Nomad Tube Rattle - Go for Winged C's???

[joseph_68]

Hey all,

I am currently on my 3rd pair of Mesa 6L6 tubes since November. I have experienced excessive tube rattle from the Mesa tubes. A local shop in town recommended that I try Winged C 6L6 tubes as the Mesa's are supposedly notorious for this problem.

I am wondering if anyone can share an opinion about this? It's going to cost me about $50 for the pair. I am concerned that my Nomad will continue to sound good and work well with these tubes. The other option would be Groove Tubes of course, since they are rated to work with the fixed bias.

Advice and comments are greatly appreciated!

 

[ANIMATED SUSPENSION]

They're guaranteed for 6 months if they're faulty return them !! Which 6L6's are they, STR440's ? Can you hear the rattle through the speakers ?? Mine don't rattle at all (3 pairs) in either of my amps.

 

[joseph_68]

Yup STR440's. One of the pairs was a replacement from Mesa. I could probably get another set from them through the warranty, but I am pretty much convinced the problem will just reoccur in a few weeks. I may just call Mesa and ask for a new replacement to use as a spare emergency pair, but I really want to solve this rattle issue as it drives me nuts. I isolated the issue to the tubes themselves. It doesn't happen through the speaker.

 

[Esromeron]

At the moment I have Mesa's 6L6's STR430's in my DC-5 Combo, and I have no tube rattle at all. I'm not playing this sucker at bedroom levels either, and Combos are usually more susceptible to this problem with having the speaker right next to them.

That being said, and which I find funny is that I have some Winged =C='s coming tomorrow. I've tried these on other amps with great results so I'm giving it a shot in the DC5. The Winged C's definitely won't rattle, but as with any power tubes for a Mesa, I'd get them from a knowledgeable dealer that can get you a pair with the same rating.

 

[user 1198]

I received and returned three sets of power tubes directly from Mesa before I finally got a set that lasted more than six months.

 

[joseph_68]

I received and returned three sets of power tubes directly from Mesa before I finally got a set that lasted more than six months.

Okay well I am definitely calling them on Monday! Maybe there is some hope? I'm not playing at bedroom levels either, but surely not past noon on the master volume either.

 

[Riff Blister]

Right now I have SED Winged “C” tubes in my Nomad (6L6) and in my Stiletto (EL34).
I think they are great power tubes. I did not have any problems with the Mesa stock tubes I just wanted to try something else. The Winged “C” tubes were recommended to me by the guy who builds the boutique “Savage” amps here where I live in Minnesota.
If you want to try them I would recommend them although I’m just a dude who plays guitar.
Jeff from “Savage Amps” recommends them. I would listen to him, not me.