Tube Question.

[00jett]

I have a jcm 900 4102 combo and i was messing with the tubes i had lying around today. i found that my favorite tubes were the originals that came with the amp when i bought it. i bought this amp used so i dont know much about it. the tubes says marshall el34 and have a brown base. from the bit of research i have done i think they are marshall branded Svetlana tubes but i figured i would ask to be sure. Also what would be the closest current tube to the sound of these old ones (i understand that this may be a tough and subjective question)? i had so EH el34's that i got for kicks and honestly i cant stand them compared to the old tubes (no offense to any one that uses them). thanx for reading

 

[psphill27]

Jett...while I'm a big fan of Groove Tubes and have them in all my amps except for my VM...I know that most of the Marshall heads on this forum are big fans of the JJs for getting that classic Marshall sound.

That's the way I would point you, but see what some of the other guys say...

 

[joeellistsl]

Jett...while I'm a big fan of Groove Tubes and have them in all my amps except for my VM...I know that most of the Marshall heads on this forum are big fans of the JJs for getting that classic Marshall sound.

That's the way I would point you, but see what some of the other guys say...

I also love the Tung-Sol EL34-B tubes. Go to the following address and read what they have to say about different EL34's.

EL34 Tube Type Review

I used the Tung-Sol's in my Marshall TSL 601 and I thought they made a definate improvement.

 

[00jett]

cool thanx

 

[Stretchy]

Info complement... Groove Tubes aren't "Groove tubes", they come from different vendors and are tested and sold by "Groove Tubes". So some GT are JJ, others comes from different vendors.

 

[Stretchy]

I have a jcm 900 4102 combo and i was messing with the tubes i had lying around today. i found that my favorite tubes were the originals that came with the amp when i bought it. i bought this amp used so i dont know much about it. the tubes says marshall el34 and have a brown base. from the bit of research i have done i think they are marshall branded Svetlana tubes but i figured i would ask to be sure. Also what would be the closest current tube to the sound of these old ones (i understand that this may be a tough and subjective question)? i had so EH el34's that i got for kicks and honestly i cant stand them compared to the old tubes (no offense to any one that uses them). thanx for reading

When you changes the tubes, have you rebias the amp everytime ? Biasing have an effect on the tone produced by the tubes. I dont think you can flip tubes like that without biasing them to give a fair test to the tubes!

But in the end, the best tubes are the ones that sounds to best to *your* ears!

 

[steelhorse]

Yep needs to be re-biased.

 

[00jett]

oh ya definately understand the need for re-biasing everytime. thanx for the input

 

[pinto79]

Info complement... Groove Tubes aren't "Groove tubes", they come from different vendors and are tested and sold by "Groove Tubes". So some GT are JJ, others comes from different vendors.

Same goes for JJ and Ruby.

GT do actually have some manufactured specifically for them too.

 

[steelhorse]

I don't know about Ruby but the JJ's I buy are manufactured in Europe by JJ Electronic:

euro-d

euro-r

JJ-Electronic - Vacuum tubes, Capacitors, Amplifiers - Home

 

[Stretchy]

Same goes for JJ and Ruby.

GT do actually have some manufactured specifically for them too.

Dunno about Ruby... JJs are what they say they are.... JJs. GT as a company dont make tubes, they match them, test them and sell them with a premium caused they are "tested".

 

[steelhorse]

+1 Stretchy. And the funny thing is that Euro & JJ double tests and matches their tubes/sets. In other words, JJ tests them before they send them out and Euro double checks then matches them precisely.

 

[pinto79]

I've seen JJs with their screen printing over other names on tubes, so I dunno...

I've never gotten along with anything from JJ anyway.

 

[Bunnest]

I wouldn't at all be surprised if those "original:" Marshall tubes from the early 90's are actually Tesla tubes (Not JJ) Marshall had them bradned Marshall when put in its amps, up until around '93 I believe. GREAT TUBES! I am using them in all my heads right now, work great sound great.

 

[Adwex]

I wouldn't at all be surprised if those "original:" Marshall tubes from the early 90's are actually Tesla tubes (Not JJ) Marshall had them bradned Marshall when put in its amps, up until around '93 I believe. GREAT TUBES! I am using them in all my heads right now, work great sound great.

I had a 900 head that I sold recently. It had Tesla EL34's, and they were not re-labelled "Marshall". They clearly said "Tesla".