Guitar Amp Power Tubes Comparison

4 Power tubes played in a Pure Tone Amps - Little Star with a Gibson Les Paul 1959 Standard Reissue. The tubes are:

1960s RCA 6L6 GC Black Plate
2010s JJ 6L6
1950s GEC KT66
2010s Marshall Branded EL34

[DavidVeeGuitars]

This was humbling. The differences are there, but very subtle. Makes me rethink what I thought I knew about tubes.

[mrthunder]

Wow...that old RCA 6L6 has a very unique sound!

[gingataff]

All had their merits, none sounded bad. For snob value I'd go with the KT66 ;)

[tacmason]

this is why we LOVE our Brother Johan !!!!

[JonasSweden]

Great test Johan! 👍
They all sound good and close. If I have to pick one, I'd say the RCA had a presence that the others lacked in comparison. Cheers Jonas

[jadefire]

To my ears, the 60's 6l6 had it and I'm no vintage tube snob, seemed to have the power and clarity.grat work as ever.

[Sparkystring]

Those GECs are the bee's knees. Honestly the new tubes have nothing to be ashamed of, and the brightness of the beam tetrode 6L6GC helped it hang in there. I've never had GECs before, but still have RCAs, Sylvanias and GEs. Thanks again Johan.

[angeltorresii]

Interesting. The only difference that I heard was the low end response between the tubes with the el34 being a little "softer" and the 6L6s being a little stronger. Well done!

[Phoebedumplings]

Once upon a time, in the deep dark Swedish forest, lived 4 valves! Johan out them into a Marshall and they all lived happily ever

[ApeLikeCreature]

Another EXCELLENT comparison, thank you. I really love the RCA...it's a bit more focused.

[aschneider]

Mother of God! Man, I'm addicted to your channel!
Cheers from Brazil.

[oncearoundthemapleleaf]

best sounding was and most distinctive was the RCA 6L6. Second best was the EL34, but it was really close to the other tubes in sound quallity. I used to run a mixed quartet of 6L6"s (metal envelope Mil spec) and EL34"s. Best of both worlds.

[michaelorton]

Man i tell u I usally like the El 34 sound, KT66 is killing it this time that's a dam good set

[noeffnwaypal]

It may just be my speakers, but I had a hard time telling the first three apart at all. The last one sounded a bit brighter, but not a whole lot. Thanks Johan.

[RickMcCargar]

I won't bother saying what I thought would happen, because what happened wasn't anywhere near as extreme as I thought it would be.

A person could easily use any of those tubes and just vary speakers.

In the meantime, I received my new Fender Elite Tele today, but still can't open it for another couple of hours because it was pretty cold over night so I'm letting the box come get to room-temp to be would think getting older would make being patient easier....but not when it comes to new toys!

Thanks for the video Johan!

[brandonhupp]

Merry Christmas Johan!!!! from Sunny Sanpedro California! Your the best Tone Master! and you always make it easy for us Guitar Nerds to get the best sound we need without your help it would be difficult Rock on brother! !!

[PhattStaxxTraxx]

Your videos are done very well because the sound bites are short and sequential, good job. I like the KT 66 sound the best.

[giulidm]

Wow you put a lot of work for this, i love your channel and the way you develop the videos. Thanks for all the information, greetings from Argentina!

[fiveightandten]

KT66 - Put out a little more volume than the rest, had a little more bottom end. Lots of top end (as bright as the RCA), a little cleaner sounding than the others.

EL34 - Least amount of bottom, smoother top. More centered around the mids. Less definition and clarity than the other tubes. All of my favorite amps use EL34s, yet this was my least favorite tube of the bunch here.

JJ 6L6 - Balanced sound. Less low end than the KT66, had more top end clarity than the EL34, but was darker than the other 2. The response seemed to be shifted a little lower, overall, than the RCA.

RCA 6L6 - More top than the JJ. Maybe less bottom end, but it's brighter, so the top end seemed to take over more. More clarity without really being any harsher, but I think I preferred the JJ's darker and lower tone.

That's how I hear it. Great comparison as always, thanks for sharing!

[bluesguitar]

Hi Johan, once again, another great video, and thanks for all the time and effort you put into making these videos for all of us rock n' roll enthusiasts. The RCA sounded the best, it has a bit more bite which i like to hear, all the others sounded very similar at least IMO.
Brilliant work my friend and keep on rocking!