How BAD is it to run 4 6l6s in a simul-class mark III?

[guitarzan1143]

I just got a new mark III today. It is like a god **** time capsule. It is perfect except for someone put JJ E34Ls i the outer sockets. The amp sounds like ***. Farty low end and way way quieter than my other mark III. All i have are new mesa 6l6s. Am I safe to run 4 of them? I know in the manual it says its a bad idea. This is a blue stripe by the way with an EV speaker.

 

[DaveP]

It's not bad at all to run all 6L6's in simul-class. Perfectly normal.

 

[ryjan]

I'll venture a guess that you have a bad tube or another malfunction with the amp. JJ EL34l's will not cause a noticeable difference in output volume and will have a tight chunky bottom end.

 

[guitarzan1143]

Well on my mark III purple stripe, i turn it up to "2" and its painfully loud, but once you go past 4-5, it doesnt really get any louder, just saturated and noisy. on this one, i have to turn it up to 3 to get painfully loud, Mike b. just had his hands on this amp not too long ago so im guessing there is nothing really wrong with the amp. I just tried 2 6l6s in the outer slots, it sounds worlds better, but it feedbacks like a son of a *****. I think I am just going to buy some new Ruby EL34s. When i wiggle the JJ el34s i can hear what sounds like when you wiggle a broken lightbulb haha.

 

[ryjan]

The preamp tubes can also be at fault too.

 

[>Photi G<]

My MKIII Simul is running strong with 4 TAD 6L6s. They're a little harsh, but no catastrophic amp faliure. The manual suggests EL34's because they tend to be more reliable in a simul-class amp, with a lower faliure rate than 6L6s. It doesn't say "NO. No 6L6's you amp will explode," it says "We strongly reccomend EL34's because of their lower failure rate over the years." It's still ultimately a matter of preference though.

 

[Direwolf]

My MKIII Simul is running strong with 4 TAD 6L6s. They're a little harsh,

Which TADs are you using? I've been considering these tubes for my iii+. I had a Fuchs TDS that had these and a friend put them in his Fender HRD. I love the mids in these tubes.

 

[Direwolf]

I just got a new mark III today. It is like a god **** time capsule. It is perfect except for someone put JJ E34Ls i the outer sockets. The amp sounds like ***. Farty low end and way way quieter than my other mark III. All i have are new mesa 6l6s. Am I safe to run 4 of them? I know in the manual it says its a bad idea. This is a blue stripe by the way with an EV speaker.

I run 4 6L6s in both my IIIs. Love the difference and haven't had any problems. They're the Mesa 440's btw.

 

[>Photi G<]

My MKIII Simul is running strong with 4 TAD 6L6s. They're a little harsh,

Which TADs are you using? I've been considering these tubes for my iii+. I had a Fuchs TDS that had these and a friend put them in his Fender HRD. I love the mids in these tubes.

I don't know. The previous owner had them installed, and all I see on them is TAD 6L6GC STR. As far as I'm concerned, they're chinese crap. I'll wait for them to wear out, or trade with someone for some JJ's. Otherwise, I'll try out some Svetlana 6L6's--The poor man's STR415's :lol:

 

[MrMarkIII]

"... The manual suggests EL34's because they tend to be more reliable in a simul-class amp, with a lower faliure rate than 6L6s. It doesn't say "NO. No 6L6's you amp will explode," it says "We strongly reccomend EL34's because of their lower failure rate over the years." It's still ultimately a matter of preference though... "

The warning against all 6L6s did not appear in the original manual. At some point Mesa added this caveat because of poor quality tubes. I'm pretty sure they have rescinded this "warning" and it no longer applies.
Hope this helps.

 

[cremona]

For what it`s worth , i brifly tried 4 6l6`s in my simul C+ , diddent like it much , to cold undynamic and not as brutal.

But it could be the 6l6´s (tung-sol and GE) that where a bad match

 

[guitarzan1143]

I put in a new phase inverter and it sounds better, its still so quiet compared to my other mark III though, i cant figure out why! It doesnt sound bad, ij ust have to crank it up to 3 or so to get real loud, on the other... maybe a little under 2.

Im waiting on a call back from Mike b. aboutit. Apparently he knows this amp very well, this thing is literally mint, i will make a thread about it later, i need to go drown this hangover. :mrgreen:

 

[av8or3]

When I discussed this topic with Mike B. concerning my simulclass IIC+ he was emphatic about his preference, and that WAS running 6L6's in the outside sockets. He said he thought it sounded better (or rather,like they intended) with 6l6's there. He also told me that all those amps shipped with 6L6's in the outer sockets. He did say that with EL34's in the outer sockets you would have about 33 watts available in Class A operation, as opposed to about 18 watts with the 6L6's.
If you choose to run EL34's in those sockets he also told me that the amp would break up earlier, and recommended running cooler RED coded EL34's for maximum life. In the MKII simulclass's if you plan to run EL34's in the outer sockets you should solder a connection between pins 1 and 8 (I think I got that right) to further stabilize the EL34's. Not sure why though..
FWIW
Jim

 

[fishyfishfish]

It is not bad at all. I think it is still pretty cold for a 6L6GC. Mesa likes to be on the safe side when it comes to tubes. You could be "That Guy" that runs his amp with everything dimed all the time, and wonders why it started smoking.

 

[cremona]

When I discussed this topic with Mike B. concerning my simulclass IIC+ he was emphatic about his preference, and that WAS running 6L6's in the outside sockets. He said he thought it sounded better (or rather,like they intended) with 6l6's there. He also told me that all those amps shipped with 6L6's in the outer sockets. He did say that with EL34's in the outer sockets you would have about 33 watts available in Class A operation, as opposed to about 18 watts with the 6L6's.
If you choose to run EL34's in those sockets he also told me that the amp would break up earlier, and recommended running cooler RED coded EL34's for maximum life. In the MKII simulclass's if you plan to run EL34's in the outer sockets you should solder a connection between pins 1 and 8 (I think I got that right) to further stabilize the EL34's. Not sure why though..
FWIW
Jim

Very interresting reading Jim

I alwasy thorught i shuld put the el34`s in the outer sockets, il try it the other way around when i get back from work.

regards

 

[dodger916]

When I discussed this topic with Mike B. concerning my simulclass IIC+ he was emphatic about his preference, and that WAS running 6L6's in the outside sockets. He said he thought it sounded better (or rather,like they intended) with 6l6's there. He also told me that all those amps shipped with 6L6's in the outer sockets. He did say that with EL34's in the outer sockets you would have about 33 watts available in Class A operation, as opposed to about 18 watts with the 6L6's.
If you choose to run EL34's in those sockets he also told me that the amp would break up earlier, and recommended running cooler RED coded EL34's for maximum life. In the MKII simulclass's if you plan to run EL34's in the outer sockets you should solder a connection between pins 1 and 8 (I think I got that right) to further stabilize the EL34's. Not sure why though..
FWIW
Jim

Very interresting reading Jim

I alwasy thorught i shuld put the el34`s in the outer sockets, il try it the other way around when i get back from work.

regards

I don't think Jim is suggesting running EL34s in the inner sockets. You should run EL34s in the OUTER sockets only.

 

[MrMarkIII]

When I discussed this topic with Mike B. concerning my simulclass IIC+ he was emphatic about his preference, and that WAS running 6L6's in the outside sockets. He said he thought it sounded better (or rather,like they intended) with 6l6's there. He also told me that all those amps shipped with 6L6's in the outer sockets. He did say that with EL34's in the outer sockets you would have about 33 watts available in Class A operation, as opposed to about 18 watts with the 6L6's.
If you choose to run EL34's in those sockets he also told me that the amp would break up earlier, and recommended running cooler RED coded EL34's for maximum life. In the MKII simulclass's if you plan to run EL34's in the outer sockets you should solder a connection between pins 1 and 8 (I think I got that right) to further stabilize the EL34's. Not sure why though..
FWIW
Jim

"The other way around" means 6L6s in the outer sockets.

Very interresting reading Jim

I alwasy thorught i shuld put the el34`s in the outer sockets, il try it the other way around when i get back from work.

regards

I don't think Jim is suggesting running EL34s in the inner sockets. You should run EL34s in the OUTER sockets only.