Mark III questions

[jpdennis]

I saw an ad on the local Craigslist for Vacuum tubes so I replied. ... There are a pair of Svetlana EL-34s. And a pair of Phillips 6L6's and they look identical to RCA black plates.

Monsta-Tone or Boogiebabies, as well as many other here might have the answer to V4. From what I have discovered, since the Mesa amps are fixed bias, is that you really want to know the rating of the power tubes. I just found out today that the rating for Green in the Mesa 6L6GC tubes is not the same as the rating for Green in the Mesa EL34 tubes. I am using the lower spectrum of Green so my SED Winged C (=C=) EL34 tubes are rated at 35 while the =C= 6L6GC tubes are rated at 19. Apparently the techies here probably know about this. I had to be told so I know how to get as exact as I can for the power side in the future when I order from the vendor.

Long and short is that you might want to be cautious when putting power tubes in which do not or can not match. Hopefully the real techs here can clarify this, validate this, or correct my statement if I am in error.

Dennis

 

[MrMarkIII]

I just found out today that the rating for Green in the Mesa 6L6GC tubes is not the same as the rating for Green in the Mesa EL34 tubes. I am using the lower spectrum of Green so my SED Winged C (=C=) EL34 tubes are rated at 35 while the =C= 6L6GC tubes are rated at 19.

The Mesa colors (Green, Red, Yellow, etc.) are used to match tubes by pairs.
That's all.
As you note, EL-34 Greens will have absolutely nothing to do with 6L6 Greens. It's perfectly acceptable to run a pair of Red 6L6s with a pair of Gray EL-34s. Or one Green pair of 6L6s with one Yellow pair of 6L6s. All that really matters is that the inside pair matches, and the outside pair matches.

 

[Marcus71]

I am going to have to wait until I can open this amp up volume wise before I can make tube comparisons. I live in a condo and can't get Master 1 above about 1.5.

I wandered into a vintage store on the north side yesterday afternoon. GAS is in full force. They had a Mark IIB and a Mark III blue stripe.

They are here:

http://www.rocknrollvintage.com/products.asp?cat=55&pg=3

They are asking $1499 for the Mark II and $1000 for the Mark III. Sitting next to each other the Mark II was noticeably bigger, height wise at least. The serial number on the Mark III was 25,XXX.

 

[jpdennis]

The Mesa colors (Green, Red, Yellow, etc.) are used to match tubes by pairs.
That's all.
As you note, EL-34 Greens will have absolutely nothing to do with 6L6 Greens. It's perfectly acceptable to run a pair of Red 6L6s with a pair of Gray EL-34s. Or one Green pair of 6L6s with one Yellow pair of 6L6s. All that really matters is that the inside pair matches, and the outside pair matches.

:idea:

Thanks, I did not know that the Simulclass didn't need matched rating across the board. I do have to say that the power tubes I received and the way they are rated just opened up my Mark III to some wonderful tone and power. And with the preamp tubes (I can't really say the exact placement is an exact science, but ...) R2 is even more alive as well as the Reverb more colorful. Also, I now have no hum at all from any of the preamp tubes, if that is what really was producing that hum, in the amp. Even when using my Strats the only hum I get is when I get in once particular location at about 2 feet and off center from the amp [which I never am at or even would be at when playing].

Thanks again for the information MrMark III. Of course now I will want to try the various combos of pairs to hear what I can hear (did I mention I am neurotic?) :lol:

 

[MrMarkIII]

Hey, that's the only way to go. The "exact science" is using your ears. It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.

 

[Marcus71]

I am in the search for pedals to complete my sound, well for now that is.

I was looking for a distortion, delay, and chorus. I started with distortion. I cannot play this Mark III in my condo. It's too damn loud. So, I bought a Pod. What's cool is that I can hook it up to my iMac and play through the computer speakers via Garage Band. Then I can open up iTunes, which plays through speakers via airport, and play along with songs.

Anyway, I went to two different music stores that both had a Mark III for sale. One had a Vintage 80 speaker and the other an EVM (like mine). Let me say these two speakers sound totally different.

As I am trying out effects pedals it got frustrating because every time I pulled a knob on the amp, it was like a new amplifier. Then I had to re EQ everything and re-adjust the pedal. I will say the Pull Deep knob makes it sound a lot like a 4X12 cab. That sound is so bottom heavy. The graphic EQ is great because it allows me to tweak almost anything into sounding decent.

I didn't even wander into the Lead or Rhythm 2 channel.

I cannot believe how damn loud this amp is. On Sunday I am going to play with a drummer, bassist, and guitarist. I am looking forward to letting this amp sing.

Here is what I bought for pedals:

Carl Martin Plexi-Tone
MXR Carbon Copy
EH Small Clone

I like analog stuff.

 

[jpdennis]

Hey, that's the only way to go. The "exact science" is using your ears. It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.

Whether I was blessed or had some help with the science from others in this forum, like you, I am swingin'. Thanks again.

I am in the search for pedals to complete my sound...I cannot believe how damn loud this amp is. On Sunday I am going to play with a drummer, bassist, and guitarist. I am looking forward to letting this amp sing.

Here is what I bought for pedals:

Carl Martin Plexi-Tone
MXR Carbon Copy
EH Small Clone

I like analog stuff.

Cool. It is loud. Thank God I have my own home and bank likes the way I pay - so they do not care how I play ... :roll: I got the Line 6 M13. Until then I used a Boss Compressor (my old Red MXR bought it a long time ago), a Cry-Baby, a Chorus, and a Boss Delay. How do you like your new pedals?

Dennis

 

[Marcus71]

I bought a Line 6 M9 but never took it out of the box. I played with it at the store but thought better of it once I got home. IMHO, the distortion boxes can ruin a great sounding amp.

10 years ago when I was playing out a lot, I used the Line 6 DL4 and MM4. I liked them. They worked, but I was never totally happy with them. They were replaced by a TC Electronics G Force that I controlled via a Midi Board. From the limited amount of time I spent messing with it, the same delay and modulation effects on the M9 didn't sound as good as I remember the DL4 and MM4 sounding. I am not Line 6 bashing. I have used a lot of their stuff with success. And I have a brand new POD sitting right next to me.

But my ears have changed too. 10 years ago I was using a 3 Channel Dual Rectifier head that never saw the 3rd channel. If I remember correctly I think my distortion settings were the raw mode of channel 2 with the gain at about noon. Once I got the amp loud the power tubes broke up a little and it was a great tone pushing a 4X12 of V-30s. :shock:

Until last week I hadn't played a Recto since '01. I no longer am in love with that amp. The preamp just seems to processed for my tastes now. :?

And I find it curious that my ears led me to an analog delay and chorus. The MXR carbon copy is a very cool little pedal. It has a switch on it that creates an echoplex tape flutter sound when the regenerations are turned up a little. It sounds amazing and it was only $150.

The analog stuff just sounds richer IMHO. :mrgreen: