50/50 Poweramp

[meemawuk]

I'm the new owner of a Mesa 50/50 poweramp and the guy who's sending it to me has asked whether I'd like the valves to be removed for shipping, or whether I want them packaged still installed.

Firstly, how easy are the valves to reinstall once I get it? Are there any guides?

Secondly, what are the risks of leaving the valves intact whilst in transit?

Any other relevant info would be much appreciated!

 

[disassembled]

Tubes are fragile....shipping companies are rough......you do the math.


It would be best if he removed the tubes and wrapped them seperately. They are easy to install.


Greg

 

[meemawuk]

Tubes are fragile....shipping companies are rough......you do the math.


It would be best if he removed the tubes and wrapped them seperately. They are easy to install.


Greg

Much appreciated. Know of any guides? videoguides? that demonstrate the changing of power tubes?

 

[disassembled]

No sorry. Try searching the net I am sure there's plenty of info on how to install tubes.


Greg

 

[ak47]

Just ask him to number the tubes left to right (backview) and put them in the same way.

It is very very easy.... just pay attention to how you line up the pins and you'll be fine.

 

[disassembled]

Just ask him to number the tubes left to right (backview) and put them in the same way.

It is very very easy.... just pay attention to how you line up the pins and you'll be fine.

It shouldn't make a difference what order the tubes go in since they are matched.


Greg

 

[hanson2713]

true, they are matched but only in pairs, not the whole quad. It wont make a difference anyways as they are all very close.

 

[meemawuk]

He's got different brands on each side, but they are matched pairs. I've asked him to package them individually and name them 1 - 4, left to right (back view) just to be safe.

 

[disassembled]

He's got different brands on each side, but they are matched pairs. I've asked him to package them individually and name them 1 - 4, left to right (back view) just to be safe.

I would personally not want to unmatched pairs because you don't know how "mismatched" the tubes are. Tubes can be sold in matched pairs, quads, sextets, octets, etc you just have to go through someone other than Mesa to get them. I also have had a quad of tubes that came in my mesa amps that were very closely matched.

You are best off retubing right away if you can afford it or when you can afford to. If the tubes are mismatched they were probably replaced out of necessity instead of normal maintenance. The last thing you want is your amp going down at a gig because of old worn out power tubes.

I just bought a 50/50 myself so we'll both get to see how it sounds


Greg

 

[meemawuk]

I'll be replacing the tubes pretty soon anyway. £50 for a quad set of JJ's is pretty reasonable so I'll probably go with them (or electro harmonix.) Wont be gigging with it in the immediate future since since I've still got a bunch of stuff I need to buy to complete my new rig. Reinstalling the old tubes would just be for testing purposes more than anything else.

Just out of interest, how much did you pay for yours? And what else are you using (or planning to use) in your 50/50 rig?

 

[disassembled]

I paid $495 shipped with a flight rackcase for mine and apparently it has brand new tubes. I don't know if I am going to keep it or not because after I bought the 50/50 I found the amp I was really looking for at a good price (mesa 20/20) so I went and bought that too. I used to own a 20/20 and it's a really great lightweight amp that is still a little too loud for my volume needs but will work better than the 290 I used to own. Hopefully I won't lose any money on the deal as they seem to go for low $400's now but that can always change.

I am using two preamps at the moment: Mesa Triaxis Phat mod and a PV tubefex (for all the things the mesa can't do like Marshally tones plus it has effects).

The weight of the 50/50 compared to the 20/20 will probably deter me from keeping the 50/50 but I still would like to hear how it sounds. The 20/20 is the only stereo power amp mesa currently makes that can be switched from 110 Volts to 220.


Greg

 

[meemawuk]

I was looking at 20/20's but in the UK they seem to go for as much as, if not more than 50/50's. I paid £380 GBP for my 50/50 and a 20/20 recently went for over £400 GBP. Also, I'm in a band with 2 Dual Rec players, so I need the extra power really just to be heard! LOL

Now I'm lookin for a triaxis then probably a G-major for effects.

 

[disassembled]

If you want something cheap to hold you over the PV tubefex will fit the bill nicely. The PV rockmaster is also good but is a 3 channel analog preamp. Everything else costs much more money. The tone of the Tubefex is cool because you can get some really great midgain sounds which is exactly what I want right now as well as the extremely saturated high gain stuff. Just make sure you get the V2.0 software and that the battery is replaced with a battery eliminating memory chip. If you are interested I have an extra for sale so just PM me.

The 20/20 does go for more than the 50/50 and that's because Mesa and Marshall are the only ones that offer a 1 space stereo tube power amp. Supply and demand......

I play in a group where I don't need the volume so the 20/20 is much more suiting than the 50/50. My mark IV is too powerful and I never get to run it close to where the tubes are even beginning to get warmed up. You'd be surprised at how loud the 20/20 can actually get. I often barely turned it up loud enough to get the tubes working in that thing either. I will definitely be comparing the two when they arrive though.

I would recommend that you do some research before going with the G major. I have heard that the build quality is not so great.....i was looking at the intellifex, xpression, and GSP1101 before i got a great deal on the Tubefex's. I don't use effects as a mainstay in my sound so I am actually not looking anymore but the ones I suggest come highly recommended from users at hugeracksinc.com. The GSP1101 also has a preamp section too that might hold you over until you can find a Triaxis.


Greg

 

[meemawuk]

Wow! Loads of info. Like I said before, I'm not looking to 'rush buy' a rig as I dont need it immediately. I'll just pick up things as they become available.

Yeah I've head the 20/20 is very capable in terms of volume when playing small gigs and probably suits the job better than bigger poweramps. Also, It's much more portable. I on the other hand need a bit more power, and I'm not overly excited by the EL84's in the 20/20.

Regarding the G-Major, I thought I had done my research, and found very few opinions that had anything bad to say about it. One of the other guitarists in my band uses a G-force for his effects and I've had a leisurely play around with it and decided it was far too complex for what I needed. Effects play a pretty big part in my playing but not enough to justify the complexity of the G-force. In saying that, I've also heard great things about Intelliflex but haven't really looked into it in great detail.

Just out of interest, what issues have you read about regarding the G-Major?

 

[joey_truelove]

Guys: Have you missed you can run it in low power mode, which would equal to about 15W valve power per channel? It does change the tone of the thing, though... Also those Yellow Jackets and what's-their-name from GT could get you into low out put territory.

 

[meemawuk]

Forgot to post and say it arrived good and well. Everything is in working order and tubes have been reinstalled. Heres some pics for those who like that sort of thing:

 

[joey_truelove]

Are you running your valves in odd pairs? Hang on: that's what this thread was all about, isn't it. Anyway: cleartops should go on one side, silvertops on the other, not inside/ outside pair as in a 100W head.

But then, combining them like that might be the sound you're looking for. 8)

 

[dmpc]

hey dissambled..you're the only other person i know with a pv tubefex.. i was very happy with the sound but found the delay changing patches a bit annoying..and changing patches with different gain levels gave a strange sound..but effect built in was great..used it for about 8 years till a triaxis came my way second hand...tubefex battery went flat a few times without warning..twice at gigs..had to leg it home for another amp..still have it but can't trust it..did u ever manage to get the memory card..i even wrote to and emailed peavey but no luck..

 

[meemawuk]

Are you running your valves in odd pairs? Hang on: that's what this thread was all about, isn't it. Anyway: cleartops should go on one side, silvertops on the other, not inside/ outside pair as in a 100W head.

But then, combining them like that might be the sound you're looking for. 8)

I didnt actually tube it that way, but its the way the previous owner had it tubed and I only put them back in that way for reasons of consistency for testing.

Someone said earlier that because they were mixed pairs the chances were the valvaes were changed out of necessity rather than as maintenance. I think this was the case. It'll be getting an overhaul before it sees any proper use.

 

[disassembled]

hey dissambled..you're the only other person i know with a pv tubefex.. i was very happy with the sound but found the delay changing patches a bit annoying..and changing patches with different gain levels gave a strange sound..but effect built in was great..used it for about 8 years till a triaxis came my way second hand...tubefex battery went flat a few times without warning..twice at gigs..had to leg it home for another amp..still have it but can't trust it..did u ever manage to get the memory card..i even wrote to and emailed peavey but no luck..

Well I sold the Tubefex in favor of a digitech GSP1101 due to the fact that 1. there's no delay in patch changes and 2. it interfaces well with the Triaxis perfectly since it has a decent effects loop. I don't know if I am going to keep the GSP for sure but it works better than the tubefex could ever imagine to. Peavey doesn't sell the nvRAM chip but you can go to the yahoo groups for the tubefex and get the guys email. His name is Ken Fox and sells them for like $39 shipped i think.



Meemawuk:

Glad the 50/50 arrived. I think I am getting rid of mine since the power transformer is a bit noisy and the thing weighs twice as much as the 20/20.


Greg