EL84 / 6BQ5 Tube Types Reviewed

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.

For maximum performance and longevity, vacuum tubes should always be stored and transported in a safe and secure fashion. The TubeCube and the TubeCube Pro provide a customizable shock-resistant environment for your tubes and helps prevent them from becoming microphonic or damaged.

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