6CA7 or KT77 tubes...

[Professor Plum]

anyone have any erperance with these tubes? apparently they can fit in the place of el34 and i was thinking about trying them out in my orange. what are the tonal diferances compared to the 34's? i heard something about the 6ca7's sounding something like 6l6's, is there any truth in that? that sounds pretty rad to pair with an orange to me.... i dunno anyone try them?

thanks for the help guys -Plum

[blacktiger]

Real 6CA7s (ie: old production) were the American version of the EL34.  EVH used them on the early Van Halen records if that helps.  If you're talking new production, who knows what you're actually getting.  Manufacturers seem to label things based more on marketing than anything else these days. 

[GUITARmole]

I had the old "real" 6CA7s in a Marshall back in 'the day' and I thought they sucked.  The El34s have a much sweeter breakup and compress and sound smooth when overdriven.  The 6CA7s sound hard and you have to crank the amp louder to get them to break up (more headroom).  Normally I dig more headroom but not with the 6CA7s...they were sort of 'raspy' sounding and not in a nice way.

I like 6L6s (in Marshalls) and I don't like the 6CA7s.  That being said, maybe you could try the JJ KT77 or 6CA7 as I've heard their tubes (and I tend to agree) all sound like a variation of a 6L6 and it might be a cool sound.

[Professor Plum]

cool thanks alot guys! sounds like i gotta find some JJ's...

[Professor Plum]

I had the old "real" 6CA7s in a Marshall back in 'the day' and I thought they sucked.  The El34s have a much sweeter breakup and compress and sound smooth when overdriven.  The 6CA7s sound hard and you have to crank the amp louder to get them to break up (more headroom).  Normally I dig more headroom but not with the 6CA7s...they were sort of 'raspy' sounding and not in a nice way.

I like 6L6s (in Marshalls) and I don't like the 6CA7s.  That being said, maybe you could try the JJ KT77 or 6CA7 as I've heard their tubes (and I tend to agree) all sound like a variation of a 6L6 and it might be a cool sound.

i looked around and it dosent look like JJ make 6ca7's... do you i saw some EH, EI (never heard of them before) and some GT ones apprently... do you think they would give me a littly fendery-ness in my orange more so than the kt77's that are JJ's?

[GUITARmole]

What brand/type EL34s do you have in there now?  Not all EL34s are the same tonally. 

[Professor Plum]

What brand/type EL34s do you have in there now?  Not all EL34s are the same tonally. 

well this is a crazy turn of events... i had no idea what was in there before so i opened it up last night. it auctualty HAD Eh 6ca7's in there stock! the whole reason i wanted to change tubes was that it was sounding harsh and pretty much how you described the old 6ca7's. (i had been wondering whay it was less compressed than i expected...). the pre amps tubes are ecc83 that are "orange" branded. i still like the idea of a fender flavored orange and im pretty shure the 6ca7's wont get me there. i guess ill give teh JJ kt77's and some new preamp tubes a try and see what happens. if i dont like those ill just go with straight up el34s...

[analogsystem]

EL34s are going to give you a throatier midrangy sound I think....a little more rock and roll.
A lot of amps can be modded very simply for other power tubes.  You might look into putting some KT88s in as they have a huge "hi-fi" sound and are commonly put into Marshalls designed for EL84s....maybe you can put them in the Orange?  Best to ask your tech if you've got one you can trust.

[GUITARmole]

If you want warm and fat the JJ EL34 is a good choice (really sort of similar to a 6L6/5881 in my opinion).  For a more 'true' classic midrange crunchy EL34 sound the Svetlana or Mullard reissues are pretty decent in my opinion (a little thinner and more midrangey sounding than the JJ which is more full range and fat).  Don't forget the part your preamp tubes play in the equation though either...

[Professor Plum]

alright awsome, thanks alot! once i figured out what power tubes i wanted i figured id spring for some NOS pre's as there not like super expensive, are supposto sound awsome and apparently last a looooog time (espicaly since pres last a while anyway...)

[GUITARmole]

i figured id spring for some NOS pre's as there not like super expensive, are supposto sound awsome and apparently last a looooog time

I don't know where you're buying them but most I've seen are super-expensive (to me at least)   Let us know what you end up with and how it sounds!

[Professor Plum]

mos def.