These are Electro-Harmonix EL84EH power tubes in platinum matched sets. The EL84 is the most common low power pentode tube, popularized in early Vox AC30 amps. Rediscovered by Matchless amps and now currently used by nearly every tube amp company. Delivers quick, soft overdrive distortion, great for recording but usually too low volume for live gigs.
Electro-Harmonix' platinum matching process consists of a 24-hour tube burn-in period followed by a bias (plate) current measurement in milliamps.
Soft, medium, and hard style descriptions refer to break up modes of the tube for an overdriven guitar signal. Soft-rated tubes break up easier and have the least headroom, yielding a heavier, harder distortion. In comparison, hard-rated tubes break up easier and have the least headroom, yielding a heavier, harder distortion, while medium-rated tubes fall in between.
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I ordered these tubes to change out the ones in my stock Bugera V22 amp with great results! My amp tended to be a little muddy and didn't have good tonal separation. These guys definitely helped to improve it's overall musicality. Worth the dollars....Electro-Harmonix EL84 Matched Power Tubes Hard Quartet
.after trying several others came back to these to restore what dr z has already known...just sounds right.
Electro-Harmonix EL84 Matched Power Tubes Hard Quartet
.1 of 4 redplated within 30 seconds of installation
this was a matched quad -what am I gonna do with 3 tubes
Electro-Harmonix EL84 Matched Power Tubes Hard Quartet
.It's still early in the honeymoon period but these tubes brought my Laney VC30 back to life. I imagine it's like new tires on a car. Any new set will feel great compared to the old worn out set. These tubes increased the bass response, over all volume & timbre and the 60 cycle hum is gone. I say worth it!
Electro-Harmonix EL84 Matched Power Tubes Hard Quartet
.Re-tubed a Fryette Memphis with these. Bright and crunchy compared to JJ's. I like these. Retain the chime without harsh highs. Tight low end. Competively priced too.
Electro-Harmonix EL84 Matched Power Tubes Hard Quartet
.Good investment in better sound
I purchased these for my 1995 Blues Junior and they really seemed to open up the sound. This sort of thing is always subjective but my guitar teacher who has been in the busienss for years loved the change also. The amp seems more open and more responsive with these tubes!
Electro-Harmonix EL84 Matched Power Tubes Hard Quartet
.I am anxious to purchase their 12ax7 as my preamp tube. If it's as good as their EL84, I may retube my Mesa Boogie DC3 with all EXH. That beast uses a total of 11 tubes.
Purchased for my older Bad Cat Mini Cat. The Mini Cat is a single ended 5w amp with a 10" WGS speaker (Upgrade) that uses (1) 12ax7 preamp tube and (1) EL84 power tube. I have tried other major brands but the Electro-Harmonix is by far my favorite! Great low volume bass response. Real clarity in the mids and highs: You can hear yourself picking and strumming. The Bad Cat has a whole lotta guts for a 5 watter: The EHX holds tough when the Mini Cat is cranked and brings out the best of that amp's pushed bluesy kickin' sound.
The EHX feels a little thicker than the Sovtek EL84 and JJEL84: In fact it weighs 20g vs. the Sovtek (18g) and the JJ (14g) according to my digital scale. Don't know if that really matters. It's just an observation. I tried a GT silver series a while back and it started smoking after an hour. It got so hot the label burned off it. Don't know how much that one weighed, but I never tried another GT after that negative experience.
The Electro-Harmonix is competetive priced to other brands. Maybe a couple of bucks more. Chump change in the general scheme of things.
Electro-Harmonix EL84 Matched Power Tubes Hard Quartet
.Bought a matched hard pair for a TE Velocette 15W amp. Within 20 minutes the V3 (first after the pre, in this case) red-plated. The box from MF was well padded and didn't appear to have any damage, so I'm not sure if it was vibrations during shipping or just a defect that caused the one tube to die. Picked up a medium matched duet, also EH, at the local store; they've held up for a few hours so far and sound amazing. Seems like if they're defective, they will fail quickly. For kicks I used the surviving hard tube to replace the stock Sovtek power tube in a Vox AC4TVH and it's held up well, and sounds amazing when matched with a Tung-Sol 12AX7 in the preamp. These tubes seem to improve sound considerably over stock tubes, and it's nice being able to customize the breakup a bit based on what you want the amp's characteristics to be using the EH tube rating system.
Electro-Harmonix EL84 Matched Power Tubes Hard Quartet
.I put a pair of these into my Mesa Express+ 5:25 head, replacing a pair of JJs that I have used for quite a while. If there is an earlier break-up, I can barely detect it. That is not to say that these don't sound good - they do. Just don't hear much of a difference.
Electro-Harmonix EL84 Matched Power Tubes Hard Quartet
.I have tried pretty much all current el84's and these are by far the best.Nice thick tones with easy breakup what else could you want.Wake up your amp with these fine el84 tubes and don't look back.
Electro-Harmonix EL84 Matched Power Tubes Hard Quartet
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