SED'S EL-34

[dainbramage0]

I tried to pickup a pair of SED 6550s a couple weeks ago from the tube store and apparently they aren't making them anymore? I was told that ampeg was having a hell of a time getting a straight answer from the boys in russia about the whole situation and subsequently switched over to another brand.

Maybe war time is cutting into the supply and demand for power tubes

 

[FortinAmps]

Svetlana labeled on the right in both pics. they look even closer than the pics show, should have picked a flat surface for them, but thought the black background would be good.


no idea how or why, but these look like the same tubes?

Hey Martin,
Did that Svet come out of the Bones that you had?
If so, I was using an old NOS stash of Svetlana EL34s that were before the whole New Sensor trademark thing.
Cheers,
Mike

 

[FortinAmps]

I tried to pickup a pair of SED 6550s a couple weeks ago from the tube store and apparently they aren't making them anymore? I was told that ampeg was having a hell of a time getting a straight answer from the boys in russia about the whole situation and subsequently switched over to another brand.

Maybe war time is cutting into the supply and demand for power tubes

Yeah, lots of strange stuff coming for the SED circle of trust.

 

[AmpliFIRE]

I wonder how these would sound in the Axe-Fx II

 

[lolzgreg]

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

Svetlana labeled on the right in both pics. they look even closer than the pics show, should have picked a flat surface for them, but thought the black background would be good.


no idea how or why, but these look like the same tubes?

Hey Martin,
Did that Svet come out of the Bones that you had?
If so, I was using an old NOS stash of Svetlana EL34s that were before the whole New Sensor trademark thing.
Cheers,
Mike

yes sir, it was from the Bones.

 

[steve_k]

I wonder how these would sound in the Axe-Fx II

They would sound more real than the Winged C - in fact, it is the new Winged Double D......

 

[bubbastain]

I have a pair of Svetlana EL34's that I pulled out of a Marshall I briefly owned. Just kept them around for spares thinking they were the New Sensor Svets. I put them in my Splawn Competition and thought "damn, these sound good." How can I tell if they are the older winged C Svetlana's? they have the 45 degree halo thing like Capulin Overdrives in the pictures. What other visual differences?

 

[Erock]

I still just don't get why someone would want to save $15-20, and stick a questionable factory 2nd into a $2000-3000 amplifier.

That just baffles me.

Its not just a $15 to $20 savings. When I bought the seconds I got a matched quad of SED EL34 for $60. I have had some that work great and others that were real shit. The thing that turned me off of the seconds was when I got them with loose bases and the biasing being way off. They state that they test and match all the seconds. I dont undserstand how they can be doing that and then ship tubes that are 10ma off from one another?

yep, real crapshoot with those factory 2nds. I had a quad of EL34 that matched right up and appeared to work fine, but sounded like they were already 5 years old. I had another quad of factory 2nds that sounded great in the same amp. Thought I was imagining it, so I A/B'd them back and forth in the same amp, and it was obvious one quad just sounded dead. I'm thinking someone redplated them and sent them back. That's not even including the quad of 6550 that redplated as soon as I fired them up.

 

[steve_k]

Dammit.....all joking aside, I hope that the SED's don't disappear.

 

[311boogieman]

^ me and you both

Advice: buy your SED's from Laura. You can rest assured that the quad is matched.

I think that Tube Depot has the reported failures and are selling at 15% off. Now, I may be guessing, but they just finished running the sale on the SED Factory 2nds. Hope they aren't up to some funny business here because I have ordered there a lot in the past. So, be cautious...

Laura had some RFT's because I just got one a few months back. You only need one in an amp and run it in V1. I know they work well in Mark's mods. I think my standard Marshall tube scheme is going to be an RFT or Mullard NOS in V1 and Penta Chinese in the rest of the preamp spots. SED's or ARS Tesla's for power tubes.

Steve

+1

I got my SEDs from Laura too.

And yeah, just when I was starting to get my hands around the tube world New Sensor came along

 

[ericsabbath]

I still just don't get why someone would want to save $15-20, and stick a questionable factory 2nd into a $2000-3000 amplifier.

That just baffles me.

Its not just a $15 to $20 savings. When I bought the seconds I got a matched quad of SED EL34 for $60. I have had some that work great and others that were real shit. The thing that turned me off of the seconds was when I got them with loose bases and the biasing being way off. They state that they test and match all the seconds. I dont undserstand how they can be doing that and then ship tubes that are 10ma off from one another?

$40 a quad on tube depot when I bought them, which is 1/3 of the regular price
mine were all ok and matched closed enough (matching is never exact)
was a great deal FOR ME, imo, but as I said, maybe I got lucky

I used to buy shuguangs el34bstr from china, but I doubt they were tested, so 25% of them red plated in the first week
the survivors tend to last long, but I'd never recommend them again, although they sound pretty good (not in-your-face and clear like SED's, but quite smooth and organic)

but if you can afford trusty tubes from a trusty store, like laura's, that's the smartest thing to do

 

[steve_k]

With the price increase of the SED EL34's, I will probably go Tung Sol El34's the next time I need some.

Laura, are you planning to carry the Tung Sol EL34's or Tung Sol 6L6GC's?

I can get them but I am evaluating what sells and what doesn't right now. We are in the process of a move and once we are settled in, I will be making inventory decisions.

As far as SED goes, you may soon see only one US dealer unless other dealers can find a way to buy direct. Currently, there is no dealer pricing through the US wholesaler...

Laura,

I don't know what's involved, but here are some tubes I would like to see you carry, in addition to SED's.....(hint, hint)

Tung Sol EL34B's
ARS Tesla EL34's
Penta 12AX7 Chinese
TAD 12AX7 High Grade and Selected