replacing my Mark IV tubes.. opinions needed

[Butter]

I'm about to drop a Celestion V30 speaker and replace my tubes in my Mark IV. I wanted to read some of your opinions out there on the tubes I'm lookin at. I currently have EH 6L6's and 12AX7's but I want to try something else now.

I play in a funk band (parliament funkadelic style) mostly clean stuff but we'll get nasty with it too and throw down the distortion. We like to drop a Metallica song in the set every once and a while.. really throws people off.

Anyway, here's what i'm lookin at:

Power Section
-GT-6L6GE medium rating (4–7) Quartet - super pricey and fairly bad reviews. Are they worth it?

-JJ 6L6GC - good price and fairly good reviews

-S.E.D. 6L6GC "C" Logo - I hear lots of good stuff about these

-Mesa Boogies stock 6L6 - Can you really go wrong with these?


Preamp section:
-JJ 12AX7's
-Tung-Sol 12AX7

Thanks for the input

 

[HipKitty]

Butter, I'll contribute some info....

The early Groove Tubes GT-6L6GE's were great. something must have happened along the way as they began having issues that has turned alot of folks away from them.

The JJ's are popular among many players, pretty good output with these.

The SED's are the most popular among my clients. Very fat and warm and are very fitting in any 6L6 type amp.

The Mesa' STR-440 is an excellent Chinese tube. I've been told that this is the same tube that Ruby and TAD offer.

The Tung Sol 12ax7a is a winner all round. I've seen some posts reporting microphonic/noise issues, but I' have yet to see this with any that I've installed or used.

The JJ's are quite different from the Tung Sols...I'd describe them as more clinical, not as fat or warm as the Tung Sols. The harmonic content just isn't there in comparison.

Of course, I am an advocate for trying all the flavors if you can afford to do so. Some folks can do this, some can't.

There are posts through this forum that have quite a few opinions about these tubes...poke around and take their comments for consideration as well.

 

[stoz]

Have you had a look at the MK IV threads?
Its under 'Vintage amps - earlier than 1991' then there's a heading just for MkIV dicussions. There's twenty odd pages, so it will be a marathon, but it's worth a read if you have the time.

 

[Butter]

HipKitty - I was hoping you would reply to my post. I've been lurking on this board for a while and you seem to be very knowledgeable and respected around here. I just thought i'd throw out my specific scenario.

stoz - I have read a lot of the mark IV posts on here but have not come across the one you mention. I'll check it out at work tomorrow if it's a slow day. hehe. thanks!

It sounds like I can't go wrong with the SED's and Tungs???

 

[HipKitty]

Butter, no problem. Anything that I can do to help, just ask.

Here's one to look at that I was involved with;
http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=15496&highlight=hipkitty&sid=341b99cbd21d4859a8db973cb2955884

 

[HipKitty]

Definitely can't go wrong with the SED's and Tung Sol's.

 

[Butter]

Definitely can't go wrong with the SED's and Tung Sol's.

funny you say that..

I ended up talkin with Doug from Doug's tubes yesterday and he recommended me the following set up. Funny, cuz I think I saw the same recommendation in another thread that he made to someone else. Doug must really like this set up and dude sounds like he knows what he's talkin about so I went ahead and ordered them. they should be here on Monday. I'll update this thread on how they sound. Can't freakin wait.

Power:
S.E.D. 6L6GC "C" Logo

Preamp:
V1 Tung-Sol
V2 JJ
V3 Chinese
V4 Chinese
V5 Sovtech

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

^That seems to be his favorite....what he recommend for my rectifier.

 

[Butter]

^That seems to be his favorite....

That's what i'm thinking.

 

[sixstringmonk]

I've not really done a whole lot of mix and matching/experimentation with tubes in my life, so I'm interesting in hearing the justification for why each tube goes where in the preamp section.

 

[ToneAddictJon]

I've become a huge fan of JJ's in all my amps (including the Mark IV), but tubes are very personal so going through a lot of them to find the right ones and it becomes expensive and time consuming. The right tubes in the right amp absolutely sound magical though. I've just been going through eurotubes.com because Bob is a cool guy and has no problem explaining the subtle differences in each tube and matching the right tubes for the right amps, and his shop isn't to far from me. I've heard the same for Doug at dougstubes.com but haven't tried them yet. Good luck

 

[sixstringmonk]

To refine my question: I've gone through entire sets of GTs, EHs, and JJs in my pre. I'm interested in hearing opinions on mixing brands/stocks in certain positions. Why should I put a certain tube in V1 but not in V2 etc....?

 

[HipKitty]

To refine my question: I've gone through entire sets of GTs, EHs, and JJs in my pre. I'm interested in hearing opinions on mixing brands/stocks in certain positions. Why should I put a certain tube in V1 but not in V2 etc....?

To make it simple, the different brands, even manufacturers different versions of a 12ax7a have different responses and tones. Also, V1 is the first stage tube that gets amplified as the signal travels down the line to the next stage...and so on and so on.

 

[SixVeeSix]

V1 is where you can make the most difference voicing your amplifier. The tube for V1 can govern your gain, your harmonics and overall tone. To a lesser extent in a cascading gain stage like a Mesa, V2 (usually follows the tone stack) can change your voice. For your phase inverter/splitter tube evenly matched triodes are more important and whatever your choice may be gain-wise for V1, you will probably prefer a fairly low gain, quiet tube for your reverb send/return so that it sounds smooth and lush. Recommendations may be based on the above criteria but there is more to it than that. If nothing else, splurge on a few different tubes to try in V1. Try some vintage USA and European tubes, try 5751, 12AT7 and 7025. Find the right one for you and it will light up your amp in a special way.