mark iv and power tubes

[Aramism]

ok heres the deal. i'm gettign a used mark iv (B) from 1995 with the stock tubes the old fat mesa tubes.


i have limited knowledge about the differences in tube brands. i understand that there is the el34 marshall type low gain piercing tube and the 6L6 american mesa recto type uber power tube. i know about them and love them but don;t know the difference. i have a road king with stock mesa 6l6 tubs. I like the 6L6 tubes for the power.


the point im makign and the question im asking is the following: since it's an old amp i am having the seller ship it to mesa for basic servicing and retubing. since it is a vintage amp and i am after the elusive lead tone of the iv/iic+ to compliment my chug chug road king recto tone should i just have mesa put in the stock tubes or what do i do? how big is the difference in different tube brands. i believe they are different brands and from differnt countries. ive heard like JJ or something like that, or rudy or ruby stuff like that.


please help.

 

[6L6C]

Oh what you started I have a feeling allot of people are going to chime in on this thread!

In the power section of the Mark IV you can run the following.

Class A or simul-class with (4) 6L6 power tubes
Class A or simul-class with (4) 5881 power tubes

Class A or simul-class with (2) 6L6 power tubes & (2) EL34’s
When running class A with this setup just the EL34’s are engaged.
When running simul-class the mixture of the 6L6’s & EL34’s is sweet this is my current configuration
All the above can be run with pentode or triode
Or the last is to run (4) 6V6’s
This setup can only be run with tweed power and simul-class
All the above are available right out of the box no mod’s needed

Then there are the yellow jackets, which are basically adapters for EL84’s
“Yellow Jackets® Converters are a type of specialized adapters which permit the use of EL84/6BQ5 power tubes in place of 6V6, 6L6, EL34, and 7591 types.”
http://www.thdelectronics.com/products/yellow_jacket.htm
(Jamme61 loves his Yellow Jackets he has been raving about them) Right Jamme61 I know you’re out there.
So needless to say a very versatile amp, and all the above options sound great it depends what you are shooting for, personally if you want a bold crisp sound stick with the (4) 6L6 configuration.

how big is the difference in different tube brands. i believe they are different brands and from differnt countries. ive heard like JJ or something like that, or rudy or ruby stuff like that.
.

I have not used anything except for Mesa tubes (and have been happy) but people have been raving about JJ’s. So basically there are people on this forum that can answer that question allot better than me. But you should check out .
http://eurotubes.com/

 

[jamme61]

LOL yea I'm here. I think the stk mesa's are fine and I love the JJ's too. I have both and run both. Don't forget about YJ's LOL.

 

[Aramism]

hmm. i was just figuring maybe get more vintagy pre amp or power amp tubes that still retain power.

i was going for the whole "sweet" lead lead tone like a iic+ ala petrucci on awake...


and i was going for the rhythm tone of lamb of god....


does anyone know if they do anything unconventional to their mark ivs? like special tubes or anything? lamb of god