This is what the internet is supposed to be used for. Thanks guys!

Maybe it’s KZfaq compression, my ears or my headphones but they all sounded almost exactly the same. I noticed a little more breakup with a few of them. What I did learn is that any of them would be just fine for almost all of us.

What I learned from this: Power Tubes are the last thing I need to consider in my tone chasing. Speakers and pre-amp tubes are way more important. And also, by watching all of this video, that I may be overthinking tone. LOL

so glad there is a few of us left that appreciate tubes.

Wow, thanks for all the work it took to make this video Pete & Dave!

Pete! This is the most excellent, to the point, informative video. Thank you for doing the work and posting

Thanks Pete and Dave!!! Appreciate the massive amount of time and effort to create the video so we could hear for ourselves.

Honestly, I can't tell a difference. They all sound great.

Pete+Dave= Instant like!

Thank you Pete, this is exactly what I've been hoping someone would do and is an amazing resource. You are the Man!

Thanks Dave and Pete for taking the time to do this video. Really helpful!

Pete! I'm new to your channel. Love your videos, truly insightful! Thank you so much for the time, love and effort you put in.

Man, those JJs surprised me in the high gain test-great stuff! The Siemens were probably my favorite overall, but I'd be happy with any of them. You and Dave are total rockstars for making this happen!

I was pumped for this video and it totally didn’t disappoint! The ultimate video for all tube nerds everywhere! I love these sorts of comparisons. It’s mind blowing to hear the subtle differences between tubes. None of them sounded bad, just different shades of the same colour really. If you don’t care about the subtleties then any EL34 will do fine but if you do care, then down the rabbit hole you go 😂 The amount of effort that must have gone into the making of this must have been unreal! Thank you Pete and Dave!

Thanks again guys for this video! I liked the Siemens/ rtf el34 in the demo and found and bought a quad . Sounds awesome! Cheers!

Thank you. I appreciate you. I can only imagine the amount of fcking around it took to make this video come together. Excellent content, likeable, relatable and knowledgeable fellows. Total win.

This video is great. Same deep dive as the EVH tone video. Outstanding quality content.

Thanks for doing this Pete! I put it all up on the studio monitors and had a good listen. The Siemens/RFT for AC/DC and the (New) Mullard EL34 for EVH. The best all rounder was the (New) Mullard EL34.

Thank you Pete and Dave for your tremendous effort and sharing this knowledge! I learned a lot! And while we can all disagree on what we hear, the one thing that has been reaffirmed, and without question, is that Pete is a killer guitarist. I loved it!

Fantastic video Pete !!! Thanks 👍🏻

For Relaxing Times!!! haha I love that ! Thanks for this hard work Pete! Siemens and Sylvania for my vintage vote. The new EH EL34's!

When I hear amps and Smorgasbord in the same sentence, I'M THERE!! Thanks, Pete.

I couldn't really hear too much of a difference sound-wise between the el34 tubes but hearing you and Dave talk about the sound differences helped to educate me a lot for when I purchase some spares for my dsl40cr amp. Thanks so much!

Wow you guys geeked out big time!!! Thanks for all that valuable info!

Great demo and discussion, Pete and Dave!

Thanks for the shootout Pete! Loved hearing Beating Around The Bush!

Thanks guys, lots of effort put into this, but great service for guitar community! Gonna try the eh el34 if my favourite store gets them.

I know I'm geekin out in a big way when this is of total high interest!!You guys have some true blue loyalty in your people. I have always heard just a touch more lows if using 6l6s, a bit more mid squish with el84s(my favorite for sure), and with el34s I just hear a balance that says Marshall tone to my ears. Especially when I was younger. That's at a very "average" bias level. I have only heard others in Fender amps for example. Thx fellas for this.

Damn Dude! This took a lot of effort on your'e part. Thank you!

Those old Marshall's are so gnarly on the top-end. That's the sound of classic rock.

PETE I can listen to you play Van Halen all damned day long, if that went on for another week I wouldn't be sick of it

Great video! Thanks to Pete and Dave!! I'm an EL34 guy, in my life I've tried in my amps JJE34L, JJ EL34 and Svetlana EL34 (2007 production); I remember the Svetlana was the most glassy top end and maybe scoopy but I liked them in the amp they were mounted.

I've parked EH6CA7's in my 100 was Superlead since they first came out but I might need to pickup a set of the EH EL34's next go around. I hear some good bark in the mid range and nice crush glass sparkle in the demo. Back in the old days, I recall reading an article around 1984 where Rudy Leiren mentioned he used Sylvania 6Ca7's in Ed's Marshalls and replaced them every other show. Outstanding demo guys!

I love this! It's a good comparison of those tubes under those conditions and at that moment. What could be really cool is to be able to download the soundfiles, to hear them without YT compression.

This needs to be a new series! Tube rolling 6L6, 6V6, 12AX7 V1, 12AX7 V2, 12AX7 PI, etc. Really enjoyed the video. BTW, I put a matched quad of EH6CA7s in a Mesa Stiletto Deuce Stage II last year, put in a adjustable bias mod, and they really sound better to me than the Mesa EL34s. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks so much Pete👍🔥

Great video guys interesting stuff! brilliant format with you both! 🤟

Pete Thorn once again helps to remove the cork-sniffer fog and get to the core of the truth - all while making me so friggin envious of his guitar chops and tonemastery. Thanks, Pete! Rock on...

Great vid. Maybe an EL84 one next? Edit: with Dave too if possible! Your discussion at the end gave some good context

Those EH 6EA7's sound so good for EVH stuff. The midrange really has life and really cool snarl to it.

From what I'm hearing all the talk about different tubes really isn't worth it... Maybe it sounds different in person but through my monitors I don't hear it. Great vid Pete... Always love to see Dave on here.

Superb job and thx for investing the time and effort.

Ive been using Tung Sol in my amp bc the high end does something nasty that frankly is quite enjoyable for me, however, to my ear, here the original Siemens stood out and were easy to listen to. My favorite in this back to back comparison by far. Nice video!!!

Great stuff!! We’re ready for the 6L6 shootout.

Looks like a lot of work went into this one :) Looking forward to it!

Great video Pete and Dave!! Thank you!! PS, I see I am not the only one that like to record my cab upside down.. 🤘🏼

Excellent test! I, like you, was expecting more from the EH’s. My favorite had been the EH6CA7’s for quite a while. I still really liked them in this test. I’d still like to hear them with the bias a bit higher. Thank you for your efforts and reviews!

Video quality looks great! I have no reason to be watching this more than once but.. I just love rock n roll..

I keep coming back. Great vids Pete!

Thanks Pete, now I have those riffs stuck in my head for the next 12 hours or so. ha

Great idea for a video and well done! That amp sounds great.

Awesome video, thanks Pete and Dave! 🤘🏼 I see a lot of people commenting how they hear little difference, but one thing I’ve found is the playing feel is different between these tubes.. some just feel drier and like they’re fighting back, while some just saturate in a great way and make it feel easier to play!

Thank you Pete and Dave! Phew. Though I couldn't hear too much difference from speakers (a little, tiny bit more with headphones) I've got a list of a couple of sets of tubes I want to chase down...just to have around as replacements. I'm going to be buying for quality as much as tone (what little difference there is). We don't know what the future of these tubes and manufacturing will be so, not a bad idea to have some security in the parts kit. What a great test. Gotta love an SG with humbuckers going into a JTM 50 watt. Cheers!

Excellent video. Thank you!

Great video👌👍 Favorite was the RFT one, it just has THE Marshall sound to it 😎👌 Actually liked all of the old ones, but out of the new ones I liked the JJ's & the tung sols.

Excellent work! This is very awesome! Much like your 12AX7 shootout, your recordings parallel my own listening experience with the same EL34s, pretty much dead-on the same. Those grungy/compressed SEDs are not my preference in a 50W Marshall, but can be a better match in a 100w, or a modern sterile sounding amp that needs some more character. In the old Marshalls, XF2s or RFTs for me! Which one just depends on if I want brighter (RFT) or fuller (XF2). Thanks so much to you and Dave for putting the work into this and sharing with us!

Perfect timing, I was looking for a new set of EL34s

That will be very informative video! Can't wait!

Totally fun trip...yeah, guitar-geeky-whatever, that's a great run down. Besides being all locked in has served as a great time to tone-chase, at least for me anyway. Mediums in any art form matter. Good stuff to know. I love EH and Matthews and the stuff he does, such an eccentric character that runs a great operation here in NYC. I love stuff that is made in NYC, so little of it left...he's hanging on.

Um, this is the most geeky/cork sniffer content ever and I am absolutely here for it! Pete Thorn and Dave Friedman are putting in the work nobody else is willing to do. They should get the Medal of Freedom for this. (I’m totally serious.)

Amazing video guy's. Seriously, thanks.

The 6CA7s jumped out at me. That said, it's all win, I did not hear any clear losers on first listen. I was tuning into the very first run on Light Up the Sky and listening for how brightly the notes popped. Anyway, will listen more than once to see what else I hear. Thank you, Pete. We need much more of this kind of 'test piloting.'

Good stuff I dorked out hard lol. Tubes are fun. I bought a box of vintage tubes, mostly EL34 and 6L6 tubes, years ago for $100. For EL34's I love vintage Matsushita's the most out of Mullard, Sylvania, etc. They chime and grind almost Voxish. I usually go Tung-Sol for new tubes, I like the high end clarity, or EHX for a softer tone tube. I liked the new Mullards too. They all sounded good just different. May your tubes glow guide you through the night.

This was very informative. It's easy to compare back and forth because the location for each tube name is clearly visible by floating the mouse over the individual segments. I'm a big fan of the old Mullard. First out of the gate, it was hard to beat. The Siemens almost ties it for me. But those new Mullards do the job beautifully and affordably. Too bad I don't have an amp with EL34's!! Haha

Dang, that Sylvania... actually a little too silky or creamy for my setup, but wow, that's sweet. Thank you once more, Pete, awesome idea!. Kudos to Dave!

Great job Pete!!!

Actually watching the video now that I'm free with time. This is such a cool video format! After you get yourself a nice AC30 you'll have to do this for us EL-84 guys! ;)

Not often I "pound" my ears with volume on a gear demo, did on this one! All different, cool vid Dave and Pete... Old stock for me, Mullards or Siemens. Great tones Pete!

Ah, great video, as always! Its a pleasure to watch you and Mr.Friedman geeking out about things every time hes on the channel. Love that! A suggestion for comparisons... hmm, maybe a little deeper dive into the brightcap-thing? Different values, how they work, why it doesnt really work well with most distortion pedals depending on the value, etc (I know what it does, but many people dont). You explained it briefly when you did the "amp in the zone" video about your 50w plexi as far as i can remember. But i doubt that this alone fills out a 45min video :P Or a comparison of the different 1959-marshalls (from 1966 until today, or at least from 1966 till 1980 since todays reissue SLP is basically the 1974-1980 PCB amp, with the 1959HW being a unicorn. Doesnt have to be every year of course, but the 4-5 ones with noticable changes?). I know that Johann Segeborn has a lot of videos about that topic, but together with Mr.Friedman you maybe could do a thing similar to this one, but the other way round: the set of tubes stays the same, only the amp is getting changed out from clip to clip. And maybe some SuperBass-amps thrown into that for extra comparison.... Ok, just a dream, difficult to get your hands on all of them at the same time :P Or something non-marshall related, like the different fender models played back to back (Deluxe, Twin, Super etc.)... Also the thing with vintage amps again... Stay healthy!

Good review. Thank you so much.

Thank you for doing this test, which is near impossible for most people to do. I guess I don't have golden ears, 'cause they all sounded pretty similar to me, I suppose since every other thing in the chain is identical. Also, I'm not used to hearing such a raw, in-your-face, mid-focused guitar tone outside of a mix, especially on KZfaq when people tend make isolated guitar tones much fuller, but it would be perfect when tracking.

Amazing video, yet again!

Liked the Tung Sol a lot. Many thanks, gents!

Thanks chaps, great video

It’s Tube Talk! Love it

Thanks for doing this Pete! It had to be difficult. I tend to obsess about stuff like this. If I had to be the one doing this comparison...I'd surely run-out of my Fluvoxamine pretty quick! They all sound pretty similar, but there are differences if you really listen closely to particular components of the overall tone. Personally, I liked the old Mullard's the best, then the Tung Sol's and the JJ's because they all have a swirling tone characteristic that I like a lot. I have a quad of original Svetlana's (to me they sound like old Mullard's) in my '72 Superlead that seem to be lasting forever. In my amp they sound amazing. I don't know what I'd ever replace them with when the time comes. I'm thinking probably Tung Sol.

I didnt notice a very big difference. Cool test thanks guys!

Pete you are a true bad ass, I love watching your videos

Mr Thorn all of this is fantastic, but BRAV F-ING O on the new lighting. It looks so great! The video almost matches the playing now (your playing is a little not fair; so hence the almost)

Super groovy, I must be a guitar nerd? I love the acoustic on the wall. The faucet to get out the dropped picks is genius 😆

I love The Tubes! Sorry couldn't resist. Good stuff here Pete!

A LOT closer than I was expecting. The original mallards sounded killer 👌🔥😎

Great to see my 3 of my 4 favorite conversation topics Whisky, Guitars, Amps and cigars! I was drinking a Kirkland Canadian whisky while watching Pete's jams and have bought a bottle of Suntory for my Dad! I still have a bottle of 12 Yr Hibiki waiting in the wings for that "special" occasion! Only thing missing is a good cigar! ((:

Shit I missed the premiere. Ah, well. Awesome stuff, as always! I particularly enjoyed the tribute to Leland Sklar. ;) Take care, Pete. \m/

WOW I love these kind of videos... thanks for this!!! But now you need to extend the comparison with the JJ EL34 II and the JJ E34L :)

Great video! I always enjoy your playing. I would be really curious to hear a comparison of EL84 tubes.

I liked the JJ and Svetlana sound. They are sharp and remember me 80's metal tone.

I gotta get my 1974 Jmp 100 watt amp over to Dave (it used to belong to the great late Gary Ritchrath) recorded the solo to roll with the changes with it 👏

Really really really..? Just jokin'. Amazing video as always Pete, keep going

The RFT EL34 from GdR sounds very good. Rock n Roll damnation 👍

This will be interesting...I have a 72 sl/a and im swatting up for an acdc tribute band ...loved the Van Halen sound you guys did ...hello from Scotland 😆

Great video Pete! The addition of Dave was a huge plus. I would love if you had a pair of Tesla's there too, but you can do it on part II.

Great vid. Generally liked the same as you guys. You saved me some money on ever trying the SED winged C's that everyone raves about. I like the Chinese EL34-B for that mid rangy Marshall sound, and JJ E34L for that big bottom slightly scooped sound with more headroom. They are what I'm using now, but I switch between them depending on what I want.

I was totally ready for Beating Around The Bush to kick in during that intro!

Bravo!! I've sworn by EH and some older JJ E34L that I own.

Amazing work! Would love a KT-66 comparison next 😎

I WOULD NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ANY ONE OF THOSE TONES GLORIOUS!

Super cool, incidentally I got my hands on a pair of Rivera labelled Siemens/RFT EL34s that are soon going in to my JMP50 which is the same year and spec as yours! It seems I lucked out!

I think I only heard a significant difference in the JJ EL34 (slightly less gain). The minor differences between the tubes are there, but it probably translates much better in person that over KZfaq. Awesome video, thanks!

Haha what a great opening riff Love that track