Tubes for Single Rectifier

[vertigo]

I have bought a second hand single rectifier series 2, I mentioned I was looking at it in a previous thread.

The seller said it could do with a set of tubes, now then the big question what tubes to put in ???

I have a couple of questions

Are messa Tubes over hyped or are they worth the money ???

Should JJ tubes be considered ???

In the UK I can get a re tube kit with messa tubes for £120 or a JJ kit for £70

The shop that does the kits says they often mix tubes messa and JJ for customers anybody got views on this

Thanks Chris

PS It is very loud !!!!!!

 

[fluff191]

I hate JJ tubes. Muddy and very blah sounding.

The Winged C 6L6 is a very nice tube, or for a cheaper option there is the EH 6L6, which is what I run.

 

[ElectricTurkey4369]

Yeah JJ's can be pretty bland sounding. When I had my single recto I had jj KT77's. They were alright. I put it some EL34's and then the amp came alive. MUCH more articulate and balanced, with a lot more crunch and punchiness!

 

[Steve@Russo]

I have all Mesa in my Single Rec Series 2, love it, tried some others, went back to mesa, keep in mind that you can get higher gian mesa tubes if you want

 

[Steve@Russo]

I also have el34's Mesa Grey I believe, sounds great with my HSS strat with paf pro in bridge.

 

[clutch71]

THe short answer to your question is no you do not have to use Mesa tubes (unless there are warranty concerns) if they are more expensive in the UK. Remember there are only 3 countries making tubes between 3 or 4 companies....Russia, China and Yugoslavia. Mesa tubes are rebranded anyway so odds are they are getting there tubes from Russia or China.

Tubes are really a user preference. I've used JJ 6L6's in a Rectoverb and liked them. That said since then I've used Svetlanna 6L6 GC and a myriad of EL34's which I prefer. Sovtek WXT+ and TAD 6L6 GC are very well respected. No experience with either but would not hesitate to try either one based on what I've read.

If you want to try EL34 I like Winged C, JJ EL34, and GT EL34r.

If you want a EL34 that is a hybrid of a 6L6 try the Ruby EL34 BSTR or Tung SOl EL34 B.

 

[vertigo]

Wow !!!! thanks for all the info.

One question I have what is the advantage eL34's over the 6L6's or is there none just personal choice.

for ref; a pair of matched mesa 6L6's are £46 english pounds. I have read on the forum that the pre amp tubes very rarely need changing.

Thanks chris

 

[ElectricTurkey4369]

Wow !!!! thanks for all the info.

One question I have what is the advantage eL34's over the 6L6's or is there none just personal choice.

for ref; a pair of matched mesa 6L6's are £46 english pounds. I have read on the forum that the pre amp tubes very rarely need changing.

Thanks chris

EL34's will have some more midrange, and the cleans will suffer a bit. But honestly, I HATED my single recto with 6L6's...That amp just doesnt get along with them. My Roadster sounds good with them... single recto IMO not so much. Some may disagree with me, but with EL34's i felt like i had a different amp. It wasnt as fizzy and bass heavy, instead it became alot tighter and dynamic sounding, much more responsive to picking and touch. I was using Svetlanas, which are not the best I suppose. An even better EL34 should sound amazing!