Crazy Road King + Yellowjacket Idea

[mloiaco]

Here's the plan:

Replace two of the RK's 6L6's with yellowjackets and EL84s.

The configuration (old) --> (new) would be:

2x6L6 --> 2xEL84
2xEL34 --> 2xEL34
2x6L6 + 2xEL34 --> 2xEL84 + 2xEL34
4x6L6 --> 2xEL84 + 2x6L6
4x6L6 + 2xEL34 --> 2xEL84 + 2x6L6 + 2xEL34

Is this safe? I should probably call Mesa before I do this.

 

[Guitarzan]

Plat!!!! ...calling Platypus.

 

[Platypus]

hehe..

Sounds interesting, since the RK is essentially a dual rectifier I would imagine this is 100% safe but having only done it myself on the DR solo head I don't want to lead you astray. That could be a pretty badass change and give you tones of tonal options!

 

[RoadKinger483]

i would really be interested in doing this as I have been wanting a EL84 tone for quite some time. I have a 2x12 Roadking combo and if anybody has actually tried this I would love to hear how it turned out.

 

[dennq45]

I would be calling Mesa on that one but I wouldnt do it. I think it would be ok running two Yellowjackets when using two 6L6,s but not all four. I would probably order a couple more Yellowjackets and use four in all 6L6's. What would be cool is run your Yellowjackets in place of your EL- 34's. After all, EL-34's are just El-84's big brother.

 

[mloiaco]

After calling both Mesa and THD, both companies told me that it should be safe to do what I originally described. I ordered a duet of yellowjackets with JJ's EL84s today. I'll keep you all posted.

 

[mloiaco]

I did it. The yellowjackets came on Friday with JJ's EL84's. I swapped out 2 of the 6L6 in my RK1 for 2 yellowjackets with EL84's. I swapped the pair of 6L6's that get used when you set progressive linkage to 2x6L6, so my old and new progressive linkage options are:

2x6L6 --> 2xEL84
2xEL34 --> 2xEL34
2x6L6 + 2xEL34 --> 2xEL84 + 2xEL34
4x6L6 --> 2xEL84 + 2x6L6
4x6L6 + 2xEL34 --> 2xEL84 + 2x6L6 + 2xEL34

I have three immediate comments.

1. The clean channel sounds incredible with 2xEL84. With the gain down, the presence up, and the reverb up, you really get a nice warm country sound. If you crank up the gain and the output, you get the most incredible bluesy tube breakup.

2. With Ch. 3 or 4 in vintage or raw mode with 2xEL84, you can get an awesome Vox AC30 sound like Stone Temple Pilots or Fountains of Wayne.

3. With 2x6L6 + 2xEL84, you get a "simul-class" type sound with the 6L6 running in AB and the EL84 running in Class A. Using only a Boss GE-7 Equalizer (in the serial loop) and a Tube Screamer TS-808 (before the preamp), I can get an awesome Mark IV-type sound.

 

[SoundFondler55]

Clips 8)

 

[HappyStrat]

After calling both Mesa and THD, both companies told me that it should be safe to do what I originally described. I ordered a duet of yellowjackets with JJ's EL84s today. I'll keep you all posted.

Mloiaco, What model Yellow Jackets did you get & what are the 6L6 locations that you put them in?

 

[mloiaco]

I got the standard yellowjacket adapters for replacing 6L6, EL34, etc. type tubes. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/THD-YJSD-Yellow-Jacket-Standard-Duet?sku=210390

If you face the back of the RK1 head and look to the right, you'll see the 2 rectifier tubes. Then, the next two tubes to the left of the rectifiers are the 2 6L6's that I replaced.

 

[HappyStrat]

Thanx, I'll be taking the same route you took, just gotta wait till payday.

 

[Machine Gun]

So give us a little more insight on how the swap is going, now that you've had the EL84's in for awhile. How are you liking it? I wouldn't mind trying that myself.

 

[mloiaco]

With my current setup, I cannot easily provide clips of useful quality. Also, I've been quite busy lately, so I've only been able to play my new setup 2-3 times. However, I will share my experience so far:

Ch1: Greatly improved cleans with the EL84's in Class A. I add a wad of reverb and it sounds fantastically lush. Also, running the gain up between 3:00 and full-on gives a nice warm tone that breaks-up super early thanks to the 84's. All you have to do is dig into the strings to get an unmistakable Vox character.

Ch2: Running 2xEL84 + 2xEL34 gives "Super Brit" tone. The 84's contribute their unmistakable high-end chime, and the 34's give girth, force, and stability to the sound.

Ch3 (Vintage): Using 2x6L6 + 2xEL84 with a TS-808 in front of the amp and a Boss GE-7 EQ in the serial loop, I can make my RK sound like a Mark-series amp. I can post the exact settings of all the equipment in a separate thread if someone asks.

Ch3 (Raw/Vintage): Using only the EL84's, you can really get a nice Stone Temple Pilots / Fountains of Wayne rock tone similar to the Vox AC30.

One downside: Replacing 2 of the 6L6 with EL84's will definitely cause you to loose some of that bottom end booming Recto chug. However, my style of music (progressive metal, rock, blues, country) doesn't really depend on that, so I don't really miss it.

Bottom line: I'm extremely pleased with my decision, and I wouldn't want to go back to my old tube configuration.


That's it for now.

 

[Machine Gun]

Hey, thanks a lot mloiaco.

 

[HappyStrat]

With my current setup, I cannot easily provide clips of useful quality. Also, I've been quite busy lately, so I've only been able to play my new setup 2-3 times. However, I will share my experience so far:

Ch1: Greatly improved cleans with the EL84's in Class A. I add a wad of reverb and it sounds fantastically lush. Also, running the gain up between 3:00 and full-on gives a nice warm tone that breaks-up super early thanks to the 84's. All you have to do is dig into the strings to get an unmistakable Vox character.

Ch2: Running 2xEL84 + 2xEL34 gives "Super Brit" tone. The 84's contribute their unmistakable high-end chime, and the 34's give girth, force, and stability to the sound.

Ch3 (Vintage): Using 2x6L6 + 2xEL84 with a TS-808 in front of the amp and a Boss GE-7 EQ in the serial loop, I can make my RK sound like a Mark-series amp. I can post the exact settings of all the equipment in a separate thread if someone asks.

Ch3 (Raw/Vintage): Using only the EL84's, you can really get a nice Stone Temple Pilots / Fountains of Wayne rock tone similar to the Vox AC30.

One downside: Replacing 2 of the 6L6 with EL84's will definitely cause you to loose some of that bottom end booming Recto chug. However, my style of music (progressive metal, rock, blues, country) doesn't really depend on that, so I don't really miss it.

Bottom line: I'm extremely pleased with my decision, and I wouldn't want to go back to my old tube configuration.


That's it for now.

mloiaco,

When I first read this post, I thought the yellow jackets were just a gimmick that maybe faintly changed tones. After all, the amount of money that every one of has wasted on products that barely do anything, is staggering, so I was skeptical but decided to give the YJ's a whirl anyways. I apologize, I was dead wrong!

These things are totally freakin' nuts! I'm getting the same cleans in my RKI that are in the LSS, LSC, Roadster & RKII. Since the launch of the Roadster & RKII, the RKI has gotten a pretty bad rap. The RKI is still a killer amp in it's own right, but the YJ's turned her into an amp that can pretty much do it all. I was able to dial in an AC30, Marshall 18W very easily, I'm still experimenting though. I used to think about upgrading to a RKII, but I have no reason to now because I can do the same things with the RKI (Oops, except for the upgraded reverb). I've only played with the YJ's for 2 days, and the pallete of tonal possibilities seems endless, everything sounds sweet. I don't think there are any amps on the market where you can mix 6L6's, EL34's & El84's at the same time. My bud is bringing over his RKII combo tonight, so we can see what they do for his tones, I do believe it's gonna be awesome as well. I'm very curious what the YJ's can do to the Roadster & RKII but I kinda don't really care cause my RKI does everything I need it to do now.

I briefly plugged them into my MKIV and tonal possibilities exploded as well, but that's a another story. I will definitely be ordering a duet of YJ's for that as well.

Thanx for turning me on to YJ's, I'll be experimenting for a very long time. My advice to RKI owners, go get a duet of these bad boys NOW. Definitely, the best $99 dollars I have ever spent.

 

[sleepingtiger]

[If you face the back of the RK1 head and look to the right, you'll see the 2 rectifier tubes. Then, the next two tubes to the left of the rectifiers are the 2 6L6's that I replaced.]

Shouldn't it be either the inside or outside 6L6's? I just want to clarify before attempting.
Tony[/quote]

 

[phyrexia]

No, the RK's tubes are not aligned that way. They are like this A A B B C C,
as opposed to a TR which is A B C C B A.

 

[nomad100hd]

dennq45

EL84 are not the little brother of EL34. The only commonality is they were invented in england i think. 6v6's I'm told and EL34 sound more alike than EL34's and EL84's.

I have been curious what my nomad would sound like with EL84's

 

[nomad100hd]

you just have to buy the tubes.

 

[sleepingtiger]

Any update on this?
Has anyone replaced the EL34s, rather than the 6L6s? I'm contemplating this(when mine is delivered), as I don't want to lose the thump & am not a big EL34 fan, but love 84's!
Tony