Mesa STR 420 6L6 # and color codes

[gtrrhythm]

Hi I have a Dual Recto Solo Head using Boogie 6L6's. I'm taking two power tubes and one Recto tube out to make it 50W. I have the following matched sets of Boogie power tubes available, and want to put in the two that will "overdrive" the easiest:

All are 6L6s, and STR 420's

06 NG GREEN
03 SK GREEN
50 NG RED
23 GR RED
older more rounded shaped ones - 6L6 GC (02 SK BLU)

Can anyone tell which two would work best? Thanks!

 

[dodger916]

Greens will clip or break-up earlier than Reds.

 

[Jackie]

This might help a little :wink:

 

[dodger916]

This might help a little :wink:

Problem is it's incorrect because of Mesa's fixed bias. That chart indicates Mesa White/GT 6 are the latest break-up/highest headroom whereas the opposite is true. Here's a thread that goes into it a little deeper: http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=39067

As you'll see in this thread, I trusted the Groove Tubes chart only to be proven wrong.

 

[igfraso]

I was told by Mesa that Greens will clip or breakup earlier than Reds.
The higher you go in the Groove Tubes number, the earlier they breakup.

 

[MrMarkIII]

Just keep the colors together.
Plug 'em in.
Listen.
Trust your ears.
Tell us what you think.

 

[dodger916]

I was told by Mesa that Greens will clip or breakup earlier than Reds.
The higher you go in the Groove Tubes number, the earlier they breakup.

Yes, Greens will clip earlier than Reds.
No, the LOWER the GT rating, the earlier the break-up (according to their numbering system).

 

[gtrrhythm]

Hi

Hey, I apologize about not responding after everyone kindly responded to my question about colors / numbers and how soon the "break". I got away from this forum for awhile once my band got busy (good news I guess).

I originally put in blue 02s in, and liked it. But after seeing the various threads here, I went to green 03s.

My opinion:
The greens did break earlier, but more like clipping, and now I guess that's not the sound I was looking for. Too hard without as much nuance. I'm putting in my other greens (06) to check that out in a minute.

Then I'll try red 23's and red 50s. Will post what I learn.

Thanks

 

[gtrrhythm]

Just tried the green 06s. I like em better than the 03s. Tighter I think - maybe that's what I'm looking for. So, on to the reds (32s and 50s). I'll let you know.

 

[zodiac272]

Hey ,

Yeah I'm sure you are finding the red have the most clean headroom and breakup latest. I just tried STR 420 blu in my mark II and they sounded great. as good as the STR 415's I was using, though I never really cranked the masters. They still have a ton of life left after spending 15 years in my 2:90. See if this helps:

http://www.grailtone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4875


Scott

 

[gtrrhythm]

I've never used STR 415s. Only the 420s.

I tried the red 23s and 50 today - man are they hot - too hot for my stuff. I play classic rock and these would be better for heavy metal. In your face sound.

So that narrows it back down to the blu 02s or green 06s. It really does come down to just playing your stuff with each color / number and listening.

 

[zodiac272]

and those letters are just to identify the batch, they have nothing to do with matching. so any batch blu, red, grn, etc. will match with any other batch of the same color. All you need is to match color.

scott

 

[dodger916]

and those letters are just to identify the batch, they have nothing to do with matching. so any batch blu, red, grn, etc. will match with any other batch of the same color. All you need is to match color.

scott

+1.