Need Tubes Recommendation

[gem12]

Hi Guys.....noobee here.
I just bought a used MB DC 10 212 and I am thinking of replacing the tubes in the near future. Can any body tell me which is the best tubes for my amp in both power and pre-amp. And does this amp needs rebiasing?

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanx

 

[CaughtLikeFire]

Hi Guys.....noobee here.
I just bought a used MB DC 10 212 and I am thinking of replacing the tubes in the near future. Can any body tell me which is the best tubes for my amp in both power and pre-amp. And does this amp needs rebiasing?

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanx

No rebiasing is needed but you need to stay within a certain range of current draw. A good tube vendor (I recommend www.dougstubes.com) can make sure they run safely and sound good in a Mesa. You can also purchase Groove Tubes power tubes in a 4-7 rating (I think 6 or 7 is best). Every pair (or quad in the case of a DC10) has a number written on the outside of the box.

For power tubes, I'd recommend the JAN Philips 6L6 WGC. a quad of those runs the same or less than a quad of Groove Tubes GE 6L6 reissue and they last forever. SED (Winged C) are great too and are the most affordable.

For preamp, I also like the JAN Philips but they're around $40 each. Maybe get a few of those along with some of the reissue Tung Sol 12ax7s.

Make sure that the V6 tube (the preamp tube closest to the reverb wires and transformer on your amp, called the phase inverter) has balanced triodes and is tested to have high output (1.2ma or above). Gain is not all that important with V6. The JAN Philips 5751s (a 12ax7 direct replacement) tend to work pretty nicely here.

I haven't ordered from him in awhile, but apparently Doug at Doug's Tubes has come up with a mix of preamp tubes that sounds good in a lot of Mesa preamp sections. You could give that a shot too. Been posted on the boards several times in the past few weeks but you could just give him a call to get the setup.

I tend to push the JAN Philips because (both power and preamp) they sound pretty good in Fenders and Mesas and they're one of the few brands of New Old Stock tubes that are still affordable. they also, in my experience, last longer than JJ, EH, Sovtek.

I'm not a big fan of the full JJ setup from Eurotubes . . . at all. Power tubes are ok but a little sterile and the preamp tubes are nothing like the original Tesla tubes from the 60s and 70s (those old Tesla ECC83s rock by the way - if you can afford a few of those for the preamp, go for it!)

 

[gem12]

Hi Guys.....noobee here.
I just bought a used MB DC 10 212 and I am thinking of replacing the tubes in the near future. Can any body tell me which is the best tubes for my amp in both power and pre-amp. And does this amp needs rebiasing?

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanx

No rebiasing is needed but you need to stay within a certain range of current draw. A good tube vendor (I recommend www.dougstubes.com) can make sure they run safely and sound good in a Mesa. You can also purchase Groove Tubes power tubes in a 4-7 rating (I think 6 or 7 is best). Every pair (or quad in the case of a DC10) has a number written on the outside of the box.

For power tubes, I'd recommend the JAN Philips 6L6 WGC. a quad of those runs the same or less than a quad of Groove Tubes GE 6L6 reissue and they last forever. SED (Winged C) are great too and are the most affordable.

For preamp, I also like the JAN Philips but they're around $40 each. Maybe get a few of those along with some of the reissue Tung Sol 12ax7s.

Make sure that the V6 tube (the preamp tube closest to the reverb wires and transformer on your amp, called the phase inverter) has balanced triodes and is tested to have high output (1.2ma or above). Gain is not all that important with V6. The JAN Philips 5751s (a 12ax7 direct replacement) tend to work pretty nicely here.

I haven't ordered from him in awhile, but apparently Doug at Doug's Tubes has come up with a mix of preamp tubes that sounds good in a lot of Mesa preamp sections. You could give that a shot too. Been posted on the boards several times in the past few weeks but you could just give him a call to get the setup.

I tend to push the JAN Philips because (both power and preamp) they sound pretty good in Fenders and Mesas and they're one of the few brands of New Old Stock tubes that are still affordable. they also, in my experience, last longer than JJ, EH, Sovtek.

I'm not a big fan of the full JJ setup from Eurotubes . . . at all. Power tubes are ok but a little sterile and the preamp tubes are nothing like the original Tesla tubes from the 60s and 70s (those old Tesla ECC83s rock by the way - if you can afford a few of those for the preamp, go for it!)

Hey,

Thanks a lot for taking the time in sharing your experience/advice.

Thank You

 

[CaughtLikeFire]

no problem 8)

 

[stokes]

Excellent advice on the NOS tubes.IME any NOS preamp tubes will out last and out perform any of the current production.Same for the power tubes,but unless you install an adjustable bias pot,you have to stick with power tubes that fall into the proper range,and Dougs is an excellent supplier for that.It is possible to find NOS preamp tubes for less than the stated $40 each.I have found hundreds on ebay and at flea markets over the years and just cull out the ones that arent so good.I have a very large stock that I have paid $10 or less for each.But even for the higher price the suppliers charge for NOS,I think they are well worth it.I have a couple of Ampeg Gemini amps with Bugle Boy pre amps that have been in the amps since the late '60's and they still sound and work fine.You wont get that kind of service from any Russian or Chinese tubes made today.

 

[joey_truelove]

Cryohardened valves will come very close to the lifespan and quality of NOS though. I've come to use cryo-valves exclusively.