JJ's

[Bikedude]

So I talked to Bob yesterday at Eurotubes, and ordered the matched quartet of 6l6's, and the pre-amp tube package of ECC83S, with the hand selected balanced ECC830S for the phase inverter. These are going into my LSC 1X12. What can I expect from a difference in sound? I was getting a little tired of the farting speaker on the low end, and basically the general sound of the amp didn't seem as good as it should be. I've heard all sorts of good comments on the JJ's and how it "brought the amp to life". Will this be the result? I hope so. Any comments?

Wisch,
Cleveland, Oh.

 

[Micah]

Im not sure but Im thinking about retubing my triple with one of his kits. I bought my amp from a guy on ebay with EH preamp tubes and a matched Sextet of Phillips USA 6L6's.

 

[picnic]

Lots of retubes all of a sudden. Thanks to Guitar55 for starting this trend I think. I have Ruby 6L6's on the way from Doug's Tubes and I'll get some 440's from Mesa too. A Mesa e-mail said the 430's had a reliability issue and were replaced by 440's as stock. Boys and their toys according to the Mrs.

I was very happy with my LSC 2x12, but this retubing syndrome must be some sort of GAS attack.

 

[tiger roach]

I would caution you not to expect a dramatic difference. The difference in my LSS was only subtle after adding JJ's for power tubes and NOS in V1 and V2.

Which isn't to say it might not change that one detail about the sound that bugs you. Its certainly worth a try. Just don't expect the change to be as dramatic as, say, a speaker swap.

 

[Bikedude]

Brian, Don't get us started on another mod. "Not as drastic a change as say a speaker swap". Oh no, here we go again. Maybe a Weber California Alinco maybe to go along with a re-tube!! LOL It never ends.

 

[Kung-Fool]

Lots of retubes all of a sudden. Thanks to Guitar55 for starting this trend I think. I have Ruby 6L6's on the way from Doug's Tubes and I'll get some 440's from Mesa too. A Mesa e-mail said the 430's had a reliability issue and were replaced by 440's as stock. Boys and their toys according to the Mrs.

I was very happy with my LSC 2x12, but this retubing syndrome must be some sort of GAS attack.

The 440's are Rubys. They're the same tube.

 

[picnic]

Kung-Fool, Thanks for the post. I just put in the Ruby's. The amp sounds more alive, noticeable but nothing earthshattering. I am happy with the Ruby's after a quick 15 minute test drive. It is am improvement for sure over the 430's. Nice harmonics on the barre chords.
I'm heading out now to the Thursday nite jambeeree with my jam buddies. I'll post some more results later.

 

[Shep]

i just swapped a full mesa set with JJ's 4x6l6+preamp tube set///sounds so much better...better bass/mid and TREBLE..

 

[SabuJSE]

Did a full JJ retube for my LSS months ago.

It's safe to say, you will be pleased.

 

[Bikedude]

Ordered mine from Bob on the phone on Wed. , arrived today in Cle. Oh. Will re-tube with 6l6's, and the pre-amp package. Also got some pre-amp tubes for a HRD 4X10 for the V1,2,and 3. I know I'll be pleased. Will test today, and let you know my op. on mon.

 

[kramerxxx]

The 430 in My Lonestar were the deadest tubes I've ever owned. I put SED's in it and the tone is Amazing!

 

[Roth]

I posted this on the 'Tubes" board here, but thought I's repost it here on this thread:

I bought my Triple rectifier brand new in March. Have had Mesa send new tubes to replace ALL six of the 6L6 pwr tubes and 1 rectifier tube. It has been such a pain in the @ss considering this is a brand new amp and I have taken very good care of it. The preamp tubes seem to work just fine, but problems with the pwr tubes. Mesa said nothing is wrong with the amp.... its just a bad shipment of tubes from earlier this year.

Obviously I have lost faith in the stock Mesa tubes, so I decided to trash the Mesa tubes, and I talked to Bob at Eurotubes and he recommended several replacement options and here is the result that I decided on:

I replaced all the Mesa 12ax7 preamp tubes (my preference) with some hand picked high(er) gain JJ 12ax7 in V1,V2,V3 and a standard for V4, and a balanced in V5. Bob hand picked and tested these for me.

I replaced the Mesa 6L6 pwr tubes with JJ 6V6 tubes.

I replaced the Mesa 5U4 Rectifier tubes with JJ GZ34.

The amp is run in EL34 bias and Rectifier mode. It simply is beyond words. Channel 1 (which sucked before) has so much warmth, and clarity now. Channel 3 absolutely screams. It has so MUCH warmth and tone that it is unbelieveable. Been running them with NO problems whatsoever, and the sound is THAT much better! I wish Mesa shipped it just like this. It cost me $165.00.... and worth EVERY penny.

BTW - I took one of the original stock Mesa 12ax7 and put it into my Marshall Valvestate Head in place of the Marshall ECC 83, and it really improved the sound of the Marshall.

 

[MesaENGR412]

BTW - I took one of the original stock Mesa 12ax7 and put it into my Marshall Valvestate Head in place of the Marshall ECC 83, and it really improved the sound of the Marshall.

Now there's an Idea!!! (I have the 275 combo....trying to sell!!!) That might be a bonus perk :idea:

-AJH

 

[Bikedude]

Got my new tubbies from bob on Fri. Test drove the amp for about an hour. First impressions, just like Shep said "much better bass, mid, and treble response". I noticed more harmonic flavor, and the notes seemed to hand out longer. More defenition with Barre chords. All in all, a good investment for sure. My stock tubes were about a year and a half old, played on gigs about 4 times a month. I like the JJ6l6's, and the pre-amp package was installed too. Hand picked ECC for V5, replaced 1,2 3, and 4. I like the LSC much better now, and I can't wait to get it out this weekend on a gig.

 

[Tonestack]

Lots of retubes all of a sudden. Thanks to Guitar55 for starting this trend I think. I have Ruby 6L6's on the way from Doug's Tubes and I'll get some 440's from Mesa too.

The Ruby 6L6GC and the STR 440 are the same tube. They both are relabeled Shuguang 6L6GCs (Tube Amp Doctor also sells this tube as the TAD 6L6GC-STR). The STR 430 is a relabled Reflector (a.ka. Sovtek) 6L6WXT+.