Tube Tone Test Take 2

Well my last thread of tube test wasn't a very accurate portrayal of the tubes I tested. This time I have everything squared down. The amp I'm using is a Baron Custom Amps K88 Custom and the DI tracks I'm using are from the Guitar Tracks from Guitar Tone Competition 3 by JeffTD.

Here's the tubes I'm using.



The amp's settings were all set to noon. Even the master so it was loud as **** in here.

Alright, I'm going to organize this as best I can.

I recorded using 1 guitar from the DIs and two guitars form the DIs.

Here's the set of tracks with the single guitar.

Ruby EL34BHT
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/Tube Tone Test/EL34 Single Tone Test.mp3

JJ E34L
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/Tube Tone Test/E34L Single Tone Test.mp3

JJ KT88
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/Tube Tone Test/JJ KT88 Single Tone Test.mp3

EHX KT88
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/Tube Tone Test/EHX Single KT88 Tone Test.mp3

JJ KT66
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/Tube Tone Test/JJ KT66 Single Tone Test.mp3

Now here's the set of tracks with dual guitars.

Ruby EL34BHT
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/Tube Tone Test/EL34 Tone Test.mp3

JJ E34L
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/Tube Tone Test/E34L Tone Test.mp3

JJ KT88
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/Tube Tone Test/JJ KT88 Tone Test.mp3

EHX KT88
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/Tube Tone Test/EHX KT88 Tone Test.mp3

JJ KT66
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/Tube Tone Test/JJ KT66 Tone Test.mp3

Some of the last few clips don't start till 5 seconds in. Sorry about that.

Any how, I how this is more helpful and if you guys want WAV clips for an even more accurate representation let me know.

I thought that there would be more difference than that but they all sounded good. They seemed to get a touch deeper going from the top to bottom. I guess it helps to have a good tone to start with.

Any of those tubes would work for me. I haven't had the chance to really get the master up about 3 or 4 in a while now so the earlier breakup of the 34's wouldn't bother me.

This just proves a point. If you're not pushing the power tubes into distortion it doesn't matter what you're using. I couldn't tell the difference between the EL34s and the KT88s. I went straight from the EL34s to the KT88s.

The KT88s with their massive headroom should simply last longer because you're not anywhere near going into distortion with them whereas you may be getting closer to it with the EL34s.... in theory. But for most applications I think the differences we're hearing in power tubes is psychological. We're expecting to hear them so we do.

So if you want to hear power tube saturation and distortion you should use 6v6 and EL84s, especially if you're not going to be loud enough to hear it. If you're playing 80s and 70s stuff you'd probably do better with something like a Marshall Class 5 through a 412 at a gig, and you'll still get told to turn down.

IME with the JVM, the power tubes didn't go into distortion until around 3:00 on the MV which was really really really loud. I don't think you could push the KT88s into distortion even with the MV maxed. But for all practical purposes, the difference in tone between the power tubes = snake oil.

I went with 6550s with Late Distortion (I told Doug equivalent of GT rating of 10) simply that they should be a stronger tube.... in theory. I just want the **** things to last. They'll be a year old on Sept 1. That's a record. Honestly, the only difference I've heard between these and the EL34s that came with the amp is that the 6550s have lasted 4 times longer. Tonally, none.

I could hear the difference in all of them. The differences are subtle, but different enough to know I didn't like the JJEL34L. Also, when I get another power amp, the Rubys will be my 1st choice.

I listened to both single and double track clips. To me, the proof is in the single track clips. Honestly, I was surprised I could hear as much difference as I did.

I did hear a difference, I can't decide if it's more or less than what I expected from these tube differences.

The EHX seems way more scooped, I agree with SacredGroove, don't like the JJ EL34L.
It seems a bit less defined or something, can't quite pinpoint what it is.
But I hear it more in the double tracks ..

It's a matter of how anal do you want to be.
There's much more dramatic tone changes to be had with speaker changes.
But once you've done that and want to tweak into perfection this is one of the things to look at.

Now I'd only like to see a few 6L6's.
I'm very curious of the difference between that and the KT88's

Loving the comparisons

I can hear a shift in the midrange mostly, and hear a little more low end in the KT88's. Definitely thinking that power tube differences are more noticeable when you actually EQ an amp as well, because some tubes seem to like certain EQs better than others.

Time to listen to the rest of them

Shinozoku said:

Loving the comparisons

I can hear a shift in the midrange mostly, and hear a little more low end in the KT88's. Definitely thinking that power tube differences are more noticeable when you actually EQ an amp as well, because some tubes seem to like certain EQs better than others.

Time to listen to the rest of them

Click to expand...

Yep, what you are missing here it the interaction between the pre and power section.
You could see that as "fair" but on the other hand, you *will* tweak your preamp to work best with whatever tubes are in your poweramp in the real world.. so maybe that's more accurate.

My fuckin' ears are mush after this weekend...I've been all over the tube scene lately so this thread grabbed my interest...Unfortunately, I didn't hear a big difference in tone at all...But I'm on computer speakers with a hangover and just the slightest hint of stoniness remaining no doubt clouding my audio receptors....Will check again tomorrow when I can think straight...

I like the 88s a lot here...34s seem to have the naturally compressed feel which is also good for some Marshally & lead applications

great thread

Agreed Ray...This thread is awesome and thanks for taking the time to do all that Kyle!

Sure thing guys.

This test was just settings all at noon on the amp. If you were to dial in each type of power tube the tone change is drastic. I played with each for about 1-2 hours. Dialing in tones and I feel they are all significant.

If you want to hear an example of what I'm talking about check this out. This is a post I did on another forum but a lot of people were anal because I dialed my settings in when I have KT88s in. "Real comparisons are done at all settings at 12 o clock" "The EL34s didn't have a fair advantage" blah blah blah.

Anyhow if you listen to these you will see a much more drastic comparison between JJKT88s and Ruby EL34s.

This thread is going to be a thread for people who are interested in EL34s and KT88s. I would do 6L6s to since I know they are quite popular but I don't have any that I particularly like so KT88s and EL34s it is.

I pulled a few clips out of my *** that I think most people would enjoy. I did the heavy side and the bluesy side. Now before you listen I am not very good at blues to cut me some slack but I think it's worth listening too. I didn't do drums for the heavy clips since I feel you can hear the comparison much better without all the **** in the background and hell I just didn't feel like putting drums together so what ever. :haha:

I hope people get a bit out of this as I think it is interesting.

Our Contenders -



Amp -



Settings -





Ect. -






"Alright Kyle, shut up. Clips or it's an MG with t00bs"

Clips -

Heavy Stuff

KT88 - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/KT88 Heavy Side.mp3

EL34 - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/EL34 Heavy Side.mp3

Bluesy Stuff -

KT88 - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/KT88 Blues Side.mp3

EL34 - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3602793/EL34 Blues Side.mp3

Hope you guys enjoy it.

Oh yeah! Signal chain.

Ibanez SA160 (JB in bridge) - ISP - Amp - Mesa Traditional 4x12 - SM57 - Lambda Interface.

All my cables are Lava Cables.

Click to expand...

m0jo said:

Yep, what you are missing here it the interaction between the pre and power section.
You could see that as "fair" but on the other hand, you *will* tweak your preamp to work best with whatever tubes are in your poweramp in the real world.. so maybe that's more accurate.

Click to expand...

Good point. Maybe another comparison should be made with the eq set to 7-8, or even dimed. Then both tests could be compared together to find the ranges of each tube and how they react with more current.

SacredGroove said:

m0jo said:

Yep, what you are missing here it the interaction between the pre and power section.
You could see that as "fair" but on the other hand, you *will* tweak your preamp to work best with whatever tubes are in your poweramp in the real world.. so maybe that's more accurate.

Click to expand...

Good point. Maybe another comparison should be made with the eq set to 7-8, or even dimed. Then both tests could be compared together to find the ranges of each tube and how they react with more current.

Click to expand...

that's a great idea. So rather than making a statement that "tube X sounds better", we would be better able to state that "tube X sounds better at....."

It will be interesting to hear if a tube that sounds less than stellar 12 o'clock suddenly wakes up as the other tubes are disintegrating to mush at another setting

Well that's what I'm talking about in my last post. A lot of people liked the KT88s in the last post because I dialed in my tone using the KT88s. The EL34s might have sounded better if I dialed them in a bit differently.

This is a good comparison. Nice job. I find that power tubes just change the "seasoning" a little bit. Kinda like adding a little salt to the recipe. Not huge change, just a little audible spice. The big difference I find is in the feel of the each type of tube when played at higher volume. 34's sag in the mids, 6L6s get real round on top and big on the low end, 88's and 6550s have a bloom in the highs and mids and a tighter low end, albeit much later on the master vol knob. Speakers make a huge difference too as to what you hear and feel. A V30 will accentuate different frequencies of an output section than 65 or a GB25, etc.. So many variables.

You know, this thing is a money pit. You usually can compensate for the response changes with an EQ. Too scooped? either reduce the highs and lows or boost the mids.

But then my ears aren't like you kids' ears. I've lost a down to 14 kHz on my left ear and pretty much all the mids in my right ear. This is not from physical environment. So to me I couldn't tell much of a difference at all. Definitely not $100 difference worth for a quad.

In the end this tone chasing is futile, IMO. You're only going to spend money. Yes you help create jobs, but not in this country anymore. You get to a point where you just want to play with no fuss no muss.

The only thing I hear between power tubes is that some are harsher than others. This is not something I can tell from speakers on my computer, and some sound a little dark. But in the end it's about EQ.

The other day everything sounded loud and harsh. So there you go.

MTS is a money pit for sure....Julia is totally right about making EQ adjustments as having the biggest impact on tone...I guess the tone chasers out there (such as myself) like to get the best "organic" sound from the amp...I know some guys that would rather spend a few hundred on tubes and go straight into the amp and would view an EQ as witchcraft or trickery....

The most trickery seems to be the day to day variation of the human ear....most people have good and bad tone days.

I swear I've put a tube in one day and thought it sounded godly then come back a few days later and thought it sounded off..switched 'em back around and heard no difference..LOL

My ears are shot...both are sub 15k no idea about any missing bands....I still hear a lot of stuff as 'too harsh'...but then again I don't often turn up the volume to get that smooth, sweet compression that tubes (and ears) are known for...

I'm done sinking money into my rig....as anyone who's noticed what I've been selling off lately will realize...there are core tones I love and I will still occasionally look at what the modders are putting out but I'm done with gear.

I've also tried various EQs and effects on my tone...can never get along with 'em...there's always something it changes in the feel/sound, usually in a negative way..or at least in a way that the positive effect does not compensate for it.

I hear a pretty good difference between all of them but the real thing I listen for is how they sound when they are really driven. I listen for the breakup and sweet spots of all them and all show something different. There's only one problem. Some days I want an EL34 that has a nice early breakup other days all I want is preamp tube distortion KT88s and even other days I just want something smooth. My EQ on my amp is exactly how I want it but the tubes give something a little extra ala the cherry on top.

I feel that if you are just playing at home and at low volumes, different types of tubes are really not as big a deal as they seem. Although, if you are a person that plays live, records or just loves to crank I can totally see why you would prefer a certain type over another.

Ooops..forgot what thread I was posting in...

The EL34 killed for the blues tone..it just owned the KT-88 but as for telling the difference on a recorded tone between brands of KT-88...very tricky.

I know for sure I could hear/feel the difference in the room..so much so that I basically gave away two sets of KT-88s (JJ and EH I think) and re-purchaed the Gold Lions.

Thanks for doing the comparison!