JJ EL34 Power Tubes with the Number 26 on top then 4.6 on bottom ....

[grrr_me_scary]

I had purchased a quad of JJ EL34 power tubes several years ago and I don't remember where I purchased them and if I had purchased them for a specific amp so I thought I should ask some questions here.

Each of the boxes have a yellow sticker with the numbers 26 on top part and 4.6 on bottom part.

Does anyone know what these numbers mean?

Does anyone know what company places a little sticker on the tube boxes?

I wanted to place them in my Mark V and a friend of mine said he just places any EL34 type of tube in his Mark V.

Can I place them in the amp (I know EL34 would need to be selected on the Mark V)?

Any possible issues?

Thanks ahead of time for any help/advice you can provide!!

 

[griff10672]

I had purchased a quad of JJ EL34 power tubes several years ago and I don't remember where I purchased them and if I had purchased them for a specific amp so I thought I should ask some questions here.

Each of the boxes have a yellow sticker with the numbers 26 on top part and 4.6 on bottom part.

Does anyone know what these numbers mean?

Does anyone know what company places a little sticker on the tube boxes?

I wanted to place them in my Mark V and a friend of mine said he just places any EL34 type of tube in his Mark V.

Can I place them in the amp (I know EL34 would need to be selected on the Mark V)?

Any possible issues?

Thanks ahead of time for any help/advice you can provide!!

you have a pic ???
do you remember if you bought a " matched " quad ??

 

[thegame]

It means they’re going to fail 4 1/2 - 26 days after installation.

 

[SpiderWars]

I’d put them in, let them warm up and flip Standby while watching the tubes and listening for noise. Watch for cherry spots forming on the plates. If all seems well, play it while still watching tubes for cherry spots. If all still seems well and it sounds good and seems to have normal power/volume I’d keep playing and occasionally feel the chassis for heat. You’ll need to know “how hot is normal” so maybe check all this with known good tubes first.

Also, the JJs I’ve tried in my Marshalls sounded like shit. Super bassy and the high mids are sucked out. But those are non-MV Marshalls, they might sound OK for a MV Mesa.

 

[grrr_me_scary]

you have a pic ???
do you remember if you bought a " matched " quad ??

Here is a picture of one pair of the boxes (the tubes have nothing on them that make them look different than stock pictures of JJ EL34 power tubes

And I believe I did get them as a matched quad but I'm not 100% positive.

Also, the "4.6" might have been a range the company selling them referenced to keep them within the different color ranges of the Mesa Boogie tubes (I had checked through all my past emails from over the last 10 years to see if I could find any emails from a tube company and I couldn't find anything to confirm it).

The "26" could have just been the batch number for the 4.6 tubes or pair them and get a reading of 52 but that is a total guess here.

 

[griff10672]

Here is a picture of one pair of the boxes (the tubes have nothing on them that make them look different than stock pictures of JJ EL34 power tubes

View attachment 220819

And I believe I did get them as a matched quad but I'm not 100% positive.

Also, the "4.6" might have been a range the company selling them referenced to keep them within the different color ranges of the Mesa Boogie tubes (I had checked through all my past emails from over the last 10 years to see if I could find any emails from a tube company and I couldn't find anything to confirm it).

The "26" could have just been the batch number for the 4.6 tubes or pair them and get a reading of 52 but that is a total guess here.

yes ..... they have been matched up . I think you should be fine ..... but keep an eye on them for a bit after first powering up like mentioned above just in case ..