MESA BOOGIE POWER TUBES NOT MATCHED AT ALL !

[Wolfgar926]

i have a pretty new mesa mark v 90 watt head. i tested the power tubes for bias levels. the factory power tubes were. 23ma 21ma 29ma and 37ma. hardly matched well! as they say they are. ive owned many mesa heads. and tried many mesa power tubes. almost always they are poorly matched ! i would say unmatched. ! also, at 462 plate voltage. the bias is way off ! far as running where they should be. for the best tone .. im in stalling a bias pot. and fixing this problem. and not ! going to be running anymore mesa power tubes. :x :evil:
i put a bias pot in my triple rec head. and am running svetlana 6l6 power tubes . biased right! and it sounds soooo much better than it did with the cold mesa unmatched power tubes !

 

[golfnut]

Hope this isn't true. Next week I'm going to buy my first Boogie in 15 years and only the second boogie I will have owned. Not sure if its recommended to stay with Mesa tubes or use what I'm using. I buy from the tube store in Hamilton normally. For the amp I'm going to buy the tubestore has an amp package recommendation. The value package and premium package recommends Svetlana 6L6GC for the power tubes and for the ultimate recommend Mullard 6L6GC.

https://www.thetubestore.com/shop-by-amp/guitar-amp-tube-packages/mesa-boogie-amps/mesa-boogie-fillmore-50-amp

 

[user.39921]

Never bought Mesa branded power tubes - never will.
The only good pair I've seen was in a Single Recto I had for a week in my studio. IIRC they were fresh Mesa branded Sovteks.
Right now the most reliable 6L6GC tube you can buy is the EH. Just 2 out of a 100 were bad (info from 2020).

As for the bias mod - DO IT! By setting the bias Mesa are just trying to make some extra cash because they know people are uninformed and are clinging to brands.
Best thing to do is adjust the bias around the idle % you want, let it sit for a few seconds and then play it (possibly record it), then re-tweak and listen again. I assure you - you'll be amazed how different an amp can sound AND feel 5mA up or down.

 

[ATR1]

How did you make out on this?
What should my ma be on this amp?
Right now I have a matched set at 30ma? Is this considered cold?
Thx

 

[GJgo]

I've tested hundreds of Mesa power tubes. Most are well matched but not OCD matched. Some are pretty off base so I still always test them.

Ideal for me with 6L6, very generally speaking, is around 35 mA. So, 30 is good. Since we don't have bias pots I prefer to set up Mesas up with tubes that are above 25 but below 40, again very generally speaking & dependent on the PV and bias %.

 

[ATR1]

Thx.
I have lots of vintage tubes. While rolling them I notice they range from 62ma-20ma. Why are the ranges so wide? One tube stronger than the other?

 

[meesa_jarjar]

What color code(s) are they?

 

[ATR1]

I'll go thru them when I get a minute. They are not all MB tubes.