Is this topic forbidden? EL34 and 6l6 in Mark V

[ziggys]

Has anybody tried the 84's in the middle and 6l6's on the outside as in days of old?
I know it is explicitly warned against but I secretly crave both like the Mark III Simul Class.
Can you blame me?
I also heard somewhere it was only dangerous in 10watt mode.
So, anyone have any experience with this such as your amp melting down or....

 

[kingb]

Yeah - sort of. Mesa allegedly removed it from their manuals some time ago because running the 10watt mode would mix tube types and nuke the amp. However, if you do this just don't put it into 10watt mode. The actual way to do it is:

6L6 in outer sockets
EL34 in inner sockets
Bias Switch set to 6L6.

If you run the bias switch at EL34 it will fry your 6L6's (or worse your amp).

I had a Mk IV in the past and loved the sound. Tried it with the V and wasn't as impressed. I missed the clean sound (a bit of loss in the low end and 3Dness). Also, felt the drive sounds were lacking a bit of mid focus (although that's what the EL34s were supposed to provide). Also, tied all EL34s and wasn't digging that as much either. Then went back to 6L6 and have been happiest and can even use 10wat mode ;-) Of course YMMV....

Here's a pretty extensive and somewhat heated (pun intended) thread on the matter - get's interesting around page 3:
http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=38013&hilit=el34&start=30

 

[Jedro]

Eurotubes has some tubes that supposedly have the best of both worlds. 6CA7, I believe. Of course having not tried the tubes myself or actually using both EL34s and 6L6s, I wouldnt know how it compares, but it would be interesting to try.

I am an E34L user myself. Very chunky!

 

[ziggys]

Thanks for the replies. I really didn't expect any response but this has been really helpful. I am somewhat let down by the V myself but it is a blast to play (as in tinker) with.
Triaxis thru the Mark V power section via the fx return is heads above what I can achieve on the V alone. Especially the the Lead 2 stuff
Preamp of V to the return of a Laney VC30 sounds (to me) much more desirable.
I have only had the V for about a month so I am probably just scratching the surface.

I really love this forum. Thanks again