Triple Recto - Power and Preamp Tube options?

[MotorsNStrings]

so, i've had this triple recto for 13-14 years or so. (3 Channel, Non MultiWatt) for the last number of years, i haven't played it as much as i used to, but i've been making it a point this year to get back into the groove. so part of that is toying with my tone as my tastes have matured a little over time. i use this amp at my house and don't gig at all. that being said, i don't get to really crank it up and get the full potential out of it. i usually run it low and occasionally turn it up a bit.

right now, its running all stock mesa tubes. 6l6's and 12ax7's. i've noticed all my favorite guitar tones of recent years are all based around amps using el34's. so its been a thought in my head for a while to try a set of el34's in this amp and see what it will do. but i guess my real question stems from the clean channel. i feel like its a bit too muddy and dark for my taste. i know this amp was never really known for its clean tone, but i was curious if there is a commonly used power amp tube option to swap into v1 that might help it out. i know the spax7 is a more top shelf version of that tube, so i thought it might be of interest. but i figured i'd see if there is a better option out there that might make it work better for me.

i know tone is a really subjective thing and varies based on personal taste. what sounds great to one person will sound like screaming chickens to another. but i'm open to suggestions.

thanks in advance.

 

[3124+]

I would not recommend EL34 tubes. 6L6 tubes are superior for many reasons. Keep your stock preamp tubes. The best way to get more sparkle out of the clean channel is to turn up the Presence and Master but keep the Gain very low.

 

[afu]

I would not recommend EL34 tubes. 6L6 tubes are superior for many reasons. Keep your stock preamp tubes. The best way to get more sparkle out of the clean channel is to turn up the Presence and Master but keep the Gain very low.

And I do it the opposite way and bright, clean, tone. Right now my Gain and Treble are at 1:00, Master and Presence at 9:30. 3124+ is giving good advice, don't get me wrong. I set it up like that for two years. Now, I do it the other way to get more compression from it. It isn't unusual for people to do things differently and be happy.

Either way, I'd make 12:00 the max for Bass. Mids carve out the midrange distortion and seem to be happy on mine between 8:00 and 11:00. If these controls come up higher than stated, the sound loses chime. Turning up the Treble high requires the Presence to come down or it will crunch.

 

[MotorsNStrings]

Alright, so stick with the 6l6's. Any thoughts on the power amp tubes?

 

[afu]

In another thread, I posted about Ruby Tubes, which are the brand Mesa tests and repackages according to their specs. The Ruby equivalent for Mesa's PC values are from 33ma to 52ma. I was using a quad of PC 38 and I was incredibly happy with them.

The Ruby 6L6GCMSTR/Mesa 6L6GC is a reproduction of the Sylvania 6L6GC-STR that Fender and Mesa used from the mid-70s to until they ran out of them. I'm gonna make some guesses on the color codes Mesa used to use:

• 33ma to 39ma is like like the red and yellow labels (runs warmer, breaks up early)
  40ma to 46ma is like green and grey (medium, design spec)
  47ma to 52ma is like blue and white labels (runs cooler, breaks up later)

These are also comparable to GT ratings of 4, 5, and 6.

 

[afu]

Also:

In V3, a higher gain 12ax7s would be a benefit. V3a is designed to produce a very high and clean gain; A high gain tube will maximize this.

A high gain 12ax7 in V5 can reduce power amp sag.

A Tung Sol in V1 will benefit the clean channel most, but can reduce the amount of brightness being passed through the Gain control for channels 2 and 3. I didn't notice a big difference in the dirt channels of my amp, but others swear by it.

 

[MotorsNStrings]

So you're thinking something along the lines of these 2 sets offered by doug's?

http://www.dougstubes.com/mesa-boogie-triple-rectifier-tubes.html

 

[afu]

So you're thinking something along the lines of these 2 sets offered by doug's?

http://www.dougstubes.com/mesa-boogie-triple-rectifier-tubes.html

Yeah. Something like that. I haven't tried his setup, but it looks pretty cool.