Hi guys. New mark v owner here. Absolutely love it. Recently I`ve noticed the tone changing a little and I had, at times, volume drop in channel 2 mark 1 mode. I notice it most when playing at loud bedroom levels in the 45watt setting. After some researching on here, I came to the conclusion its tube related. Well, I bought the head used, some I figure I might as well retube the whole thing and keep the old as spares. I dig the tone I was getting with the stock, although not too crazy about the fizz. My set up is ch3 extreme for rythm, ch2 mark1 for a fat solo tone, and ch1 fat clean bold. I believe I`ll stick with 6l6`s cause I love the clean tone I`m getting. My question is, should I just buy all new mesa tubes or try one of these package deals, from like the tube store? I also liked the idea I read about mixing the 6l6 with 34`s, but will I sacrifice my clean channel? Thanks in advance for any suggestions...
I thinks it time for tubes...
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Jackie
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I rarely hype something like a tube, but if it's current production 6L6s you're after, I'd go with Winged C (=C=) 6L6. They are clear as day, firm and strong low end, sweet highs and musical mids.
They can take up to 500V on the plates, they're reliable as hell. Have =C= EL34s in my Marshall whose bias is a little warmer than stock and they're still going strong.
The only thing I can name against them is the price. The demand for these is quite high and New Sensor decided not to compromise build quality for increased production, so they aren't exactly cheap.
Side note - if you will buy =C=s, There is a bit of confusion with naming them though so look out. This is a 6L6 made by the New Sensor Corporation in St. Petersburg, Russia, they bear the =C= logo, hence the name.
In the US, the =C= tube sells as "SED 6L6" (pictured below)
In Europe, the same tube sells as "Svetlana 6L6."
(Svetlana 6L6 in the US is a totally different tube, also Made in Russia but not the same factory)
They can take up to 500V on the plates, they're reliable as hell. Have =C= EL34s in my Marshall whose bias is a little warmer than stock and they're still going strong.
The only thing I can name against them is the price. The demand for these is quite high and New Sensor decided not to compromise build quality for increased production, so they aren't exactly cheap.
Side note - if you will buy =C=s, There is a bit of confusion with naming them though so look out. This is a 6L6 made by the New Sensor Corporation in St. Petersburg, Russia, they bear the =C= logo, hence the name.
In the US, the =C= tube sells as "SED 6L6" (pictured below)
In Europe, the same tube sells as "Svetlana 6L6."
(Svetlana 6L6 in the US is a totally different tube, also Made in Russia but not the same factory)
well, this is what I was looking at. http://thetubestore.com/sba-mesa-markv-2.html They offer the winged c in the package. I was comparing this option with just ordering stock from mesa. What do you think? Anyone have experience with the tube store premium package?
MusicManJP6
Well-known member
I put a quad in my Roadster when I had one. I'd like to try some in my V. They did sound great from what I can remember.
rabies
Well-known member
I've used =C= (actually have a pair in my Rivera) and JJ's mostly. A lot of it really has to do with how you bias the tubes. But I think Diezel loads their amps with =C= so they must be pretty good. I'm not sure what Mesa uses for their power tubes (is it JJ?) I had some bad luck with their tubes and/or a stiletto I bought a while back. Shorted 3 times in a row.
JJ's are definitely very reliable in my experience (at least the E34L's); I used to cranked past noon on the master volume in my TSL100 in the band I played in. I recommend E34L or KT77 if you go with eurotubes. Problem with them is they only sell JJ's....
I've also used telefunken's:https://www.kcanostubes.com/content/anos-telefunken-ecc83-12ax7-ribbed-plates
and they seemed ok but it's really more about microphonics with preamp tubes.
I personally wouldn't go spend a ton of money on NOS tubes, not sure if it's really worth it.
The older Aerosmith tones (Fender/6L6???) sounded pretty good in my car today
JJ's are definitely very reliable in my experience (at least the E34L's); I used to cranked past noon on the master volume in my TSL100 in the band I played in. I recommend E34L or KT77 if you go with eurotubes. Problem with them is they only sell JJ's....
I've also used telefunken's:https://www.kcanostubes.com/content/anos-telefunken-ecc83-12ax7-ribbed-plates
and they seemed ok but it's really more about microphonics with preamp tubes.
I personally wouldn't go spend a ton of money on NOS tubes, not sure if it's really worth it.
The older Aerosmith tones (Fender/6L6???) sounded pretty good in my car today
rabies
Well-known member
btw, the E34L's seem to have more "balls" (low-end and maybe louder?) than "normal" EL34's. It's cool to mix them in your 100 watt amp (i.e. outer pair is E34L and inner pair is =C=). Most ppl don't do this and I recommend you check it out (it's "legal").
I actually have this mix setup in my Rivera right now and it's really cool b/c it's a stereo head but you can play mono if you want and thus pick one side or the other or both simply by plugging spkr cable in the back for 1 or the other or both (it goes to standby automatically).
I actually have this mix setup in my Rivera right now and it's really cool b/c it's a stereo head but you can play mono if you want and thus pick one side or the other or both simply by plugging spkr cable in the back for 1 or the other or both (it goes to standby automatically).
Yea, I`ll probably just stick with 6l6`s for now. Plus, I suffer from severe gas, and tube hunting/swaping is not a can of worms I want to open. On the tung-sol 12ax7`s can you use those in the carthode follower? Also, does the tung-sol really smooth out the highs a bit like I`ve read somewhere? I`d just like to know if the tung-sols and =c= 6l6`s, thats offered in the tube store package, is that great of an improvement over stock mesas`.
Bought tubes from Dougs tubes (Cool guy and great service btw) and retubed the amp. =c= SED 6l6`s and Dougs 12ax7 (7) tone kit. Sounds great except ch2 mark 1 mode. I got this crazy howling feedback at first. Thought it was a microphonic tube. Reinstalled a stock mesa, and same thing. After adjusting the treble and gain a bit it went away. Reinstalled the JJ, all`s fine except I`m running less gain than I`d like in ch2 now cause if I push it to where the gain and treble usually are, it feedsback. What would make ch2 feedback with a new or stock tube in v2? V-2 is the gain stage for ch2... right?
No worries there, the MKV does not use a cathode follower circuit.Jackie said:
Dom
Pg. 62 of your manual explains all the preamp tube's functions. The only channel that uses V2 is Ch.2, but Ch.2 uses other tubes as well.
If only Ch. 2 is giving you issues I would change V2.
Dom
If only Ch. 2 is giving you issues I would change V2.
Dom
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