Some dude mentioned EL84’s don’t have enough ass?

It took 5 EL84 based amps for me to realize it's just not a tube character that I like. Cant say I hate EL84's per se' but they are my least favorite power tube and I have tried them in many different types of amps. Every lower wattage amp I have owned that has 6v6's pleased my ears and hands much better so it's not just volume or perceived volume. When my Pink Taco worked properly that was probably my favorite EL84 amp but still missing mojo IMO.
 
Bob Zaod said:
It took 5 EL84 based amps for me to realize it's just not a tube character that I like. Cant say I hate EL84's per se' but they are my least favorite power tube and I have tried them in many different types of amps. Every lower wattage amp I have owned that has 6v6's pleased my ears and hands much better so it's not just volume or perceived volume. When my Pink Taco worked properly that was probably my favorite EL84 amp but still missing mojo IMO.
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It depends, for me. The Orange OR15 is fantastic, as is a good Vox AC15. But those amps are built around that power section.
 
Sascha Franck said:
I don't think it's about the amount of low end but about the tightness of the low end. And EL84 equipped amps often tend to "give in", become "squishy" or "sag" earlier than those with EL34s or, even more so, 6L6s.
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I'd say that again depends on the circuit. I used to have a very saggy parallel single ended amp and running it with a single octal vs single El84 vs El84 + octal didn't change any of that. The circuit was apparently reminiscent of a Trainwreck Express.
 
i would at least be polite when telling the new guy his EL84 amp isnt gonna cut it, like id make sure to tell him how great it sounds and what a perfect match it is for his side project before telling him dont come back with that fucking thing, im sure he would respect the kindness
 
laxu said:
I don't get the EL84 hate. Hate the circuit, not the tube.

My take is that guitar doesn't need a ton of low end. My last EL84 amp was the Victory VC35 and that had the right amount of beef to it. Boosted with the right drive it did do higher gain tones rather well too.

I'd rather have an amp that is a bit lean on lows than something so tubby it's hard to dial it out.
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Totally agree it’s all about the circuit not the tube.

I don’t get it either. I don’t think I ever heard anyone hate el84s until Mesa started using them in cheap mini versions of its high gain amps. And then guys started complaining they don’t sound good for low end chugging with high gain.

But to me that’s like taking a Corvette rock crawling and complaining that Corvettes suck because they’re not good on high clearance 4wd roads
 
It's not just about the circuit, though, is it? EL84s will simply not have the wattage and headroom of EL34s/6L6s... or
for the love of god KT88s or 6550s within the same circuit.

I have a few amps with EL84s. I don't hate them. I also don't expect them to do what they can't either. :idk
 
la szum said:
It's not just about the circuit, though, is it? EL84s will simply not have the wattage and headroom of EL34s/6L6s... or
for the love of god KT88s or 6550s within the same circuit.

I have a few amps with EL84s. I don't hate them. I also don't expect them to do what they can't either. :idk
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Of course, but the circuit does have a big impact. A DC30 has a way bigger and tighter low end than an AC15.

I think transformers play a big role here
 
I like EL84s in a quad. Vox AC30, Peavey Classic 50. Good amps.
I'm not a big fan of amps with 2 84s, especially with a high gain preamp. Although the Friedman 20 Watters are OK for low to mid volume playing. The old 18w Marshalls were cool too.

But when you take a dual EL84 power amp and match it with something like a Mesa high gain front end, ugh no thanks 😑
 
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