New Matched Quad (4) Tung-Sol EL34B Vacuum Tubes

The Tung-Sol EL34B tubes are excellent tubes, very detailed, clean and crisp. If you want a solid-state type of sound this is the tube to get. It's not as warm as some other tubes, but has a focused soundstage. I am using it with my Willsenton R8 and have no qualms about it.

I dont know if this review will be posted since i already left a review but i wanted to be thorough in hopes it will help others. So i still prefer EHX EL34's in my Marshall but i have to admit these Tung Sol EL34b's are excellent tubes. As far as dynamics, harmonics (mainly in in the low mids) and low end clarity goes these tubes are probably the best ive heard. I mentioned this before but its worth saying again, they really are solid tubes. I cant believe how consistently they biased up right out of the box. They did bias higher than the average bias of the other EL34's i use but thats not a good or bad thing i just thought id mention it. I rolled my preamp tubes after my intial review in order to better suit the T.S. EL34b's tonal signature. What i ended up with was a Tung Sol 12ax7 in V1 which really helps with adding some high end (thats the reason i have some TS 12ax7s lying around, for when i need a little more high end in an amp) and a Mullard CV4004 in v2 with shuguang 12ax7b's in V3 an V4 (the Shuguang 12ax7b's are the opposite of full sounding but not in a bad way, they are just really good at pairing with much fuller an warmer tubes like JJ's and Mullards cause they basically just get out of the way and let the fuller tubes do their thing. I find that to be a very useful trait for V3 and V4 preamp tubes). This certainly helped. But i think these T.S. EL34b's would likely do best with lower gain preamp tubes like a 12at7's. I just didnt have any on hand. Seeing as how they sound much more 6L6 like and have a MUCH fuller output and low end you can see why they would likely do good with a 12at7 (works for Fender so...). But if you do that your likely getting even further form the traditional EL34 tone. With that said im happy to have these tubes in my collection. They will be really helpful when i want to record some clean single coil guitars etc. Anyways i just wanted to update my review now that ive had some time to "get to know" these tubes. Absolutely great quality tubes. Whether or not they will be what your after will depend on your amp and your tonal tastes. For reference my main amp and the amp im using these in is a Marshall DSL100HR into two Orange PPC112 cabs. If youve never ordered from Viva Tubes before then rest assured they do excellent matching and their C.S. is top notch!

The reason for the four star rating isn't because of VIVA TUBES or a quality issue. The Tung Sol el34B's biased up INCREDIBLY WELL. Like they were burned in really well. Probably the most consistent tubes I've ever seen brand new. And the cleans are dynamic and full like youd hear with a 6L6GC. The reason i decided they arent for me is because the gain character is just not EL34ish to me at all. Pretty much the opposite of what i enjoy in a power tube. The brake up is in the low mids rather than in the upper mids like with most el34's. These tubes get the best reviews all over online but in my opinion if your after a true El34 tone this isnt the best option(but take that with a grain of salt cause these are very popular new production tubes). But if your looking for a good set of power tubes for a pedal platform amp that is mostly kept clean with maybe a little brake up then these would likely be EXACTLY what youd want. Once i get paid im going to get another set of EHX EL34's which are my go to power tubes. I just really wanted to try these Tung Sols and see what the hype was about. Even though i was a little disappointed in these tubes it had nothing to do with quality or Viva Tubes. I just want to make that very clear. Ive been buying from Viva Tubes for a while now and I've had nothing but good experiences.