KT88s and EL34s Comparison

I posted on other forums so I figured why not here

This thread is going to be a thread for people who are interested in EL34s and KT88s. I would do 6L6s to since I know they are quite popular but I don't have any that I particularly like so KT88s and EL34s it is.

I pulled a few clips out of my ass that I think most people would enjoy. I did the heavy side and the bluesy side. Now before you listen I am not very good at blues to cut me some slack but I think it's worth listening too. I didn't do drums for the heavy clips since I feel you can hear the comparison much better without all the shit in the background and hell I just didn't feel like putting drums together so what ever.

I hope people get a bit out of this as I think it is interesting.

Our Contenders -



Amp -



Settings -





Ect. -






"Alright Kyle, shut up. On with the clips, Bitch."

Clips -

Heavy Stuff

KT88 -

EL34 -

Check out them mixed.

KT88 Left
EL34 Right



Bluesy Stuff -

KT88 -

EL34 -

Hope you guys enjoy it.

Signal chain.

Ibanez SA160 (JB in bridge) - ISP - Amp - Mesa Traditional 4x12 - SM57 - Lambda Interface.

All my cables are Lava Cables.

I am really interested in the results but can't listen yet. Thank you for doing this. I am always looking for new tubes to play with in my RM100. I have 34L's and 6550's in mine currently.

Awesome comparison, good job. I actually liked the EL34's better for the blues tone, but WOW did the KT88's really open up the heavy tone. Was the amp dialed in using the KT88's perchance? I'd love to see 6L6 vs KT88 sometime in the future as well

IMO they both sound really good and only very slightly different( I only listened to the heavy). The 88's did sound a bit louder and a tad brighter. I did a very similar comparison between 88s and 77s in my Splawn Competition. In the room the 88's sounded a bit bigger(they are a louder tube) and maybe not as smooth. When I recorded the tracks keeping everything else the same, I could barley, if at all tell the difference. Neither could my friend that was with me. BTW, that amp sounds nice.

KT88's definitely had more girth on the heavy stuff and were a bit tighter. I'd be curious to hear that test again with the bass control at 12:00...I rarely turn it up beyond that (although I never played a Baron...perhaps it's voiced to remain tight at high bass levels since the EL34's were far from "loose").

EL34's were definitely warmer for the bluesy stuff and had a certain "hairiness" to them that just worked better for me...the KT88's were a bit more cold and sterile IMO, although not to the point of sounding bad.

For the chord stuff I prefered the 88s. But oddly, I kinda got a better vibe out of the 34s for the chug stuff. Which is the opposite of what I thought.

Maybe after another listen i'll see differently. :S

Thanks guys, glad I could help.

I've been using EL34s in the amp for a while now. Almost a month. They sound really nice but I think If I had a better pair of KT88s the results would have been slightly different. Ever since I picked up a bunch of JJ tubes I realized I didn't like any of them.

Any how, it sucks because I like the EL34s for the bluesy stuff but I like the KT88s for the heavier stuff. Lately I've been into a lot of Andy Timmons so I've been sticking with EL34s to get some earlier power amp distortion.

Kt88's for the heavy stuff, sounds bigger/ clearer.

EL34's for crunch tones, like others have said...more organic.
Sounds like your not having to fight the amp as much.

philnz":2r4798u8 said:

Kt88's for the heavy stuff, sounds bigger/ clearer.

EL34's for crunch tones, like others have said...more organic.
Sounds like your not having to fight the amp as much.

Click to expand...

Ruby EL34B-STR are far from just crunch results. In my Herbert they shake my whole house and produce very heavy output and remarkable clean TONE.

And what's with the organic garbage? A guitar amplifier produces bass, mid, treble, clean and overdrive tones. There's nothing organic about guitar tone.

Next thing you nOObs are going to start calling guitar tone pesticide.

Smooth, balanced, warm, bright...yes, but organic. Joke!

Go to Whole Foods if you want organic. I recommend the vine ripe tomatoes.

On their own, they both sound very good.
At first, the KT88's are sound cool for the heavy stuff, but they might be too bass-heavy in a mix.

So overall, I'd go with EL34's.

Thanks, pretty interesting comparison. They sound surprisingly similar actually...

Especially the high gain tones feel as if a decent EQ and perhaps boost could compensate for most of the difference.

duodecim":1dnh4lz5 said:

Thanks, pretty interesting comparison. They sound surprisingly similar actually...

Especially the high gain tones feel as if a decent EQ and perhaps boost could compensate for most of the difference.

Click to expand...

Thats more than likely because they are JJ's.
Not the best tubes to do an A/B with especially when both sets of tubes are from the same manufacturer.
Now Ruby EL34's vs EH KT88's, you would have heard a severe difference in tone.

King Crimson":3uoa7oxc said:

philnz":3uoa7oxc said:

Kt88's for the heavy stuff, sounds bigger/ clearer.

EL34's for crunch tones, like others have said...more organic.
Sounds like your not having to fight the amp as much.

Click to expand...

Ruby EL34B-STR are far from just crunch results. In my Herbert they shake my whole house and produce very heavy output and remarkable clean TONE.

And what's with the organic garbage? A guitar amplifier produces bass, mid, treble, clean and overdrive tones. There's nothing organic about guitar tone.

Next thing you nOObs are going to start calling guitar tone pesticide.

Smooth, balanced, warm, bright...yes, but organic. Joke!

Go to Whole Foods if you want organic. I recommend the vine ripe tomatoes.

Click to expand...

You know, there's a word that comes to mind oft at times when I read your posts...
Curmudgeon.
Nevertheless, 'organic' is indeed a terrific adjective to 'tone'. Example - take a solid state Randall cranked with its gain knob on 10, and compare it to a Shiva or a Duende, cranked, on 10. One will sound like a perfectly compressed - thick - fizz laden tube of sound. The other will offer overtones, complexities, harmonics, and string definition, maybe even wood definition. This, in my HUMBLE opinion, would be 'organic' as per this latter example. I own a couple sweetass amps - but my VH4S on Channel 4, cranked, with gain at 3 o'clock, sounds a LOT less 'organic' than my 20thA XTC, on plexi-vintage mode, Class A on, Channel 2. Call me a Whole Foods nut - but this is my story and I'm sticking to it.

BACK to the OP's original thread.... THANK YOU!!!!! I am a fan of KT88's and have thought about folding them into one or more of my amps when my current set(s) bite the bullet. I've got a line on Gold Lion's which are pretty spendy for the average joe, but seeing as I can get 'em cheaper, AND they're high quality glass - I'm interested to hear them regardless. I love my EL34's, they're the bees knees for my XTC, but the glassiness and the openness of the 88's gives me wood. THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO POST!!!!!

Peace Y'All...
V.

King Crimson":23f5nq8t said:

philnz":23f5nq8t said:

Kt88's for the heavy stuff, sounds bigger/ clearer.

EL34's for crunch tones, like others have said...more organic.
Sounds like your not having to fight the amp as much.

Click to expand...

Ruby EL34B-STR are far from just crunch results. In my Herbert they shake my whole house and produce very heavy output and remarkable clean TONE.

And what's with the organic garbage? A guitar amplifier produces bass, mid, treble, clean and overdrive tones. There's nothing organic about guitar tone.

Next thing you nOObs are going to start calling guitar tone pesticide.

Smooth, balanced, warm, bright...yes, but organic. Joke!

Go to Whole Foods if you want organic. I recommend the vine ripe tomatoes.

Click to expand...

Damn King! Feel strongly about the organic comment?

Oh, and it depends on the amp for me. These are my two favorite tubes.

Guys this was a mis test.. sorry to tell you all.

Since the amp was not set all to noon the EQ could have favored more the EL34 or the KT88.

Lucky for you guys I did a huge tube test with tons of audio samples. I'm going to make a thread soon. BTW it's not just KT88s and EL34s.

waouhhhhhhhhh Thank you. Your work is amazing!
KT88 sound really good. My Herbert has a 6 TAD EL34 str. I would like to test my Herbbie with KT88 I think the sound would be more aggressive!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratilations. You have done a very good work.