Old Recto, new tubes, and other nonsense...

[bluntage]

Hi fellas,

Well, I opened up the old 2ch Dual (R0064) for kicks after reading a lot of lovely threads about 'em... seems it was made 3/92 and the circuit board says "RF-1C" on it. I bought it as a "floor model" sometime that summer and it looked like it had been abused a bit... perhaps loaned out to local guys or something. Long story short, it went back to Mesa several years later for what turned out to be a capacitor problem at which time they serviced it to "spec". I also had them throw the chassis in a new DR box to replace the extremely beat up original. Looks great!

As I mentioned in an earlier thread, it hasn't had new tubes in ages so I want to do a full retube as others here have suggested. I was going to go with Mesa tubes due to the QC but they are quite expensive imho... I don't want to break the bank as I am unsure about our future together (more below). After reading the Tubes section, I must admit I am completely confused about what to order. Too many choices and too many opinions for and against nearly everything have thrown me for a loop. Currently, I am leaning toward a retube kit from Eurotubes... mistake? Suggestions?

Lastly, after deciding to jump back into playing after a long hiatus, I have found the amp sounds like crap! I know, I know... it needs new glass, but there are a couple of things I've never been fond of: 1) the cleans aren't good. I have always accepted that because I rarely played clean back then. However, I like playing clean a lot more now and it bothers me. 2) I am sure this may be due to my lack of skill at "dialing it in", but I find it hard to get good "lighter" tones... the elusive middle ground. I used to play heavy with a lot of gain. I still do, but I find myself wanting to branch out and add some versatility to my sound. I've been gassing a lot lately (since I joined this board, coincidentally), thinking of selling/trading it for a Stiletto Deuce II or a Roadster (or maybe even a Mark IV?). What would this head be worth in general, if I were to go this route? I'm so out of the loop and appreciate opinions.

Thanks!
Brad

 

[turmoil]

i have gotten several tubes/tube kits from Eurotubes and i've never had a problem. i like the tubes and the service! i enjoyed the JJ 6L6 and JJ E34L tubes a lot but i'm leaning more toward the 6L6's right now.

as far as the amp goes you can always try to unload it on this board, harmony-central.com, or of course Ebay. because the Serial number is really, really low you could probably get a good amount for it plus the fact that it has a brand new set of tubes. i'm not really an expert on these so i can't really say what it would be worth. hope it helps.

 

[jbird]

So I'm a little confused whether or not your the original owner? But that would sway me, that and if it did contain Mesa tubes! To me, it's sort of like the fact that Mesa won't really honor they're warranty if there is non Mesa branded tubes in there! I just like to see things done right, but that's me! :?

 

[bluntage]

So I'm a little confused whether or not your the original owner? But that would sway me, that and if it did contain Mesa tubes! To me, it's sort of like the fact that Mesa won't really honor they're warranty if there is non Mesa branded tubes in there! I just like to see things done right, but that's me! :?

I am the original owner, but it was a floor model. I found out later that the store I bought it from was notorious for loaning local guys amps for recording and such. I believe this one went out a few times before I purchased it. I got a good deal at the time due to a few scuffs, etc.

Tube brand shouldn't make any difference since there isn't any warranty on a 15 year old head, right?! A retube with Mesa tubes would cost me more than I wanted to spend to be completely honest.

 

[bluntage]

Update!

I ordered a full, standard Dual Recto retube kit from Eurotubes... should arrive Tuesday according to their email. I'll see if I can get her purring again.

So, during one of my incubation times (molecular biology) today I went down to my favorite local shop and played some Mesa amps! Here are my thoughts, based on low/moderate volume levels - they aren't keen on shaking the walls there:

Stiletto Trident head and trad 4x12: Not bad. Really bright. Not as much gain potential as I am used to... made me realize I am addicted to gain! While I want more versatility, I'd miss being able to dial in some full on metal gain if it wasn't there. Admittedly, I didn't spend a lot of time tweaking this one.

Ace 2x12: Much more bright than the Trident initially, but infinitely more pleasing to my ear. I spent quite a bit more time with this amp and really liked it overall. Lots of different tones available here! However, I think after spending time with it I realize that 6L6 powered distortion is more pleasing to me and my play style. Also of note are the quality of the clean tones available. I was quite impressed with this!

Roadster head and recto 4x12/Roadking 2x12: This would be the choice were I to actually replace my Dual! I really only need 2 channels for the most part, but I certainly wouldn't complain about 4. The cleans are immensely better than what I currently settle for with the Dual. Gain channels sound close to my recollection of the Dual but perhaps a bit "fizzy". I am starting to understand what you guys are saying about the 2ch vs the 3 ch gain characteristics after playing these amps. They are not the same. That said, I can see that these amps are extremely versatile if not a bit too complicated for my tastes.

Lonestar 1x12: Amazing! On a whim, I decided to plug in... the saleskid kept gushing about it so I figured "what the heck"?! The range of this amp is unprecedented. I dialed in the most beautiful Fender clean tone I have ever heard then tweaked it a bit for a more aggressive funk clean tone. Wow! Finally, I fired up channel 2 and was blown away by the amount of gain this thing could produce! You can literally dial in whatever you want with the exception of metal. It really impressed me as a "jack of all trades" amplifier. Hands down, best amp I played today! Now I am thinking I should have one of those to compliment my Dual and A/B between them. Arrgh!

Edit: I also briefly plugged into a Mark IV 1x12 combo and realized why I traded my head back in '92 - It takes an engineering degree and hours of time to dial in tones on that sucker. It didn't help that they lost the "tone settings" guide usually on the op of all Mesa amps and I was running out of time.