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Author Topic: MULLARD EL34s  (Read 3172 times)

gooch

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MULLARD EL34s
« on: November 23, 2010, 12:42:08 AM »
Hi

What can anyone tell me about Mullard EL34s?

how easy are they to get a hold of? when did they stop making them? how much do they cost these days?
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Denim n Leather

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #1 on: November 23, 2010, 04:07:40 AM »
Hi

What can anyone tell me about Mullard EL34s?
What do you want to know?

Quote
how easy are they to get a hold of?
Not too hard if you have the cash.

Quote
when did they stop making them?
Duno.

Quote
how much do they cost these days?
Couple of hundred each.

gooch

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2010, 10:24:09 PM »
thank you for replying

I had some in my amp and i thought they'd finally died. However after 38 years they are still working

awesome, i should probably sell them while they work but tbh they just sound too good :D

I got the whole amp on ebay for £161 loaded with Mazda preamp valves and 2 mullard EL34s lol

happy times

again thanks for the reply
'06 Gibson SG (Duesenberg wraparound, Gotoh locking tuners, Stormy Monday in the neck position)>> Russian v7 muff >>'73 Selmer 50sv on '73 Sound City 4x12 \m/

Denim n Leather

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2010, 12:05:56 AM »
You're welcome!

I do like the old Mullard ECC83s myself, and own a couple, though I've found that for everyday use, the JJ 803S is virtually indistinguishable from the Mullard. Power valves are another story, however ... much harder to find something that sounds like an old Mullard, which is why I switched to an amp that uses preamp valves in the power stage4!

JacksonRR

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #4 on: December 23, 2010, 07:03:11 PM »
As much as I hate recommend chinese, Shuguang's Black Treasure series are great.

Denim n Leather

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #5 on: December 23, 2010, 08:04:45 PM »
As much as I hate recommend chinese, Shuguang's Black Treasure series are great.
No, they are not.

ericsabbath

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #6 on: December 23, 2010, 11:06:28 PM »
shuguang makes pretty good 12ax7's and EL34's, but I'd never pay more than US$30 a pair
and I'll never buy non-rebranded/tested chinese power tubes again
they have a huge failure rate (20 to 30%), in my personal experience
the "good" thing is that they tend to fail in the first day, so if they last a week, they are not likely to be a problem after a month or two, like newer JJ's
so if you want a quad, buy a matched sextet, so you'll have spare matched tubes
on ebay you can buy unbranded shuguangs for $40 a matched quad

the top sellers by ruby, TAD and groove tubes are rebranded shuguangs
they sound better than the new reflektor tubes (sovteks, electro-harmonix, reissue mullards, new svetlanas), in my opinion, and better than JJ's as well
the svetlana winged C's sound slightly louder, deeper and more in your face, but a quad costs almost 4x the price of a shuguang equivalent quad
the shuguangs sound smoother, with a fuzzy midrange character

I can't compare them to an old original Mullard, though
my only experience with NOS tubes is with RFT and Tungsram preamp tubes
« Last Edit: December 23, 2010, 11:14:31 PM by Eric Hellstyle »
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JacksonRR

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #7 on: December 24, 2010, 03:56:10 AM »
As much as I hate recommend chinese, Shuguang's Black Treasure series are great.
No, they are not.
Yes they are.

Telerocker

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #8 on: December 27, 2010, 11:32:35 PM »
Maybe out of the thread, but does this series contain 6V6's too? Playing JJ's now, but it's always interesting to try something different.
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gwEm

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #9 on: December 27, 2010, 11:38:02 PM »
As much as I hate recommend chinese, Shuguang's Black Treasure series are great.
No, they are not.
Yes they are.

its the pantomine season ;)
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JacksonRR

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #11 on: December 30, 2010, 06:35:16 PM »
 :D Like for like, yeah?
I feel they are the best on the current production market. Their KT66s have a sharper, but more open character compared to JJs. The KT88s, compared to Golden Lions, have a tighter bass, sweeter mids and extra definition over all, but especially in the top end. They just feel stronger to me. The EL34s are on par with some old NOS GEs that I had, but less abrasive. They did take about an extra 20 hours to settle in. These are not the normal valves they are known for. They only have their most experienced employees involved with construction. I like them, but if you don't that's cool. I haven't had any problems with reliability either.

HTH AMPS

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #12 on: December 31, 2010, 03:13:43 PM »
:D Like for like, yeah?
I feel they are the best on the current production market. Their KT66s have a sharper, but more open character compared to JJs. The KT88s, compared to Golden Lions, have a tighter bass, sweeter mids and extra definition over all, but especially in the top end. They just feel stronger to me. The EL34s are on par with some old NOS GEs that I had, but less abrasive. They did take about an extra 20 hours to settle in. These are not the normal valves they are known for. They only have their most experienced employees involved with construction. I like them, but if you don't that's cool. I haven't had any problems with reliability either.

where are you getting the Shuguang Black Treasure series from?


JacksonRR

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #13 on: January 01, 2011, 06:16:54 PM »
Bought the quad of KT88s from Grant Fidelity Audio for a good chunk first off. The others I bought from Ebay for less. I can't remember what the name of the seller was, I just looked for the best comments and gave it a go. If my memory is correct the EL34s and KT66s were around $50 USD each. They were matched and packaged fine.

HTH AMPS

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Re: MULLARD EL34s
« Reply #14 on: January 02, 2011, 03:53:36 PM »
Bought the quad of KT88s from Grant Fidelity Audio for a good chunk first off. The others I bought from Ebay for less. I can't remember what the name of the seller was, I just looked for the best comments and gave it a go. If my memory is correct the EL34s and KT66s were around $50 USD each. They were matched and packaged fine.

I can only find Black Treasure 6CA7s or KT88s - any chance you could link me an auction so I know which ones you mean? - I'm assuming the BT ones are different to the 'normal' Shugang EL34s ????