KT-77s Anybody here tried them? Other tube questions as well.

[Rockstar216]

I was looking at different EL34 offerings and came across the Gold Lion KT-77s. They are expensive but look and sound promising and are supposed to be a direct replacement for EL34s.

Also I was looking at some 12AX7s and so far I'm looking towards Svetlana's, Tung-Sols, and some called "Preferred Series" from thetubestore web site.

Any info and recommendation are welcomed.

 

[trevorus]

Re: KT-77s Anybody here tried them? Other tube questions as well.

They should be relatively close in specs, and they can handle a wide range of voltages, so they should be fine in most modern guitar amps. Be sure to get the amp biased!

 

[marvar]

Re: KT-77s Anybody here tried them? Other tube questions as well.

I have used them in my Marshall, the JJ version. Nice tube, big sound, more hi-fi sounding. A little more headroom before breakup. Also a little more 'thunk' out of the speakers. The JJ versions seem to be a bit more physically delicate than say, an EL34, or 6L6.
Also, they are a big bigger (taller) than EL34s, so if you are using a head, make sure you have enough clearance for them.

 

[Bludave]

Re: KT-77s Anybody here tried them? Other tube questions as well.

I had KT77's in my Komet when I bought it. The Komet 60 can handle just about any power tubes, but when I bought the amp a few years ago it had the KT77's. About a year ago I had them replaced with a set of Svetlana EL34's. The 34's I find to be a little cleaner sounding now that I have the amp dialed pretty much where I like it. In fact I A/B my Komet with a Shiva & I hardly ever use the cleans on the Shiva. The Shiva cleans are more Fenderish by comparison. The Reverb is superb BUT the Komet just kills everything I have compared it to. The way I use the amp is I keep it set for a fairly clean setting with single coils & humbuckers just push it just a tad more into slight overdrive. If I back the volume off on the guitar it cleans up beautifully and sparkles with the best Marshally cleans I have heard. When I need drive I switch over to the Shiva.

The way I would describe KT77's is they are somewhere in between the EL34 & 6L6 tone. I also have the Komet hooked up to a Marshall 4 12" with greenbacks which is absolutely the right speaker to use with this wonderful amp. Now that I have had both I would probably keep the EL34's. There is just something magical about how everything shimmers with these tubes.

 

[Bludave]

Re: KT-77s Anybody here tried them? Other tube questions as well.

I have a set of Bugle boy 12 AX7's in my Komet. But when it comes to proper tubes I just leave it up to my amp tech. I dont really know that much about them. He starts telling me about plate voltage & stuff like that then he realizes he is wasting his breath. I haven't got a clue what any of that means. I just tell himn to make my amp sound good...... and he does.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: KT-77s Anybody here tried them? Other tube questions as well.

I had KT77's in my Komet when I bought it.

The way I would describe KT77's is they are somewhere in between the EL34 & 6L6 tone.

That sounds like the place where I might find my tone!

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: KT-77s Anybody here tried them? Other tube questions as well.

The Tung-Sol RI EL-34s are supposed to have a hint of 6L6 flavor in their tone as well, so that also might be something to consider.

 

[richard parker]

Re: KT-77s Anybody here tried them? Other tube questions as well.

I'm on my second set of Tung Sol EL34s. I had a redplating issue with the first set but this was the amp's fault, not the tubes - I had to re-tension the sockets. They are GREAT tubes and markedly superior to the original tubes.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: KT-77s Anybody here tried them? Other tube questions as well.

I've tried JJ KT77s and to me they sounded possibly the closest to the original broken-in Tesla EL-34s in my JCM900 from back when I bought it. In my experience, the JJ KT77s had earlier and more gradual break up and a much smoother sound and smoother top end than the Svetlana EL34s in there now.