NAD-New/Old Dual Rectifer, plus some tube questions

[Octavius]

Picked this up for $900 plus shipping, came with a full set of Mesa tubes, as well as a JJ pre-amp set and quad of JJ KT77. Serial number is R-006017, which makes this a Rev G Dual Recto i believe. This is my first tube amp, used a Spider IV 30w before. Loving the sounds I'm getting from this amp, its lots of fun to play around with different settings.

kinda crappy pics, I'm not a photographer lol

Currently running it into a 1x12 of an unknown brand, might be a homemade cab. I don't even know what speaker is in it. I would definantly like to get a new cab, I've been looking at the Mesa Rectifier 2x12 and the Orange PPC 2x12 closed back. Opinions and suggestions are welcome. I am willing to spend $700 on the cab.

I believe the Mesa tubes in it are rather old, and would like to pick up a new set of tubes. I'm keeping the JJ tubes as spares, from reading threads on here it seems they are not a well liked tube. I've been looking at the pre-amp cocktail from Doug's Tubes, but seeing as I am located in Canada ,I would like to order tubes from The Tube Store. Suggestions on which tubes to get and which position to put them in are much appritiated.

 

[Steve@Russo]

congrats!! 8) but a stilleto cab or rectifier cab, yo can find one used for less than 700

 

[fluff191]

I had the Doug's Tubes cocktail and it sounded pretty good. I threw away the JJ for V2 and put in an EH instead though.

As for preamp tubes, EH's do very well in rectifiers in any position. I would get at least 2 Chinese (Sino, Suguang) tubes for V3 and V4 though. Although I personally find it a bit too bright for my taste, everyone seems to enjoy the Tung-Sol 12ax7 in V1. So a combo of say Tung-Sol=V1, EH=V2 and Chinese in V3 & V4 and another EH in V5 would be epic.

Power tubes that sound really good are EH 6L6, Winged C 6L6, and TAD short bottles (IMO).

Hope that helps.

 

[YellowJacket]

Currently running it into a 1x12 of an unknown brand, might be a homemade cab. I don't even know what speaker is in it. I would definitely like to get a new cab, I've been looking at the Mesa Rectifier 2x12 and the Orange PPC 2x12 closed back. Opinions and suggestions are welcome. I am willing to spend $700 on the cab.

While 4 x 12s sound beefier, 2 x 12s are very portable.

What style do you play, what are you after?

I think the Mills Mach212B is a little on the expensive end but great for heavies specifically!
I ALSO would give the Mesa Road King 2 x 12 a high vote. Definitely look into this cab. It is a 2 x 12 which is basically two separate speaker enclosures in one box. The ported enclosure has a c90 and the sealed one has a v30. Definitely super even and crunchy response.

I also like the Dr Z Z Best cab if you prefer the thiele design. It is a clearer sounding cab with an even response. It does clean, rhythm, and lead well but the cab only handles 60watts stock. It sounds bigger than a typical close back 2 x 12 but I don't know that it is "QUITE" as tailored to high gain chugga chugga. Depends what you want.

 

[Octavius]

I had the Doug's Tubes cocktail and it sounded pretty good. I threw away the JJ for V2 and put in an EH instead though.

As for preamp tubes, EH's do very well in rectifiers in any position. I would get at least 2 Chinese (Sino, Suguang) tubes for V3 and V4 though. Although I personally find it a bit too bright for my taste, everyone seems to enjoy the Tung-Sol 12ax7 in V1. So a combo of say Tung-Sol=V1, EH=V2 and Chinese in V3 & V4 and another EH in V5 would be epic.

Power tubes that sound really good are EH 6L6, Winged C 6L6, and TAD short bottles (IMO).

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the advice, I'll be sure to try that combination out

While 4 x 12s sound beefier, 2 x 12s are very portable.

What style do you play, what are you after?

I think the Mills Mach212B is a little on the expensive end but great for heavies specifically!
I ALSO would give the Mesa Road King 2 x 12 a high vote. Definitely look into this cab. It is a 2 x 12 which is basically two separate speaker enclosures in one box. The ported enclosure has a c90 and the sealed one has a v30. Definitely super even and crunchy response.

I also like the Dr Z Z Best cab if you prefer the thiele design. It is a clearer sounding cab with an even response. It does clean, rhythm, and lead well but the cab only handles 60watts stock. It sounds bigger than a typical close back 2 x 12 but I don't know that it is "QUITE" as tailored to high gain chugga chugga. Depends what you want.

I play heavier stuff, like chugga chugga, but also play progressive so i use more clean sounds as well.

I would love to get the Mills, but its out of my budget. Shipping and import taxes on it would be crazy.

The Road KIng cab sound interesting, would have to try that out. How similar is it to the Roadster cab?

I really have no idea where I'd find a DR Z cab around here.

 

[plon]

I had the Doug's Tubes cocktail and it sounded pretty good. I threw away the JJ for V2 and put in an EH instead though.

As for preamp tubes, EH's do very well in rectifiers in any position. I would get at least 2 Chinese (Sino, Suguang) tubes for V3 and V4 though. Although I personally find it a bit too bright for my taste, everyone seems to enjoy the Tung-Sol 12ax7 in V1. So a combo of say Tung-Sol=V1, EH=V2 and Chinese in V3 & V4 and another EH in V5 would be epic.

Power tubes that sound really good are EH 6L6, Winged C 6L6, and TAD short bottles (IMO).

Hope that helps.

First off, greetings everyone, this is my first post. I recently bought a Single Rectifier Series 2 head. I've been trying out JJ power tubes, 6l6gc, E34L, and KT-77's. So far I'm really digging the E34L's. My preamp section is the Eurotubes JJ high gain option, which sounds, as I've read here a few times, sorta dark/flat. I want to use the suggestion above "As for preamp tubes, EH's do very well in rectifiers in any position. I would get at least 2 Chinese (Sino, Suguang) tubes for V3 and V4 though. Although I personally find it a bit too bright for my taste, everyone seems to enjoy the Tung-Sol 12ax7 in V1. So a combo of say Tung-Sol=V1, EH=V2 and Chinese in V3 & V4 and another EH in V5 would be epic." for my preamp tubes but wondered if any of these individual tubes should be high gain or if the phase inverter tube should be balanced (since that 's what I have now and have been told that's best). The reason I ask is I'm ordering these tubes from Tube Depot because they have them in stock and options include high gain and right now I have a balanced JJ in the PI.

Any and all suggestions apreciated.

 

[fluff191]

First off, greetings everyone, this is my first post. I recently bought a Single Rectifier Series 2 head. I've been trying out JJ power tubes, 6l6gc, E34L, and KT-77's. So far I'm really digging the E34L's. My preamp section is the Eurotubes JJ high gain option, which sounds, as I've read here a few times, sorta dark/flat. I want to use the suggestion above "As for preamp tubes, EH's do very well in rectifiers in any position. I would get at least 2 Chinese (Sino, Suguang) tubes for V3 and V4 though. Although I personally find it a bit too bright for my taste, everyone seems to enjoy the Tung-Sol 12ax7 in V1. So a combo of say Tung-Sol=V1, EH=V2 and Chinese in V3 & V4 and another EH in V5 would be epic." for my preamp tubes but wondered if any of these individual tubes should be high gain or if the phase inverter tube should be balanced (since that 's what I have now and have been told that's best). The reason I ask is I'm ordering these tubes from Tube Depot because they have them in stock and options include high gain and right now I have a balanced JJ in the PI.

Any and all suggestions appreciated.

Ya know people say the V5 needs to be balanced, but honestly I have never noticed ANY change in tone or feel with a balanced versus an unbalanced. Funny thing is, the Doug's preamp tube kit has a balanced tube in V1 (and NOT in V5), which makes more sense to me since it drives the rest of the tone stack. But no, it's not crucial for a balanced tube to be in V5 IMO.

As for 'high gain' preamp tubes, I like the feel of a high gain-rated tube. But really it just depends on what you play (metal, blues. etc.). Heavy stuff I would go high gain. Lighter rock, I would not. Hope that helps.



And lastly, welcome to the Board. Great people are on here.

 

[plon]

First off, greetings everyone, this is my first post. I recently bought a Single Rectifier Series 2 head. I've been trying out JJ power tubes, 6l6gc, E34L, and KT-77's. So far I'm really digging the E34L's. My preamp section is the Eurotubes JJ high gain option, which sounds, as I've read here a few times, sorta dark/flat. I want to use the suggestion above "As for preamp tubes, EH's do very well in rectifiers in any position. I would get at least 2 Chinese (Sino, Suguang) tubes for V3 and V4 though. Although I personally find it a bit too bright for my taste, everyone seems to enjoy the Tung-Sol 12ax7 in V1. So a combo of say Tung-Sol=V1, EH=V2 and Chinese in V3 & V4 and another EH in V5 would be epic." for my preamp tubes but wondered if any of these individual tubes should be high gain or if the phase inverter tube should be balanced (since that 's what I have now and have been told that's best). The reason I ask is I'm ordering these tubes from Tube Depot because they have them in stock and options include high gain and right now I have a balanced JJ in the PI.

Any and all suggestions appreciated.

Ya know people say the V5 needs to be balanced, but honestly I have never noticed ANY change in tone or feel with a balanced versus an unbalanced. Funny thing is, the Doug's preamp tube kit has a balanced tube in V1 (and NOT in V5), which makes more sense to me since it drives the rest of the tone stack. But no, it's not crucial for a balanced tube to be in V5 IMO.

As for 'high gain' preamp tubes, I like the feel of a high gain-rated tube. But really it just depends on what you play (metal, blues. etc.). Heavy stuff I would go high gain. Lighter rock, I would not. Hope that helps.



And lastly, welcome to the Board. Great people are on here.

Yes, this does help and thank you for the quick response. One thing though, you do recommend a balanced in V1 instead of V5, right? I don't play really heavy stuff. So far I'm more than pleased with the "Vintage" setting and then the "Modern" gets me to as heavy as I need to be.

 

[fluff191]

Yes, this does help and thank you for the quick response. One thing though, you do recommend a balanced in V1 instead of V5, right? I don't play really heavy stuff. So far I'm more than pleased with the "Vintage" setting and then the "Modern" gets me to as heavy as I need to be.

I would just get a balanced for V1. But you certainly aren't going to hurt anything if you get another one for V5. And since you don't play the heavy stuff, I wouldn't pay the extra $$ for the high gain-rating.

 

[droptrd]

Ive done the balanced thing in V1 and V5 and I cant say I noticed any improvement. Though I never did any quick ABs with unbalanced tubes.

To be honest, I dont spend money on the balanced thing anymore and my amps run just fine. Though there is nothing wrong with getting balanced tubes. Doesnt hurt.

 

[Silverwulf]

I'm one of the few that actually likes high gain JJ's in the preamp of my Rectos. I like higher gain JJ's better than standard. I think they compliment the amp well and mesh well with V30 loaded cabs...at least for the tone I like. Of course, I also use an odd choice of power tubes in my Rectos that most would laugh at. The ironic thing is I get tons of compliments at shows on my Rectos from a lot of people that supposedly hate the tubes I use... :mrgreen:

As far as balanced tubes, I've never noticed any significant tone or performance difference with them.

 

[plon]

Well, I guess I'll get them in High gain across the board since I listened to some of fluff191's clips and if that's what he's using, me likey. I'm definitely not one that would notice any subtleties. I'm not saying I totally dislike the JJ's, I just want to try something different to be sure there isn't anything better for me. Being able to change out the power tubes is the coolest, and I think experimenting with different preamp tubes, I'll find something great. I'm using G12M-70 speakers in 2 old 16 ohm Laney cabs, a slant and a straight into a parallel cable into the 8 ohm jack. I know most detest these speakers but I loved them with my Laney AOR and so far they sound great with the SR. Thanks to everyone so far for all the help.

 

[fluff191]

The ironic thing is I get tons of compliments at shows on my Rectos from a lot of people that supposedly hate the tubes I use... :mrgreen:

Yeah but you use a 2 Channel Recto!! When I had mine, I put every odd tube combination I could think off, and was never able to get a bad tone. So your argument isn't that valid, sir. :lol:

 

[Silverwulf]

This is true, I think most 2 channels do tend to sound better with more tube combos. I'm considering pulling the trigger on a virtually NOS Triple Recto Rev F. Decisions... :lol:

 

[fluff191]

Wow really? Pull that trigger soldier!!!

 

[Silverwulf]

Yeah, original owner bought it in '93, never even used at volume or taken out of his smoke free home. Just sat in his basement. Mint condition and still has the original paperwork, manual, etc.

 

[fluff191]

Wow that sounds like an amp worth keeping! Like a snippet of time. Very cool.

 

[YellowJacket]

I play heavier stuff, like chugga chugga, but also play progressive so i use more clean sounds as well.

I would love to get the Mills, but its out of my budget. Shipping and import taxes on it would be crazy.

The Road KIng cab sound interesting, would have to try that out. How similar is it to the Roadster cab?

I really have no idea where I'd find a DR Z cab around here.

Hmmmmm.

Road King cab is different than the Roadster cab. The roadster is a closeback single chamber 2 x 12. It is a fairly small and lightweight design (for a mesa) It is equipped stock with 2 Celestion V30s.
The Road King cab has two chambers, one for each speaker. One chamber is ported and houses a Celestion c90 and the other chamber is a close back and houses a v30.

Question, how are you with woodworking? Perhaps you know a carpenter?
I actually worked with my father in law to built my thiele 2 x 12 and my "Mock212B". While this isn't totally cheap either, it is definitely a viable alternative to buying cabs. I know DIY projects aren't for everyone but you can save a bit of money and more importantly, design something to your specifications. Both cabs are awesome for different reasons and they each do something well that is very unique.

If DIY is out of the question, just try every 2 x 12 until you find what you want!