Tube mismatch

[boogieman60]

Had an interesting experiance this week..Had a power tube go bad in My V, it was humming, and would stop when I held it...I didn' t think I could play and do that...So swapped it out . The problem was The Quad in the amp was Yellow and I only had Reds for spares. Popped two Reds in ( Yellow, Red , Red, Yellow ) And the amp sounded awesome..What is the differance between these Tubes?

 

[rika_gd]

Color labels doesnt have anything to do with tone

 

[boogieman60]

Hmmmm,,,Maybe I was getting used to the bad tone fromn a bad tube...

 

[boogieman60]

Doe's anyone know what this color code means?? ( Red or yellow) on Mesa's power tubes??

 

[gonzald1]

they signify matching. so if you have any color but in pairs then they match.

 

[Steve@Russo]

it also designates "gain" with white being the hottest I think?? :?:

 

[rika_gd]

it also designates "gain" with white being the hottest I think?? :?:

no it doesnt, its just for a matching purpose..again, nothing to do with tone

 

[primeholy]

Unsolved mysteries :mrgreen:


http://www.grailtone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4875

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?1863478-Question-on-Mesa-6L6-power-tube-color-codes

 

[konstantine RK]

good to know....


I had a funny experience today... a key broke off into the key socket... easy to get out but now I have Mesa EL34's and JJ 6L6'S with JJ 5UGB's in my Roadking ... any danger in matched pairs of different brands of tubes?

 

[lesterpaul]

Unsolved mysteries :mrgreen:


http://www.grailtone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4875

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?1863478-Question-on-Mesa-6L6-power-tube-color-codes

...it matters with 105 simuls...I'll add this thread-
http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=16487&start=0&hilit=color

 

[boogieman60]

WOW!!!! What a can of worms...

 

[JOEY B.]

WOW!!!! What a can of worms...

You were getting used to the tone from a bad tube. The breakup characteristics between a Red and Yellow color code will be inaudible. There is really no mystery to the color codes. Forget what Groove Tubes says about their number scale in relation to MESA tubes. The Groove Tube "Distortion Rating" applies when their tubes are biased to the same current draw. The MESA scale shown below applies ONLY when installing MESA tubes into a fixed, non-adjustable bias amplifier.

The MESA scale (in order) is:

Red - Lowest idle current, most clean headroom
Yellow
Green
Grey
Blue
White - Highest idle current, least clean headroom

 

[boogieman60]

Thanks...for the imput. I like the sound of the Mesa tubes (6l6) They look just like a couple of vintage RCAs that I have.