2 chan dual recto issues

[filteredsoul]

Hey everyone!
I can't believe I haven't come across this board sooner...
Anyway, I'm a tube amp noob, and I've been using a 2 channel dual recto (with a 2x12 recto cab) that I bought used. I noticed that the tubes in V1-V5 (power tubes?) are groove tubes. I know this is not stock. All the other tubes are the stock Mesa's. (Gray color coded) I've owned the amp for 5 years playing mostly the clean channel and using various effects. When I switch over to vintage, or the red vintage/modern channel, the amp basically becomes a buzzy, fizzy boat anchor. I was about to spend 600+ dollars with voodoo amps to have them mod the thing, but from what I'm reading here, it seems that I could just "choose correctly" when I replace all the tubes and be in the ball park. I play mostly straight up rock with the heaviest being Greenday-like. I can get by with my pedals for everything else. I'd love to have a sparkly clean channel and useable, non-fizzy gain. (kind of like the sound samples on the voodoo site) Do you have any ideas for me? Not that I'm trying to snub voodoo or anything, $600+ is just a LOT of cash.
Thanks!

 

[Guitarzan]

V1-V5 are the Pre-amp tubes. They sit in front of the Power tubes V6-V9. They are noticably smaller than the power tubes. Now...The Tube topics are further down the main page and I think you could benefit greatly by reading a few topics on stated subject. You will find a myriad of players here with different tastes in tubes and styles but knowledgable enough to point you in the right direction.

 

[jbird]

Post your settings on that "fizzy", "buzzy" boat anchor of a Red channel! The reason I ask is: Though it may be time for a tube replacement, I don't really equate "buzzy" and "fizzy" as attributes of different tubes! "Fizzy" and "buzzy", I usually relate to gain and presence settings! I would'nt think you'd need the gain past 12 o'clock, and the presence in the 9 o'clock to 11 o'clock region for the styles your claiming! :idea:

 

[filteredsoul]

Ok... by the way, I opened her up yesterday, and she was made 8/99
on my clean channel (orange, set to clean)
master 9:00 or 10:00 depending on what the engineer lets me get away with
presence 3:00
bass 3:00
mid 12:00
treble 2:00
gain 9:00
These settings sound the best to me using my pedalboard distortions/effects

on my red channel (set to vintage... modern is WAY too much for what I like)
master 10:00
presence 2:00
bass 12:00
mid 12:00
treble 1:00
gain 1:00 -but I play sloppy, so increasing to 3:00 hides my mistakes better.

I see what you mean about presence and gain settings. I'll have to mess wiith it more, and at the volumes I plan to play at to see if I can dial anything in.

I recently did some recording using a Bogner XTC101B and with that amp at low gain settings my playing seemed effortless. It just jumped off my guitar. I tried to replicate the sound at home on the Mesa, which I could do, but I had to be so deliberate with my playing that it sounded horrible. I'm big on touch dynamics. I know most people like to have it sensitive so when they vary their pick attack their tone reflects what they're doing. Not me. It has to jump off my guitar. -Testament to my abilities I guess...

Thanks for all the help!

 

[filteredsoul]

I should also say that I have the power switch on "bold" and I'm using the diodes instead of the tubes for rectum-fication. All this for those touch dynamics I talked about before.
The additive effect of all my settings are probably what's making my amp fizzle...
-Fo Shizzle

 

[oyster]

Those are pretty high presence settings.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Try the tube recto...the silicon diodes are WAY too stiff for my tastes.

 

[jbird]

I'd get that Presence to the "recommended" sweet spot, maybe 9 o'clock-11 0'clock, then you can season the lost high end with the treble control! Much warmer that way! Good Luck!

 

[filteredsoul]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've messed with it a little and I get the "blanket over my amp" sound when I turn the presence down that much (and the treble up to compensate) I've ordered some new tubes (Doug's recommendations) so We'll see what the outcome is. Since I normally run the clean channel and use effects, the presence sounds good up there to me. I've played with it pretty extensively since I started reading here, and I'm really happy with my clean. It's the other half of the amp I'm struggling with. I'll post my findings after the new tubes come. Also, I read about replacing the output transformer with a Mercury Magnetics. Is there a part number of the correct replacement? Is it just a remove the old and solder in the new one - type of fix?