EL34 Valve Guitar Amps

EL34 tubes have been used in traditional valve guitar amps since the '60s. Popularised by Marshall, the EL34 is regarded as a key ingredient of the "British sound". Marshall continues to equip many of its amplifiers with these valves, and nowadays there are companies from all over the world that use EL34s extensively in their designs.

But why is the EL34 regarded as a valve amp staple? They simply sound great when pushed at high volumes, as they break up more softly than most other valves. EL34s therefore create saturated, harmonically-rich distorted amp tones with a tight and compressed character. If you're into overdriven rock guitar tones, almost any EL34-powered guitar amp would deliver the goods!