Roadster on the way

[nknyc]

just scored a roadster head, should be here on Tuesday. I have been wanting this amp for a while so I'm excited. My question is I have 4 JJ el34's laying around from my JSX. I know mesa's are fixed bias but do you need to buy tubes that are rated in a certain region or will any JJ tube be fine?

I'm going to leave the 6l6's in just wondering so I can try them out sometime.

Thanks in advance.

 

[clutch71]

Congrats on the Roadster!

I'd contact Bob at Eurotubes 503-659-7401 and see what he has to say. Have the tubes handy incase he needs anything off them for reference.

 

[barneyc4]

hope it doesnt pop

 

[jdurso]

just so you know a quick remedy for the pops is to turn on the amp and before you turn off standby just click through all the channels a few times.... that is what remedied it for me

 

[blacklight_uk]

Hey man i just bought myself a Roadster today with an Engl 4x12, very excited too! It's here on Thursday

I'm a bit of a "tube noob" however and just wondered how long i can expect to get out of the stock tubes. I play a lot of gigs but the amp will probably always be set to the lower power level. Does this help prolong tube life? I know that warming the amp up helps.

Also should i buy a spare set of tubes and if so what do i need to get? (suggestions for any other different sounding tubes more than welcome!)

Thanks a lot
Josh

 

[oyster]

1. you can almost certainly use the JJ EL-34s.

2. you can order an "integrated quad" of 2x6L6 + 2xEL34 that will all run on EL-34 bias setting on your roadster, from Eurotubes. It is a great sound using both types of tubes. (you can also get E34Ls, KT77s, 6V6s that will also run in the EL-34 setting on roadster - I have been mixing and matching for months). Cool to experiment but be careful they are biased to run on the right setting or you will definitely fry something - just get help from Eurotubes, they won't lead you astray.

3. blacklight, you can definitely get longer use out of tubes the lower the output volume. Whatever "a lot of gigs" is, I don't know so can't be more specific and also it varies a lot too so maybe someeone else has a better tip on that. Just be aware of the sound you are getting and if it is starting to suffer, change the tubes. Kinda like changing strings on your axe, if they don't fail completely it can be hard to tell but with experience you will know your preference of when to make the change.

there ya go

 

[blacklight_uk]

thanks! By a lot of gigs i mean most weekends and then more often in the holidays (still in college) and of course i'll be using it at practice too so it'll see a fair amount of action. Actually that's not a lot compared to many people...

Anyway thanks for the tip i'll make sure to pick up some spares.
Anyone any experience with EL34s in the roadster? I play a lot of Indie so i like to sometimes have a more crunchy, "British" tone. Sounds like the Brit setting would work well even with the stock tubes, but i've heard it benefits from replacing them with EL34s.

 

[clutch71]

Hey man i just bought myself a Roadster today with an Engl 4x12, very excited too! It's here on Thursday

I'm a bit of a "tube noob" however and just wondered how long i can expect to get out of the stock tubes. I play a lot of gigs but the amp will probably always be set to the lower power level. Does this help prolong tube life? I know that warming the amp up helps.

Also should i buy a spare set of tubes and if so what do i need to get? (suggestions for any other different sounding tubes more than welcome!)

Thanks a lot
Josh

You can always use a set of back up tubes. I slightly jostled an amp, dropped 6 inches in the back seat from a leaning postion to flat on it's back, and it blew a tube when I plugged it in. Was a brand new Mesa matched set too. They have a 6 month guarantee so I took it back and they gave me a new set. Although I believe most have a 90 day swap out.

I'd say see what the stock sound like first and go from there.