Mark VII power tube colours

[Voyager72]

Hello fellow Mark VII users

curios which bias colour for the STR445 came with your Mark VII?

 

[bandit2013]

The first Mark VII came with green. Those got swamped out at gig level and lost all detail. Sounded more blah but at lower volume settings the amp was ok, even with the different power modes. I ordered some STR445 not thinking about requesting any color codes and ended up with two complete quads of yellows. Those work very well at any volume.

Second Mark VII was shipped with yellow coded STR445.

 

[Voyager72]

Thanks @bandit2013
Interesting the green and yellow being one gradation apart behave different.

 

[bandit2013]

I can tell the difference between colors of the same tube type. I am surprised that some cannot.
Sure the green coded STR445 sounded good at a close bedroom level. Just that slight turn on the channel master did not take much to get to gig levels. 9am setting is near gig level. 9:30am to 10am is nuts. Just what I noticed with the first Mark VII that came equipped with the greens, I found it less desirable and muddy at gig level. It does not take much to make a difference. Those greens I have may be closer to grey. They sounded great in the Badlander and not so bad in the JP2C. Just thought they seemed too much for the Mark VII. I could revisit those again as I have two Mark VII. I can do a side by side comparison as this has sparked my curiosity to find out how different they are. When I was exploring the tube colors, it was before I got the second Mark VII. At that time I was comparing the Mark VII to the JP2C when I noticed the greens in the Mark VII did not sound as satisfying. Note: I strive for the most aggressive grind characteristics. I was not getting that with the greens, as it was more muddy and less detailed. The yellows made a difference that sounded on par with the JP2C (this amp requires greens or grey, running the yellow or red it goes lame).

 

[Voyager72]

How did the green or gray compare with yellow on channel one clean?

 

[Jamme1961]

We’re a funny bunch

 

[Voyager72]

We’re a funny bunch

At least we are not talking about the impact of power cables on the sound

 

[Jamme1961]

At least we are not talking about the impact of power cables on the sound

I’m guilty of all this stuff