Shuguang EL34-B
The Chinese (Sino) made Shuguang EL34-B tube is sold by Ruby Tubes as their EL34B-STR and was much loved by our reviewer. From our review of this EL34 tube: "The sound is loud and clear with a very nice sonic range. Not excessive in tops, mids, or bass, they are accurately described as well balanced. The sample tested had no audible microphonics and an average background noise level. Harmonic content was rich, lending that pleasant swirl and sustain that guitar players crave."
Note: Occasionally Shuguang sends tubes that are not printed with logos and part numbers. However, all are the same construction.
Other Shuguang tubes EL34 Tube TypesAdditional Information and Downloads
Reviews:
EL34 Tube Review
Tube Matching Information:
Power Tube Matching FAQ
Perfect Pair System
Warranty Information and Return Policy
Warranty Period: 3 monthsAll our tubes are guaranteed for 3 months from the date of purchase. (Any exceptions will be noted on that tube's Warranty tab)
If you receive a tube that does not perform to the manufacturer's specifications, please do the following:
- contact us to get a return authorization
- return it via regular mail within 90 days from when we shipped it, and we will provide an exchange or refund of the full purchase price of the tube.
Returns not related to warranty or defect will be considered at our discretion, and are subject to a 15% restocking fee.
We can not accept returns that don't have an authorization, are past 3 month, or are returned improperly.
These guidelines may be updated without notice.
Ratings & Reviews
13 reviews
Risky!
by Dave
The JJ EL34 is way better, the Chinese tubes are unreliable, 2 failures already, smoked a socket, and cost me some cash, the Chinese make great preamp tubes the Shuguang 12AX7A tubes scream and are cheap.
Note from thetubestore: You may have had some bad luck with this tube. Our data indicates the failure rate is within 0.04% of the average for all EL34 brands.
Another Failure
by Paul
I have no idea how long EL34s are supposed to last, but one of my Shuguangs just bit the dust after about 18 months of daily use. They do sound really nice until they fail, but I am glad I had some E-H EL34s around to pop in my amp.
Note from thetubestore.com: 18 months of daily usage (estimated 1500 to 2000 hours) would not qualify as a premature failure. This would be a fairly typical lifespan.
So far so good!
by Tom Coryell
Replaced both power tubes in my Guytron GT 40. Biased it properly and it is back to its sweet shimmery self. I will report back if other than satisfied later on. This is a heavy combo amp that roll around on a dolly, so the tubes get vibrational abuse.
Sounds great and reliable
by Denny L
Sometimes the fault may lie elsewhere. My AE SixPacs came stock with the Ruby EL34BSTR (same tube). Out of the box, fuses were popping, and the bias strayed all over the place in one of the amps. I thought it was the power tubes but was advised to swap in a new current source EL84 tube. Problem solved! When the time came I've since bought another set. In the SixPacs these Shuguangs have been reliable and sound just like reported in the review on this site - balanced top to bottom, with a nice shimmery top end. For the price, they're hard to beat. Dennis Had may have been on to something...
Reliable and hard working tubes
by Umberto Smith
I suppose I hold these in higher regard than the SED tubes because they lasted longer and did not have failures.
I think if you'd like honest tube life and don't want to spend more for boutique labels and sonic characters that may or may not exist, this is the tube for you.