Need help with Triple Rec. tube change!

[vile4ever]

Hi guys. I'll start out by saying I'm pretty clueless when it comes to amp maintenance.

My band is about to record and I want to retube my Triple Rectifier. It has been retubed only once since I got it (probably 7 or more years ago.) When I retubed it before, I was made aware of the color coding system on Mesa Boogie tubes and was told to "put matching color tubes in every other slot."

Now that I'm about to retube again, I've been reading on this forum and else where and I've gotten nothing but confused. Basically, I want to go to my local Mesa dealer, get six 6L6 tubes and replace the old ones in my amp. What do I need to do as far as color matching etc?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

[MesaENGR412]

the colors on the tubes from mesa have said to be purely for grouping purposes, but others say that they tell you how cold or hot the tubes run. It's good to get tubes that are matched (they come in pairs) and from the same group. I think the ones that came in mine were yellow. There are also alternatives that are cheaper, such as Eurotubes.com, that sell "JJ" tubes, and those are what I replaced my mesa tubes with in my Triple Recto, and they sound really good to me. But, it's your choice.

-AJH

 

[vile4ever]

Ok... my next question would be, then, which slots to match the tubes in? There's six tubes total... should I get 6 of the same color? If not, which slots do I put the matching tubes in?

 

[ThunderMonkey]

7 years since the last tube change :?: :shock:

Definitely time for tube replacement, you'll hear a huge difference in tone for the better !

They go in matched pairs (color coded) starting from the center like this:

1 2 3 4 5 6

Two inner sockets 3, 4
Outer middle sockets 2, 5
Outermost sockets 1, 6

As long as you have the same color code or matched pair in each set you'll be fine.

Mesa amps are cool like that. :wink:

 

[HipKitty]

vile4ever, when replacing your tubes, you should only need to replace the output tubes...these are the ones that should be matched, btw. The rectifier tubes should not need replacing....that is, unless you want to replace them regardless. The output tubes should be the 6L6 or EL34 types.

If you're going to buy and install without biasing the amp, you need to get tubes that are pre-selected to fit within Boogie's biasing range. Boogies select tubes and Groove Tubes with rating between 4 and 6 fit within the range.

Here's how Mesa's color coded system matches up to GT's:
Mesa's color coding is not merely for grouping purposes...btw...


Mesa Scale crossed to Groove Tubes scale
Red 4
Yellow 4
Green 5
Gray 5
Blue 6
White 6

There are other companies like Eurotubes that will test and group their tubes to fit within Mesa's bias range. Most of those are cheaper than buying Mesa's or GT tubes. Eurotubes handle only the JJ brand tubes....some love them, some hate them. Check out Dougstubes.com and contact Doug, I believe that he offers a similar "fit", but by other brands than JJ.

 

[theaero]

Why not replace rectifier tubes?

When you should change rec tubes and pre amp tubes?

 

[azazelsmight]

Why not replace rectifier tubes?

When you should change rec tubes and pre amp tubes?

Thats what im wondering

 

[ThunderMonkey]

Why not replace rectifier tubes?

When you should change rec tubes and pre amp tubes?

Thats what im wondering

Rectifier tubes last a LONG time (barring outright failure) as they only supply power (convert AC to DC) to the transformer for the amp to use. They should last several years without needing to change them, if ever. They don't degrade or wear out the same as power tubes.

Preamp tubes get hammered but not nearly as much as Power tubes. I swap my pre's out with a mix of different grades all the time for different tones. You might want to change them every other time you install new Power tubes.

It really depends on how much you play, practice, studio and especially live as you use more volume in gig situations.

 

[azazelsmight]

Ah, Great, thanks for the advice.