Do you like the stock Mesa EL34s?

[Moot]

I find the stock EL34s that came with my Stiletto Ace sound fine, but like most of you, I'm wondering if it's worth looking around (and, technically, void the warranty) for other tubes.

Any experiences you're willing to share would be appreciated.

 

[yettoblaster]

I like the Mesa's fine. I've spent a lot of money on tone nuances. It's a slow financial death spiral.

 

[Platypus]

I didn't care for them in my Dual Rec but I like them in my Stiletto Ace

 

[Barry]

My Deuce sounds fantastic with stock mesa EL34s . Keep in mind all the R&D on this amp was done with stock tubes . Something to consider .

 

[dmotisko]

My Deuce sounds fantastic with stock mesa EL34s . Keep in mind all the R&D on this amp was done with stock tubes . Something to consider .

+1 My Deuce Stage II sounds great as well

Dave~

Stiletto Deuce Stage II
Stiletto 2X12

 

[JAZZGEAR]

My Deuce sounds fantastic with stock mesa EL34s . Keep in mind all the R&D on this amp was done with stock tubes . Something to consider .

+1 My Deuce Stage II sounds great as well

Dave~

Stiletto Deuce Stage II
Stiletto 2X12

+2, I did try some other EL34s and JJ KT66 (They Sucked) and was much happier with the Mesa stock tubes in my DEUCE II

 

[inkwachemis]

winged =c=s SED EL-34s all the way for the Ace

 

[Rocky]

mine sounded fine with the stock tubes. I had an accident and broke one and replaced the pair with STR450 tubes because that was all that was in stock at my local dealer...they sound better but the stock ones were fine.

 

[edward]

The "stock" Mesa 450s, the NOS Siemens, are excellent! I love them in my MKIII Simul.

Edward

 

[alex1fly]

The "stock" Mesa 450s, the NOS Siemens, are excellent! I love them in my MKIII Simul.

Edward

+1 in my roadster too.

 

[MetalMatt]

They sound fine in my Road King.

 

[123thefirst]

IMO they *clearly* beat even the Siemens NOS EL34's in a Road King II. But that assumes you are using top notch cables, strings and pickups. The stock EL34's are more fluid than the Siemens. The Siemens have a quirky squeamishness as if they dowsed the sound with oil so that important harmonics slip away quickly. Maybe the Siemens combined with the Tung Sol preamp tubes would work better. The stock EL34's (STR 447) give you more creamy mids in a nice way.

 

[CaughtLikeFire]

The "stock" Mesa 450s, the NOS Siemens, are excellent! I love them in my MKIII Simul.

Edward

Mesa 450s in my Ace, no desire to run anything else. the Chinese EL34s that came with the amp weren't bad though.

 

[dennq45]

I prefer the Svetlanas.

 

[Moot]

So it seems that the stock EL34s are fine. I felt the same way but I'm looking to add some Svetlana tubes soon to see what happens.

The more people vote the better our collective info! Please vote!

 

[Tweeked]

Keep in mind all the R&D on this amp was done with stock tubes . Something to consider .

All the tube failures I've had in my Mesa have been non Mesa tubes.I put a couple of Mesa EL34's in another amp and they sound great.Since the amps are tested with these it makes sense to only use Mesa tubes in Mesa amps.

 

[t0aj15]

All the tube failures I've had in my Mesa have been non Mesa tubes.

I've had exactly the opposite experience. As far as I'm concerned Mesa power tubes are total crap, and a complete waste of time and money.

 

[MJ Slaughter]

Speaking generally about Mesa branded tubes, I use to have all kinds of trouble with my MB 6L6's going bad in a MB 50/50 power amp. Kept blowing fuses because of bad power tubes. Finally tried JJ 6l6's and had a better sound and aboslutly no problems for years after that.

I'm more of a 6l6 guy but just bought a Stiletto Ace combo for variety. Sounds good with stock tubes but wouldn't you know it. After a few minutes of playing one of the stock MB EL34's was glowing bright orange. After putting in standby to let it cool down then trying again just to experiance the same problem I turned it off. Swapped the two power tubes and so far, same day, no problems but I just can't trust them. I'm going to try either JJ's or SED's. Anyone have experiance with SED EL34's? I use the SED 6l6's in my MB DC-5 and love them.

 

[TP Parter]

winged =c=s SED EL-34s all the way for the Ace

Same for the Recto, the only modern tubes that will go in my T-Verb are original Svetlana, or SED =C=.

 

[dkrobs]

SED Winged C's Power and TungSol in Pre section Boogie DC5. Very nice sounding combination for me.