2ch Tri-rec, a few questions.

[vick1000]

Pawn shop wanted $699 for it, offered $600 OTD, got it for $600+ tax ($642). Only home for a few minutes, and already bullying my poor Vypr.

EDIT:
So is rectifier tube ratlle/ringing (not through speaker) normal? These EHX from Doug's can be heard from 20ft away or more. Putting the amp in silicon mode shuts them up, but I would like to use tube mode. There is some buzzing from the back of the amp in silicon mode, again not in the signal. Maybe it needs new filter caps.

Can anyone tell me who's this is...

Gut shots....

Cleaned up and fired up...

Mesa says it shipped June 6 2000.

I just ordered a full Metal retube kit from Doug's with the EL34s, that should kick the mids up a notch.

Damn, after getting off work early tonight, I had some time to dial in some settings with the TS9 and my RG8, now I'm not so sure it needs new tubes. I may have wasted money, but it would be nice to eliminate the TS9 from the equation, so we'll see.

Build quality from Mesa is insane.

 

[deeman]

Wow, great deal, looks great!

 

[JCDenton6]

What a hell of a sweet score man!

 

[vick1000]

What a hell of a sweet score man!

Hells Yeah. And I'm a big Deus Ex fan BTW, best game ever made.

 

[vick1000]

So I put Doug's kit in mine, and I have to say I don't notice much difference. It's a little more saturated, and the lows are tighter, but the TS9 is still needed to get the mids to open up. Using the tube rectifiers is better though, the EHX rectifier tubes smooth things out nicely, while the low end stays pretty tight. The old Mesa tubes are probably just fine.

That boomy low end is everpresent though, but it does not get flubby at all when you turn them up now, and you can get some serious volume with them at about 11:00. The EL34s thicken the mids another notch, and the preamp set also thickens the effect of the treble pot. It almost seems like there are two amps at the same time, a bass amp and a Marshall, weird (F and B string anyway). Maybe it's my speaker setup, two HOT100s in the bottom, two v30s up top.

I think I will put her back on the market though, it's just not my style amp. I still prefer the wet 5150 gain and tone stack control. I may try some different speakers though, the V30s in the top spots of my Warp T 412 have that nasty grind to them. Maybe some V128s would help.

 

[vick1000]

EDIT: I just picked up a used Boss ME50 for $100 at my local GC, put it out front of the Tri-rec with just some OD1 boost (drive at zero, all others at noon, master at noon) and a little noise gate (10:00), and my view has shifted completely. Pure unaldulterated BAWLZ!!!!! I don't think it's going for anything less than a 100w 5153 or better, and then I would have to think hard about it. I still have to try all the way cool stuff you can do with the ME50 as well.

 

[JCDenton6]

Hell yeah man, glad you're holding on to it! Here's a thread you might be interested in reading http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=58838

Big Deus Ex fan as well, the first game deserves a remake *fingers crossed*

 

[vick1000]

Hell yeah man, glad you're holding on to it! Here's a thread you might be interested in reading http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=58838

Big Deus Ex fan as well, the first game deserves a remake *fingers crossed*

Yeah, I read every page of that thread, and was considering a pot swap, but I don't think I will need or want to now. Tough to find real Mesa pots anyway, Tube Amp Doctor in Europe was the only source I could find, and they want 28 euro to ship to US.

Human Revolution wasn't too bad.

 

[vick1000]

So is rectifier tube ratlle/ringing (not through speaker) normal? These EHX from Doug's can be heard from 20ft away or more. Putting the amp in silicon mode shuts them up, but I would like to use tube mode. There is some buzzing from the back of the amp in silicon mode, again not in the signal. Maybe it needs new filter caps.

 

[vick1000]

Also, does anyone know what that socketed Opamp near the input stage does?

 

[vick1000]

I went ahead and orderd 2xF&T 220uf 300v and 4x30uf 500v caps from Tube depot, along with some low noise/ high gain tested JJ ECC83S golds (V1/V2), and a low noise/ balanced ECC803S gold (V5). I'll bieng swapping those caps when I get the time, even if they are not an issue, it's a 15yo amp.

 

[JCDenton6]

Also, does anyone know what that socketed Opamp near the input stage does?

It looks like it connects the channel switches with the LDRs and power supply and helps direct switching traffic.

 

[vick1000]

OK, so I did what I should have done when I first got it, cleaned all the jacks with DeOxit, and most of the hum is gone. I'll be swapping the pre amp tubes out, so I'll go ahead and hit all the sockets with the nylon brush and DeOxit as well. I'll hold off on the caps unitl I get some time, even if the hum is totally gone they will still need to be replaced soon I imagine. At least I can turn the NS on the ME50 down to about 8:00 now, at bedroom volume, and after adding some more gain on the red channel, pretty smitten with the thing now.

 

[jbird]

What are you using for speaker cable?

 

[vick1000]

I make my own speaker cables...

http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-102747-50-Feet-Enhanced-Oxygen-Free/dp/B001UNGJF6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427953946&sr=8-3&keywords=oxygen+free+copper+speaker+wire

http://www.amazon.com/Switchcraft-280-4-Inch-Guitar-speaker/dp/B00C5B1S44/ref=pd_rhf_schuc_s_cp_9_WMFV?ie=UTF8&refRID=1DVN9T90C1PWCVY1ES70

 

[vick1000]

Well instead of trying to find the time to replace the caps on my own, I found a local guy to do it for $60. Only problem is, I only bought two 220uf for the power board, not realizing there are two on the backside. So I ordered two more and he said he'll put them in no charge, I'll give him another $20 though.

So far, not much of a change, a little bit more punch in the lows, a little more gain on tap it seems, but it could just be placebo. Hum and noise seems to be the same, and tube rattle is the same as well. I figure the old caps are just fine, but it's really just preventive maintenance anyway.

 

[vick1000]

Right, so the other two are replaced, and all the hum is gone, just typical tube hiss. No chance to play it yet, I'll get to after work tonight.