Has anyone been able to compare all three Ultras?

[OldGtrGuy]

6l6 vs EL34 vs KT88?

The amps have been out for a while now and I'm curious if anyone can speak on all 3.

I have previously owned the 6l6 and it has been my favorite amp ive ever played so far. In the future I plan to get another one but I'm curious if I should stay with the 6l6 as it was near perfect for me or what are the differences between the others?

Other than the crazy noise floor (could be my home electric) the only thing keeping the amp from being absolutely perfect to me was being able to track a little faster and being a little tighter.

 

[Smash]

The noise wasnt you

 

[OldGtrGuy]

The noise wasnt you

It must be the noisiest amp ever made in all honesty. I don't know much about FX loops but it seemed decent and took my noise gate fairly well but good lord

 

[Smash]

It must be the noisiest amp ever made in all honesty. I don't know much about FX loops but it seemed decent and took my noise gate fairly well but good lord

The old loops were parallel. Finally with the ultra, he made a serial loop.

Serial is only one that makes sense for high gain. I heard that Larry puts a parallel. That is loose butthole

 

[OldGtrGuy]

The old loops were parallel. Finally with the ultra, he made a serial loop.

Serial is only one that makes sense for high gain. I heard that Larry puts a parallel. That is loose butthole

Yeah I remember the Rev 2 loop being a pain in the ass. I had to have some type of -dB converter or something if I remember correctly to be able to use a lot of pedals.

 

[tonedog]

The 6L6 Ultra is the best high gain amp I have ever owned or played and that is more than a hundred for sure. Includes all the usual suspects including all incarnations of the Uber going back to the 6550 version 1 . For me the 6L6 Ultra is magic. I have had multiples of most everything. That is an amazing amp. Not sure how it compares with the other Uber Ultras as I stopped there. I also have a Snorkler, Goldfinger SL, JB45, 3534 50, Duende as I dig Bogners but the UU is an awesome amp IMHO.

 

[Simon Dorn]

6l6 vs EL34 vs KT88?

The amps have been out for a while now and I'm curious if anyone can speak on all 3.

I have previously owned the 6l6 and it has been my favorite amp ive ever played so far. In the future I plan to get another one but I'm curious if I should stay with the 6l6 as it was near perfect for me or what are the differences between the others?

Other than the crazy noise floor (could be my home electric) the only thing keeping the amp from being absolutely perfect to me was being able to track a little faster and being a little tighter.

Glad to see you get another one
You know i had the EL34, if you can remember. I would be more interested in the 6L6 Version, or regarding faster and tighter tracking maybe the KT88.
But the Twin Jet kinda sucked. The Ultra is the NAOAT (Noisiest Amp Of All Time), for sure.

 

[Dino 939]

Glad to see you get another one
You know i had the EL34, if you can remember. I would be more interested in the 6L6 Version, or regarding faster and tighter tracking maybe the KT88.
But the Twin Jet kinda sucked. The Ultra is the NAOAT (Noisiest Amp Of All Time), for sure.

Dude…Twin Jit’
I had my gutted by Forin.
Renamed “ The Angry Kannibal”
Btw- I’m somewhat a happy go-lucky Kannibal.
It’s no secret bro’,
-humans taste like sweet lobster.

Anyways, bro’, I think Reinhold lost his hearing on the money spot.
I’ve had reliability issues with a few of them also but that was through Sweetwater so all bets are off if you buy something new from that place.
The Art of Selling used Gear And Selling It As New.
The last 6 or 7 Bogner’s I’ve had…
Some rad spots, but either noisy as Karen on the rag or a short lived dopamine hit.
Like almost sorta close there and she went home with another dude again!..LTFOL man!
I’ll play anything though bro’, all I need is one guitar and an amp & my internal caverns of hell.

Dude..you & that greasy 800 and trusty boost pedal kill everybody bro’.
That’s the real super rad heavy raunch man.
Evil sounding shit because something’s going on there!
Keep punishing’em my dude.

 

[Simon Dorn]

Dude…Twin Jit’
I had my gutted by Forin.
Renamed “ The Angry Kannibal”
Btw- I’m somewhat a happy go-lucky Kannibal.
It’s no secret bro’,
-humans taste like sweet lobster.

Anyways, bro’, I think Reinhold lost his hearing on the money spot.
I’ve had reliability issues with a few of them also but that was through Sweetwater so all bets are off if you buy something new from that place.
The Art of Selling used Gear And Selling It As New.
The last 6 or 7 Bogner’s I’ve had…
Some rad spots, but either noisy as Karen on the rag or a short lived dopamine hit.
Like almost sorta close there and she went home with another dude again!..LTFOL man!
I’ll play anything though bro’, all I need is one guitar and an amp & my internal caverns of hell.

Dude..you & that greasy 800 and trusty boost pedal kill everybody bro’.
That’s the real super rad heavy raunch man.
Evil sounding shit because something’s going on there!
Keep punishing’em my dude.

My 2203 is a Lenz Octane now, Mr. Lecter.

 

[OldGtrGuy]

Wanted to post my personal findings here. Came into some unfortunate circumstances and had to sell my 6L6 Ultra. Thankfully I've been able to save up enough to get another. This time I got the EL34 and here is what I found between the 2:

Keep in mind it's been over a year since ive had the 6L6. On top of that, at the time I had the Uberkab and was using a 7 string Horizon with EMG 57/66. This is not a true comparison as now I'm using a Schecter svss exotic zircote with a black winter and my cabs are a Mills Afterburner with v30s and a Line 6 412sv or whatever with the factory loaded V30s.

Having the EL34 now, first and foremost the slow tracking/needing a faster response and the need to be ever so slightly tighter with the 6L6 is completely gone. That is 100% not an issue with the EL34.

The EL34 seems more cutting, more in your face whereas the 6L6 seemed to sit back a little more.

The morph control taper is different. It seemed to do a bit more on the 6L6 from 0-3 or 7:00 - 9:00 if you will. I suspect that the EL34 being tighter (to my ears) keeps it extra tight in that area, in fact on the 6L6 I had it on tight, morph at 0 and it still wasn't tight enough whereas with the EL34 it is TOO tight and I need the morph around 10:00 or more.

I suspect the different transformers may have something to do with this but who knows. Also maybe every single amp is slightly different?

A couple of other things. I recall people saying the Ultra is too "processed" sounding. I remember thinking these guys are nuts. But now with the EL34 I hear it. It is pretty much fatigue to the ears if you mess with the settings too much in the room solo. However if you leave it alone and come back later it is still a devastating amp.

This last one could just be me making stuff up and the cabs could definitely be a factor here but with the 6L6 I remember being able to dial in some OMG that is fucking disgusting tones in a good way that I would still probably never use and I cant seem to get that with the EL34.

The core tone is still there with both amps imo but those are my thoughts between the 2.

Im still dialing the amp in, still running its paces and this time in a mix with other musicians. Can't say which I prefer. I do miss the 6L6 but see pros and cons with both amps. I guess the only solution is to own them all

Would love to say this amp is up for trade for a 6L6 or for sale but it is not. Afraid I would then miss the better parts of the EL34.

Anyway sorry for the extremely long post but thats all I got.