I picked up a mark v the other week and im very happy with it.Only issue im having is my wampler velvet fuzz sounds like a wasp through it.it sounded fine through any other amp ive had(boogies/marshalls) but not through the mark v.its not a speaker issue as im using the same cab.my mate who lives a fair drive away let me try his mark v before i pulled the trigger and got one myself and i tried the fuzz on his mark v.As far as i can remember it sounded good.fat and smooth like it has on my other amps.im starting to doubt myself now though but if it sounded as bad as it does on mine i surely would have noticed.anyway,i bought the amp used and the previous owner mentioned that he had changed the v1 preamp tube to a JJ just before he sold it to me.do you reckon this could be having an affect on the pedals tone?the amp itself seems fine though.
How much difference does changing v1 preamp tube make?
- Thread starter diddlydan
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jb's 52
Well-known member
diddlydan said:
Only one way to find out!
That tube is the most important, I would think.
Everything goes through it.
It can be a great deal of difference. The Mark V responds quite will with preamp tubes. You will definitely notice a difference in change of preamp tubes.
Tung Sol will smooth it over a bit, elevate the highs and enhance the lows. The gain structure is manageable. Even with the amp fully loaded with Tung Sol will sound great. The only issue I have with the Russian tube is the notable hum you may get when used in V3, V4 and V6. Mesa JJ tubes, Chinese (older ones with dimpled square getter that Mesa used long ago) and Ruby 7025 (also marketed by Preffered Seires and TAD) will sound quite in terms of hum.
The JJ tubes (depending on which one it is) can be harsh and are not quite the same in terms of sound character as the Mesa branded JJ tubes which are selected for a specific tone and character (perhaps also matched triodes). I have a few JJ tubes that should not have been sold (they came in my Carvin V3MC) However, I do have one from Ruby which is a HG version and it sounds really good (has JJ brand with a white box marked HG in red letters). Check and see what is in V2, you could just swap them if the V2 is a Mesa branded JJ tube. You do not need a high gain tube in V1 for the amp to sound good. Mark V has plenty of gain even with a 12AT7 loaded in the amp with JAN/GE 5751 in V1. IF you like your tone really dark this is the way to go (not recommended but it will work).
I am currently using the Mesa branded JJ tubes in all positions except V2 which is an old stock Mesa Chinese with square getter that I had form the 90's.
Mullard Long plate 12ax7 will really liven things up but they tend to self oscillate on occasion when changing channels (most noise you will hear with long plate 12ax7 will be a ping when changing channels, I do have some that are quiet but most are susceptible to this issue)
Mullard CV4004 is a high gain tube that seems to sound like it has a mid scoop in it. I have enjoyed this tube in V4 and V5 as well as the Mullard long plate reissue 12ax7 in the same positions.
I used to prefer the EH 12ax7 but the Tung Sol sounds better. The EH 12AX7 is almost identical to the Mullard CV4004.
As I mentioned earlier, the Russian tubes (Tung Sol, Electro Harmonix, Mullard, Svetlana, Sovtek, and some Gold Lions [non Chinese versions],etc....) may cause a low hum with high volume and gain settings and no signal to the input of the amp. May be do to heater filament and AC sourced heater voltage. They sound great with signal applied and the hum will not be noticed. You may not even notice it. Typically it is associated with V3, V4, and V6. JJ tubes (including Mesa branded versions) may lead to white noise or high pitched hiss. Most are quiet though in all tube positions.
Look in the Tube threads, there is a lot more information on preamp tubes and such.
Tung Sol will smooth it over a bit, elevate the highs and enhance the lows. The gain structure is manageable. Even with the amp fully loaded with Tung Sol will sound great. The only issue I have with the Russian tube is the notable hum you may get when used in V3, V4 and V6. Mesa JJ tubes, Chinese (older ones with dimpled square getter that Mesa used long ago) and Ruby 7025 (also marketed by Preffered Seires and TAD) will sound quite in terms of hum.
The JJ tubes (depending on which one it is) can be harsh and are not quite the same in terms of sound character as the Mesa branded JJ tubes which are selected for a specific tone and character (perhaps also matched triodes). I have a few JJ tubes that should not have been sold (they came in my Carvin V3MC) However, I do have one from Ruby which is a HG version and it sounds really good (has JJ brand with a white box marked HG in red letters). Check and see what is in V2, you could just swap them if the V2 is a Mesa branded JJ tube. You do not need a high gain tube in V1 for the amp to sound good. Mark V has plenty of gain even with a 12AT7 loaded in the amp with JAN/GE 5751 in V1. IF you like your tone really dark this is the way to go (not recommended but it will work).
I am currently using the Mesa branded JJ tubes in all positions except V2 which is an old stock Mesa Chinese with square getter that I had form the 90's.
Mullard Long plate 12ax7 will really liven things up but they tend to self oscillate on occasion when changing channels (most noise you will hear with long plate 12ax7 will be a ping when changing channels, I do have some that are quiet but most are susceptible to this issue)
Mullard CV4004 is a high gain tube that seems to sound like it has a mid scoop in it. I have enjoyed this tube in V4 and V5 as well as the Mullard long plate reissue 12ax7 in the same positions.
I used to prefer the EH 12ax7 but the Tung Sol sounds better. The EH 12AX7 is almost identical to the Mullard CV4004.
As I mentioned earlier, the Russian tubes (Tung Sol, Electro Harmonix, Mullard, Svetlana, Sovtek, and some Gold Lions [non Chinese versions],etc....) may cause a low hum with high volume and gain settings and no signal to the input of the amp. May be do to heater filament and AC sourced heater voltage. They sound great with signal applied and the hum will not be noticed. You may not even notice it. Typically it is associated with V3, V4, and V6. JJ tubes (including Mesa branded versions) may lead to white noise or high pitched hiss. Most are quiet though in all tube positions.
Look in the Tube threads, there is a lot more information on preamp tubes and such.
Thanks for the reply.I managed to try it through my mates mark v again and it sounded fine,like it did on all the other amps.Has to be the tube then.His one also sounded way smoother than my one which is a tad sizzly or harsh on the top end.He does have a well broken in 4x12 vs my relatively new 2x12 with v30's but having said that i have tried my head through different speakers too and had the same issue.Ill pick up a boogie tube to stick in v1 and remove the JJ.Hopefully that sorts it.
While you are at it, I would check all of the preamp tubes to confirm what is in there.
jb's 52
Well-known member
bandit2013 said:
Good advice...
Also, if you haven't got an extra tube, try swapping V1 for
one later in the chain. The magic tube can already be installed,
just in the wrong location
FastRedPonyCar
Well-known member
I did quite a bit of tube swapping when I got mine and differnet tubes DO make a difference but once you start getting into the really high gain territory, you notice less of a difference than you would if you were primarily using the amp for pushed cleans or classic rock type sounds.
My best advice would be to pull the chassis out of the headshell for easy swapping.
It's **** near impossible to get at this without pulling the amp out.
My best advice would be to pull the chassis out of the headshell for easy swapping.
It's **** near impossible to get at this without pulling the amp out.
I would agree, much easier to tube roll with the amp chassis out the shell.
I would definitely recommend either removing the reverb tank and hook it up when doing so. It is a trick to get back in (use q-tips to hold the bushings in place and set tank over assembly, remove q-tip to install one screw at a time.)
I found a picture of my tube rolling the Roadster, I borrowed the reverb tank from my Mark IV since it was easier to remove than the top mounted revert tanks in the Roadster and RA100. This image was staged with the various tubes I was trying out. During the tube roll, nothing was on the amp as shown, also tube shields were removed for ease of tube swapping. Best to turn all power off (not just stand by) when swapping tubes.
I would definitely recommend either removing the reverb tank and hook it up when doing so. It is a trick to get back in (use q-tips to hold the bushings in place and set tank over assembly, remove q-tip to install one screw at a time.)
I found a picture of my tube rolling the Roadster, I borrowed the reverb tank from my Mark IV since it was easier to remove than the top mounted revert tanks in the Roadster and RA100. This image was staged with the various tubes I was trying out. During the tube roll, nothing was on the amp as shown, also tube shields were removed for ease of tube swapping. Best to turn all power off (not just stand by) when swapping tubes.
