rauchman
Hero Member
- Messages
- 978
Greetings,
I've been on an amp quest for while. I've been using a mid 90's Peavey Classic 50 head, and recently got a Harley Benton 2x12 with V30's. I looked at different amp offerings (BluGuitar Amp1 Mercury, Fender Tonemaster Twin Reverb, Marshal DSL 40CR, Marshall SV and SC20), and nothing really jazzed me. I'm a rock / 80's metal player predominantly, but also like to play cleaner stuff as well, and some effects.
I've been curious about the EVH offerings for a while now. They now have 3 version of 50w head - EL34, 6L6 and newer Stealth with 6L6 tubes. I can't afford new, so have been perusing Guitar Center's used offerings. I copied the following from a post I made from thegearpage.net (hope I'm not breaking any rules by doing this) and figured it would be good info to share....
I finally received both the EL34 and 6L6 versions. The amps were purchased with the idea that one would be going back, but I wanted to test both. Both amps were played through a 2x12 with V30's. Both amps get really loud really fast. I don't have the foot switch plugged in and am switching the channels from the switches on the amp itself, and it's really easy to bump the volume knobs. I've never had this experience before, but both amps are used and the EL34 stinks. It smells like a bar from the 80's of beer and smoke. Sigh....
I played a Tele, LP (SD Custom in the bridge) and partscaster with hb 's (Thornbuckers) through both.
Green Channel - I like the EL34 better for this. Has a "Marshally" sound to it. What can I say, I like the Marshall sound. Great for hb's, but the Tele sounded a bit strident. The sound was a bit more "open". Can get really good blues sounds, and the overall tone cuts through a little better. The 6L6 sounded smoother, more "Fendery" (which would make sense with the tubes). The Tele sounded better here, more full without any spikeyness, but thought the HB's sounded more compressed, more even in dynamics, if that makes sense. Of the 2 amps, using an hb equipped guitar, I preferred the EL34 on this channel and with the Tele preferred the 6L6. Have yet to run my Strat though the amp, but based on the Tele, would assume the Strat would sound more at home with the 6L6 also.
Blue Channel - The EL34 sounds meaner, more raw, but needs more attack on the pick. Like the Green channel though, thought the tone was more "open". At the same time, it seemed like it needed "more" of something. The 6L6 sounds terrific on this channel. More of a modern gain sound. The smoothness of the 6L6 shines here. All the guitars sounded fantastic through this channel, but at the same time, was just a touch too smooth for me (I attribute a bit of this to the V30 speakers). Saw a couple of Youtube vid's where an EL34 user clipped a tone cap (i believe it was C19), and it gave the EL34 the same gain profile as the 6L6, just with an EL34 flavor. I'm assuming some of the rawness of the El34 would be retained while combining the creaminess of the 6L6 sound. I do think, this would be a sweet spot for the EL34. Like the Green channel, the 6L6 seemed to be a better fit for a wider variety of pickups/guitars. Seemed more consistent, while the EL34 really pronounced the differences in the guitars.
Red Channel - Yup, everyone was right with this channel. The gain is just crazy on both amps and there is a bit of hiss on the channel. Both amps sounded really good, but the gain had to be dialed back to about 9 o clock. Purely a tonal preference, but I preferred the EL34 tone. Didn't spend as much time on this channel as it's kind of singular in the mission of max gain. Having said that, dialing down the volume on the guitar gave a lot of flexibility....with some hiss.
I guess it comes down to, are you a Fender or a Marshall person. In the overall, kind of liked the EL34 better, but I'd want to experiment with removing the tone cap for the blue channel. The 6L6, for lack of a better term, seems like a safer choice, as it plays nice with every guitar I put through it, and sounds great on all the channels. At the same time though, I was missing the dirty, sleezy, raw feel of the EL34's. The El34 sounded more "rock", while the 6L6 sounded more "metal" for gain. Both did cleans very well, just depends on the tone your after. The blue channel was where they differed the most. The EL34 needs a little help (either the tone cap clipping, a boost, etc.), while the 6L6 sounds great without additional support. The red channel was a wash. Both sounded really good, but I'd give the nod to the EL34 on this one, but again, purely a tonal preference.
Looking at getting a Celestion G12T-75 from a Marshall cab and switching out one of the V30's, and retesting the amps. I've heard a couple of vids with this combo and the 6L6 amp, sounded really really good. Very full. I think the V30's negatively affect the 6L6's tone a bit, while it's doable with the EL34.
Lastly, never thought I'd say this, but of the guitar, I preferred the partscaster and Tele over the LP for tones. They are both Warmoth bodies/neck and they both play and sound really fantastic.
I've been on an amp quest for while. I've been using a mid 90's Peavey Classic 50 head, and recently got a Harley Benton 2x12 with V30's. I looked at different amp offerings (BluGuitar Amp1 Mercury, Fender Tonemaster Twin Reverb, Marshal DSL 40CR, Marshall SV and SC20), and nothing really jazzed me. I'm a rock / 80's metal player predominantly, but also like to play cleaner stuff as well, and some effects.
I've been curious about the EVH offerings for a while now. They now have 3 version of 50w head - EL34, 6L6 and newer Stealth with 6L6 tubes. I can't afford new, so have been perusing Guitar Center's used offerings. I copied the following from a post I made from thegearpage.net (hope I'm not breaking any rules by doing this) and figured it would be good info to share....
I finally received both the EL34 and 6L6 versions. The amps were purchased with the idea that one would be going back, but I wanted to test both. Both amps were played through a 2x12 with V30's. Both amps get really loud really fast. I don't have the foot switch plugged in and am switching the channels from the switches on the amp itself, and it's really easy to bump the volume knobs. I've never had this experience before, but both amps are used and the EL34 stinks. It smells like a bar from the 80's of beer and smoke. Sigh....
I played a Tele, LP (SD Custom in the bridge) and partscaster with hb 's (Thornbuckers) through both.
Green Channel - I like the EL34 better for this. Has a "Marshally" sound to it. What can I say, I like the Marshall sound. Great for hb's, but the Tele sounded a bit strident. The sound was a bit more "open". Can get really good blues sounds, and the overall tone cuts through a little better. The 6L6 sounded smoother, more "Fendery" (which would make sense with the tubes). The Tele sounded better here, more full without any spikeyness, but thought the HB's sounded more compressed, more even in dynamics, if that makes sense. Of the 2 amps, using an hb equipped guitar, I preferred the EL34 on this channel and with the Tele preferred the 6L6. Have yet to run my Strat though the amp, but based on the Tele, would assume the Strat would sound more at home with the 6L6 also.
Blue Channel - The EL34 sounds meaner, more raw, but needs more attack on the pick. Like the Green channel though, thought the tone was more "open". At the same time, it seemed like it needed "more" of something. The 6L6 sounds terrific on this channel. More of a modern gain sound. The smoothness of the 6L6 shines here. All the guitars sounded fantastic through this channel, but at the same time, was just a touch too smooth for me (I attribute a bit of this to the V30 speakers). Saw a couple of Youtube vid's where an EL34 user clipped a tone cap (i believe it was C19), and it gave the EL34 the same gain profile as the 6L6, just with an EL34 flavor. I'm assuming some of the rawness of the El34 would be retained while combining the creaminess of the 6L6 sound. I do think, this would be a sweet spot for the EL34. Like the Green channel, the 6L6 seemed to be a better fit for a wider variety of pickups/guitars. Seemed more consistent, while the EL34 really pronounced the differences in the guitars.
Red Channel - Yup, everyone was right with this channel. The gain is just crazy on both amps and there is a bit of hiss on the channel. Both amps sounded really good, but the gain had to be dialed back to about 9 o clock. Purely a tonal preference, but I preferred the EL34 tone. Didn't spend as much time on this channel as it's kind of singular in the mission of max gain. Having said that, dialing down the volume on the guitar gave a lot of flexibility....with some hiss.
I guess it comes down to, are you a Fender or a Marshall person. In the overall, kind of liked the EL34 better, but I'd want to experiment with removing the tone cap for the blue channel. The 6L6, for lack of a better term, seems like a safer choice, as it plays nice with every guitar I put through it, and sounds great on all the channels. At the same time though, I was missing the dirty, sleezy, raw feel of the EL34's. The El34 sounded more "rock", while the 6L6 sounded more "metal" for gain. Both did cleans very well, just depends on the tone your after. The blue channel was where they differed the most. The EL34 needs a little help (either the tone cap clipping, a boost, etc.), while the 6L6 sounds great without additional support. The red channel was a wash. Both sounded really good, but I'd give the nod to the EL34 on this one, but again, purely a tonal preference.
Looking at getting a Celestion G12T-75 from a Marshall cab and switching out one of the V30's, and retesting the amps. I've heard a couple of vids with this combo and the 6L6 amp, sounded really really good. Very full. I think the V30's negatively affect the 6L6's tone a bit, while it's doable with the EL34.
Lastly, never thought I'd say this, but of the guitar, I preferred the partscaster and Tele over the LP for tones. They are both Warmoth bodies/neck and they both play and sound really fantastic.
