Put EL34's in my Single Recto last night...

[soc_monki]

and they sound AWESOME. pretty much all the research i did said that it would take away some bass and add some upper mid frequencies to the tone. yup. they did just that. before with the stock 6L6's there was a hollowness to the mids, like the upper frequencies were scooped out. i knew this when i decided to buy the Recto, and it is easily remedied by boosting it with my SD-1. but, i dont want to use a boost all the time. and i wanted more upper mids. the EL's were the ticket. still has more bass than i am ever going to use, but the mids are where i want them now.

still sounds like a Recto, just a better Recto. i thought it was worlds different than my 5150, but honestly ive dialed in a tone that is very similar to my old 5150 tone, moreso now with the EL34's. which is funny, since the 5150 is a 6L6 based amp. eh, whatever, i dont care as long as i get my tone out of it. and honestly, why do people ALWAYS boost these things to play metal? im finding it works just fine sans boost, even for some tight riffage. especially when cranked up!

btw, im using Mesa STR440s. i know, probably should have gone with something more "high end" and i will probably do that later. but they sound pretty good to me, and i figure the stock 6L6s were on the way out anyway. dont know exactly how much time was on them, and they seemed a bit dull. immediate improvement with new tubes.

really glad i bought this amp!

 

[mightywarlock]

When you get some cash to buy new tubes,
Get some JJ E34L's.

Then, wanna get even more crazy? Toss a 10-band MXR EQ in the FX loop.

 

[soc_monki]

ill probably try E34L's next, they were on my mind but i decided to go straight EL34 this time. as for the EQ...i have a 7 band laying around, but have never really cared with messing around with it a whole lot. tried it on my 5150, used it as a solo boost a couple times, but quit because i just really hate having a lot of things to step on. a 2 button footswitch and a chorus pedal was too much IMO! now i have a 2 button switch, channel and solo. still need to get a new chorus pedal (lost mine...have no idea where it went). ill probably mess with the EQ through the loop one of these days, but ill probably just keep it simple as always. i just like plugging in and playing, always have!

 

[D-Rock]

I recently put a pair of big bottle TAD EL34's in my Single and I have been experiencing the same postive result that you have.
More/better midrange, cut the boomy lows and more pleasing high end freq.
Still lots of lows, I keep them at or below halfway though.
I've ditched my boost as well! With lot's of volume and proper eqing, these amps are mega tight, super gainy and very toneful.
Just plug straight in and turn it up! That's all you need!

 

[DET1973]

not sure if you're a fan of the band 36 crazy fist but the guitar player for them uses EL34's in his recto and it sounds awesome.

 

[D-Rock]

not sure if you're a fan of the band 36 crazy fist but the guitar player for them uses EL34's in his recto and it sounds awesome.

No really, but I know Devin Townsend used EL34's exclusively in his Recto.

 

[glassjaw7]

77s are even cooler.

 

[DET1973]

77s are even cooler.

what's the dif between the EL34's and the 77's in a Recto.

 

[glassjaw7]

77s are even cooler.

what's the dif between the EL34's and the 77's in a Recto.

The 77s bring out the same mid detail and tightness/clarity as the 34s, but they keep the low end intact. They sound huge! This clip isn't great but it shows off that sound. Also, amp was modded by Friedman, but a huge part of the tone was the KT77s. And I used GZ34 rectifier tubes instead of 5U4s. Made it even tighter.

Les Paul->Recto->Carvin cab with Eminence/carvin BR12s (mindless rhythm wank-gotta crank it up loud
http://www.soundclick.com/members/default.cfm?member=jordandedo&content=station&id=923783

 

[DET1973]

77s are even cooler.

what's the dif between the EL34's and the 77's in a Recto.

The 77s bring out the same mid detail and tightness/clarity as the 34s, but they keep the low end intact. They sound huge! This clip isn't great but it shows off that sound. Also, amp was modded by Friedman, but a huge part of the tone was the KT77s. And I used GZ34 rectifier tubes instead of 5U4s. Made it even tighter.

Les Paul->Recto->Carvin cab with Eminence/carvin BR12s (mindless rhythm wank-gotta crank it up loud
http://www.soundclick.com/members/default.cfm?member=jordandedo&content=station&id=923783

why can't my damn boss get me speakers for my desk.....DAMN IT!!

 

[glassjaw7]

77s are even cooler.

what's the dif between the EL34's and the 77's in a Recto.

The 77s bring out the same mid detail and tightness/clarity as the 34s, but they keep the low end intact. They sound huge! This clip isn't great but it shows off that sound. Also, amp was modded by Friedman, but a huge part of the tone was the KT77s. And I used GZ34 rectifier tubes instead of 5U4s. Made it even tighter.

Les Paul->Recto->Carvin cab with Eminence/carvin BR12s (mindless rhythm wank-gotta crank it up loud
http://www.soundclick.com/members/default.cfm?member=jordandedo&content=station&id=923783

why can't my damn boss get me speakers for my desk.....DAMN IT!!

Headphones? It's a really quiet clip...

 

[The Hoff]

I didn't even think about it until reading this thread, I should buy some JJ KT77s at Mesa spec for my Mark V that's coming in. I biased up my Surreal AKA with them, love it. Best of both worlds, like a grown up EL34.

I shall visit Doug's tubes now.

 

[Les Zombie]

Last night i used my amp live and i think the el34 sound better than the 6l6, i play a boosted dual rect reborn and i was pretty happy with it. This was the first i used the reborn live but i liked it better than my old 3ch rectos. Normally i use my other amps live but i was in a recto mood.

 

[some dude]

I prefer 6L6s. They maintain a harder edge and feel more articulate to me than EL34s.

That said, I have tried various EL34 over the years and my favourite was the JJ E34L... probably because it's more of a middle of the road tube.

 

[D-Rock]

I also like 6l6's in Recto's. But I like what the EL34's are doing at the moment after using 6L6's for a while now. I have other 6L6 amps that can accommodate.

 

[phil b]

I've been using kt77's in my rev.C for years. Totally brings out the best of the amp!!

 

[fek]

Ever since I bought a Tverb brand new back in 1995 and then swapped the stock 6L6's out with 34's in 1996, I have never looked back.

 

[drucifer]

I'm using 6CA7's in my recently-acquired single rectifier, because I'm cooler than you guys

 

[roadifier]

I'm using Sovtek EL34's in my triple recto and I love it. It's tight, aggressive, and way better for me than the 6L6's were. Recto's with EL34's are a great combo

 

[soc_monki]

77s are even cooler.

what's the dif between the EL34's and the 77's in a Recto.

The 77s bring out the same mid detail and tightness/clarity as the 34s, but they keep the low end intact. They sound huge! This clip isn't great but it shows off that sound. Also, amp was modded by Friedman, but a huge part of the tone was the KT77s. And I used GZ34 rectifier tubes instead of 5U4s. Made it even tighter.

Les Paul->Recto->Carvin cab with Eminence/carvin BR12s (mindless rhythm wank-gotta crank it up loud
http://www.soundclick.com/members/default.cfm?member=jordandedo&content=station&id=923783

damn, that sounds huge! i like it. problem is, i think KT77's would be wasted on me. i like having some low end, but even with the EL34's im running the bass around 10:30-11 o'clock. i like to have some body, but not super destroy all china in the house bass. thats what the bass player is for! i tend to go for a good chunk of midrange, enough high end for clarity and attack, and enough lows for body. gain, i try to keep just on the edge of saturation, and back it down a hair. about 1-1:30 or so on the Single. it was the same way with my 5150. the tone controls were set up way differnet, but the result was the same. i remember seeing people running the gain up to 7 and i just though it was ludicrous. i ran mine on 3, maybe 4 for some really gainy metal, but that was it. 5 and up was just unusable IMO. anything past 2 o'clock on the Recto is just nu-metal. 1 o'clock seems like the sweet spot. cant wait to see how the tubes factor in once i get the volume up to 10-11 o'clock. should be nice! ive only had it up to about 8 o'clock so far, messing around. anything above that and ill probably have the cops called

i was starting to regret getting a recto instead of another 5150, but im starting to believe i made the right choice. i needed something different, and i just have so many options with this amp. ive barely touched the clean channel, and ive only messed around with the Vintage mode once or twice. maybe one day ill get a Dual Recto in case i need more headroom, but i honestly dont see that happening anytime soon. the little 50 watter is plenty loud to play with a drummer and another guitarist, and more than likely a bassist when we find one. i really dont think im going to have to push this thing much past 11 o'clock anyway...its STUPID loud at that point.