Anybody tried 6CA7's?

[ClassicRock88]

Has anybody tried 6CA7's in a JMP style amp? Are they indeed a drop in replacement for an EL34? How to they compare tone and reliability wise?

[DEXMAN]

I had a JMP 100w made in 1972 for 25 years and I thought the 6CA7 gave the best sound when pushed hard, somewhere between EL34 and 6550 I was looking for tone from AC/DC to Motorhead type of thing. Apparently they were the ones Eddie Van Halen preferred it was reported in G.P. magazine back in the eighties. I hope this helps mate.

[Marshall Mann]

Hey CR,

Yes, the 6CA7 is a drop in replacement in any EL-34 amp.

Personally I prefer a 6CA7 to a El-34 (but this is only my preference, to each their own). Tone wise a 6CA7 has a little more low end grunt and a smother top end than an EL-34, but you do loose a bit of the upper mid detail that the El-34 carries.

For CP comparison purposes, durability wise they are the same as an El-34.