JJ EL844 Valves

[Somerset]

At a recent Shadows club meeting I was talking to someone who had recently acquired a Vox AC15 and he was saying how loud the amp was, particularly for home use.

I don’t have a Vox valve amp (yet!), I am using a Vox MV50AC but I do have a Peavey Classic 30 and a Peavey Classic 50/410 and they both have EL84 valves in the power section. To make them more usable in the house (particularly the C50) I have used JJ EL844 valves instead of EL84. The EL844 is a direct replacement for the EL84 but the output is 25% lower meaning you can get your favourite valve tones at lower volume.

As far as I know only JJ make EL844 valves and reviews have been mixed but I can only say that my experience was that they did what it said on the tin!

I am curious to know if anyone has tried the EL844 in any of the Vox valve amps and if so what you thought of them.

[barryg]

The choice of amplifiers is wide with new non valve amps becoming available which are compact and relatively lighter to carry and they are packed with features and computer connections for updates and loading patches and you can produce many sounds from them including The Shadows sounds with careful setting up. For Shadows music The Boss Katana range have been good for a long time now and the Vox Cambridge 50 is also very good and is similar to the Katana although not many players seem to be aware of it. Both amps are competitively priced.

The Vox AV50 AC amp you're using is very good for Shadows music especially if it's connected to a cabinet with a Celestion G12M speaker and a equaliser to tweak the sound and that's what I use. I have my Vox AC 30 but I rarely use it.

What amp is everyone else using now or considering for the future?

Barry

[artyman]

Using a Boss Katana 50 Mk1, usually with a programmed echo, most of the time, though I do have a Blue Nebula, which is normally plugged into the power amp side of my Fender Mustang III which lives at home. The main reason for getting the Katana 50 was the lighter weight. It is plenty loud and I'm happy with the sounds I can get from it.

[Somerset]

Thank you for your comments from which it would appear that in my original post I gave the impression I was looking to buy an amp. I'm not, although it is entirely possible that I might feel the urge to do so in the future!

In addition to my Vox MV50AC and Peavey Classics I also have a solid state Peavey Backstage, a Yamaha THR10 and a Fender Deluxe Reverb which is more than enough to be going on with.

The purpose of my post was nothing more than a curiosity to ask if anyone had tried the JJ EL844 to reduce the output of their Vox valve amp.

[barryg]

To clarify and further to my previous comments I would add that I haven't been aware of the EL844 valve and I didn't mention that but I responded to your mention of your Vox AV50 AC amp which will give you the Shadows sound you're looking for when used with the right setup and this could be an alternative to changing the vale in you amp. I also mentioned the Boss Katana and the Vox Cambridge 50 amps being suitable for The Shadows sound with lots of settings and features and also a master volume control to help with playing at low volumes whilst retaining the Shadows sound. Many of us have other amps and pedals which we use for other playing styles but I see why you just want to change the valve as an easy fix.

Barry