Difference With New [differennt] Tubes?

[C.O.A.]

how much of a difference will, say, JJ tubes make in my triple rectifier?

right now it has ruby tubes in it (6L6). I've heard that ruby tubes suck compared to JJ's.

I'm asking this because i am not satisfied with my tone still and i have had this triple rec for like 2 months. i thought i was happy with it, then i realized that i was just accepting the fact that i couldn't get a better tone.

help please! i don't want to get rid of this thing because i don't want to get rid of something that may have the potential to be awesome.

oh and btw, i play heavy grind/death metal if that helps any.

 

[Rayder]

for starters, to get it to really stand out it has to be loud. real loud, and it being 150 watts doesnt help either. how loud do u usually ruun it? it has the potential to be a really good amp. maybe you just havnt found it yet. but dont give up on it yet, after all you have only had it for 2 months

 

[knightkw]

Different tubes definitely make a difference. I just put some JJ ECC803s's in my TSL122 preamp and they really improved the overall tone. Also, I swapped the 6L6's in my Lonestar for a set of EL34's and there was a huge difference in the sound.

One thing to try that won't cost anything is using different settings for tone controls (treble, mid, bass, presence) Don't max out the treble or mids and remember that the setting of the treble influences how the mids and bass sound...there are a ton of possibilities to try. I personally prefer backing off the mids to about 11 o'clock with the treble about 2 o'clock and the bass straight up at 12.

If you have the budget for new tubes, go ahead and get 'em but make sure you get power tubes matched for best performance.

 

[oyster]

why did you buy it? :?:
Lots of people get good tones from the TR, surely it must be in there somewhere, don't despair.

 

[jds22]

Don't max out the treble or mids and remember that the setting of the treble influences how the mids and bass sound...there are a ton of possibilities to try.

Agreed. It took me a while to get used to Mesa tone controls after years of Peaveys and Riveras. When I first tried an F50 in the store a few years ago I thought it was one of the worst sounding Mesa's I'd heard. After reading all the hype I decided to try one again, with suggested settings with me. What a difference. I just bought a used one the other day and am really pleased. If you haven't donwloaded the manual do it and read up on the tone control section.

Then again the Mesa Rec sound may not be for you.

 

[eliot323]

I agree with everything - don't be afraid to really the move the dials around - my opinion of my Mesas increased exponentially when I realised what a difference the controls make (unlike many "boutique amps").

The other thing that might help is a power attenuator, which would allow you to cook the power section a lot more than you'll be able to (150 watts is a hell of a lot of power...)

I've always found the rectifiers need the output section cooking to get the really sweet tones.