are electro harmonix tubes any good?

[Gold star]

Re: are electro harmonix tubes any good?

I can't recommend their 6V6s - too many reliability problems.

some have stated EH ECC83's produce a better gain structure than JJ's in something like a Vox AC10...any thoughts?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: are electro harmonix tubes any good?

Wow, holy necrobump!

some have stated EH ECC83's produce a better gain structure than JJ's in something like a Vox AC10...any thoughts?

Different. Not better. Much brighter. Less lower mids and a deeper (and slightly looser) low-end.

 

[80's_Metal]

Re: are electro harmonix tubes any good?

I retubed my Marshall TSL with a Mullard in V1 and matched set of ehx 12ax7 and it is super quiet and sounds perfect to me. Creamy and thick and full of life.

 

[Diego]

Re: are electro harmonix tubes any good?

I've had the same set of EHX 6CA7 power tubes in my Tweaker for at least 5 years, and I'm pretty sure the cathode bias is kinda off on this amp because it cooks them compared to the stock 6V6 tubes, which just get warm in comparison.

They've been properly abused, taken to gigs, carelessly turned off directly without using the standby period from time to time, and if they've aged or degraded in any way, I can't tell.

 

[JMP/HBE]

Re: are electro harmonix tubes any good?

I've had the same set of EHX 6CA7 power tubes in my Tweaker for at least 5 years, and I'm pretty sure the cathode bias is kinda off on this amp because it cooks them compared to the stock 6V6 tubes, which just get warm in comparison.

They've been properly abused, taken to gigs, carelessly turned off directly without using the standby period, and if they've aged or degraded in any way, I can't tell.

Grid resistors spec's for 6V6 vs 6CA7 would be different i would think.

 

[Ascension]

Re: are electro harmonix tubes any good?

I love EH EL-34s and the only thing that compares to their 12AX7 is the GT 12AX7M (at 3x the price). Re-tubing my new Triamp with GTs would leave me eating ramen for a month. (11 12AX7s x $23 each = OUCH.)

The GT 12 AX 7M is utter JUNK stay far far away from them!! Yes they sound great at first but I have had a 100% fail rate with them!!! When those first came out I bought a pair to compare to the real Blackburn Mullard 12AX7's I had and found them to sound very similar so bought a bunch of them. Not ONE lasted any time they ALL failed quickly!! Stay FAR away from those!!

 

[Ascension]

Re: are electro harmonix tubes any good?

some have stated EH ECC83's produce a better gain structure than JJ's in something like a Vox AC10...any thoughts?

Have a few as have a bunch of both on hand and roll them in and out of slots in amps with some others ( Mullard RI and Tungsol in particular) to get different tones.
I find the JJ's to be dark with a softer feel and very hot in gain can be great to warm up and soften the feel of a harsh bright amp in particular. The EH is crunchier brighter and had more mids they are also IME a LOT quieter than most. The EH 12 AX7 is unusual as it has a spiral filament as a heater so they don't glow it also seems to drop the noise floor a little in very high gain amps. Have had really good luck with EH Tubes over the years many are unique to the EH line and not just rebranded tubes from other companies.

 

[dystrust]

Re: are electro harmonix tubes any good?

The GT 12 AX 7M is utter JUNK stay far far away from them!! Yes they sound great at first but I have had a 100% fail rate with them!!! When those first came out I bought a pair to compare to the real Blackburn Mullard 12AX7's I had and found them to sound very similar so bought a bunch of them. Not ONE lasted any time they ALL failed quickly!! Stay FAR away from those!!

To be fair I wrote that in 2005; I have no idea about current GT 12AX7Ms, but EHs aren't the tubes they used to be. They changed a bunch of their designs around 2008 and I can't say I care for the more recent ones. These days I use a Tung-Sol if I'm after a bright, crunchy 12AX7.

I love EH EL-34s and the only thing that compares to their 12AX7 is the GT 12AX7M (at 3x the price). Re-tubing my new Triamp with GTs would leave me eating ramen for a month. (11 12AX7s x $23 each = OUCH.)

I've had nothing but trouble with post-2008 EH EL-34s; very poor reliability in my 2555. I switched to JJ EL-34s a couple years ago and they're everything I loved about the old EHs.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: are electro harmonix tubes any good?

Wow, holy necrobump!

I died since the original thread, 3 times already.

On the topic: EHs are rather open sounding but quite okay. I prefer JJs as they are smoother and seem to last longer.

 

[Mincer]

Re: are electro harmonix tubes any good?

I liked the EH preamp tubes better than JJs. Both the JJ and EH power amp tubes (I tried 6v6s and EL84s) were good, but in different ways. BTW, this was in a Mesa.