changing tubes for the first time. what kind do i want?

[colors]

i think its time to change tubes on my mesa roadster. though ive never done this before. i like the normal metal freak tone. with a very tight rhythm tone. very brutal but clean. and the leads with soaring harmonics, and just very smooth. im playing out of an orange 4x12. and my question is. what type of tubes do i want? im pretty certain i want jj 6l6s or el34s. unless theres something better out there that will fit me. i hear 6l6s have more low end and are a bit better for that modern gain sound, but el34s are smoother with more power. can anyone explain the difference a bit better? and im also going with a tung sol ax7 preamp tube that i heard great things about.


now this is my first time changing tubes, is there more to it than selecting what kind of tubes im using on the back? [el34 or 6l6] and just taking four out and popping four in? i heard mesas are self "biasing" whatever that means.

 

[secretsoundz]

Nope. All you have to do is pop in the new tubes, no biasing needed (Thank you Randall Smith!). As far as which brand of tubes to use, I'd go with the JJ's...they make any tube amp sound better.

 

[mikey383]

I love JJ E34Ls. They're hotter than a standard EL34, and they still get some low end thump to them. They seem to make my Dual come alive, and I've had quite a few compliments from other Recto owners about the tone.

 

[songrider]

I like the Mesa tubes myself. they sound great, come with a fantastic warranty, and are really consistant. I have gotten alot of JJ's over the years that were duds or just didnt last long or sound good. (got some good ones to) but the Mesa tubes just work great to me.

 

[colors]

any other tube recommendations?
https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php?page=view_products&category_id=6&sub_category_id=29
have been looking @ a lot of those.

 

[rvschulz]

i like the Winged C and the Ruby 6L6GCMSTR ... pre amp tubes i really like at least 1 Sovtek 12AX7LPS ...

 

[Monsta-Tone]

The funny thing is, each amp is different and every ear is different. Every position in every amp makes a difference.

I use a huge mixture of tubes in all of my amps, I never stop experimenting:

DC-3: JJ Preamp tubes, except V4 (Clean channel) which is an NOS Phillips. Power tubes are JJ.

DC-10: Mixture of JJ, Mesa, & NOS Mullard in V4. Power Tubes are Winged C 6L6.

Heartbreaker: Mixture of JJ, Electro-Harmonix, and NOS Preamp tubes. Power tubes are JJ E34L's with the Blue Glass. Yes, they are all that and more.

If I use EL34's, they are almost always the JJ E34L. They look cool, sound incredible, and last a long time.

Bob has a good warranty too. Plus, he tests them about the same way that Mesa tests their tubes.

 

[Elpelotero]

Give a call to both Doug and Bob at Dougstubes and Eurotubes respectively. They will cater specific tubes to your needs and get them in the proper bias range to get them sounding best.

 

[jdurso]

i think its time to change tubes on my mesa roadster. though ive never done this before. i like the normal metal freak tone. with a very tight rhythm tone. very brutal but clean. and the leads with soaring harmonics, and just very smooth. im playing out of an orange 4x12. and my question is. what type of tubes do i want? im pretty certain i want jj 6l6s or el34s. unless theres something better out there that will fit me. i hear 6l6s have more low end and are a bit better for that modern gain sound, but el34s are smoother with more power. can anyone explain the difference a bit better? and im also going with a tung sol ax7 preamp tube that i heard great things about.


now this is my first time changing tubes, is there more to it than selecting what kind of tubes im using on the back? [el34 or 6l6] and just taking four out and popping four in? i heard mesas are self "biasing" whatever that means.

i had kt77s in my roadster for a while and they sounded amazing..... they're like a hybrid between the thickness of the 6l6 and the tightness, aggressiveness of the el34..... very very tight sounds and great cleans..... also i would check our eurotubes.com and check out the sets they sell for the DRs.... i've heard good things about the kt88s in a DR.... also they have a set that sounds right up your alley

"Mesa Dual Rec Integrated Quad standard Retube with KT88's and KT66's
Price: 194.50
Description: This is a kit I put together for for drop tuned Metal players who want a "kill on contact" low end but who have out grown the scooped mid thing and need a good cutting solo voice. This Retube kit includes an Integrated quad with two KT88's to handel the thunder and punch and a pair of the KT66's to give you a great open mid and high end that cuts and crunches up at higher volumes. For the front end four standard ECC83S's for a rich warm tone and a balanced ECC83S for the phase inverter in V5. These are used in the 6L6 mode and can be run in the Bold or Spongy mode in solid state or tube rec mode with the stock 5U4's or better yet the GZ34's. These are plug and play with no bias mods. "

 

[Jak0lantern01]

JJ Pre-amps sound harsh and terrible, IMO. I posted earlier today in another tube post that I've been using the Doug's combo for pre's, but popped in my JJ high gain combo just to see if it was really that bad. It was. Very harsh on the ears and the tone was painful. Popped my Doug's combo back into, the tone turned to liquid and everything was good for the rest of the night.

 

[jdurso]

JJ Pre-amps sound harsh and terrible, IMO. I posted earlier today in another tube post that I've been using the Doug's combo for pre's, but popped in my JJ high gain combo just to see if it was really that bad. It was. Very harsh on the ears and the tone was painful. Popped my Doug's combo back into, the tone turned to liquid and everything was good for the rest of the night.

i wasn't really refering to the preamp tubes, just the poweramp tubes..... i did a quick copy and paster because i was at work and didnt want to make it obvious i wasnt doing crap..... i cnat speak to the JJ preamp tubes but i love their poweramp tubes

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that the JJ's sound harsh. The usual complaint is that they sound dark. In a Recto they may sound too dark, but in a DC, they sound great because those are naturally bright amps.

 

[jdurso]

I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that the JJ's sound harsh. The usual complaint is that they sound dark. In a Recto they may sound too dark, but in a DC, they sound great because those are naturally bright amps.

ive heard nothing but praise for the jj's whether pre or power amp tubes.... i cant speak to the preamp tubes (yet) but i love their power amp tubes