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Tubes
| Message Board > General Chitchat > Tubes |
| Tyler070 User Info... | How do you choose what type of tubes you want to put in your amp. I have noticed there are many different models so what do each of them do. What is the most common one in a mesa boogie rec? - Sun, 11 Feb 2007 4:14pm | ||
| ROSS B AY User Info... | mesa boogie. - Sun, 11 Feb 2007 4:46pm | ||
| MURDALIZER User Info... | Typically marshall's use EL34 power tubes, and fender's use 6L6 power tubes. Those are the 2 models used by most guitar amplifiers. Those are the large tubes. The smaller tubes are the pre-amp tubes, they are usually 12AX7 model. You must match the correct tube to the amplifier, if you mismatch tubes you can dammage the amp. Mesa boogies often will have a switch on the back of the amp that will let you use either EL34's (marshall sound) or 6L6's (fender sound). Always make sure that the switch is set to the correct position for what tubes you are using. Many players who don't use their equipment much, or at low gain settings, low volumes will use the same tubes for years and years. I personally think, if it sounds good, don't bother replacing the tubes. For those of us that play at high gain settings, you will want to replace the pre-amp tubes (12AX7) more frequently to keep the crunchy sound at it's best. if you notice a large drop off in volume, it might be a power tube (the large ones). A good habit to get into is to look at the tubes when the power is on, make sure that they are all lit up, and that the color's look the same.There are also rectifier tubes in the mesa boogie "Recto" series heads. In my experience these seldomly need to be replaced, although I have seen one blow when a fuse blew.Tips for extending the life of your tubes: always power up and down the amp like this, turn the main power on, wait (at least 30 sec) before turning the standby on, when turning the amp off, turn the standby off first, wait (30sec) then turn the main power off. If you replace the tubes yourself, make sure they are spotlessly clean after install (I polish them with a clean dry soft cloth). Avoid large temp/humidity changes. All the info you need is in the "recto" user's manual that should come with the amp.Excuse me for rambling on, but I am passionate about tube equipment. Try listening to vinyl through a tube amp, you may not go back to solid state. - Sun, 11 Feb 2007 4:59pm | ||
| The Car User Info... |  12AX7 and 6L6 is extremely common so lots of tubes are available - what you need to check tho with different brands is the bias. Many tube devices over time will start to slide and shift the bias. Never fear about running a tube amp hard either, tubes are meant to run hot. google around for some info on tubes, bias etc, interesting reading and you can really tweak your amp. - Sun, 11 Feb 2007 6:19pm | ||
| stew User Info... | the manafacturer also makes a difference, mesa claims their 6l6's produce 50 watts each, but its more like 25 for peak clean power. The distortion afterwards doesnt make a difference in terms of output. Good tubes like JJ/tesla 6l6's will pump out an average of like 30 watts each. If I still had my mesa 400+, I would have gone with the JJ/tesla. - Tue, 13 Feb 2007 1:01pm | ||
| slik User Info... | i had jj's in my 400+ & it kicked. - Tue, 13 Feb 2007 9:25pm | ||
| Zippgunn User Info... | Remember: almost all tubes are built in places like China, Russia or the former Yugoslavia. You have been warned. - Thu, 22 Feb 2007 1:29pm | ||
| Tim-Bitchfork User Info... | Hey, I have a 75' Traynor Reverb Master SC, a 45 watt 4 x 10 combo. It doesn't sound so good with my Ibanez RG (D-Standard tuned, Seymour Duncan SH-13 Dimebucker) and I hear it can be my tubes or the fact that it has 10s. The schematics have the power tubes as 6CA7s, I went to Long and Mcquade and all they had that looked the same were Groove Tubes Gold GTEL34R, I got 2 and also 1 GTEL84R (6BQ5). My question is, is 6CA7 the same as EL84? It works and sounds better but the low end still sounds really woofy. The amp uses 4 12AX7s in two different sections, right now they are two different brands, 2 crappy japanese brand ones, and 2 no label ones. My other question is, should I try changing the preamp tubes or maybe try to swap out for 2 12" celestions or something? I'be been suggested both. Thank ya, I am a noob with the tube equipment. - Tue, 27 Feb 2007 7:34pm Edited: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 7:35pm | ||
| superslacks User Info... | EL34/EL84 are British part #'s. In Canada EL34 (an 8-pin base) is also known as 6CA7. The EL84 (nine-pin, looks kinda like a long 12ax7) is known as 6BQ5. DO NOT BUY TUBES AT LONG AND McQUADE!!!! Go to Pacific TV in Esquimalt. Take your tubes with you (mark which sockets they came out of) and let the guy there test them. You can buy various quality tubes from him and get an education at the same time. In general, you'll replace your power tubes more frequently than preamp tubes, but eventually they all fail. For the cost of fresh 12ax7's it's not a bad idea to have a few new ones around to swap in to test at home. Good luck. - Tue, 27 Feb 2007 9:25pm | ||
| Tim-Bitchfork User Info... | hey cool thanks, I did some reading and saw that this amp is known for it's "bass-bleeding" caps and you can swap out them in the "tone stack". The "tone stack" would be the Preamp volume, Bass, Mid and Treble right? Cause I see a lot of the caps they say to switch out in the schematic, I hope it's only the ones in the EQ section. This mod is supposed to make it sound "more natural sounding "Tweed" mid-scoop". - Wed, 28 Feb 2007 12:07pm | ||
| superslacks User Info... | My personal solution to tone stack problems is this; turn all the knobs to max. :) If you're looking at the schematic then you should understand why. Basically, each tone knob is a frequency-specific attenuator; in other words a tone sucker. (to illustrate/confirm this, run your amp with all the tone knobs set to zero. No sound.) If you run all the tone knobs up you're hearing the pure sound of your tubes. If you start there and then roll off a bit here or there you'll be in a better position. If you have to roll off too much you either need to replace tubes or else consider you might not really like the sound of your amp after all. If under this experiment it seems the tone knobs are not cutting the right frequencies, then maybe consider the mod you mentioned. Word to the wise, tho, invest in good quality caps (most people like orange drops). And as for the person recommending replacing a tube rectifier with diodes, this is kinda sketchy advice. Diodes drop less voltage and so you'd be changing the supply voltage. Plus, you'd lose the sag effect on your power tubes. - Wed, 28 Feb 2007 4:04pm | ||
| Jeff From the Perish User Info... | don't forget the mighty might 6CA7's !! they are a fat bottle EL34 orriginally designed for the military. They needed a more stable and powerfull version. Hence the 6CA7. Will work in any EL34 amp with a minor bias adjustment. They sound wayyyyyyy warmer, fatter, and got more snap and punch than any EL34 I've heard. a little more output too. Rock on ! - Fri, 2 Mar 2007 4:51am | ||
| Jeff from The Perish User Info... | hey superslacks, Try John over at Pacific TV on Joffre St. He's a tube guy with a huge inventory of NOS tubes, and he knows his amps and radios well. He's taught me a few things about tube circut design. Really nice guy too. - Fri, 2 Mar 2007 4:55am | ||
| mica User Info... | http://www.tubefreak.com/ - Fri, 2 Mar 2007 2:43pm | ||
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