Mesa/Boogie Royal Atlantic EL34 Vs 6L6 Tube Comparison
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- In this video we give you a side by side comparison of the new Mesa Boogie Royal Atlantic with EL34 and 6L6 power tubes. This amp has a surprising tone with 6L6 power tubes, and you can decide for yourself which you like better, and if you feel it's worth trying 6L6's in your Royal Atlantic.
No changes were made to the amp settings when switching tubes. The guitar used was a Suhr S3, cabinet a Mesa Boogie Stiletto Straight, and microphone a Royer R-121.
I thought the High gain sounded a little bit better with the 6l6s but the clean and lo gain sounds were substantially better with the EL34s.
And the EQ was most likely set with the stock EL34's in.
The EL34's sounded better in this to me, but I still want to try them in my rig:)
Enjoyed - YES! The 6L6 is smoother and it suits the clean way better. But it sounds lame (no bite) and too much presence on crunch. The EL34 bites much more on crunch but is not smooth on the clean. So the 6L6 seems to compress the attack. This amps settings are for the EL34 - I would alter it for the 6L6 but then I would choose JJ's - and the chooice of tubes varied alot!!!
How about Lonestar with some sort of drive pedal in front of it, like a BB+, or other. Does the Lonestar would accept to be pushed a little? If so, then you would have the best clean Mesa produces, a Mark I (as you suggested) and something more with a pedal to push it. Your thoughts?
I seem to be in the minority, but I liked the 6L6s in clean and LO, and the EL34s in HI. The thought the 6L6s sounded a little harsh on the high mode, but the EL34s sounded tighter and more focused. The clean and LO sounded brighter and more cutting with the 6L6s, but did not have the harshness.
It took manufacturers long enough to start using 80watt speakers in open-back combos instead of using Vintage30s they had bought in bulk. I use a MesaBoogie 90watt in my Engl 100w combo. That cured the problem! They are slow to get it right but one day...
So AMP-MAKERS are now using modular designs to mix preamps. They need to now learn here to mix the powertubes EL34 for crunch and 6L6 for clean. Not the same mix for both as Egnator did and Blackstar imitated using just 1 tube type.
Hi. You dial in a good tone on EL34 version and then do the same on 6L6 dont you? Because i think 6L6 version just have to have different setting so the tubes really shine. What about perfect 6L6 tones and porting theese to EL34 version too ? Thanks anyway.
No, not really. Channel 2 of the Lonestar is very similar to the Mark I. Creamy and warm, very smooth sounding. It doesn't have the crunch the RA has. They are just very different amps.
that's why i love my road king 2 :)
Does the EL34 compress at the high gain settings? it sounded like it just kind of crapped out while the 6l6 seemed to "open up"
eL34 gives you more grawl,and very different tone for leads,I put el34 into my Rectoverb head and I like the sound better now.
To my ears el34 gives better cleans and lo, but high gain works better on 6l6. Don´t want it to be too full. More metal. Wish I could have both.
Hocus Pocus ftw!
Thanks for the videos, good stuff.
The attack is crisper and more defined with the 6L6's (albeit a little cleaner) which in my good is quite alright!
South Side of the Sky - Hocus Pocus - what a blast to listen to and what great taste in classic rock.
@juhojyrkka That's a hectic watermelon riff from the song bionic hillbilly. :-)
Sounds fatter and more present with the EL34's. I like that better. Great job as always, Don!
Of course the EL 34's sound better, it's what this amp was designed around. I do like that you can use both though. I wish Mesa would experiment with kt-77 or 88 in an amp. I know there are ways to make them work, but without adjustable bias pot it's kinda useless.
The El34s have more midrange the 6l6s have a little more bottom other then that not much difference and can be changed with the mid & eq controls.
Whats the first song Don plays?
Is there anyway you guys could do the same comparison with the Electra Dyne?
I usually like 6L6's, but the amp is clearly engineered for EL-34's.
South side of the sky by YES! Off the Fragile record
You guys always have the best most informative vids. Thanks for taking the time to make these. They help us out a great deal!
6l6 is more tight sound then el34
@meomarte get road king and be happy ! :)
EL34's sound warmer with more mid bark.
clean crunch el34 high gain 6l6
They should just simul-class this amp
The EL34, for me, sounds better...
EL34 on all modes, fuller sound!
EL34s better all around!
Try KT66 and KT77...
I really like that riff , (Y)
EL34 on all three.
EL34s all the way
I like the EL34's.
I vote EL34s
Massive !!!
Thanks for the comparison, but I believe an EQ adjustment would be required for the different tubes. They react differently and have a different voice. The EQ on the amp doesn't change to bring out the personality of the tubes. Of course the EL34 sounds better: the EQ was set for EL34's to sound great and the 6L6's were ignored.
I'm still getting a good set of 6L6 because I think it will sound excellent with my rig.
Nice playing, by the way!
I usually like 6L6's better but the EL34's in this Mesa sound better all around to me. Way more fullness and low-end girth! THANKS DON!
I had no idea the Royal Atlantic sounded this good with the EL34's!! Its freaking awesome tone!!
I prefer the EL34's in this amp. The Vintage Lo mode clips convinced me. More biting, upper "girth" to the distorted tones. Cool video...thx for posting!!!
Great comparison!
You ABSOLUTELY needed to leave the amp EQ'd the same way for both tube types...the point of the video is to compare the differences between EL34's and 6L6's...not to "re EQ" the amp to make them each sound their best.
Closes my eyes and opened them when I liked the sound. EL34 was what i seen every time..
Don your vids are awesome. loved the El34`s in clean and lo gain, but the 6L6`s really shine in high gain. all in all a killer sounding amp for sure!
Damn it, I loved the EL-34 for every round except for the last. Stupid 6l6 seemed to handle the Hi much better...
Thank you for playing Yes. Great tone.
i like the sounds of the EL34s
El 34's No comparison! 6l6 has no place in music!
hilarious!!!