I have come to the conclusion that I hate

JeffB

JeffB

Let it B
EL84s.

No matter what kind of preamp they are matched with. Vox and derivatives. Marshall class 5 or 18/20 watters, Orange's newer tinys and low watt amps, Tubemeisters,even Fender Blues Jr.s and Peavey Classics.

Its kinda like P90s for me. I really enjoy the sound of them on records, or when other people play them, but when its me plugged into them, I just cannot jive. I do not like the chime/glassy topend or breakup/pushed sound of 84s. And there is no way to stifle that chime, or get the wooliness out.. some brands of el84s are better than others, but they all have it.


And thus, I am needing to sell my current two amps, and to be moving on to better things.
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

I know the feeling. I went through 5 lunchboxes, in 2 years. They just never felt quite right. You are not alone.

After I sold the Jim Root, TT. I bought a Pittbull 50/CL and could not be happier.
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

+1. I have never really got on with EL84 amps either. Give me 6V6s for that power range or a lower power 6L6 or EL34 circuit.
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

+1 ... mostly! :)

The OP could have definitely been written by me, as I hate the sound of my playing through P90's ... for EL84's ... I GENERALLY agree. There are a couple of EL84 based amps that I think sound tremendous, though:

Dr Z Prescription Jr
Dr Z Maz 18 Jr
EAST Amplification Club 18
Komet K 19

2 things that I think these amps get right/have in common --

I. The midrange is BALLSY and not thin/over-pronounced
II. Lack of fizz

I am sure there are other amplifiers that are just as good, but in my experience, these amps are at the top of the heap for EL84 amps. Another thing about these amps is that I would not consider them 'lunchbox' amps, regardless of their power output. They behave just like their higher wattage siblings, and clearly they were designed for their tone and touch sensitivity first and the wattage second, not vice-versa, which I think is the primary problem with the 'lunchbox' craze right now. There are too many amplifier companies thinking it through bass-ackwards.
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

I only call them lunchboxes because of the size. All of them I have had will fit on top of a 1x12 cabinet. They're not much bigger than a lunchbox.
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

karpathion said:
I only call them lunchboxes because of the size. All of them I have had will fit on top of a 1x12 cabinet. They're not much bigger than a lunchbox.
Click to expand...
I'm not knocking your usage of the term; s'all good! In fact, if you use size ONLY as an indicator, NONE of the amps I mentioned in my post qualify as lunchbox amps, though they are all < 20W.
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

Had a Mesa DC-3 combo a while ago, was pumped to get it, then i grew to hate the distortion rather quickly.
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

I still get along with el84s... in a good amp they have a sweet spot that isn't too distorted/wooly/mushy/chimey, but still has some of those qualities. I've learned to like that kind of sound as it seems to go well with 60s and 70s rock which is my main thing right now. For me the sweet spot isn't when cranked, it's often when the master is between 1/2 and 2/3 up. Not too much preamp gain as the el84s take over! it's a great boon to have at least some real power tube compression and distortion at home without blowing the doors off. It sounds a lot better to me than running a 50W amp with the master on 1/4.

yup...pushing 40, 50, or 100+ watts into saturation is too loud for me... so I make do and all the while wish I had a Orange OD120 and a 4x12... someday I know I'll want to go back to bigger amps when I can take advantage of them.

But yeah JeffB I hope you find what you like!
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

Just gotta say that Captain Crunch loves all three of my EL84 amps...:D

Best wishes on the new search. Always a fun journey looking for a new amp!
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

I wish more companies would start using 1 fullsize octal tube, with an auto biasing feature. Lunchbox type amps would be so much better if you could switch between EL-34, 6L6, KT-88 etc.
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

Gearjoneser said:
I wish more companies would start using 1 fullsize octal tube, with an auto biasing feature. Lunchbox type amps would be so much better if you could switch between EL-34, 6L6, KT-88 etc.
Click to expand...

I will see your wish and raise you: more amps with balanced triodes in the power stage in push pull! :)
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

I have been a tried and true 6L6 man for most of my life.
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

I feel the same.. My PV classic 30 is a great all around amp, but doesnt have the gain I prefer. And most of the lunchboxes sound good but not great. The EL84s sound too dark to me. I put el34s in my tweaker and it sounds good, but seems to have lost alot of the versatility.. I wish I had the $$ for a soldano hot rod 25
 
Last edited:
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

I like some EL-84 designs like the Vox AC-15, but they're a bit limited for my taste. For that slightly pushed clean thing I think they're hard to beat, but really driven they always turn into that woofy, compressed mess. I thought I was an English amps fan for years... nothing, but Marshalls and Voxes, but I eventually found 6L6 Fenders just fit my playing style and I wouldn't trade it for anything else.
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

Play a proper AC30 at full throttle sometime and see if you don't feel differently.

I do agree with you for the most part though. Always been a 6V6 guy when it comes to the smaller amps.

This one sounds pretty fricking good to me though, and it's only 15watts:


http://texamps.com/colin_cripps.php
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

Jeff, I am quickly finding myself disliking the EL84 vibe as well. This is why I am looking for something 6v6 in my next amp. Don't have much experience with 6v6's, but I was pleased with what little exp. I do have with em.

I do generally much prefer any of the bigger bottles to EL84s. The crunch of EL34s, the big growl of 6L6s, or the big huge clear soundstage of the KT varieties. All of them are preferable to the chime and woofiness of EL84s.

They're nice for cleans, decent for warm bluesy stuff, passable for rock tones, and just unbearable for high gain stuff. Sadly, most of what I play falls into the latter three categories.
 
Re: I have come to the conclusion that I hate

the bogner atma sounds pretty sweet.


 
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