Retubing a Mark IV

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Hey guys!

So, the stock tubes on the IV are starting to get a little noisy...when my rig was being rebuilt, it went through a bunch of rough transportation, so I figure I could swap them now, as I'm done gigging without backups.

What do you guys recommend? I've never been completely infatuated with Mesa tubes.

I'm looking to possibly darken up the Mark IV a bit....smoothen it a bit, while still keeping that mean and aggressive punch. We're talking a nice, not overly compressed hard rock / metal tone. A fatter rounder bottom end would be nice too.

I don't believe the Mark IV is a bright amp...it's just very aggressive in the high end...it cuts VERY well....I'd like to tame that a little. Taking out a little of the compression would be great!

So, what do you guys recommend for the preamp? The Sovtek LPS seems like it might be a good route.

Now, for power amp, I'm torn between either 4 6L6s (SEDs, as I love these), or a pair of 6L6s with KT77s. Which do you guys think would be better for the fat less compressed tone, with a slightly bigger low end?

What have you guys tried in the Mark IV with good results?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[chris_EIT]

I also wanted what you want in a tube. I went the JJ Kt77 plus 6l6 combo, and retubed the pre section. Sounds fucking crazy now! Simul - class blows me away now, better low end response, not so much of that high end spike!
I'm loving it

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Hear you...I think I just might have to suck it up and try the JJs.

Any more opinions?

 

[ToneAddictJon]

I put JJ's in both my Mark IV and III and loved how they rounded out the tonality of it- I play bright guitars and through EV speakers, so there was too much top end before the retubes for me. I just did the retube kits from eurotubes with the 6l6 and e34l's and it worked out great, but when I'm ready to retube my new III I'll probably throw some kt77's in the outside sockets instead of e34l's.

 

[ketiov]

I put TungSol 12AX7's in mine, and they work well. In the power section I have SED 6L6s and EL34s. I'm not sure what darker means exactly, but to me the amp ended up making a more "modern" sound. Either that or I'm imagining it. I play mostly stuff with tons of distortion or none at all, so I don't think I can help you too much.

The cleans didn't suffer much either. To get a perfectly clean sound I have to run the R1 gain no higher than 2, although this is probably since I asked for the five preamp tubes I ordered to be tested for high gain.

You can also ask in the "Everything you ever wanted to know about TUBES!" thread on UG. You can get pretty quick and concrete answers there.

 

[Restless Rocks]

Out of curiosity I tried a Sovtec LPS in V1 of a MkIII. Very different in that it was very easy to cause input breakup and gave the whole amp a looser saggyer feel and less brightness. Also tried it with about the same results in a Fender. The drawback in the MkIII was that it hummed pretty bad in the V1 spot very noticable on clean settings and of course amplified during R2 and lead. I have several NOS long plate tubes that don't seem to be as noisy and have better head room for clean dynamics. Conclusion is a short plate tube was more desireable in the V1 to reduce hum and noise. The JJ's will for sure darken the tendancy toward brightness.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

So many choices...but it seems like JJs pair well with the Mark series.

 

[Platypus]

GT 6L6GE 8)

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Those guys are tempting me like all hell too....they're pricey though :?

 

[Platypus]

Those guys are tempting me like all hell too....they're pricey though :?

Pricey yes... but totally worth every penny.

Huge vacuum, very uncompressed large, fat rounded tone. R1 sounds amazing with them. They'll last a lot longer than most 6L6's.

 

[Bshizzle]

I just put Tung Sol 12ax7 and Sovtek 6L6 in mine, sounds incredible. Seeing as it's the first time I've retubed an amp I don't really know what to compare it to. I know Tung Sol pre amp tubes have a good reputation so maybe try em. Idk about the power section, I just used Sovteks cause they were in my other amp and I knew they would get the job done.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Any more opinions on the Tung Sols? Doug has always recommended them, and also did so for the Mark IV...I'm worried they will get to spikey in the Mark IV, as they brought quite a bit of treble into the rectifier when I tried them.

 

[Bshizzle]

Granted I haven't really worn them in yet, they don't sound harsh at all.
I've heard people say they get too sharp or trebly, but in the Mark IV its all butter.

But I'd ask around still, because I don't know too much about em.

 

[cliffdove]

I did a full preamp and poweramp retube from dougtubes and went through different swaps of SED winged 6L6s, El34s and stock Mesa STR 440s.

I find that the all 4 SED winged Cs compared to STR 440 6L6s actually takes out a little gain and tames the low end a little, but definitely clearer. Am sure I could compensate with EQ but I wanted to leave the EQ settings the same when comparing with stock. In terms of beef, I feel that STRs sound better to my ears for low end chunk.

Having tried various combinations. I find myself going back to two STR 440's and 2 SED winged EL34s. Really aggressive sounding.

The various preamp tubes that Doug puts together actually do add a little flavour. I like TungSol in V1 but and not too sure about the JJ in V2. Might put a stock mesa back into it.

Did up some clips of the EL34 and 6L6 vs stock STR.


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=728873&content=music

Hope this helps.

 

[HalfDeaf]

I've been very happy with a new production "mullard" 12AX7 (old brand name purchased by New Sensor, no relation to real Mullard tubes) for the V2 spot in the mkiv. It is very clean and smooth, which is great for V2 (a non-adjustable gain stage and fx return). Relatively cheap ~$17 compared to NOS.

 

[secretsoundz]

I'd go with the JJ's if I were you. Those are my favorite tubes, they make any amp sound better...