tube help?

[Gordabega]

hey all. newb here, i'll try not to sound too newbish.

i have had a 3 channel dual rec for close to 5 years. it has sat in a case for a few of them, i haven't played with a band in a while, and my POD has kept me happy for practicing for church music.

recently, i was A/B ing my DR with a Splawn Pro mod, and i noticed that the clean channel is now starting to distort some, and the volume is not what it once was. i asked around locally, and they think that i'm probably due for some new tubes. yeah, they're probably right.

so i guess my question is, what should i get? i have heard names like Mullard, Ruby and JJ tubes, and i even looked on eurotubes.com at the retube kits for Dual Recs and my head is spinning a little.

i play modern rock, like Breaking Benjamin and so on. i am not looking for PUNISHING overdrive, but heavy for sure. i down tune a bit, but i don't want it to be sloppy when i'm playing in C tuning or whatever. i have never changed my tubes, so i figure i could either go to stock Boogie tubes again, or venture off in a new direction.

and while i like the sound of the Splawn, i don't think i want to go to KT88s, which is what this one has. i like the low end of the 6L6, but it is kind of sloppy. does something clean that up at all? i'd like to nip this in the bud before blowing a lot of money on a tone experiment.

thanks everyone for the help. i would love to get something that really cleans up the sound of my amp and gives me a greater sound than i had, which wasn't all that bad.

 

[R_ADKINS80]

I play in Drop C, C standard and Drop A# and I prefer JJ EL34L's. I like them because they still have great low end....but they are tighter and punchier than 6L6's. They are also less piercing on the top end. For Preamp tubes it's a toss-up. I run a mix of vintage tubes with a Sovtek LPS for the phase inverter. I also run either NOS =C= rectifier tubes or Sovtek 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier tubes if I want a little more punch. I avoid silicon diodes like the plaguen on my Recto.

 

[pokerrules47]

I am sure you know this info already, but I figure I'll dish it out anyway, just in case you don't.

How old is your amp? If it's within warranty I would not change to another manufacturer of tubes right now. Wait until the warranty expires. Mesa will not do any warranty repairs on units that have other manufacturers of tubes.

The thing with 3rd party tubes is this: Either you have to find someone that can test the tubes to make sure that they are within acceptable bias ranges for your Mesa amp, or, you have to get a bias pot installed in your dual to make your bias adjustable. This way you will not be stabbing in the dark when it comes to power tubes. Some of the online dealers that sell "Mesa Tube Kits" check all of the tubes to make sure they are withing acceptable ranges. Make sure that this is the case. It's not sufficient to buy a "matched set".

At least, do your testing and if anything blows up, put your mesa tubes back in before getting it serviced.

If it is out of warranty, you have a bunch of options available to you. I would first start by switching to EL34's. The tung sol and SED Winged C are often mentioned as great tubes. I personally find that EL34's give a bolder, more "in your face" rock sound. 6L6 type tubes sound great for metal and they are "heartier" than EL34's but they have a "hollowed" out sound in my amp. It's my experience that EL34's do not last as long. You can really punish 6L6 tubes.

Also, don't try a set of tubes, and discard them if they don't perform the way you want. A lot of tubes perform differently under different conditions. I find that ambient temperature is one of the most influencing factors, but that may just be my ears.

If you choose to run tubes with no regard as to the specs of the tubes, you run the risk of burning the tubes out, and or damaging your amp. Believe me, I have seen output tubes glow like the sun just before they blow a fuse. Scary as hell with an expensive amplifier.

Be careful and have fun exploring..

 

[Gordabega]

well i have had it for about 5 years, and i know NOTHING about tubes. what sounds like what, what works better for this or that.

i was considering going the EL34 route, but i am also thinking of the JJ 6V6 set from the eurotubes website.

thanks for all your help so far. yeah i think i might need to buy a bunch of stuff before i settle, and i'll keep them all for later if i don't like.

 

[fishyfishfish]

JJ EL34L from Bob at EuroTubes, WInged C EL34's from The Tube Store, or TAD6L6GC From the Tube Store.
Tell them in the comments that you have a Dual Recto and they will give you tubes in the right range for your amp.
As for the Pre Amp tubes, if your amp is not making any weird noises or sputtering or hissing, they are fine and they don't need to be changed unless you want to. Pre Amp tubes are the small tubes are the small tubes in your amp underneath the silver covers.
Never twist or force tubes in or out of an amplifier, and download the manual for your amp from Mesa's web site. It has a good section on how to re-tube your amp.
Good luck.