Gear Talk - Power Tube Comparison El34 vs El84 vs 6V6 vs 6L6 vs 6550 vs KT88 (Reussenzehn)
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- Lothar's Guitar School - Gear Talk - Reussenzehn El34
In this episode I show you my Reussenzehn El34. It is a single ended class A amplifier and features a two stage preamp and a power amp whose tubes can be exchanged. It comes with an El34, but an El84, 6V6, 6L6, 6550 or a KT88 can replace it. I show you different amp settings with three different guitars: a 1971 Fender Stratocaster in clean position with chorus, a Heritage 535 with crunch sound and a 1974 Fender Telecaster Custom II with a hot example.
For contact:
lotharsguitarschool@gmail.com
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00:00 introduction
05:31 chapter 1 EL34
10:34 chapter 2 EL84
14:36 chapter 3 6V6
18:05 chapter 4 6L6
20:49 chapter 5 6550
24:28 chapter 6 KT88
25:43 outro 
Видеоклипы
It is one of the most brilliant comparison I ever seen among these power tubes, by using a tone generator and a spectrum analysing devices. Clever idea sir.
Subscribed
Thanks
Not really. It's the sound that matters, and that puny amp being deficient in bandwidth made all the tubes sound more or less the same
Something about the EL84 really does it for me, it’s so warm and musical
That's true. Nevertheless I am a fan of the 6L6. It's crystal clear.
A very informative study , thanks ! You just confirm to me that the KT 88 is the master of them all !
I am basically a 6L6 man - I was surprised myself!
Yes 6L6 give the american sound , lots of bass but scooped mids that's why you have noticed less volume compared to EL34 . KT88 have a broader frequency response obviously as shown by your EQ analyser , with more mids than 6550 too . I read that KT88 have the mids of an EL34 with bass of 6L6 , and a lot of headroom , it stays clean at higher volume . Best tube I have tried , and I can recommend the Genalex Gold Lion KT88 , a piece of art !
This type of setup is not a good representation of different tubes. Each type of tube has a specific operating point that determines how the tubes are biased. This means the amp was designed to accept a specific tube to get the best tone. Changing tubes means you now have an amp that may not be correctly biased and this greatly affects your headroom. These type of videos are misleading because the tubes themselves aren't as responsible for the tone as much as the biasing. You can't judge an amp based on its tubes alone!
Great video thank you for your work.
My pleasure.
This was superb. Subbed.
Thanks. I'ii do one on preamp tubes soon.
very informative, thanks for share
You're welcome!
el34 5:31 > 5:56 > 6:49
6550 20:49 > 21:29 > 22:17
kt88 24:28 > 25:00 > 25:22
Well done!
el84 10:34 11:44 12:13
6V6 14:36 15:30 16:02
6L6 18:05 18:50 19:24
@@gtorp9397 Thanks for marking the timecodes.
@@gtorp9397 Sorry, I erased your other comment by accident. You asked about my looper. I used a Digitech JamMan. And of course it slightly changes the sound since the original is digitally recorded. But I find the JamMan to be pretty precise and it is the only way to compare the different tubes with the identical lick.
@@LotharsGuitarSchool Alright thank you for the response!
When Josie comes home, so good.
...she's the pride of the neighborhood...
Oh man - tube difference4s are pretty subtle but that is one CUTE amp
Thanks - it's true - too bad, I sold the amp.
Very cool video! Quilter Labs /Pat Qulter/ posted a video showing the sine waves of a JCM800 and a Quilter block, preamp and power distortion waves, and you can see how it distorts the shape of the wave when it goes to clipping. It'll be interesting to see the sine wave shapes of different power tubes under the same circuit as it is with your experiment but the osciloscope also shows how early/late it starts to distort and how both the preamp section and power section itneract under different volumes.
Thanks for the comment. Good additional information!
The 6v6 has some very crisp tight feeling to it, very defined and compressed
I have a Fuchs ODS 100 running with 6L6s and an ODS 30 with 6V6s. I prefer the latter one.
coolest eq ever!!!!
Thanks!
What is it?
Great video! But unfortunately you didn't show the effect of the tone control and the bright switch when using the crunch mode. I suppose, it works like in the "hot" setting, lowering the mids/ bass without adding highs. Am I correct?
Keep up the good work!
Thanks for your remarks. Unfortunately I cannot verify your comment, since I sold the amp in the meantime.
Very nice to see the output of these tubes on a scope. What would happen if the pre- amp tubes were to be changed? perhaps 12ax7's, for common example. I can hear the differences in all the tubes. I was especially impressed with the 6550's and Kt-88's in how it made your guitar sound full and rich with attack detail. I think there are 3 things going on here.. type of tube,( regardless of pre- amp tube..)Hz of speaker including wattage( higher wattage guitar speakers usually have a higher Hz range which affects break up. That's what we all love about electric guitaring... all styles) and finally, the guitar itself...the pick ups. 3 individually unique things that when combined together in combinations will electronically affect the end sound. The original Marshall amps used KT-66's. Do they make those tubes anymore? What a great demonstration. Thanks for making this video.
Thanks for your informative comment. Check out my comparison of ECC83 vs ECC81 vs 12AY7 vs ECC82 ruclips.net/video/-RHAJyrv8Ao/видео.html Yes, and you can get KT66s e.g. at Tube Amp Doctor.
A 12ay7 doesn't give the same amount of gain as a 12ax7 in normal operation but depending on how the tube is biased you can actually cause either tube to distort. This is what is misleading about tube amp design as signal headroom can be manipulated using circuitry other than tubes. Power Tubes such as EL84's are known for having very little headroom but I hypothetically could engineer it to play cleanly as well with ease. The design of the rest of the amp is as important if not more important than the tubes themselves.
@@zacboss467 Of course is the whole amp design important. But in this constellation the pre-amp tubes react as shown - and their amplification factors correspond to the tube data sheets.
@@LotharsGuitarSchool but my point is the power tubes are not. Just swapping different pentodes into an amp is a thing you can do, but its not necessarily a fair comparison because they aren't biased for their individual operating points. Its an interesting way of comparing tubes but hardly a scientific one when all but one of them are in a non optimal circuit.
@@zacboss467 agreed - it certainly is not a scientific comparison - it is purely subjective.
I really love EL84! So much so that i made 2 amps with them. But i love 6L6 to, and have/had another 2 amps with them. Now... The KT88 surprised me! Seems like a middle ground between both.
So why not build an amp with a KT88?
@@LotharsGuitarSchool Cause i don't have money anymore to import the materials and build another amp (Brasil...).
Too bad...@@deadinside0586
@@LotharsGuitarSchool I also love the EL-84. I think its is the dominant for the British Saturated sound. I don't care for the 6L6 much, I'd rather have the mid-frequencies of the 6V6GT if going to a Fender tube. When younger I had an Amp VT-22 (If I recall that was the model) Anyway it used the big power tubes and 12AX7s, but it was so low end you could really just play rhythm with it. I had to use a graphic eq so that I could really stand out in the mix.
The EL-84 to me is the best of all them. I think you have better control with your guitar volume if using the EL-84 for clean/crunch *as he calls it*/and Complete Saturation. Very clean sounds can be had by using your guitar volume without much if any power loss, and then you can give it a good roll up to play your solos.
I am thinking of doing a 2 EL-34/2 6v6GT power stage with 4 12AX7s matched with a Vox style output transformer. Hmm..That sounds like I am recreating the Mesa-Boogie. :)
@@bluebluebluebird Interesting thoughts. I plan to do a video on different pre-amp tubes in the near future.
It sounds as though the transformer in this amp has a great impact on all the tubes, made the EQ curve for all the tubes very much the same as well as the sound.?
Of course has the transformer a great impact on the overall sound. Nevertheless the tubes show their different qualities.
el34 > 5:31 > 5:56 > 6:49
6550 > 20:49 > 21:29 > 22:17
kt88 24:28 > 25:00 > 25:22
Good remark!
Love 6v6 so much! It sounds Fender!
Yes, 6V6 and 6L6 give you the Fender sound.
@@LotharsGuitarSchool Thank you so much for making this. I couldn’t make decision because people always say that the circuit is main cause to the sound and no one could have confidence to say go for 6v6 to get American sound. But now I finally decided to build a 6v6 amp.
Thank you/
You're welcome!
this video is help me a lot , thanks and u just change el84 to 6v6gt , just change tubes ? no extra work ?
i mean add something in electonic sstuff ?
This only works for single ended tube amps. Not for push pull amps with two power tubes. Yes, I just changed the tubes - no changes no adjustments.
@@LotharsGuitarSchool thanks retext so soon! ! but my original EL84 is like 9 foot point , but 6v6 is like 8 foot point, no need to change the tube site?
@@EchoReverb6 Sorry, that only works with a special rewired socket. For the Reussenzehn Amp that came with the amp. But you would need it the other way around. Guess, you'd have to do this yourself or find someone who can do that.
@@LotharsGuitarSchool really thanks tell me so much! hope u always happy with music
I really love smart people. Great video
I really appreciate your comment.
what chorus pedal did you use on this one?
I used an analog MXR chorus from 1980 - the big yellow one with an AC plug.
@@LotharsGuitarSchool thanks , any chance also the speakers model in the cabinet that you used ?
@@anselmountain6884 Reußenzehn Reu-o-Grande 1x12" Box, Eminence Speaker 8 Ohm 100 Watt
Sounds like Prince
LOL
I don't know shit, so consider that, but the fact that you've got a handful of entirely different power tubes in one amp and it doesn't care at all...?!? I guess I just had no idea amps could do this. Like is this a thing or is this something that this amp does in particular?
This amp was designed to be run with different power tubes. The engineer Thomes Reussenzehn unfortunately died a few years ago. But it is my understanding that you can do this with any single ended power amp. This does not work with push-pull power amps, which are common nowadays.
Okay, so I'm not crazy. I'm thinking "well jeez, if you can just do that, and bang, you've got Fender chime or Supro in-betweenishness...".
@@joek81981 It isn't that easy. Single ended power amps have their own characteristic. The Fender Champ amp is such an amp and the early Gibson amps were also that type. Most amps today that have more than 15 Watts are push-pull and of another category. Single ended amps are considered the better tube amps by some (because of shorter signal flow resulting in better responsiveness, harmonics and tone) despite the fact that they offer less power and usually less bottom end. No - you cannot make them by swapping tubes into a Fender Twin or a Marshall JTM. They have their own special sound depending on the tube.
Very low gain in your "crunch" settings. I may be alone but I would consider crunch to be much dirtier than this.
Thanks for the comment. The levels of clean - crunch - overdrive are clearly subjective and not measured by any objective means. And me, as a mostly clean player, consider these "dirt" levels probably lower than you do. But I guess that's okay.
Разбор радиолампы 6П43П Е. Устройство радиолампы. Analysis of the 6P43P E radio tube . The device of the radio tube. ruclips.net/video/EgvgtUvbb1U/видео.html
I cannot understand what you are saying, but the video looks interesting.
What do these amps go for? Mucho$$$$$ is my guess.
It's hard to get them now, since Thomas Reussenzehn died a few years ago. If you find one, they run now at about 1.000.
el84 10:34 6v6 14:37
Thanks for pointing out the times for the chapters of the El84 and 6V6
@@LotharsGuitarSchool thanks a lot for the video. Someone said that TAD's el84-STR sound like 6v6s, thinking about those for my ironball
@@givemeajackson The TAD EL84-STR is a great tube, but for optimum results you should re-bias the amp. Hope you have success!
Sound very close to the same in the video. Might be different in room.
Why the chorus? It makes the entire invalid
I just like chorus. It's my sound.
All sounds the same...
Not quite - listen closely, best with headphones. The differences are subtle, but noticeable.
@@LotharsGuitarSchool Every tube has slightly different internal impedance that is why you might hear the difference. You cannot swap tubes without setting optimal currents and hook same output transformer and say they sound different. You actually hear the difference of something else. All tubes sound similar. The application makes sound different. By application I mean whole project (circuit diagram) with whole componensts together (matching resistors, capacitors, transformers, power supply, etc).. Example every tube has differet optimal cathode resistor. Sometimes it is 150 OHM, for ahother tube it is 250 OHM...
@@robsonicam You are right - for optimal results you have to adjust the current. This is mandatory for a push-pull amp, but less necessary for a single ended amp as this one. Reussenzehn even suggests to do so with this amp.
@@LotharsGuitarSchool Sure, however, as you say even SE has to be adjusted. How about output transformer? Are you sure you can use the same one for each type of tubes and expect same results? Don't think so (sometimes output transformer is mandatory). I have one amp at home PP, A class in parallel (4 X 5686 tubes per channel) and modified last weekend for 6p14p tubes (not in parallel this time 2x 6p14p per channel). I didn't change anything else and you know what? The amplifier became AB class (approx 80% A and 20% B) - because of different cathode current. Of course the sound is different now and amplifier consumes less power from network but gives approx 1 Watt more output power. To make the same A class (with new different tubes fitted) I have to change few other components for sure.
Please, visit an Otolaryngologist!
why do you want fender cleans ? just buy a transistor amp ,
Clean yes, but a transistor amp has a completely different overtone structure compared to a tube amp. The transients, i.e. the dynamic attack is also different. Not to talk about the compression curve. Clean is not the same as clean.
@@LotharsGuitarSchool power tube or pre tube ? a lot of clean players like roland 160 chourus , (not tube) or a Music Man , not usally a preamp tube , so its not that completely different amp ,but the more you focus on the break up the more important the tube sound will be , so clean players have high regards for that roland 160 chourus , without any tube.
No question, the Roland is a great amp. I play a Ploytone Minibrute II as well for Jazz settings. A solid state amp and I a am very happy with it.
zero harmonic overtones from a transistor. Even the cleans from a 6L6 has sweet harmonics, but I prefer the 6v6GT. I think of transistor amps to be uses with pedal boards. Myself I like to just plug into the amp with maybe an Ocean's 11 reverb and get to playing. I do most of my tone changes with my volume and tone controls from the guitar.
A small class A amp is the least suitable amp to hear the difference between all these tubes. Pretty much a total waste of time
Your comment is much appreciated - though I disagree.