Author Topic: Differences Between EL34 and 6550... (Read 37728 times)

the_bleeding · « **Reply #15 on:** April 09, 2007, 01:19:03 AM »

Quote from: HEAVIER THAN HELL

sorry, but this is just not true - KT88s will plug right into an EL34 amp. they draw 1.6A each compared to 1.5A each with an EL34 (100mA per valve extra is not gonna worry your mains transformer).

most KT88s and 6550s these days are the same thing, just rebranded or rebottled (i.e. same guts). that said, when you get the real thing, KT88s have a slightly more aggressive midrange than 6550s but are essentially very similar.

I had a quad of KT88s in a 2203 and it sounded great, VERY punchy. Apparently Billy Corgan used KT88s in his 2203 for Siemese Dream.

:twisted:

Yeahhhh, my amp is a 6l6 one, and so are my future amps :roll: ...
...so i have to watch out for the transformer and socket stuff... never knew that about el34 amps though. Quetsion though... why are 4 tube el34 amps rated at 100w, and 4 tube kt88's rated at 180w?

MDV · « **Reply #16 on:** April 09, 2007, 01:43:47 AM »

Thanks for the input on this thread, HTH. I'm gonna get some 6550s for my TSL. Sounds like it would go a long way to fix what I think the imperfections in the sound are (been getting great tones out of it with an EQ in the FX loop but not....quite........'there')

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #17 on:** April 09, 2007, 02:15:04 PM »

if you put a quad of KT88s or 6550s in an EL34 amp you'll not really get any more output. EL34s have a maximum dissipation 25w a piece whereas 6550s and KT88s (depending on what you get) are 42w each. to get the full rated power, you need an output transformer that will handle that wattage.

what you WILL get though is a tonal change - 6550s and KT88s will just give you a much lower and tighter bass with lots of punch and headroom. this sounds great if you run any kind of gain with an aggressive style. downtuners will love this too.

Newer EL34 amps will have a fairly reasonable plate voltage (450v'ish) so you're fine for running 6550s and KT88s without any modifications. 6L6 amps otoh will often have the bases wired slightly different (pin 1 used as a tie point for the bias snubber resistors) so don't plug other valves in without checking this out first.

:twisted:

BloodMountain · « **Reply #18 on:** April 09, 2007, 02:35:36 PM »

quick newbie question here, but are 6550s, EL34s, 6L6s etc. preamp or poweramp valves?

Tricalibur · « **Reply #19 on:** April 09, 2007, 03:33:27 PM »

Quote from: Skybone

All the Mat's are built from scratch to your specs, so I don't think you'd any problem getting 6550's fitted from the start. Don't know how flexible the biasing would be to swap between the two valve types (EL34's & 6550's). I'm sure if you ask nicely, they'll sort something out for you. ;)

Yeh thast pretty much what i would wnat i spose. If you go to the Emectric Amp site here; www.electricamp.com you can see they have an amp model that is 140 watts with 6550's. Thats pretty much what i want but with a GTL. Im just not sure though if I would rather have EL34's or 6550's. To get the full 140 watts out of an EL34 amp then I would need 5 -6 of the tubes AND a 140 watt transformer correct? Where as if I had 6550's I would only need about 4?

BLOODMOUNTAIN; Those are all Poweramp tubes ;].

PhilKing · « **Reply #20 on:** April 09, 2007, 05:49:44 PM »

Quote from: Tricalibur

Quote from: Skybone
All the Mat's are built from scratch to your specs, so I don't think you'd any problem getting 6550's fitted from the start. Don't know how flexible the biasing would be to swap between the two valve types (EL34's & 6550's). I'm sure if you ask nicely, they'll sort something out for you. ;)

Yeh thast pretty much what i would wnat i spose. If you go to the Emectric Amp site here; www.electricamp.com you can see they have an amp model that is 140 watts with 6550's. Thats pretty much what i want but with a GTL. Im just not sure though if I would rather have EL34's or 6550's. To get the full 140 watts out of an EL34 amp then I would need 5 -6 of the tubes AND a 140 watt transformer correct? Where as if I had 6550's I would only need about 4?

Just a quick note. Electric amps are not Matamp. Even though they look similar they are a US made amp with no ties to Matamp. To look at the Matamp site use http://www.matamp.co.uk/

the_bleeding · « **Reply #21 on:** April 09, 2007, 07:28:38 PM »

Quote from: PhilKing

Just a quick note. Electric amps are not Matamp. Even though they look similar they are a US made amp with no ties to Matamp. To look at the Matamp site use http://www.matamp.co.uk/

truesay. Electric is the american bar-stewardized version of matamp. They do loose copies which don't really sound similar to the originals; they have more of their own sound. However, the electric amp company is also a distributor of matamp products, so if you want a matamp in the US, you'd typically go to them.

Skybone · « **Reply #22 on:** April 09, 2007, 08:50:42 PM »

If you want the punch of a 6550 and the mid range growl of an EL34, why not try a set of KT77's. They're much closer to EL34's than the new E34L's and should go into an EL34 powered amp with just a minor tweak of the standard bias settings.

PhilKing · « **Reply #23 on:** April 10, 2007, 11:39:12 AM »

Quote from: the_bleeding

However, the electric amp company is also a distributor of matamp products, so if you want a matamp in the US, you'd typically go to them.

I'm pretty certain that they are not the distributor anymore. They used to be, but I believe there was a big falling out - if you look at the amps they make you can perhaps guess why!

MDV · « **Reply #24 on:** April 10, 2007, 12:44:05 PM »

Well I just got my Tungsol 6550s ordered.

Should be here tomorrow. Then biassing. Happy happy joy joy.

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #25 on:** April 10, 2007, 02:16:52 PM »

Quote from: MDV

Well I just got my Tungsol 6550s ordered.

Should be here tomorrow. Then biassing. Happy happy joy joy.

Are you biasing the amp yourself? - just making sure you know that the bias circuit will most likely need altered slightly to give the correct bias range for 6550s.

:twisted:

MDV · « **Reply #26 on:** April 10, 2007, 04:06:56 PM »

Quote from: HEAVIER THAN HELL

Quote from: MDV
Well I just got my Tungsol 6550s ordered.

Should be here tomorrow. Then biassing. Happy happy joy joy.

Are you biasing the amp yourself? - just making sure you know that the bias circuit will most likely need altered slightly to give the correct bias range for 6550s.

:twisted:

Well I was gonna, yeah. TSLs are a piece of piss to bias.

But please elaborate!

dave_mc · « **Reply #27 on:** April 10, 2007, 04:53:56 PM »

Quote from: PhilKing

Quote from: the_bleeding
However, the electric amp company is also a distributor of matamp products, so if you want a matamp in the US, you'd typically go to them.

I'm pretty certain that they are not the distributor anymore. They used to be, but I believe there was a big falling out - if you look at the amps they make you can perhaps guess why!

yeah, the "real" matamp website had something on it a while ago about the usa website not being allowed to sell/distribute matamp or something. if I remember correctly.

the_bleeding · « **Reply #28 on:** April 10, 2007, 05:39:15 PM »

Quote from: dave_mc

yeah, the "real" matamp website had something on it a while ago about the usa website not being allowed to sell/distribute matamp or something. if I remember correctly.

oh no! this means i'll never get one :(

PhilKing · « **Reply #29 on:** April 10, 2007, 06:01:13 PM »

I believe there is a new US distributor (and it is not Junior's :shock: )