El34’s in a 2018 MW DR (help) 6L6 talk to

[Dreamin90s]

Around 1997 switched to Mesa brand el34s in my 1996 rev g DR.

Got a 2018 mw dr used. Pretty bright amp, with even more mid scoop then what I remembered. Figured well, let’s re tube the power tubes section first, it appears to have the stock mesa tubes that came with it new (6l6gc str 440)nits almost 9 years old, who knows how hard it was driven… my first thought was to goto el34’s like I did back in the day.

Mesa was out of stock of all their el34’s so I called Eurotubes and talked to them… they sold me or regular jj el34 matched quad… they are biased at 24 it says (I think that’s cold for el34s?) these things are pretty harsh in the high mids. Kid of a buzzsaw. The amp also got even brighter. They are a bit spikey in the high mids. The volume increased a lot so I do suspect the stock 6l6s were nearing their end. In the 90s when I switched from 6l6 to el34 I don’t recall it drastically changing the tone of the amp like this! What I recall - it tightened the lows up a hair, possibly rolled off some high end and just gave an overall slight mid push across the spectrum.

Now Mesa has el34’s back in stock. Reading the description, it sounds like 446 are more what I want - a balanced smooth mid push, not aggressive. but I don’t know new tubes (been out of music for 20 years) and surely don’t feel like wasting more money on something im not going to like. All these years later im not playing out, doing studio work… im just playing at home a few hrs a week.

I lived on the orange with the rev g (bold/recto tubes) so I am planning on living on channel 2 / vintage with this mw. Sure I’d like to hit Chan 3 modern at times.

The tones I like are foo’s color and the shape era & Alice In Chains… pretty much 90’s heavy gain. I’m not playing much “chug” or fast triplet picking. I play a lot of full chords. I play Les Paul’s with 498t’s, burst bucker pros and 57+

El 34 str 446 or 447?

Or with this multi watt go back to new 6L6? Mesa appears to have a few different str offerings. This is definitely a way different voiced amp compared to the rev g. Harder mid scoop on Chan 3 imo, oddly it seems chan 2 / vintage is voiced with more mids than the rev g on orange.

Eurotubes sold me on some gz recto tubes too, geez they made the amp way to tight. Took them out after 5 minutes and put the 54ug’s back in… these gz tubes are prob fine for 7-8 string players and modern metal… or fast picking… they were awful for what I like. It was like diodes on steroids and not even using the recto tubes. No warmth, tons of attack.

I read Mesa uses jj now, so that’s one of the reasons I gave it a try, I hope mesa’s are not like these… these el34’s are super aggressive in the high mids and brightnend the amp even more. Pretty dissapointed, Espically after talking to Eurotubes for 30 minutes to figure out what I used to use, what I like and what I’m looking for… money down the drain…. I put the stock 6l6s back in that are prob dying, even though they have a brittle kinda harsh high end…

Help…

 

[bandit2013]

Mesa uses the 6L6GC version STR445. I tried a quad of those in green codes, did not like them. Just too much of something in the sound. The original tubes that came in mine were STR440 grey (these are Shuguang tubes that Mesa used for decades before the manufacturer had a fire and closed up). I am still using the STR440 tubes in the MWDR and my Roadster. I have tried the other tubes, STR441, STR443, STR445, STR448 and I personally do not like any of them. Trying to find the right color code for the amps. Seems that the color code does not translate over to the different tubes.

If you want to run the EL34, the STR447 will be fine, those are EH EL34 tubes. The STR446 are TAD red base tubes, those are made by PSVANE. Same for the STR448. The STR446 and STR447 sound about the same. Too bad the STR448 did not sound like the STR440. I sort of preferred those tubes. I sort of moved on from the Dual Rectifiers and basically run the Badlander or the Mark VII.

 

[Dreamin90s]

Mesa uses the 6L6GC version STR445. I tried a quad of those in green codes, did not like them. Just too much of something in the sound. The original tubes that came in mine were STR440 grey (these are Shuguang tubes that Mesa used for decades before the manufacturer had a fire and closed up). I am still using the STR440 tubes in the MWDR and my Roadster. I have tried the other tubes, STR441, STR443, STR445, STR448 and I personally do not like any of them. Trying to find the right color code for the amps. Seems that the color code does not translate over to the different tubes.

If you want to run the EL34, the STR447 will be fine, those are EH EL34 tubes. The STR446 are TAD red base tubes, those are made by PSVANE. Same for the STR448. The STR446 and STR447 sound about the same. Too bad the STR448 did not sound like the STR440. I sort of preferred those tubes. I sort of moved on from the Dual Rectifiers and basically run the Badlander or the Mark VII.

Thanks for the input. Mesa described the the el34 446 as balanced or something they describe the 447 as pushing harder in the mids, prob what these jj’s do…

The 6l6 that came in the amp, all 4 are the same. STR 440 ac blu 10. Curious if you know what they are? I assume they are original tubes.

 

[bandit2013]

Those are Shuguang 6L6GC (Ruby 6L6GCMSTR are the same thing). Mesa used those for a long time. They were the only standard tube option from Mesa for at least two decades. Mesa had other tubes that would pop up in their online store but were special order as they had limited quantities. STR454 are SED =C=6L6GC tubes. STR445 are JJ 6L6GC (those have a 6CA7 characteristic to them, so far the only amp I like those in is the Mark VII and the reissue IIC+)

Blues would be nuts. My MWDR came stock with the Grey. Never thought that blues would even be a thing in the 6L6 family. Not as abundant I assume. Just like Red is uncommon for the STR447 tubes. I have a quad of those (pulled them from a used RA100).

The STR440 sound like a pissed off bee's nest. Sort of gives the amp its character. I sort of grew fond of them in the MWDR and Roadster. Different color codes for each amp though. Yellow for Roadster, Grey for the MWDR. I bet the blues are over the top. It is a Class AB amp so you only gain a little amount of power tube distortion. The Blue would be more early distortion than the grey.

For using the EL34, The STR447 or STR446 would be fine. Need to keep the amp in tube rectification mode as the plate voltages of the MWDR will be on the high side for EL34 tubes (screens are more susceptible for failure when you get above 450VDC). Dual Recs run around 460VDC to 480VDC. Not exactly sure where the MWDR falls in terms of plate voltage. Roadster runs around 470VDC. The 3CH solo head runs at 476VDC. I assume the MWDR is close.

EL34 STR447 sound ok in the MWDR. Not sure what color codes I had used. More than likely blue or grey. I did not notice any major tone shift with them. Unlike a Mark V90, that you will notice the ****** midrange get boosted with EL34 tubes. The MWDR is a much darker toned amp with more of a scoop midrange character. You do lose a little bottom end but that is about it. When I tried the STR446 (red base TAD tubes) they sounded similar but I ran the comparison of the STR446 vs the STR447 in the Badlander 100, and the TC100 amps. I only ran the STR447 in the MWDR for a short time to hear how it would sound.

 

[Dreamin90s]

Those are Shuguang 6L6GC (Ruby 6L6GCMSTR are the same thing). Mesa used those for a long time. They were the only standard tube option from Mesa for at least two decades. Mesa had other tubes that would pop up in their online store but were special order as they had limited quantities. STR454 are SED =C=6L6GC tubes. STR445 are JJ 6L6GC (those have a 6CA7 characteristic to them, so far the only amp I like those in is the Mark VII and the reissue IIC+)

Blues would be nuts. My MWDR came stock with the Grey. Never thought that blues would even be a thing in the 6L6 family. Not as abundant I assume. Just like Red is uncommon for the STR447 tubes. I have a quad of those (pulled them from a used RA100).

The STR440 sound like a pissed off bee's nest. Sort of gives the amp its character. I sort of grew fond of them in the MWDR and Roadster. Different color codes for each amp though. Yellow for Roadster, Grey for the MWDR. I bet the blues are over the top. It is a Class AB amp so you only gain a little amount of power tube distortion. The Blue would be more early distortion than the grey.

For using the EL34, The STR447 or STR446 would be fine. Need to keep the amp in tube rectification mode as the plate voltages of the MWDR will be on the high side for EL34 tubes (screens are more susceptible for failure when you get above 450VDC). Dual Recs run around 460VDC to 480VDC. Not exactly sure where the MWDR falls in terms of plate voltage. Roadster runs around 470VDC. The 3CH solo head runs at 476VDC. I assume the MWDR is close.

EL34 STR447 sound ok in the MWDR. Not sure what color codes I had used. More than likely blue or grey. I did not notice any major tone shift with them. Unlike a Mark V90, that you will notice the ****** midrange get boosted with EL34 tubes. The MWDR is a much darker toned amp with more of a scoop midrange character. You do lose a little bottom end but that is about it. When I tried the STR446 (red base TAD tubes) they sounded similar but I ran the comparison of the STR446 vs the STR447 in the Badlander 100, and the TC100 amps. I only ran the STR447 in the MWDR for a short time to hear how it would sound.

Well oddly all 4 of they 6l6 are blu lol. You saying those would be over the top is prob the reason I thought they were coming to an add. They have a nasty swirling high end… maybe now that I understand the eq better on the mw, I should pop them back in and try them out…

I’ve got these jj el34’s a little more tame now. I dropped the head down to 50 watts and put it on spongy, the buzzsaw is under control a bit. The mid push they give really helped out channel 3 on modern voice with that massive mid scoop, It actually sounds closer to my rev g on orange / vintage than channel 2 that is set for vintage. Channel 2 vintage is struggling now, it’s super boxy and nasal.. I had to pull the mods back from 2 o’clock to 9 o’clock, that’s how much mids these power tubes are pushing in!

Funny you mention the 6ca7 - when I talked to Eurotubes (before I dropped the watts and moved to spongy) and told them these jj el34’s are like a buzzsaw, they reccomend I try 6ca7 (still in the el 34 family)….