4 6l6's in Mark III vs. Mark IIC+

[Anonymous]

Why does it mention in the manual for the Mark III that you shouldn't put 6l6's in the outer tube sockets, but doesn't mention it in the Mark IIC manual? Is the mark IIC+ biased differently? I want to put 6l6's in the outer sockets of my Mark III blue stripe, but don't know if the bias is set properly to do so.

 

[Boogiewan Kenobi]

Depended if amp was Simul-Class or not. If it was (either a IIC, IIC+ or III) then you could put EL-34 in the two ouuter sockets. If it was a 60/100 then all 6L6. NOTHING to do with bias.

BWK

 

[Anonymous]

So having 6l6's in the outer tube sockets of a Mark IIC+ isn't recommended either?

 

[JOEY B.]

For a simulclass MkIIC+ you can use 6L6's. Mike B. told me that if you were using STR-440 Mesa 6L6's ,to use Green or Grey in the middle sockets, and Red in the outer (class A) sockets. The color code should be written on a sticker attached to the tube base.

 

[Boogiebabies]

Why does it mention in the manual for the Mark III that you shouldn't put 6l6's in the outer tube sockets, but doesn't mention it in the Mark IIC manual? Is the mark IIC+ biased differently? I want to put 6l6's in the outer sockets of my Mark III blue stripe, but don't know if the bias is set properly to do so.

When the manual was written, all you basically had on the market were very poor quality Chinese 6L6's. These were not reliable in any case. The only other alternative was NOS 6L6's. The EL34's that were produced during the time were pretty decent, like Svetlana's etc. These could handle the hotter bias of the outer sockets and drew the current that would bias them at a good warm level. A good modern 6L6 can as well, but as was mentioned you should run a bit cooler color code in the outer sockets to add to the longevity. The inner tubes run cooler anyway.


Note:

The old Chinese 6L6 coke bottles did sound pretty good, but were only good for about 3 to 4 months. I have a NOS set of MESA STR-420's from the early 90's and they sound great. They just burn out really fast or poof for no reason.

 

[Anonymous]

Cool. Any Idea which tubes Petrucci or Santana preferred?

 

[Russ]

Note:

The old Chinese 6L6 coke bottles did sound pretty good, but were only good for about 3 to 4 months. I have a NOS set of MESA STR-420's from the early 90's and they sound great. They just burn out really fast or poof for no reason.

So those 420s that I have been pushing and loving for the past 6 months might poof on me soon?

Looks like I better get on the ball and get some replacements. I was just starting to really enjoy those too.