DrummerChas
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So after two months of working with the stock 6L6's in my Mark V, I finally replaced the tubes with Mesa EL34's. I chose the Mesa tubes because I'm just the kind of guy that would put something else in and then have an amp issue and ultimately a warranty issue so I chose to play it safe :lol: .
I got the Yellow color code tubes x 4 for $88 plus tax at the local GC. I know that a number of threads have already reviewed various EL34 changeouts so some of this may seem redundant, but I wanted to post my first impressions and later, after having more time to work with them, will do an update.
I never really fell in love with the 6L6's (except for Ch 1) until I stuck a clean boost in front of the V to open up Ch 2 and 3, which basically means that I was having a a bit of trouble completely loving this amp. I really hated the fact that I had to boost an already overdriven amp to get the rhythm and lead tones I wanted. So after reading tons of threads from you guys (many thanks to all of you) I took a shot with the Mesa EL34's. I have had just a few days to work with them at this point.
So far I am very impressed with the new sound. It really is an entirely different amp. Out of the gate I have noticed a tremendous difference in Ch 2 and 3. I no longer "need" to clean boost either of them to get the kind of rhythm and lead sound that I want. It's like someone woke up the crunch mode setting and the Mark IV lead tone is amazing now! It actually kind of seems like the amp is more alive and stronger then it was with the 6L6's. The bottom end is better than expected and the clean channel barely took a hit...maybe not quite as glassy as before but still plenty good for the stuff I play. Before when I was boosting, I found that I would mostly use Mark IIc+ mode in Triode for lead, but now that setting sounds more compressed and less appealing, but in Pentode, Mark IIc+, Mark IV and Extreme are all awesome! This is really nice because now I just leave the setting to Pentode for all so it's one less thing to change. All 3 modes feel good for lead playing and Mark IV sounds particularly good for both rhythm and lead (+1 for Extreme there as well).
Crunch mode in ch 2 has an amazing rhythm tone with these tubes. I'm going to play with the clean boost a bit just to see what happens when I push it, but really it doesn't need it now. As far as Ch 1, I think there was a very small hit but just not bad enough to worry about. I actually like the Fat mode sound with a bit of chorus and delay, it really sounds beautiful. I play mostly rock and metal so I think overall these tubes are a better fit for me. That's really it for now, I will update as I work with it more, but for now I can honestly say that I really love this amp now.
I got the Yellow color code tubes x 4 for $88 plus tax at the local GC. I know that a number of threads have already reviewed various EL34 changeouts so some of this may seem redundant, but I wanted to post my first impressions and later, after having more time to work with them, will do an update.
I never really fell in love with the 6L6's (except for Ch 1) until I stuck a clean boost in front of the V to open up Ch 2 and 3, which basically means that I was having a a bit of trouble completely loving this amp. I really hated the fact that I had to boost an already overdriven amp to get the rhythm and lead tones I wanted. So after reading tons of threads from you guys (many thanks to all of you) I took a shot with the Mesa EL34's. I have had just a few days to work with them at this point.
So far I am very impressed with the new sound. It really is an entirely different amp. Out of the gate I have noticed a tremendous difference in Ch 2 and 3. I no longer "need" to clean boost either of them to get the kind of rhythm and lead sound that I want. It's like someone woke up the crunch mode setting and the Mark IV lead tone is amazing now! It actually kind of seems like the amp is more alive and stronger then it was with the 6L6's. The bottom end is better than expected and the clean channel barely took a hit...maybe not quite as glassy as before but still plenty good for the stuff I play. Before when I was boosting, I found that I would mostly use Mark IIc+ mode in Triode for lead, but now that setting sounds more compressed and less appealing, but in Pentode, Mark IIc+, Mark IV and Extreme are all awesome! This is really nice because now I just leave the setting to Pentode for all so it's one less thing to change. All 3 modes feel good for lead playing and Mark IV sounds particularly good for both rhythm and lead (+1 for Extreme there as well).
Crunch mode in ch 2 has an amazing rhythm tone with these tubes. I'm going to play with the clean boost a bit just to see what happens when I push it, but really it doesn't need it now. As far as Ch 1, I think there was a very small hit but just not bad enough to worry about. I actually like the Fat mode sound with a bit of chorus and delay, it really sounds beautiful. I play mostly rock and metal so I think overall these tubes are a better fit for me. That's really it for now, I will update as I work with it more, but for now I can honestly say that I really love this amp now.
