Mogens
Junior Member
Posts: 54
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Post by Mogens on Aug 14, 2006 11:43:54 GMT -7
I wonder, if I should put the NOS Brimar/UK EL84 tubes in my Maz38SR top. They are expensive - £140 a quad - but highly recommended in the Watford Valves test report (http://www.watfordvalves.com/cgi-bin/documents/testreport_47.pdf) , only the NOS Mullard EL84's were slightly better, but more expensive (I have seen a quad to $400). Are the Brimar UK's worth the money ?? I guess, that if I went for "standard" in-production tubes, it would be th GT's, and then again Watford Valves recommend the Harma STR??
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Post by billyguitar on Aug 14, 2006 12:50:04 GMT -7
I can't read that. Well barely. I guess my Dell flat screen monitor doesn't like that color.
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Post by rcrecelius on Aug 14, 2006 13:11:46 GMT -7
My old CRT doesnt like it either...I had to highlight it to read it(click and drag your mouse over it).
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Mogens
Junior Member
Posts: 54
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Post by Mogens on Aug 14, 2006 13:17:45 GMT -7
Sorry for the colour choice - it's just that I love purple..Here it comes in straight black: I wonder, if I should put the NOS Brimar/UK EL84 tubes in my Maz38SR top. They are expensive - £140 a quad - but highly recommended in the Watford Valves test report (http://www.watfordvalves.com/cgi-bin/documents/testreport_47.pdf) , only the NOS Mullard EL84's were slightly better, but more expensive (I have seen a quad to $400). Are the Brimar UK's worth the money ?? I guess, that if I went for "standard" in-production tubes, it would be th GT's, and then again Watford Valves recommend the Harma STR??
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Mogens
Junior Member
Posts: 54
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Post by Mogens on Aug 14, 2006 13:18:08 GMT -7
ehhh white I mean!
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Post by billyguitar on Aug 14, 2006 13:58:16 GMT -7
These amps eat the tubes pretty quick. Doesn't make much sense to buy the expensive ones when in 6 months to a year, if you only play at home, you'll be needing to replace them. Dr Z designs his amps around current production tubes and they sound good with them. Others on here have reported the NOS tubes to be not worth the money. Groove Tubes #6 are what Dr Z uses.
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Post by quinto on Aug 14, 2006 16:39:40 GMT -7
I've tired a few different types, cheap and expensive, and come back ti the GT EL84S #6 rating.
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Post by hdahs143 on Aug 14, 2006 16:40:59 GMT -7
I concur! Groove Tubes EL-84S in a #6 rating. If you order them from Groove Tubes and mention Myles and this forum in the comments section, he'll hand pick/trace a quad for you.
As far as NOS tubes, I think it's probably better to spend you $$ on preamp and rectifier tubes that have more effect on tone shaping and last a lot longer.
Harold
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Post by guitarboy02451 on Aug 14, 2006 19:31:51 GMT -7
Ditto, GT EL84S#6. Don't waste your money...
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Post by nitehawk55 on Aug 14, 2006 19:52:35 GMT -7
Matched JJ's from a reliable source are fine too , actually I believe the GT's are JJ's but without the thorough testing GT puts them through .
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Mogens
Junior Member
Posts: 54
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Post by Mogens on Aug 21, 2006 8:10:59 GMT -7
Thanks for the advice. I ended up buying the Groove Tubes - a quad of EL84-S. Only one thing bothered me - the way Groove Tubes packs these bottles, they come in pairs in small boxes, but they were rattling and banging against each other, because the "fixation system" of these boxes does'nt work! And one of the tubes had almost no "silverfilm" or whatever on top - maybe (hopefully!) that does'nt matter?
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Post by myles on Aug 21, 2006 8:37:40 GMT -7
Thanks for the advice. I ended up buying the Groove Tubes - a quad of EL84-S. Only one thing bothered me - the way Groove Tubes packs these bottles, they come in pairs in small boxes, but they were rattling and banging against each other, because the "fixation system" of these boxes does'nt work! And one of the tubes had almost no "silverfilm" or whatever on top - maybe (hopefully!) that does'nt matter? If the silver turned white the tube broke and lost it's vacuum.
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Mogens
Junior Member
Posts: 54
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Post by Mogens on Aug 21, 2006 8:56:44 GMT -7
Well Myles, it is'nt really white, there just does'nt seem to be the full coated top, just about 40%, the rest of the top is just see-through glass ?
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Post by Telemanic on Aug 23, 2006 11:18:14 GMT -7
Hi Mogens, welcome. I'd only add that if your sole or main amp is the 38 with El84's, i agree that its probably not to cost effective to run NOS tubes, Evn if you consider that perhaps The nos may be a bit more rugged, its still an 84, and will require replacement at a much higher frequency than say a 6l6, kt66, etc. That being said, if you split your time among two or more amps, .... i do prefer some NOS brands, RCA i love, GE's are real warm, Mullards are killer! and the Doc told me his faves are the west german Valvo's! Also ive run some Telefunken 7189's, a super duty 84 , if you will. They are particularly rugged, have a little more headroom, a little louder perhaps, and may have 3 to 4 times the life of a Nos 84. But again, only you can decide if the trade off in cost is worth it, the NOS 7189's are usually more than The el84's.
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