Mesa EL34 tubes

[njsurf]

has anyone tried mesa's el34s for dual rec or any recommendations. The manual states not to use other manufacter's tubes, but I see on this site that many people do.

 

[fishyfishfish]

Yep. Mesa's EL's are a little on the harsh side for me until you run them for about three or four months then they start to mellow out and sound O.K. I really like the JJEL34L. I liked this tube right off the bat and I could use the modern red channel with it not sounding like a transistor amp. Just my opinion, and there are many tube vendors out there that can match the grades of tubes for your amp, so have some fun finding the sound that is in your head. Mesa will void your warranty if a Non-Brand tube goes down in your rig, and they recommend 6L6's because the EL's run a tad hotter. Thats the only down side. Have Fun!

 

[JOEY B.]

If you can locate a quad of MESA STR-442 EL-34's they will not be as harsh sounding as the STR-447's (Mesa branded Sovteks). It may be a little difficult as they have not used this tube in a couple of years. They will probably be in that dusty box on the bottom of the pile . If you do a Google search for them, there is a place on the first page called parkway music that supposedly still has some. They are in NY.

 

[njsurf]

thanks for your help

 

[jab]

I use the STR450 el34 tubes ($70/pr) in my Stiletto. Much fuller sounding than the 447. I ordered them last week off the Mesa site and they showed up on my doorstep in 5 days. Maybe they'd work on the Rectifier too. The tube guru's out there really seem to like this tube as its a Siemens NOS rebranded for Mesa. Supposedly they are hard to get and can be expensive but the online order seemed to work for me.

 

[srf399]

I had some STR 450's here and swapped them into the outer 50 watt sockets (I called Mesa first to make sure this would be okay with the STR 447's still in the inner 100 watt sockets). I took them out after an hour of playing with a group and reinstalled the STR 447's. I thought the 450's sounded sterile. Maybe it's just these particular tubes but I preferred the 447's. Smoother breakup and sustain.

 

[123thefirst]

I thought the 450's sounded sterile. Maybe it's just these particular tubes but I preferred the 447's. Smoother breakup and sustain.

I found a similar thing with non-Mesa Siemens NOS tubes compared with the 447's. Stiff, sterile and greasy (sustain just seemed to run off those puppies like very thin oil) Maybe they don't take well to the extremely conservative biasing Mesa uses. Maybe some like that sound...