Hey man here's the deal...I noticed on my triple rectifier that my tone lost some bottom end....I then checked the tubes and found tube #4 was not lit up...I went to guitar center in Austin Tx. and luckily ther was a Mesa Booge rep ther and he gave me all the info on how to go ahead and chang all 6 of my tubes since the were over 2 years old....I then drove 70 miles to put these bad boys in...I noticed the ones that came in stock were 6L6 STR430's and the ones I replaced were 6L6 STR 440's...man I lost alot of power by putting these in and the guy back at guitar center said the only difference between the 430's and 440's is one is made in China and the other one was made in Russia thats all...so I asked him if he had ever heard of this...I mean I have the master on each channel around 10:00 oclock and the main out put on around11:00 oclock....you could barely hear this thing and when I turned it all up it barely made a change....I was pissed...so then I put all my old tubes back in and wow now they were all glowing and I turned that bad boy on and bam...my amp kicked back in with some fury...the guy told me to bring my Head in Tues. so he could witness this...I gotta gig tonight and thank God I kept all my old tubes...Has any one ever heard of this...I mean can I stil get the 430's...something sounds strange here..any info would be appreciated....Peace. :evil:
6L6 GC 430 AND 440'S
- Thread starter FREDDY
- Start date
Help Support The Boogie Board:
ibanez4life SZ!
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2006
- Messages
- 2,380
- Reaction score
- 0
Did you replace the rectifier tubes also?
Very odd.....maybe some bad tubes? It does happen.
Very odd.....maybe some bad tubes? It does happen.
No the Mesa boogie rep said I could actually take the 5U4G rectifier tubes out since I use the Triple rectifier in the SILICONE DIODES(HI POWER)mode for the type of music I play....so even the guy at Guitar Center said this sounded weird...I guess I'll find out Tues....Thanks.. :?:
Maybe the power tubes dont fall into the right bias the amp is set for.When using the SS rectifier/silicone diode mode you dont need the tube recs(5U4) nothing strange about it.If the guy at GC thinks this is wierd,I would wonder about letting him work on my amp.
Maybe one of your tubes rattled loose and unseated itself. It could also be that the contacts in the tube sockets were getting oxidized. It is not a surpize that after swapping tubes back and forth that the original tubes were fine. It can happen. In swapping out the tubes you may have cleaned the contacts enough to make a good connection again or you may have just properly seated the tubes. Before you ever buy new tubes always ensure that you have checked to make sure that your tubes are in fact bad. This includes swapping them around and reseating your tubes. Again, if your #4 tube wasn't making contact it wouldn't have lit.
I also think that if the guy at GC contradicts what Mesa tells you then I would think twice about him. Though Mesa does not approve of the Hollywood Mod and actually told their techs not to do it anymore. There are still some good reputable techs and those that will do things that Mesa says not to but most of them are not "Mesa" techs. These are the guys I would go to if not a Mesa tech. I would assume that a guy working at GC is not a good tech. A good tech wouldn't bother to work at GC.
Being that you just got those tubes I would take them back and get a refund. Really try to push the refund. If they say that you cannot get a refund for some stupid reason like they do not take tubes back as returns then I would tell them that you were not satisfied with them nor the tubes and that you would at least want a credit towards something else. Be sure that you tell them how disappointed you are with the tubes and how far you had to drive just to shop with them. Something to consider also is the color code. Compare the color code ratings of both sets. You can find information on color coding in other posts here. It may be that your set just wasn't your preference. Most of the guys at GC don't even know about the color coding or the difference in tube type by #. You can find the tube # chart posted here also if you look for it. It will explain the differences between the various preamp tubes, power tubes and rectifiers. Learn the charts if you so desire. In the long run it will help you out when considering new Mesa tubes or other manufacturers' tubes for that matter. Most good tube vendors will be able to help you out if you ask too. I would not consider GC to be a good tube vendor. They can't even tell you the difference between the tubes that Mesa grades. This is pretty poor because they are given the chart by Mesa. For that matter they can't even tell you the difference between the GT tubes either. Again, they are given a chart. Most of the people that work there are just there and that is if you are lucky to get one that is semi-conscious.
I often feel like I am talking to a wall when getting even remotely technical with anyone there. I think that it should be a prerequisite to work there that you are an absolute gear junkie along with being able to play whatever it is that you are trying to sell. I mean really, how many times have you asked a question and gotten a blank stare as if they are about to wet themselves because they can't answer your simple question and then they try to smooth things over by giving you some BS answer or change the subject. I dunno, I guess I am one of those that goes in there sometimes just to mess with them. I do buy some things there but most of the time I just tell them exactly what I want. In the case of guitars, I act like they are not even there half the time. If they bother me too much I just move or tell them to come back later. Once in a while I get a good conversation about stuff with a reasonable employee but those individuals are rare and the ones to talk to if you have a question or need information about something.
As far as not needing your rectifier tubes in SS rectifier/ silicone diode mode goes, I cannot imagine why you would need them if you never use the tube rectified mode. They are not used in the SS mode. I would however always be certain that the amp is in the proper rectifier mode selection if the rectifier tubes are not installed before I turned the amp on. If you accidentally power up in the wrong mode without the tubes you could damage your amp.
I also think that if the guy at GC contradicts what Mesa tells you then I would think twice about him. Though Mesa does not approve of the Hollywood Mod and actually told their techs not to do it anymore. There are still some good reputable techs and those that will do things that Mesa says not to but most of them are not "Mesa" techs. These are the guys I would go to if not a Mesa tech. I would assume that a guy working at GC is not a good tech. A good tech wouldn't bother to work at GC.
Being that you just got those tubes I would take them back and get a refund. Really try to push the refund. If they say that you cannot get a refund for some stupid reason like they do not take tubes back as returns then I would tell them that you were not satisfied with them nor the tubes and that you would at least want a credit towards something else. Be sure that you tell them how disappointed you are with the tubes and how far you had to drive just to shop with them. Something to consider also is the color code. Compare the color code ratings of both sets. You can find information on color coding in other posts here. It may be that your set just wasn't your preference. Most of the guys at GC don't even know about the color coding or the difference in tube type by #. You can find the tube # chart posted here also if you look for it. It will explain the differences between the various preamp tubes, power tubes and rectifiers. Learn the charts if you so desire. In the long run it will help you out when considering new Mesa tubes or other manufacturers' tubes for that matter. Most good tube vendors will be able to help you out if you ask too. I would not consider GC to be a good tube vendor. They can't even tell you the difference between the tubes that Mesa grades. This is pretty poor because they are given the chart by Mesa. For that matter they can't even tell you the difference between the GT tubes either. Again, they are given a chart. Most of the people that work there are just there and that is if you are lucky to get one that is semi-conscious.
I often feel like I am talking to a wall when getting even remotely technical with anyone there. I think that it should be a prerequisite to work there that you are an absolute gear junkie along with being able to play whatever it is that you are trying to sell. I mean really, how many times have you asked a question and gotten a blank stare as if they are about to wet themselves because they can't answer your simple question and then they try to smooth things over by giving you some BS answer or change the subject. I dunno, I guess I am one of those that goes in there sometimes just to mess with them. I do buy some things there but most of the time I just tell them exactly what I want. In the case of guitars, I act like they are not even there half the time. If they bother me too much I just move or tell them to come back later. Once in a while I get a good conversation about stuff with a reasonable employee but those individuals are rare and the ones to talk to if you have a question or need information about something.
As far as not needing your rectifier tubes in SS rectifier/ silicone diode mode goes, I cannot imagine why you would need them if you never use the tube rectified mode. They are not used in the SS mode. I would however always be certain that the amp is in the proper rectifier mode selection if the rectifier tubes are not installed before I turned the amp on. If you accidentally power up in the wrong mode without the tubes you could damage your amp.
Thanks alot man I'll probably drive back to Austin tomorrow and show the dude there what I mean...I played our gig with one tube not actually glowing, this time it was in slot #3 but I pulled it off...I'll definitely ask for a return or maybe some groove tubes or something else...I gotta do something....Peace.
Similar threads
