Anyone tried the current Mullard EL34 reissues?

[iknowjohnny]

The SED's are going away, and having tried every other current EL34 but this mullard RI, I'm considering trying them. But I need opinions before i potentially throw away yet another $50 on 34's that sound mediocre. I love the SEDs and i know nothing today will likely as good, but could it be the Mullard RI is closer? Who's tried them and what do you think? Any yes, i DO realize the name mullard on the box means nothing. I only thought to try them because they're my last hope for a current production EL34.

[Reeltarded]

I don't really like SEDa. I like EH output tubes but not their preamp tubes.

JJs are good sounding too, if you can find ones that don't have a DOA tube in every quad.

[iknowjohnny]

I've tried those. JJ's i can't stand. The worse to my ear. EH.....they're ok for gain, not so much for cleans and not as good to my ear as SED's for either. I could live with those if i have to and they probably will be what i'll use when SED is gone. But that thought doesn't make me too happy.

[Reeltarded]

EL34L and 6CA7 are not total suck though. The 34L is pretty good replacement for Mullardish sound. My favorite tubes aren't Mullard 34s.

[M Fowler]

JJ's are the best period

[iknowjohnny]

EL34L and 6CA7 are not total suck though. The 34L is pretty good replacement for Mullardish sound. My favorite tubes aren't Mullard 34s.

It's 100% subjective tho and also amp dependent. But to put it politely, they are my least fav el34. I DO like thier 6L6 and love thier 6V6, but the JJel34 just sounds lifeless to me.

[Reeltarded]

Are you biasing by ear? JJ typically -35 or so compared to EH at closerish to -40 and real big bottles or RFT more like -42 or even up.. down.. err.. more less.

[Blindog]

I've had nothing but problems with the Mullard reissues...clangy internal noise, and some that snap crackle pop. On the other hand, great luck with the JJ's. Both the EL34 and 34L. The 34L has a bit more headroom. I always buy the burned in ones if I can.

Mark

[iknowjohnny]

Are you biasing by ear? JJ typically -35 or so compared to EH at closerish to -40 and real big bottles or RFT more like -42 or even up.. down.. err.. more less.

No. I bias to about 35-38 with 440v. but it has no bearing on the differences between them all else being equal. I've tried biasing within the cold to hot range and to me that makes little difference because i play at fairly low volume and don't gig.

[billyz]

I have been using the Tungsol el34b for over two years . Doing repairs and mods to many amps and installing them. So far the tone is as good or better than most if not all modern el34's. Replaced more jj's than any other tube.
I don't know how different they are from the EH model, but have not had one single issue . I always buy the Platinum grade and they have been very well matched. The comments I get are all positive on the tone and power. In fairness the jj's are cheaper. I have had a very high failure rate with the JJ's especially the gz34 . I don't think the Tungsol 12ax7 is a good choice for a cathode follower but they sound pretty good in most preamp positions. For
Cathode followers I generally use the sovtek 12ax7w with good results.
Just my experiences. To each their own.
Z

[Gaz]

Shuguang El34s win to me by a margin. Ruby sells them as EL34STR, for example.

[iknowjohnny]

Tried em both. Like i said, everything but the mullard RI. The chinese are ok but too smooth. The tung sol 12AX7 RI is my fav preamp tube, but the EL34 i like clean but not with gain. I have all these tubes and pop them all in at various times to remember what they were like and see if anything has changed. The mullard RI is all i was hoping to hear about, but i guess no on so far has tried them here.

[Gaz]

You really have tried them all! Not actually tried the Mullard either, but I tend to stay away from the all the vintage branded stuff. Just rubs me the wrong way.

[iknowjohnny]

I'm telling ya ! Actually, I probably haven't tried all current prod, but i have tried and still have in the drawer......

1-SED
2-EH
3-svetlana
4-tung sol
5-chinese
6-JJ

Thats probably in order of preference too, or close. The svets are actually pretty good but they have no lows. If they did they might be close to #1. And it wasn't a matter of dialing low end in, that doesn't work. Mullard RI is my last resort. I just hope someone comes out with another great tube before i run out of SED.

[Jana]

Maybe you should think outside the box, or is that the tube socket, for a minute. I don't know what your plate voltage is, but maybe try a different tube (other than EL34). Try some 6550 or KT88 if your amp has the juice to handle them. Or, if your plate voltages aren't too high, try 5881. You will have to tweak the bias range but you know how to do that.