Tubes for new amp

[DragonCrestPC]

Just grabbed a used 1987x re-issue and loving it! Cranked it up to about 5 on ch1 and was blown away by the tone! What's a great tube to grab for it since the originals are still in it. I was thinking 6CA7's for a more VH sound ( read EVH used 6CA7's ) but am not sure.

 

[panhead]

I like mullard reissue EL34`s in non master marshalls

 

[Racerxrated]

Just grabbed a used 1987x re-issue and loving it! Cranked it up to about 5 on ch1 and was blown away by the tone! What's a great tube to grab for it since the originals are still in it. I was thinking 6CA7's for a more VH sound ( read EVH used 6CA7's ) but am not sure.

Marshall’s seem to love the vintage glass more than any other amp that I’ve tried. Best power tubes for my taste have been the original Winged C and Siemens. I like those better than the vintage Mullards. But they aren’t cheap. I do like the JJ 6ca7, for new production best.

 

[napalmdeath]

10 people will give 10 different answers. Everyone's taste varies, and it really depends on what kind of tone you like/want.
Personally, I don't believe JJ 6CA7's would be a good choice in a Plexi, unless you're planning on cranking the shit out of it. They are a big sounding tube that really don't come alive until you're deaf.

I just went from JJ 6CA7's in my Friedman, to JJ E34L's. Love the E34L's much more, for my taste.
The New Sensor Svetlanas sound great in Marshalls, as do the Tungsol EL34B's.

 

[fek]

+1 to EL34 over 6CA7's in that amp.

 

[Racerxrated]

El34Ls are mush, tubby ass low end tube that I always pull from any amp...with one exception...a Wizard. They suck ass in any vintage or new production Marshall I've ever owned. With those tubes you will NOT get a tight low end out of them, at least in that circuit. At least not to my tastes, and I'm not a metal head who needs surgical tight lows. The JJ 6ca7s I had in a vintage 2555 and surprisingly they worked well. And I don't like very many if any new production tubes, as my 300+ collection of vintage power and pre tubes can attest.
OP, I'd highly recommend looking for used but strong testing vintage EL34s for the best result. Like Winged C and Siemens.

 

[chunktone]

El34Ls are mush, tubby ass low end tube that I always pull from any amp...with one exception...a Wizard. They suck ass in any vintage or new production Marshall I've ever owned. With those tubes you will NOT get a tight low end out of them, at least in that circuit. At least not to my tastes, and I'm not a metal head who needs surgical tight lows. The JJ 6ca7s I had in a vintage 2555 and surprisingly they worked well. And I don't like very many if any new production tubes, as my 300+ collection of vintage power and pre tubes can attest.
OP, I'd highly recommend looking for used but strong testing vintage EL34s for the best result. Like Winged C and Siemens.

This ime is more amp related that tube, as I have 3 amps that have very tight lows with el34's.

 

[Racerxrated]

El34Ls are mush, tubby ass low end tube that I always pull from any amp...with one exception...a Wizard. They suck ass in any vintage or new production Marshall I've ever owned. With those tubes you will NOT get a tight low end out of them, at least in that circuit. At least not to my tastes, and I'm not a metal head who needs surgical tight lows. The JJ 6ca7s I had in a vintage 2555 and surprisingly they worked well. And I don't like very many if any new production tubes, as my 300+ collection of vintage power and pre tubes can attest.
OP, I'd highly recommend looking for used but strong testing vintage EL34s for the best result. Like Winged C and Siemens.

This ime is more amp related that tube, as I have 3 amps that have very tight lows with el34's.

I'm referring to the JJ EL34-L model. The L designation is for more low end, I'm assuming. I like Marshalls best with EL34s...just not the JJ EL34-L. Ugh. Not for me. Unless I have a Wizard, where they sound killer.

 

[DragonCrestPC]

Found some NOS winged C and are being shipped out. Any recommendations for pre amp tubes? at least for V1. Thanks again guys!

 

[skullfxr]

Mullard new productsion in V1. Sovtek LPS in PI.

 

[Racerxrated]

Mullard new productsion in V1. Sovtek LPS in PI.

Here's where if you want to try vintage pre tubes, they can be had for much less than the Power tubes...lots of ways to go here. Vintage Amperex, Mullard, Ei(pre war), Chinese Bs(or the 6n4 that you can order direct from China), Telefunken, GE, RCA, Tesla all sound killer in a Marshall. You can find strong used tubes for 20 bucks a tube on up, as far as which for each position that's all part of the fun of tube rolling my friend! Experiment for best results. I have found that in a 50w a Tungsram works really well in the PI spot.

 

[skullfxr]

Mullard new productsion in V1. Sovtek LPS in PI.

Here's where if you want to try vintage pre tubes, they can be had for much less than the Power tubes...lots of ways to go here. Vintage Amperex, Mullard, Ei(pre war), Chinese Bs(or the 6n4 that you can order direct from China), Telefunken, GE, RCA, Tesla all sound killer in a Marshall. You can find strong used tubes for 20 bucks a tube on up, as far as which for each position that's all part of the fun of tube rolling my friend! Experiment for best results. I have found that in a 50w a Tungsram works really well in the PI spot.

I definitely agree on NOS. I have a few dozen around. Pre and power. I have a small collection of mullard VOS, a few Telefunkens, RCA, Phillips, JAN, tungsram, Sylvania and more. I don't use them on a regular basis though. I run current production for everything except for recording.

For current production I stand by my Mullard and sovtek LPS recs. New production Tung-Sol aren't bad either. Everything else is JJ.

 

[Giga.Blast]

El34Ls are mush, tubby ass low end tube that I always pull from any amp . . . With those tubes you will NOT get a tight low end out of them, at least in that circuit. At least not to my tastes, . . .

Wow! Nice "attest" as you try to attest here.

napalmdeath was referring to the JJ E34L, not as you describe it as "El34Ls are mush, tubby . . .". "El34L" PTs don't exist. JJ-E34Ls are far from ass low end.

What tone reference do you use but from other than your ears?

 

[Racerxrated]

El34Ls are mush, tubby ass low end tube that I always pull from any amp . . . With those tubes you will NOT get a tight low end out of them, at least in that circuit. At least not to my tastes, . . .

Wow! Nice "attest" as you try to attest here.

napalmdeath was referring to the JJ E34L, not as you describe it as "El34Ls are mush, tubby . . .". "El34L" PTs don't exist. JJ-E34Ls are far from ass low end.

What tone reference do you use but from other than your ears?

In any Marshall I’ve owned, vintage or newer production, the JJ EL34L have a tubby low end that is hard if not impossible to dial out. That’s been my experience with that specific power tube in any Marshall that came with them. Bias was within range, good preamp tubes(I have a nice collection of them) so no other conclusion can be drawn other than those power tubes just plain suck in a Marshall. I immediately replace the EL34L with a pair or quad of Siemens, Winged C or Mullards that I have here and now the Marshall sounds killer.
Pretty simple. Not sure what you’re confused about.
The EL34L does shine in the Wizard MC I had..and they may sound good in other amps but the OP is asking about his 1987x, and my opinion is to stay far away from them if you have a Marshall.

 

[napalmdeath]

El34Ls are mush, tubby ass low end tube that I always pull from any amp...with one exception...a Wizard. They suck ass in any vintage or new production Marshall I've ever owned. With those tubes you will NOT get a tight low end out of them, at least in that circuit. At least not to my tastes, and I'm not a metal head who needs surgical tight lows. The JJ 6ca7s I had in a vintage 2555 and surprisingly they worked well. And I don't like very many if any new production tubes, as my 300+ collection of vintage power and pre tubes can attest.
OP, I'd highly recommend looking for used but strong testing vintage EL34s for the best result. Like Winged C and Siemens.

This ime is more amp related that tube, as I have 3 amps that have very tight lows with el34's.

+1. They've been great for me. But, as I said prior, everyone has a different opinion when it comes to tubes. "Tubby" "mush" and "suck ass" certainly aren't how I'd describe E34L's. And I'm pretty nitpicky.

 

[Racerxrated]

El34Ls are mush, tubby ass low end tube that I always pull from any amp...with one exception...a Wizard. They suck ass in any vintage or new production Marshall I've ever owned. With those tubes you will NOT get a tight low end out of them, at least in that circuit. At least not to my tastes, and I'm not a metal head who needs surgical tight lows. The JJ 6ca7s I had in a vintage 2555 and surprisingly they worked well. And I don't like very many if any new production tubes, as my 300+ collection of vintage power and pre tubes can attest.
OP, I'd highly recommend looking for used but strong testing vintage EL34s for the best result. Like Winged C and Siemens.

This ime is more amp related that tube, as I have 3 amps that have very tight lows with el34's.

+1. They've been great for me. But, as I said prior, everyone has a different opinion when it comes to tubes. "Tubby" "mush" and "suck ass" certainly aren't how I'd describe E34L's. And I'm pretty nitpicky.

Maybe 'suck ass' was a little harsh, but I still pull them from any vintage Marshall I've owned. Again, I'm talking about a MARSHALL SPECIFICALLY not any other brand of amp. You may like them in your Splawn, or whatever amp you've had. I've had numerous vintage Marshalls and one newer 2555x that either came with them or I put a quad I had here in, and same result...tubby low end that I couldn't dial out no matter what boost pedal/eq settings I tried.
The Wizard MC did like them though, and sounded killer with them. The OP is asking about his Marshall 1987x and IMO he'll get the same result I did.