Author Topic: Differences Between EL34 and 6550... (Read 37697 times)

Tricalibur · « **on:** April 05, 2007, 07:23:33 PM »

So im pretty sure I want a Matamp GTL custom 140 watt guitar head and im just wondering what the tonal differences are between EL34's and 6550's. Ive heard people say that the 6550's are more 'fogged' or bassy and that EL34's have more 'bite' and midrange grind, but what does all of that mean? I relay am looking to get the tone of 'The Sword' or 'Heavy lord' and im pretty sure both of those bands use Matamp or Orange amps. Most likely with EL34's in the power section, but i want something that will eb a little bit different form the proto-typical stoner / doom amp so im thinkin 6550's will be what i want. PLus you get more wattage.

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #1 on:** April 05, 2007, 09:20:00 PM »

6550s have a lower & tighter bass response than EL34s, there is nothing foggy/blurred about them at all. think tight, punchy and lots of headroom.

EL34s have more compression and forward midrange presenatation.

I personally like 6550s for all metal styles, they're just ballsier.

:twisted:

hunter · « **Reply #2 on:** April 05, 2007, 10:32:01 PM »

Well think of 6550s to be in the Engl/Recto corner and EL34 in the Marshall/Orange ballpark.

As HTH said, for some metal styles, 6550s are better, but this is not a must, as there are metal tones that do have mids aplenty.

Would the option just be the stock tubes or a different amp configuration? If it's just the tubes why not buy it with 6550s and get a set of EL34s right after to swap and try?

the_bleeding · « **Reply #3 on:** April 06, 2007, 12:06:12 AM »

6550 : american
el34 : british

thats how it was described to me.

el34's have lower headroom, so they saturate and compress alot faster than 6550's. They have less bass definition and less overall clarity. (clarity 90% depends on the amp itself though.) When they break up, it gets VERY compressed and sounds kinda fuzzy... my friend described it to me as being like 70's rock when they were playing small non master volume amps set to full volume.

6550's have way deeper bass (they can be used in bass amps), more top end bite, more headroom so your preamp supplies most of the distortion. They're also amazingly tight and clear. Peavey 5150's have them. Random fact: they were hendrix's fav tube.

in my opinion, i'd take 6550's for metal and el34's more for a rock situation. Though if you like poweramp breakup with 6550's, be ready to kill some small animals with your volume :twisted:

amps with el34's: marshalls... except for the late 80's early 90's designed ones... like the jcm900.
some oranges use them... but orange likes to switch alot between el34's, el84's, 6550's, 6v6's and kt88's... depends what you specify.
So compressed sound, lots of mids.

Amps with 6550's... ampeg bass amps... peavey 5150... not alot of people use them. Mesa and Engl both use either 6l6's or el34's, and alot of companies are also using 6v6's. I'll look around and try and find more amps that use them.

Eric · « **Reply #4 on:** April 06, 2007, 05:55:11 AM »

One small correction, Peavey 5150 amps use 6L6 tubes not 6550 tubes.

But apart from that what was said above is sound advice.

Skybone · « **Reply #5 on:** April 06, 2007, 11:11:20 PM »

Unfortunately, Matamp no longer make the GTL head, but do a combined GTO/GTL head in one box, the GT1. It's been getting some very good reviews from the Matamp users.

the_bleeding · « **Reply #6 on:** April 07, 2007, 10:55:54 PM »

Quote from: Eric

One small correction, Peavey 5150 amps use 6L6 tubes not 6550 tubes.

But apart from that what was said above is sound advice.

damn i could have SWORN they used 6550's... i never knew an amp with 6l6's could sound so tight...

noodleplugerine · « **Reply #7 on:** April 07, 2007, 11:31:44 PM »

Quote from: the_bleeding

Quote from: Eric
One small correction, Peavey 5150 amps use 6L6 tubes not 6550 tubes.

But apart from that what was said above is sound advice.

damn i could have SWORN they used 6550's... i never knew an amp with 6l6's could sound so tight...

ENGL Powerball ring any bells?

Eric · « **Reply #8 on:** April 08, 2007, 01:12:52 AM »

Actually most high gain amps seem to use 6L6 tubes. The Mesa Rectifiers, Engl Powerball, Peavey Triple XXX and 6505 (used to be the 5150) all use 6L6 tubes.

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #9 on:** April 08, 2007, 01:25:05 PM »

Quote from: Eric

Actually most high gain amps seem to use 6L6 tubes. The Mesa Rectifiers, Engl Powerball, Peavey Triple XXX and 6505 (used to be the 5150) all use 6L6 tubes.

Soldano do too. Off the top of my head, only VHT use 6550s as standard though I'm sure there are others.

noodleplugerine · « **Reply #10 on:** April 08, 2007, 02:22:11 PM »

Engl Invaders use EL34s if I remember right.

And how about KT88s - How do they sound?

Tricalibur · « **Reply #11 on:** April 08, 2007, 07:15:13 PM »

Quote from: Skybone

Unfortunately, Matamp no longer make the GTL head, but do a combined GTO/GTL head in one box, the GT1. It's been getting some very good reviews from the Matamp users.

Yeh thats probably what id end up getting if they couldnt buld me on from scratch. Im thinkin that if I got 6550's the amp config would have to be changed as well so im not sure if it oculd eb enterchangeable between the the two tube types.

the_bleeding · « **Reply #12 on:** April 08, 2007, 08:46:16 PM »

Quote from: noodleplugerine

And how about KT88s - How do they sound?

kt88's are the uber tube. They take their own socket (5-10$ mod to your amp) and have a super high current draw so they might not be compatible with your transformer. They're probably the biggest bottle powertube out there... From what i've read, theyre the british 6550. But they have WAY more current draw and have REDICULOUS headroom. They're loved by hifi amp people because they just dont $%&#ing break up. If you want enough clean headroom to kill kittens, this is the tube for you. Personally, if i had an amp and wanted to use kt88's, i'd only use a pair of them and not a full quartet... oh and one last thing.. they will cut a hole in your wallet.

Skybone · « **Reply #13 on:** April 08, 2007, 11:09:43 PM »

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. ;)

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #14 on:** April 09, 2007, 01:05:35 AM »

Quote from: the_bleeding

Quote from: noodleplugerine

And how about KT88s - How do they sound?

kt88's are the uber tube. They take their own socket (5-10$ mod to your amp) and have a super high current draw so they might not be compatible with your transformer. They're probably the biggest bottle powertube out there... From what i've read, theyre the british 6550. But they have WAY more current draw and have REDICULOUS headroom. They're loved by hifi amp people because they just dont #$%!& break up. If you want enough clean headroom to kill kittens, this is the tube for you. Personally, if i had an amp and wanted to use kt88's, i'd only use a pair of them and not a full quartet... oh and one last thing.. they will cut a hole in your wallet.

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: