Metropoulos Forum

I need new EL34's.. Theres "hard","medium", and "soft" ones.. from what i read, the "soft" ones break up earlier because they draw more current??


So i have a couple questions:

*I like EVH, so should I get the "soft" ones so i saturate the tubes more?
*Because they're "soft", does that mean they burn out faster than say "medium" ones??


Thanks

ehh

Tubes that draw less current, given the same operating parameters, will break up earlier. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't last as long.

EVH preferred the big-bottle tubes - American 6CA7s, likely also GE 6550s - because they're tighter than typical EL34s. Tubes which draw less current tend to be looser and mushier and blusier and might not be what you want. Although, they might add a bit of sponginess to that TSL... You might wanna check what the EVH guys here on the forum are using.