Tube Nube

[enuenu]

I just got my first tube amp, a 3 ch Dual Recto . I have no idea about tubes and I have some questions.

* I think there are 3 subsets of tubes in my amp. Rectifier tubes, power tubes and pre-amp tubes. Is this correct?

*I think I can take some tubes out and run the head at lower power, increasing tone quality at low volumes. Is this the case?

Eventually a tube will blow so I want to start investigating what I will do when this happens.

*Do all tubes in each subset have to be the exactly the same?

*If one tube blows do I have to replace the whole subset?

*If I use something other than the original Mesa 6L6 tubes, does rebiasing have to be done? For example can any 6L6 be slotted into the power section by me at home?

Thanks

 

[enuenu]

Thanks a lot for the advice, just the facts is fine. I hear so much about different tubes improving the sound and that the Mesa tubes are just OK. Your advice suggests that sticking with Mesa 6L6s is the go. Perhaps it is the choice of pre-amp tubes that people play around with to change the tones? I hear talk like "Ruby tubes are great", "XYZ tubes are the go" etc etc.

 

[212Mavguy]

Hi enuenu,

Best to start by exploring the control knobs for a good bit of time before jumping into the vintage tube fray, IMHO. You might be really pleased by what you get from the stock setup. I'm a vintage tube collector, but still have huge respect for those who don't buy anything but stock mesa tubes and get the tones they want, and decided that working on guitar playing skills was a better way to go. Once you have really explored your new amp, and that takes time, like months, then take a good look at your manual and learn what each preamp tube position does, and change only one thing at a time.

As much as I enjoy my tube fixation, I have to say from my own experiences that speakers and cabs have a bigger effect on tone than tubes do. The output transformer has a bigger effect than speakers. I learned that from both reading and doing some component mods and tranny swapping in one of my amps besides buying lots of vintage speakers and tubes to try... So keep it simple at first, get to know your amp, read like crazy, and start slowly on stepping outside the Boogie boundaries, after all, the guys at Mesa aren't exactly stupid, I think they're rather brilliant. Hope this helps. Best of luck to you!

 

[enuenu]

Thanks a lot. I will give the stocks a go until I really learn the amp. It seems that perhaps when you put different tubes in you don't find yourself saying "Wow, that makes a big change to the tones!" Maybe the changes in tone are just little ones that do not really hit you in the face as being different.

 

[212Mavguy]

Hi again,

You can't really go wrong by getting to know your amp first. To some, changes in preamp tubes make little difference, yet to others those changes seem significant. It really does depend on the amp as well as the listener/player. Simple circuit designs often are more affected by preamp tube changes, also, the speakers you are using can express those changes more or less depending on the speaker(s) and cabinet design. For instance, I have a semi closed back 2/15 with JBL g135's in it, and through that setup the differences in tone seem less than with other speakers/cabs I have used when swapping equivalent tube types. What sounds great in one amp frequently sounds less than wonderful in another. That is one of the reasons for the conflicting opinions you will find as you read posts. The guys I mentioned in my previous posts are solid in their knowledge and have done the science, they don't rely on gossip, they do for theimselves and let the results teach them what they know today. I am the same way.

I'm a firm believer that when one tries a lot of different tubes, particularly vintage ones, that person's ears become more trained to recognize subtle and not so subtle differences in tone due to those tube changes.

Finally, and I know this is only an opinion, but I do what I do not to sound like anyone else...I do what I do to have my own tones. Can't gp wrong with appreciating the tones of others and putting some of what you like of theirs into your personal palette, tubes choices help, but the chain of tone is complicated, and I stand by my previous post to get to know that amp, it is very capable as well as a lot to explore. It took me quite a while to learn my Maverick, both for practice and on stage in varying room sizes and mixes, and I'm so glad to have taken the time to really explore it. Now I can get on a new amp and learn it much more quickly than before.

Keep the faith, study the posts of the gurus here, Peace.