Best tubes for mini recto?

[e32lover]

Hi, i know ill probably get utfse, but had a bit of a browse and couldn't really come up with much.

Anyhow, i live in australia where we get charged double for everything, and Mesa seems really tight in not letting US dealers ship outside the US. I have a mini recto, and want to completely re tube it, it has gone to the dogs sound wise, it has been used daily for 2 years and has not seen a new tube yet.

Anyway down under, the cheapest i can find "Mesa Boogie" branded tubes are $100USD for a matched pair of EL84's, plus I would need the preamp tubes as well so I'd probably be looking at about $200USD + for a retube if i go with the mesa branded tubes.

I will do it if you guys think they give the best sound, but i was wondering if there is another brand of tubes that I could try that would give as good or better sound than the mesa branded ones. To sum it up, I was very happy with the sound of the mesa when i first got it, IE I really liked the sound characteristics, so any tube recommendations that would yield as close as possible sound to the originals would be greatly appreciated. Having said that, the mini recto was my first "really good" amp, and sounded way better than anything ive had before, so i suppose since i have not heard anything better, it may in fact sound better with different tubes.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[elvis]

Your preamp tubes probably have a lot of life left in them. Try some Mullard power tubes.

 

[KiwiJoe]

I'm in the same boat as the OP here in NZ where everything is pretty much double what they pay in the States, and I'm getting ready to swap tubes on my Mini Rec, too. Just make sure that whomever you get tubes from knows the plate voltage to match the Mesa bias spec. Start by getting in touch with Doug's Tubes:

http://www.dougstubes.com/power-tubes/el84-6bq5/mullard-el84.html

While he doesn't have sets specifically for the Mini Rec, he's really knowledgeable, has a great reputation, and I'm sure he can set you up with a set of matched tubes to suit the Mini - AND they ship internationally. Looking at the prices on Mullards (unless you go NOS Mullards :shock: ) it looks like you can get a set of EL84s for $16(US) each plus shipping.

 

[elvis]

+1

I've gotten tubes and advice (not in that order) from Doug's. Good experience.

 

[e32lover]

Thanks, will give that a shot.

I remember seeing some other store in the US that makes matched sets of i think JJ's specifically for the mesa mini, cant remember the name of it though. I will check out Dougs store though.

On another note, about to return my mini for repairs, anyone had this problem? The amp works on 25w mode, but does not produce any sound whatsoever on 10w mode regardless of which channel its on.

 

[elvis]

If you're having problems with the sound such that you want to change tubes, that may also be the problem with 10W mode. The power tubes may work in Pentode but not Triode (unlikely, but possible). Anyway, worth a try.

Also, for preamp tubes, last time I spoke with Mesa they were buying the same tubes JJ. Really only two choices: Czech or China.