EL34s................

bertie

so,  it looks very much like the ELs are going in my Chub,  looks like Winged Cs in there now........but I cant really stretch to a pair at the moment..................so looks like its going to be 

Tung-Sols

TADs

JJs

anyone any opinions they wish to share ?  

57Deluxe

Cornfords used Golden Dragons as stock...

ICBM

I tend to go for JJs for reliability, although I don't like the sound of them particularly, compared to most others. (Though nowhere near as bad as with their preamp valves, which I really don't like.)

Of the cheaper modern EL34s I much prefer Electro-Harmonix for tone - although they're not always the most durable. Not tried Tung-Sol EL34s, but had some reliability issues with their 6L6-type valves. TADs seem OK in amps I've found them in, but I haven't used them as replacements personally.

I would definitely stay away from Groove Tubes - whatever they claim to do in matching the valves also seems to make them unreliable. No idea why!

jpfamps

If you go with JJs make sure you get EL34s rather than E34Ls. I've been sold both even though I ordered the same item!

The E34Ls will run hot in amps designed for EL34s as they require a more negative voltage to bias correctly.

The EL34 in my opinion sounds better than the E34L too.

=C= EL34s sound great, but I've had reliability issues with them, so I've stopped using them.

I agree with ICBM on EH EL34s; they sound fine, but aren't the most durable.

I like the sound of the Russian Mullard reissues, but I've not used a large enough sample size to vouch for their reliability. They are also only available from Noparts (sorry Allparts), so are rarely in stock.