New Tubes...

[Shep]

Hey all..

Just wondering what tubes you guy's are using with your mesa...

i have a full board of JJ in my mk IV which sound great but i have already had one pre amp tube fail on me after only a month...

i am wanting a new set for my mk iv and insteed of just going JJ's again i am going to first see whats around..

So what are your favorite Pre amp and power amp tubes with your mesa..

also tubes that can still be bought would be prefured..as i can't really re-stock my mk with some tubes that were stoped being made in the 1960's..

Thanks ALL...

 

[edward]

I just posted a thread looking for those who have experimented with their preamp tubes to post their experiences ...hope to hear some there.

The only change I've made to the preamp section so far is a Current-issue Tung-sol 12ax7 that is, by all writeups, a great "new-stock" that is supposedly a good rival to the NOS of yesteryear. I put the T-S in the V1 position and like it ..."seems" to have brightened up the top end a bit, but the diff was not night/day.

As for power tubes, I put in a set of 6L6 Svetlana =C= (winged C) and like them. But honestly, I didn't really spend lots of time trying to a/b them with a fresh set of Mesas (which are Sovteks) so take it for what it's worth, but my Svets do sound great and have only praise w/o complaint ..."better" than the Mesa's 6L6 is the questionmark here.

Edward

 

[stokes]

It only voids the warranty if you tell them.Just keep the original tubes and if you ever have to send the amp to Mesa put them back in,what they dont know wont hurt you or your warranty.

 

[Shep]

i am thinking JJ matched 6l6 on the power and tung sol on the preamp..does that sound like a good idea...do you think that would compete with the JJ's in there..

 

[marklyn]

I had a tube guy, I don't remember which one, tell me that the JJs 6L6s run cold and so aren't a great match for the Mark IV. This was someone who sold JJs also and it didn't just seem an attempt to get me to buy other tubes.
I ended up with the SED =C= and I like them.

With Tung Sol in the preamp, it's less than $20 so it's pretty easy to give it a go and see if you like it in V1. If not put it in another slot later. I've got a Tung Sol that I haven't tried yet. I'm currently running a NOS Tesla in V1 and love it.