|
Post by hikari on Oct 11, 2021 21:15:11 GMT -7
Tested a couple sets of power tubes today… maz jr 2x10 reverb.
EHX el84: Pretty neutral sounding I thought. Good bass, a little sparkly. Good air. Sounds nice I think.
JJ el84: This is a tough sounding tube. Massive bass, gritty character. Highs are not as airy or glassy.
Amperex/holland 60s el84: Glassy, smooth, sparkly. Less bass than the new tubes but a more complex character. More vox-ish than the others.
I would say the EHX tubes were the best compromise. The JJ is more Marshall flavored. But I’ll keep the amperex in there. They sound so good and bouncy. But the EHX are pretty good too I think. Can’t say I cared for the JJs that much. Next I’d like to try the Russian 6p14p tube.
|
|
|
Post by Russell B on Oct 12, 2021 3:51:31 GMT -7
I put a set of the 6n14n in one of my Maz 18s and love them.
|
|
cmrharvey
Full Member
Greater Atlanta
Posts: 103
|
Post by cmrharvey on Oct 13, 2021 4:52:06 GMT -7
Ditto the 6n14n bottle. Lasts a long time and sounds great. get extras before they're gone
|
|
|
Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Oct 13, 2021 11:16:22 GMT -7
I liked the 6n14n when my 18 came back from getting the mkii. It had a pair of Mullards in there when I got it and those sounded really good in that amp.
|
|
|
Post by easyed on Oct 13, 2021 11:58:48 GMT -7
I bought my 6p14p (6n14n) tubes from member perryr. Huge improvement over JJ's. I had to sell my MAZ Jr before we moved, so I have an unused pair of matched 6p14p that I'll sell for a reasonable price. PM me if interested.
|
|
|
Post by hikari on Oct 13, 2021 18:40:14 GMT -7
I actually already ordered a quarter of the 6p14p-k off of eBay. They are ridiculously cheap but the shipping from Ukraine to the USA will take a while. In the meantime the amperex are sounding really nice, I don’t expect the Russian tubes to be an improvement.
I also have a early 60s Mullard 12ax7 in V1 which was an improvement over stock. Been stealing tubes from my vox….pretty soon it’s gonna be empty.
|
|
|
Post by Adambomb on Oct 19, 2021 7:22:33 GMT -7
Tested a couple sets of power tubes today… maz jr 2x10 reverb. EHX el84: Pretty neutral sounding I thought. Good bass, a little sparkly. Good air. Sounds nice I think. JJ el84: This is a tough sounding tube. Massive bass, gritty character. Highs are not as airy or glassy. Amperex/holland 60s el84: Glassy, smooth, sparkly. Less bass than the new tubes but a more complex character. More vox-ish than the others. I would say the EHX tubes were the best compromise. The JJ is more Marshall flavored. But I’ll keep the amperex in there. They sound so good and bouncy. But the EHX are pretty good too I think. Can’t say I cared for the JJs that much. Next I’d like to try the Russian 6p14p tube. I switched the stock 6n14n in my Maz 18 with some vintage NOS Mullard EL84’s and man it is cream city. Much tighter lows as well, and I like the creamy highs, Of course you can’t beat the mids of NOS European tubes. I’ve only heard the Amperex can rival the Mullards, especially with chime, I’ve been told the Amperex have more highs. I will say going from the 6n14n, or JJ’s, to using NOS Mullard EL84 is a very big difference. My overdrive pedals sound night and day better, and I also use the master up at 3:00. I’ll also say the 6n14n were better than the JJ’s in my Maz, much smoother and creamier.
|
|
|
Post by hikari on Oct 19, 2021 22:35:52 GMT -7
I’ll let you know when the 6p14p tubes get here and I can try them out. Honestly, I thought the EHX weren’t bad. JJs were a big step down. I had the amperex in my vox so I knew they were special.
Iam also running a Blackburn mullard in v1 and v2. Improvement over the sovtek tube that was there. I’ve tried some American 12ax7s there too…also sounds good. Interestingly, the phase inverter doesn’t seem to gain much from using an old mullard over the sovtek.
All in all, I think the euro tubes bring it closer to the vox sound. More chime and air. The stock tubes feel more in the Marshall camp.
Full disclosure, I only use the amp with the master wide open. So, mostly clean or a little dirty. With the master less than about 75% I feel the tonality changes and it starts sounding really vox like in a bad way. Iam mostly looking for blackface or hiwatt kind of sounds.
|
|
|
Post by DRZ on Oct 20, 2021 1:19:15 GMT -7
. Next I’d like to try the Russian 6p14p tube. I switched the stock 6n14n in my Maz 18 with some vintage NOS Mullard EL84’s and man it is cream city. Much tighter lows as well, and I like the creamy highs, Of course you can’t beat the mids of NOS European tubes. I’ve only heard the Amperex can rival the Mullards, especially with chime, I’ve been told the Amperex have more highs. I will say going from the 6n14n, or JJ’s, to using NOS Mullard EL84 is a very big difference. My overdrive pedals sound night and day better, and I also use the master up at 3:00. I’ll also say the 6n14n were better than the JJ’s in my Maz, much smoother and creamier. Well I did a little research on E Bay. I found the highly coveted Mullard EL 84 CV275 rX10 Getter in a matched pair of true NOS tubes not used pulls for $275.97 and Shipping of $47.37 from the UK. I would say at that price they should have a difference . But it would be totally impractical to me for a Rock-n-Roll band. DR.Z
|
|
|
Post by hikari on Oct 20, 2021 11:59:00 GMT -7
It's true. You pay $$$$ for that last 1%. Honestly, of the tubes I tried I would be totally happy w/the EHX for the money. Haven't tried the 6p14p yet.
|
|
|
Post by perryr on Oct 20, 2021 22:18:48 GMT -7
I have a bunch of NOS euro EL84 and they are killer, no question. IMO how an EL84 sounds in a particular circuit also depends on idle current for the specific set. A low idle current set of Mullards may sound great in one amp where a high idle current set might not sound as good, or vice versa depending on what the persons ear wants to hear.
Mullard EL84 vs 6n14n are quite different from one another in tone. The Mullard is leaner, tighter in the bottom, great mids and a sweet top end. It does not have the fullness of the 6n14n, nor the beautiful sparkle up top of the 6n14n, nor does the Mullard bloom like the 6n14n when you lean into it. When you lean into a 6n14n it gets harmonic, rich and sings like none other. Sure the Mullard sings too, but not as eager to overdrive IMO. Of course if I was going for straight up rock crunch with a tight bottom, great mids and top, the Mullard would be a better choice. But if Im chasing a singing, full lead tone and warm beautiful cleans, well those 6n14n are tuff to top!
My MAZ18 MKII sounds best (to my ear) with 6n14n's, my MAZ 18 MKI sounds the coolest with a pair of lower idle current 1950's Valvos (Hamburg). For what I'm after and what my ears want to hear the Mullards are great but not my first choice in the MAZ18.
|
|
|
Post by hikari on Nov 15, 2021 21:37:38 GMT -7
Today I received some 6p14p straight from Russia.
These are good tubes…I like them. Darker and fuller than the amperex el84. Doesn’t have the same chime and sense of air as the amperex but has a fuller low end and a different maybe more Marshall like flavor. The amperex leans more vox like.
But what is really interesting about the 6p14p is the dynamics. Okay soft and it’s kind of dark and chewy….dig in and it lights up.
Honestly I could live with the 6p14p. The amperex have a glassier quality when clean that I like though.
But none of this could probably be heard in a live setting and a lot can be compensated for with the cut knob.
I’d recommend the Russian tubes especially if you play dirty and are on a budget.
|
|
|
Post by telejas on Dec 12, 2021 17:55:46 GMT -7
6N14N tubes, as recommended by Dr. Z, and what I had installed when I did the Mk.II upgrade... sound so amazing in my Maz 18 Mk.II. Now that was a night and day difference from the JJ's I originally had in there.
It's like someone took a blanket off the amp and made the top end more clear without being piercing as well as gave it a very nice sweet mid range. (and no infamous JJ tube rattle).
Those tubes are a very nice compliment to the Maz 18 Mk.II circuit... I HIGHLY recommend anyone getting these for your amp. Plus, you may never need to replace the power tubes again (or at least not for a VERY long time).
|
|
|
Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Dec 13, 2021 5:58:08 GMT -7
I use them in all of my amps that require EL84s. They’re stout little tubes for sure.
|
|
garys
New Member
Posts: 4
|
Post by garys on Jan 4, 2022 5:41:38 GMT -7
I recently bought my maz 18 junior 210, I believe it is a 2011 model. I had a problem with the tube in v2 so I though I would just start from scratch and replace them all. V1 jj ecc83s V2 jj etc 83s V3 jj etc 81 V4 sovtek 12ax7 wb V5 sovtek 12ax7 LPS V6/7 reflector series 6p14p V8 sovtek 5ar4 I bought them from the tube store which always seems to work out well and in this case never failed me... The amp sounds very good and I am glad I went through it because at one point some tubes had been changed so it gave me some piece of mind, another bonus was I was able to pull a couple nice 12ax7's out and use them for pre-amp tubes in my 71 twin. Both these amps sound great really happy with the Maz it's a real pleasure to own one...
|
|
|
Post by Adambomb on Jan 18, 2022 12:20:45 GMT -7
I paid $150 for a matched set of NOS Mullard EL84 rX2’s. I think they were worth this price, especially if they last awhile, as they usually do. But I’ll never buy another set, this was a one time thing to just try out some NOS European EL84’s. They are much closer to the 6n14n tubes that Z uses than I expected. Did some more AB’ing today… and results are still the same.. My overdrive pedals do sound better with the creamy Mullard mids, but I like the 6n14n cleans and edgy tones better. Mullards have tighter lows, but the 6N’s have a musical bloom that’s really nice. The 6n’s are more complex due to the chime highs. If the Mullards had those chimey highs, then they would probably sound more like an Amperex.
|
|