Best Tubes for a Mesa Single Rectifier

  • Thread starter Thread starter taperocket
  • Start date Start date
T

taperocket

New member
Hi,
I've been playing with using different tubes with my single rectifier in order to find a loud crunchy tone that isnt too piercing. I've used Svetlana 454 6L6 mesa's (or at least bear the mesa name) in the past which are pretty nice sounding but kind of low gain. I just replaced them with JJ EL34's which are hotter and crunchier but seem a little too piercing to me. I also have JJ ECC83S preamp tubes coming in the mail to replace the stock sovtek lps' and see how that alters the sound. Has any one had success using this amp and different combinations of tubes?
 
Last edited:
ah... damn. i forget the tubes i had been using in my triple. basically they were about the same size and shape as a 6L6 but they were a bit hotter than a normal 6L6.

ah, found it. they are 5881s i believe. new-old-stock phillips brand. you might want to double check if 5881s are ok to put in there. i cant recall 100% if 5881s are what i had in my head (since it is 3000mi away at the moment), but i am mostly sure.

i also remember now why i tried 5881s. i wanted the ability to turn the amp up louder before tube fuzziness kicked in. 5881s have more headroom when it comes to that kind of thing if i recall correctly.
 
different preamp tubes might be worth looking into as well. of course something 12ax7-based just as the 5881 are compatible with the 6l6s
 
I agree - unless you run your amp at master volume 11 - ... pre-amp tubes are way more important for your sound than power-tubes ...
 
-=¤willhaven¤=- said:
ah... damn. i forget the tubes i had been using in my triple. basically they were about the same size and shape as a 6L6 but they were a bit hotter than a normal 6L6.
Click to expand...



The dude at euro tubes says to run a cooler 6L6 and run it in el34 mode. He says it'll get the bias up closer to where it should be. Unless you've already had your head modified and got a trim pot for the bias adjustment installled. I guess you can run the KT88s in the rectos too.
 
Ok well I just got the JJ 12ax7 ECC83S' and they should arrive in the mail anyday now, how do people like the sound of those???
 
taperocket said:
Ok well I just got the JJ 12ax7 ECC83S' and they should arrive in the mail anyday now, how do people like the sound of those???
Click to expand...


They sound like a 12ax7...well...I guess thats becuase they are. ;)

Frankly I think the difference is minimal. But its kind of hard to A/B them since they are hot after using them. But I guess if you have had the amp for a long time and know every dimension of its sound in and out, you might be able to tell the difference.
 
taperocket said:
I've been playing with using different tubes with my single rectifier in order to find a loud crunchy tone that isnt too piercing.
Click to expand...

IMO that statment could be to broad for tubes to fix. Tubes are more fine tuning. If that statment can't be fixed with the tone control (guitars or amps), its looks almost like more of a wrong amp issue.
 
well, I appreciate your feedback but I haven't found that to be the case completely, changing the power tubes altered the sound of my mesa quite significantly so I would have to say that you can make some noticeable differences in tone by swapping tubes etc. This may be different for each amp too, I don't know.
 
taperocket said:
well, I appreciate your feedback but I haven't found that to be the case completely, changing the power tubes altered the sound of my mesa quite significantly so I would have to say that you can make some noticeable differences in tone by swapping tubes etc. This may be different for each amp too, I don't know.
Click to expand...

Yes, but going from 6L6 to EL34 is changing tube types.

Going form the stock 12ax7 to JJ's 12ax7 (ECC83 is just European for 12ax7) is not not a type change.

If you ever feel like getting a less distorted preamp sound from your Mesa, try using 12au7 tubes for the 12ax7 spaces. Infact, you might even already have one in the very first gain stage, but you can still use them for the others if you want to change the amp a little for fun once in a while.
 
hmm... i always thought that EL34s and 6L6s had different pin setups (same sockets, just different wiring from each pin). could be wrong though.

i also have the rectifier tubes removed from the amp as i never used them. :)
 
Changing tube types andor tube brands make a gigantic difference if you're used to running tube amps with all sorts of different tubes. In my opinion, the JJ's kick butt all the way. I've heard amps with JJ's in them and the same amp without and theres a difference, a better one. Played a Peavey Classic 30 at a music store after playing a different one of theirs. It blew my mind. I didnt understand why this particular Classic 30 had so much balls and gain. I looked in the back and saw all JJ's in it, and said "ohh... that's why". Preamp tubes, to me, make a world of difference. Groove tubes and Rubys sound super buzzy in my 5150. The JJ's are alot warmer and seem to provide an overall better quality distortion tone. I have a bunch of OLD JJ's. I plan to buy an integrated quad Kt88+6L6 match, as well as a matched set of 5 high gain 12ax7's (ECC83s'). They're supposed to be more responsive due to their "high filament rising rate".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top