The JJ "EL844" tubes...

[Erlend_G]

I'm reading all around the "internets" now about the JJ EL844 tube.

Marketed as a "El84 replacement, that will give you less wattage, earlier breakup, and is a direct fit".

...

Sounds like something I could have an use for. But different people on different forums etc. have different opinions.

What are your thoughts about this?

I always run my 20w Blackstar on the "2watt" setting, and even then, it's too loud to crank- as I live wall-to-wall with a neighbor in an apartment.

Thank you for any answers and replies.

-Erlend

[FuseG4]

I dunno if I would ever switch, I like the headroom of 2 el84 in full power sometimes. If you use your amp in 2W all the time I would strongly consider it. They're not expensive right?

[AlexR]

Anybody who is home player is most likely to love these tubes if they do what they say....... unless you're in a house where you are alone, have no neighbours, or your live-ins don't mind tinnitus.

[St_Genesius]

I'd never heard of those, but I just ordered a pair. Worth trying.

But if I were living in an apt, I think I would be focused pretty much entirely on modeling: whether that's one of the several very impressive practice amps out there or a more purely software options.

These things are supposed to offer, what, about 25% less headroom? Even on the most ambitious scale, that's not the difference between getting evicted for noise and not.

[JMP/HBE]

Slovak Marketing ...

[Erlend_G]

Yeah... well...

Some people wrote, that the amp would need to be biased differently, for these tubes to work properly.

I can only reach power-amp breakup (at the 2 watt setting) while both my next-door neighbors are away;
that's maybe once a week, an hour of two, if I stay at home while they're gone.*

That's one thing that sucks about apartment complex living...

I do really like my amp though (not to say, I don't love it), the clean channel is really "dull" compared to a Fender,
and the OD channel sounds rather "generic" until you get the power-amp breakup "bite" going.

But it's a great, budget "at home" amp, I'm happy I could afford it at all.

(My plan was to get a Fender Princeton, until half my savings were stolen by meth-heads).



-Erl

[Rex_Rocker]

They're not great. They're marginally quieter. Kinda. Sorta. But the first thing to notice with them is the tone difference. They're "smaller-sounding", meaning less highs and lows and more squishy mids.

You do need to bias them accordingly. Colder for sure compared to actual EL84's.

If you dig regular JJ EL84's, you might be fine. I don't, personally. They've got lots going on in the low mids with kinda laid-back upper mids, which makes them kinda dull, stuffy, and blunt compared to other EL84's IME. Not particularly bright or deep either. These follow the same footprint, but even moreso, IME.

[FuseG4]

You're better off with your ht20 than a Princeton for now until you can play louder more often! My neighbors live 150 meters away at least
I'm sure they can hear when I get my PR crunchy. Needs an Attenuator for apartments if you want any dirt
Thank goodness the amp sounds good for at least some kind of playing no matter what volume it is set at!

[Erlend_G]

I still haven't bought replacement tubes for my HT-20mkII.

As I mentioned, it's an amp I've learnt to love.

I think! it has TAD stock tubes in it;

Some day I will buy a replacement set; hopefully something that will bring out the "life" and "chime" of it;
seeing that it often sounds a bit "dull" to my ears .

I've lost interest in the "EL844's" after I read about the bias issues;
and further reviews.

Thank you

-Erlend

[AlexR]

You'll have 'bias issues' with whatever you buy. As in you will have to rebias with new tubes anyhow.

[Rex_Rocker]

Yes, regardless of what tubes you put in it, you need to rebias it accordingly if the amp has an adjustable fixed bias.

There are many TAD relabeled tubes, but IME, TAD EL84-STR's are the clearest, least stuffy, most open-sounding EL84's I've tried. My EVH can easily get too low-middy, especially with the stock JJ's, but even with the brighter Sovteks or EHX's. Only the TAD's have made it sound manageable without too much stuffiness. So if you still think your amp is dull with those, I really wouldn't know what else to recommend.

[Erlend_G]

You'll have 'bias issues' with whatever you buy. As in you will have to rebias with new tubes anyhow.

Okay.

I don't know if my amp has adjustable bias;
or if I'll have to buy tubes, that "fit" the amp. :o

Tried to contact Blackstar, but I couldn't find an email adress. Just a huge bunch of "FAQ's". :/

Thanks for the replies.

[JMP/HBE]

They're not great. They're marginally quieter. Kinda. Sorta. But the first thing to notice with them is the tone difference. They're "smaller-sounding", meaning less highs and lows and more squishy mids.

You do need to bias them accordingly. Colder for sure compared to actual EL84's.

If you dig regular JJ EL84's, you might be fine. I don't, personally. They've got lots going on in the low mids with kinda laid-back upper mids, which makes them kinda dull, stuffy, and blunt compared to other EL84's IME. Not particularly bright or deep either. These follow the same footprint, but even moreso, IME.

Dull/stuffy/blunt adequately describes every JJ product ive ever tried along with arching/sparking & popping. Crap-o-la. Yet some people still rave about them, go figure. But some people rave about vaping and Heroin so ....

[FuseG4]

The amp is cathode bias so no need to worry about power tube bias. The ht40 mkii is adjustable fixed bias but the 20 mk II is cathode bias

[FuseG4]

Dull/stuffy/blunt adequately describes every JJ product ive ever tried along with arching/sparking & popping. Crap-o-la. Yet some people still rave about them, go figure. But some people rave about vaping and Heroin so ....

You know I'm starting to feel the same way about JJ tubes

They can be dependable and some people love the sounds but I think the ecc83s is pretty stifled sounding, the 6v6 has a deeper darker voice with more headroom and that's almost never what I want from a 2 6v6 fender amp. But! I can see many people wanting that.
And I've used the el84 a few times and they are reliable it seems but little nasal. Bright and crunchy when really going which is some people's bag but... This last time I bought el84s I tried mullard new production and they have less mids but a really pleasant warmth. Hard to describe as always but they are very musical and seem well balanced.

Used to be able to get Japanese el84s for cheap but the internet found out and scooped them up. I might try those Russian 6p14p-ev sometime. They seem popular right now but is it all marketing?


I haven't tried the frame grid JJ e88cc/12ax7, am interested in seeing if it is better than the ecc83s. To be honest I've never tried the long plate one either the 803cc or whatever but that's because sovtek lps has been good to me the few times I've sought out long plates