Pre amp tube question..

[billyg121]

i have a mesa mark 4...i had it seriviced not long ago,and the tech replaced the reverb tube with a 12at7. the other preamp tubes are prob 5 years old. i havent noticed any degrading of tone..but im anxious to see if replacing them would improve anything. should i change the remaning 4 tubes? can i just buy any good ax7 to replace the other 4? the only complaint i have is a slight bit of hiss i get from r2 and lead.

 

[droptrd]

i have a mesa mark 4...i had it seriviced not long ago,and the tech replaced the reverb tube with a 12at7. the other preamp tubes are prob 5 years old. i havent noticed any degrading of tone..but im anxious to see if replacing them would improve anything. should i change the remaning 4 tubes? can i just buy any good ax7 to replace the other 4? the only complaint i have is a slight bit of hiss i get from r2 and lead.

Yeah Id replace the rest of them. Have you replaced the power tubes yet? If not Id swap out those for sure.

 

[billyg121]

yeah i swapped the power tubes. can i just randomly put any ax7 in any of the other 4 sockets?

 

[topcat0399]

yeah i swapped the power tubes. can i just randomly put any ax7 in any of the other 4 sockets?

Yeah, you can.


Lots of info on this board concerning what makes a good preamp tube and which sounds best where. In the end only you can decide.


Don't know if I agree that all of yours need to be replaced unless one is giving you troubles. Preamp tubes last a long time; Especially if you aren't gigging constantly.