New ROV II owner needs tube advice!

[Monsta-Tone]

The band I'm in decided that we should play metal as well as originals and old school Van Halen, Rush, etc. covers.

I just bought a Rectoverb II combo.
It still has most of the original tubes in it.
I changed the PI to a Sovtek LPS, and the powr tubes to JJ 6L6's for now.


What tubes do you guys recommend to get the best tones out of the ROV?
The last Rectoverb combo I had, I used Mesa EL34's, but I was playing old school metal and hard rock, not things like Atreau (don't know how to spell it), Sevin Dust, etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MusicManJP6]

The SED =C= 6L6s are killer in that amp. I messed with preamp tubes some and found an RCA in V1 was nice.

I think it's kind of funny you are covering songs by bands you can't spell! haha! At least you are in a band though... that's more than I can say...

 

[JF Omalycat]

The SED =C= 6L6s are killer in that amp. I messed with preamp tubes some and found an RCA in V1 was nice.

I think it's kind of funny you are covering songs by bands you can't spell! haha! At least you are in a band though... that's more than I can say...

I'll give a thumbs up to the SED's, too. They were magic in my ROV. (series 1) At high output, the harmonics were outstanding, and it didn't sound as compressed as the stock tubes. Bass response seemed tighter at higher volumes, too.
I really like the sound of the EH preamp tubes I put in, but they weren't very durable and ended up going back to the stock Mesa's. Tried some Tung-Sols and thought they were brittle.
For the record, I'm not much of a crazy gain player, though. My "loud" setting had the master output at 2:00 to 3:00, with the gain no more than 11:00, if that. Mid heavy EQ with the bass and presence fairly low. (10:00 'ish).

ANYWAY.....yeah the Winged C's are pretty awesome, regardless of style.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Right on, thanks guys.

I tried the following power tubes:
EI EL34's: They must have been damaged during shipping because there was a low rumble that sounded like crap.

JJ E34L's: These sounded really great on the clean and the lead channel. I really like these tubes. They did seem to lack just a touch of thump, but the bass knob is extremely responsive on this amp! I really like that.

JJ 6L6's: These sounded much better than the Mesa STR 440's. Lots of highs in the cleans and lots of thump in the lead channel!

Mesa STR 440's: These sounded muffled and sloppy. I don't know how old they are, but I've never really cared for the 440's.


I do have a set of 420's, but they probably wouldn't hold up long in a combo. They are my favorite Mesa power tubes though.



In the end, I bet I use the E34L's.


As for the band names, well.....I never even heard of those guys before. I got out of metal when big hair took over. I still played original metal, but I couldn't handle the glam.
Plus, I got really tired of listening to guys like Slayer tell me about things I could give a **** less about.

Some of the newer bands have some really great players in them though. Guess it's time to tune into Octane! :lol:

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Well,

I really liked the sound of the E34L's, but they didn't have enough bottom end when I was trying to learn a few songs last night.

I ended up with the JJ 6L6's.




What do you guys use for preamp tubes in your Rectoverbs?

 

[MusicManJP6]

What do you guys use for preamp tubes in your Rectoverbs?

Stay clear of JJs!! They sound harsh and terrible in a Rectoverb. They sound fabulous in an F-30, Stiletto, and my DC though - go figure!

Like I said, I tried some 'tube rolling' in my Rectoverb a while back when I had it and a NOS RCA sounded great in V1. It sounded good in the PI slot too.

What speaker is in your RoV? I really liked the difference a Warehouse Veteran 30 made. It made the amp come alive IMO. It's essentially a V30 with a smoother upper mid.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

It has the stock C-90 in it.

I do have a Hellatone 60L that I can try though. It's supposedly a V-30 with a little more bass.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I do have a Hellatone 60L that I can try though. It's supposedly a V-30 with a little more bass.

Bingo! Try that speaker with the E34Ls - I think you'll dig it!!

 

[clutch71]

Back when I had my ROV I had a preamp set of GT Silver series. It was warm and smooth, they don't make them anymore but they can be found on eBay. The power section was a JJ 6L6. I'm a big fan of Tung Sol 12AX7 in V1 and a balanced PI of just about any brand.

 

[InsomniaClown]

I had SED winged C's in my ROV 2, but I was not a fan of them in there. They did open up the sound of he amp, but this cost me some thickness and low end tightness. I have actually been sticking with stock Mesa 6L6's. I find that if I EQ just right, they are the best sounding by far. The winged C's give you a more vintage kind of vibe, but lost definition at high gain levels.

If you are looking for something really different, you could try a KT 77 or a KT 88. I am not sure if the 88 will fit in a rectoverb combo, but I have heard that the 77 does.

 

[JF Omalycat]

The winged C's give you a more vintage kind of vibe, but lost definition at high gain levels.

Truth. I guess that's what I should have said.
I had my ROV dialed in for more of a Black Keys sound, and the SED's helped enormously.
Weird going for that kind of sound with a Recto, but I found the ROV to be surprisingly versatile in that regard.