Mesa Boogie,Sp,Quad,.22, Tubes cocktail whats its in yours?

[mxr2000]

I was wondering for those that still own this classics, since each day getting quality NOS tubes is harder and expensive. So what i would like to know is which current Company of tubes on the market today(non NOS) you use with your Mesa Boogie preamps "Studio,Quad,.22,.50" or classic Mark "I,II,II" Amps with great results? And if you do cocktails of tubes,please could you post your finds and if it worth the time and $$$ to do so or you think i should stick with NOS forever!! Even if each day the prices get so high and silly that just buying 4 tubes its more expensive than buying the Preamp it self!!..

 

[zodiac272]

hey,

you can easily find good NOS tubes for $30 and under, and they usually outlast any new tubes by thousands of hours, and sound better. RCA, Tung Sol, GE, Sylvania, RFT...

scott

 

[SonicProvocateur]

I'm running a whole bunch of older chinese Mesa tubes (the early SP12AX7s, also called the "silver specials") and am happy enough with them. It still gives my Mark it's characteristic bright and edgy tone it was designed around. I'm still planning on switching to an Ei/RFT/Tungsol cocktail soon enough though.

 

[bigbean]

What I've come to think about non NOS tubes is:

Sovteks 12ax7s a gain are pretty consistent and cheap (also 12ay7s, 12at7s and 5751s)
JJ 12ax7s sound good but don't seem to last as long for me - maybe it's the short body design - or not - They are even cheaper
Chinese tubes suck (usually)- I don't care how cheap they are I don't buy em.
Groove tubes suck - ditto
Ruby's are OK
Winged Cs SED are the best sounding big output tubes (6l6s, 6v6s, El34s,)[/list]

Of course, these are anecdotal opinions.

I apologize if slammed one of your brother in laws companies' products but everybody is entitled to their opinions even they're wrong, obnoxious or both.
:wink: