Home > EL84 / 6BQ5 Tube Types Reviewed
Below are some initial reactions to a variety of El84s played back-to-back through a 15’ combo tube amp with a PRS guitar. We hope this distilled look at each one of these tubes will help you to make a better decision for your EL84 / 6BQ5 tubes.
Electro Harmonix EL84 -
Smooth, butterlike lows for a darker sounding EL84. You still get the crispies
but with a subtler high-mid. Highs that don’t slap you in the face.
Ei EL84 Elite Gold - Open
sounding, responsive, breathing high end with a bottom that is not flabby.
JJ EL84 - A brilliant high
gain tube with smooth and responsive lows. It's got all you want!
Sovtek EL84 - Crisp, bright
tones. Very pleasing upper mids with clarity throughout. You can't beat this great sound for such a great
price!
Sovtek EL84M - The Sovtek EL84M is a Russian military tube that has been ruggedized and sounds like it. It is a bit sterile sounding for guitar, but in Hi-Fi this tube sings. This tube is used in a lot of Matchless designs as it has a perfect sound for the Matchless point-to-point circuit. The Sovtek EL84M is not as warm as the Sovtek EL84, but it does have a bit more power and that is evident when we switched to overdrive on our combo amp. Really a great tube for Hi-Fi. It can be used in guitar applications if you like a strong clean tone.
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