord-amp setup with nothing in the way so I don't mind putting out for a nice pair of 34's.

No manual with the amp so I'll do some searching on biasing.

 

[rupe]

If you liked the blue glass Teslas, I believe JJ is what you want. They don't seem to get a lot of love on this forum but they work well for me. Winged C are nice but not worth the money IMO...plus they don't hold up as well in my experience. My Chieftain will burn through a pair in less than 2 months of heavy use before they sound dull and lifeless...I'll get at least 3 months out of JJs. The E34L is also a great tube in certain applications. As always, YMMV.
Bottom line, I think high-end builders like Matchless, Friedman, etc use JJs for a reason.

 

[Anonymous]

Bottom line, I think high-end builders like Matchless, Friedman, etc use JJs for a reason.

Reason: cheap, reliable and widely available

 

[rocknrolla]

If you liked the blue glass Teslas, I believe JJ is what you want. They don't seem to get a lot of love on this forum but they work well for me. Winged C are nice but not worth the money IMO...plus they don't hold up as well in my experience. My Chieftain will burn through a pair in less than 2 months of heavy use before they sound dull and lifeless...I'll get at least 3 months out of JJs. The E34L is also a great tube in certain applications. As always, YMMV.
Bottom line, I think high-end builders like Matchless, Friedman, etc use JJs for a reason.

I've had good luck with JJ's. I also like Ruby's EL34BHT's. Both are pretty cheap, last quite a while, and sound good.

 

[rupe]

Bottom line, I think high-end builders like Matchless, Friedman, etc use JJs for a reason.

Reason: cheap, reliable and widely available

Yeah, they don't have a reputation to uphold based on tone. While all of those things you point out are true, they wouldn't use them if they didn't feel the tone was there as well. When you're selling a low-volume, high-end product to a limited clientele, you don't sacrifice performance because something happens to be cheap and reliable.

 

[fek]

If you liked the blue glass Teslas, I believe JJ is what you want. They don't seem to get a lot of love on this forum but they work well for me. Winged C are nice but not worth the money IMO...plus they don't hold up as well in my experience. My Chieftain will burn through a pair in less than 2 months of heavy use before they sound dull and lifeless...I'll get at least 3 months out of JJs. The E34L is also a great tube in certain applications. As always, YMMV.
Bottom line, I think high-end builders like Matchless, Friedman, etc use JJs for a reason.

I've had good luck with JJ's. I also like Ruby's EL34BHT's. Both are pretty cheap, last quite a while, and sound good.

I haven't used JJ's in a while but the order of preference I see pop up most often is Winged C and then the Ruby's. I have C's now but will go with the Ruby's when it's time for a swap due to the price difference. If I am not sold on them after the initial burn in period, they will become back up's to some new C's.

 

[Anonymous]

Bottom line, I think high-end builders like Matchless, Friedman, etc use JJs for a reason.

Reason: cheap, reliable and widely available

Yeah, they don't have a reputation to uphold based on tone. While all of those things you point out are true, they wouldn't use them if they didn't feel the tone was there as well. When you're selling a low-volume, high-end product to a limited clientele, you don't sacrifice performance because something happens to be cheap and reliable.

I agree, but all tubes sound good, there's not one that truly sounds horrible. Hence why I mentioned those 3 criterias. Once a tube meets these criterias, they'll probably go with the one that sounds better.
I read on the Diezel forums (from the boss) that JJ E34Ls had a really high fail ratio.

 

[rupe]

Bottom line, I think high-end builders like Matchless, Friedman, etc use JJs for a reason.

Reason: cheap, reliable and widely available

Yeah, they don't have a reputation to uphold based on tone. While all of those things you point out are true, they wouldn't use them if they didn't feel the tone was there as well. When you're selling a low-volume, high-end product to a limited clientele, you don't sacrifice performance because something happens to be cheap and reliable.

I agree, but all tubes sound good, there's not one that truly sounds horrible. Hence why I mentioned those 3 criterias. Once a tube meets these criterias, they'll probably go with the one that sounds better.
I read on the Diezel forums (from the boss) that JJ E34Ls had a really high fail ratio.

I've heard that as well but never experienced it myself. For all the love that Svetlana/Winged C gets, I've had a lot of issues with them (although more-so with their 6L6 than EL34).

 

[boost]

Looked up the Winged C's - $80 a pair. I'm fine with that if they're good. Tesla's were $150! Ouch! If the Teslas live twice as long as the Winged C's, then I'm OK with that I geuss. I'd like to get more than 3 months out of a set though at that price.

Bias range looks like 30-40 from what I read.

 

[rocknrolla]

If you liked the blue glass Teslas, I believe JJ is what you want. They don't seem to get a lot of love on this forum but they work well for me. Winged C are nice but not worth the money IMO...plus they don't hold up as well in my experience. My Chieftain will burn through a pair in less than 2 months of heavy use before they sound dull and lifeless...I'll get at least 3 months out of JJs. The E34L is also a great tube in certain applications. As always, YMMV.
Bottom line, I think high-end builders like Matchless, Friedman, etc use JJs for a reason.

I've had good luck with JJ's. I also like Ruby's EL34BHT's. Both are pretty cheap, last quite a while, and sound good.

I haven't used JJ's in a while but the order of preference I see pop up most often is Winged C and then the Ruby's. I have C's now but will go with the Ruby's when it's time for a swap due to the price difference. If I am not sold on them after the initial burn in period, they will become back up's to some new C's.

Laura at valvequeen.com will take good care of you if you go with Ruby's.

 

[killertone]

It is important to note that Tesla and JJ are not the same. It has been quite a while since the split and while JJ use designs and tooling from Tesla plant, they are not the same tube. IIRC, the blue glass tubes were made by JJ not the actual Tesla brand. I realize people have called JJ Tesla for quite a while but they are not the same tubes to be sure.

All that being said, the best EL34 is the Winged C hands down. Are they worth it? Only if you don't mind the extra coin. If not, the JJ or Tung Sol are the way to go.

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

It's a 34L, but can still get blue glass JJ's for 38 bucks a pair at Tube Depot.


My first pick for 34's is SED, then EH 6CA7 for 2nd place.

 

[Peter Diezel]

Bottom line, I think high-end builders like Matchless, Friedman, etc use JJs for a reason.

Reason: cheap, reliable and widely available

Yeah, they don't have a reputation to uphold based on tone. While all of those things you point out are true, they wouldn't use them if they didn't feel the tone was there as well. When you're selling a low-volume, high-end product to a limited clientele, you don't sacrifice performance because something happens to be cheap and reliable.

I agree, but all tubes sound good, there's not one that truly sounds horrible. Hence why I mentioned those 3 criterias. Once a tube meets these criterias, they'll probably go with the one that sounds better.
I read on the Diezel forums (from the boss) that JJ E34Ls had a really high fail ratio.

Sorry, we never used JJ EL34´s. That´s a misunderstanding.
Most EL34 types are not easy to handle because of the control
grid to screen grid construction. The EL34 is the most "musical"
power tube but very sensitive.

 

[Anonymous]

Bottom line, I think high-end builders like Matchless, Friedman, etc use JJs for a reason.

Reason: cheap, reliable and widely available

Yeah, they don't have a reputation to uphold based on tone. While all of those things you point out are true, they wouldn't use them if they didn't feel the tone was there as well. When you're selling a low-volume, high-end product to a limited clientele, you don't sacrifice performance because something happens to be cheap and reliable.

I agree, but all tubes sound good, there's not one that truly sounds horrible. Hence why I mentioned those 3 criterias. Once a tube meets these criterias, they'll probably go with the one that sounds better.
I read on the Diezel forums (from the boss) that JJ E34Ls had a really high fail ratio.

Sorry, we never used JJ EL34´s. That´s a misunderstanding.
Most EL34 types are not easy to handle because of the control
grid to screen grid construction. The EL34 is the most "musical"
power tube but very sensitive.

I wrote E34L, not EL34

According to this thread, it was your tube of choice
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=38607&hilit=+e34l

Then according to those threads, you said they caused problems
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=60592&p=693569&hilit=+e34l#p693569
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=102908
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=40858&p=478140&hilit=+e34l#p478140

Sorry if I misunderstood any of your statements

 

[rockify]

Thanks. Winged C's are the ones I hear about alot, but I thought that had quality issues lately and the price jumped way up. Any NOS recommendations?

This will be a guitar-cord-amp setup with nothing in the way so I don't mind putting out for a nice pair of 34's.

No manual with the amp so I'll do some searching on biasing.

Current Production: Winged C
NOS: mullard

Nos are getting ridiculous for a matched quartet these days

 

[Anonymous]

Nos are getting ridiculous for a matched quartet these days

These days
If they aren't in production, the stocks go down, the prices go up. Don't expect any price drop...

 

[LP Freak]

Looked up the Winged C's - $80 a pair. I'm fine with that if they're good. Tesla's were $150! Ouch! If the Teslas live twice as long as the Winged C's, then I'm OK with that I geuss. I'd like to get more than 3 months out of a set though at that price.

Bias range looks like 30-40 from what I read.

You need to check the plate voltage to bias it correctly. Don't ever go by what you read it should be bias at. Plus 30-40mA is a big difference.

 

[Peter Diezel]

Bottom line, I think high-end builders like Matchless, Friedman, etc use JJs for a reason.

Reason: cheap, reliable and widely available

Yeah, they don't have a reputation to uphold based on tone. While all of those things you point out are true, they wouldn't use them if they didn't feel the tone was there as well. When you're selling a low-volume, high-end product to a limited clientele, you don't sacrifice performance because something happens to be cheap and reliable.

I agree, but all tubes sound good, there's not one that truly sounds horrible. Hence why I mentioned those 3 criterias. Once a tube meets these criterias, they'll probably go with the one that sounds better.
I read on the Diezel forums (from the boss) that JJ E34Ls had a really high fail ratio.

Sorry, we never used JJ EL34´s. That´s a misunderstanding.
Most EL34 types are not easy to handle because of the control
grid to screen grid construction. The EL34 is the most "musical"
power tube but very sensitive.

I wrote E34L, not EL34

According to this thread, it was your tube of choice
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=38607&hilit=+e34l

Then according to those threads, you said they caused problems
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=60592&p=693569&hilit=+e34l#p693569
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=102908
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=40858&p=478140&hilit=+e34l#p478140

Sorry if I misunderstood any of your statements

To say sorry is on my side. It´s time to buy glasses