are 6L6 GC STR 440 still best choice for Mark IIb ?

[gonzo]

i would assume that a matched set of mesa 6l6's is still the best way to go....


does anyone have a better suggestion?


fried a tube last night, recording, first tube i've burned out in 15 years!
LOL

it was a STR-420

 

[gts]

Those 420's don't usually last 15 months let alone 15 years.
And I know you push them hard!

You might find some 420's on ebay.
Or go for Winged C's.
440's...eh, I could take 'em or leave 'em.

 

[gonzo]

thanks gts...


i'm gonna roll with the yellow marked 440's, see how they run.

nobody around here has anything else anyway....

some JJ's, some Groovetubes....

 

[TattooU]

I have matched pair of JJ's in my Mark IIb. These tubes work really well in this amp and I would suggest you to get pair of these. I don't like Str 440's at all... :?

 

[gonzo]

well guys, i put the 440's in..
mostly because it's all anybody had around here, and the cost ($42)


and


they sound awesome.

i'm not kidding, this is the best this amp has sounded since i had it re-capped back in '05, and even then, i used the same tubes i had then, and didn't notice the difference just the tubes made....

maybe i outa think about updating my preamp setup....

 

[gts]

New power tubes can really bring an amp back to life.
It's all relative so with 15 years of good use on those 420's it's no surprise some new 6L6's did wonders.

I picked up a non Mesa amp a couple of years ago. When new this amp comes stock with JJ 6V6's.
The previous owner had used them for about 6 years. One reason he sold the amp was lack of clean head room.
A few weeks after I had it I put a pair of NOS 6V6's in it and the thing just woke up/ came to life in a way I didn't expect.
If the previous owner had tried this he may not have sold the amp.
The New tubes gave it better output and more clean headroom! The thing just came to life and sang.

So congrats on the 440's waking up the 'ol IIB.

Pre-amp tubes don't wear out nearly as fast as power tubes so you probably don't need to do any swapping there.
But hey you're on a roll of sorts so it may not hurt to try some. If nothing else you may find some tonal variations with different pre-amp tubes that you'll like.

 

[gonzo]

i may ultimately be happier with a set of winged c's...

but, right now i'm "house poor", don't have the extra bucks to spend, and the huge difference between the sound of the 440's and my older 420's makes me feel good about the choice.

i only paid 42 bucks for a pair of 440's...


those tubes musta been ready to crap out for a long time, and i just slowly got used to it.
the difference was night and day.