My favourite it a humble modern tube by EI, the fat bottle 6CA7 - back in production thankfully.
I find them a big step towards neutrality, most 34's are too "sweet" for my taste, ultimately cloying. I find KT88's etc too much the other way, though I could live with them.
To me the EI fat bottles are a nice compromise. Very musical, but still with baggs of detail and a FAR more "kick-but" bottom end, where I find most 34's a bit soft.
They are also very long lived and almost impossible to kill. I had a coupling capacator go short while I was out of the room, when I came in the whole plate was bright red! The glass has discouloured, but blow me, it still worked and almost biased up as well!
After replacing the capacator it kept going for some months untill I could afford a new octet of them.
That does not imply that I have a cheap system, just that I frequently max out my credit card to improve it, pay the card off, then do it again.
I now carry spares and yes, I have used various nos 34's including Mullard, Amperex and Telles.
Just personal taste - I will swear by telle flat plate AX7's and bugle boy AT7's (and have just melted my card cornering a lifetime supply) - but try the EI's - I don't rate them as "guitarist's tubes" - I love em!
I find them a big step towards neutrality, most 34's are too "sweet" for my taste, ultimately cloying. I find KT88's etc too much the other way, though I could live with them.
To me the EI fat bottles are a nice compromise. Very musical, but still with baggs of detail and a FAR more "kick-but" bottom end, where I find most 34's a bit soft.
They are also very long lived and almost impossible to kill. I had a coupling capacator go short while I was out of the room, when I came in the whole plate was bright red! The glass has discouloured, but blow me, it still worked and almost biased up as well!
After replacing the capacator it kept going for some months untill I could afford a new octet of them.
That does not imply that I have a cheap system, just that I frequently max out my credit card to improve it, pay the card off, then do it again.
I now carry spares and yes, I have used various nos 34's including Mullard, Amperex and Telles.
Just personal taste - I will swear by telle flat plate AX7's and bugle boy AT7's (and have just melted my card cornering a lifetime supply) - but try the EI's - I don't rate them as "guitarist's tubes" - I love em!