Gonna change the tubes in my Mesa Stiletto...

[Binnerscot]

Re: Gonna change the tubes in my Mesa Stiletto...

One thing to be aware of: as I understand their warranty, if you are using a new amp, under warranty--you automatically VOID the warranty if you use tubes other than the Mesa-branded tubes. You might want to review that warranty, and not mention the tube swap, LOL!

That is true, though I know the un-official stance is that a problem actually caused by the non-Mesa branded tubes would not be covered....but anything else would....they work with you.

Most Mesa players keep their set of working stock Mesa tubes to put back in if you take in for repair.

 

[phil_104]

Re: Gonna change the tubes in my Mesa Stiletto...

If your amp works with the Mesa tubes and you're not blowing fuses, well...there's your answer: you've got some defective tubes.

If it continues to blow fuses, something is wrong. I'm assuming you're not running the amp wide open; and that you're not using a huge amount of preamp boost into the input.

I would strongly suggest that you call tech support at Mesa Boogie and discuss the problem with them.

One thing to be aware of: as I understand their warranty, if you are using a new amp, under warranty--you automatically VOID the warranty if you use tubes other than the Mesa-branded tubes. You might want to review that warranty, and not mention the tube swap, LOL!

Mesa amps are fixed, non-adjustable bias. As long as you use Mesa tubes, or tubes with the correct characteristics you'll never need to re-bias the amp.

I like the Mesa/Siemens EL34 (and yes they are worth the $$$$); and I like the Winged C EL-34s. The Winged C works very well in high-powered combos. I liked them much better than the EH EL34s.

I''m currently running a set of the Groove Tubes GT-EL-34M Mullard clones in the Simul-Class sockets of my Mark IV 112 EVM combo, with a pair of their GT6L6GEs in the Class AB sockets. The 34Ms are a really nice tube.

Good luck.

Bill

I'll get a set of new mesa tubes today. Amp has never had any problems before with fuses, I think it's just a question of my tubes (that were in this amp from the start, and it is a floor model) just starting to wear.

That is true, though I know the un-official stance is that a problem actually caused by the non-Mesa branded tubes would not be covered....but anything else would....they work with you.

Most Mesa players keep their set of working stock Mesa tubes to put back in if you take in for repair.

That's what I'll do. I don't think I'll get any problems once I drop their brand back in. We'll see later today.

 

[pinto79]

Re: Gonna change the tubes in my Mesa Stiletto...

It crushes any Marshall made since 1990. Easily.

From a brute force/organic tone stand-point, I'll put my Rhoads up against your Stiletto ANY day.... :naughty:


phil_104: I hope you get this figured out. The Tube Store have always done right by me and offer all their tubes in "Mesa Sets"

 

[pinto79]

Re: Gonna change the tubes in my Mesa Stiletto...

I understand allowing the bias to be adjusted by techs or users, but rebiasing an amp is a lot of work for very little reward.

I don't know about this. When I took my Marshall 1959RR in to my tech and we found the factory bias to be in the neighbourhood of Hoth (ie, frigidly cold), I was glad to be able to adjust it and get it to a better setting and wake this amp up. It's a difference that can be heard and felt.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Gonna change the tubes in my Mesa Stiletto...

I don't know about this. When I took my Marshall 1959RR in to my tech and we found the factory bias to be in the neighbourhood of Hoth (ie, frigidly cold), I was glad to be able to adjust it and get it to a better setting and wake this amp up. It's a difference that can be heard and felt.

Mesas are biased pretty well from the factory. I have a few, they are generally biased cool, but not cold. Mesas don't benefit as much from a hotter bias like an old school design like an old Plexi, 800, or such.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Gonna change the tubes in my Mesa Stiletto...

From a brute force/organic tone stand-point, I'll put my Rhoads up against your Stiletto ANY day.... :naughty:

The Stiletto is different creature than a Marshall, you get some of the grunt and punch of a Recto in the low end and low mids with the upper mid bite of a Marshall.

Stiletto's are very organically brutal with a simple layout and feature set that makes them very flexible. They have excellent cleans and gains range from very Marshally older school Plexi to modern metal gain levels all while being very rich and 3D. It may be the most under-rated and under-hyped amp I have seen in the last 20 years.

Marshall owner's should not mock Stilettos, but simply understand what they are.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Gonna change the tubes in my Mesa Stiletto...

No problem using other tubes in mesas, but they need to be rated for at least a normal breakup range. Early breakup range tubes (low PC) will cause a mesa to blow fuses, this is what happened to you. Preamp tubes don't have a bias adjustment so it doesn't matter, in which case it sounds like you got a bad tube, no surprise being a new sensor tube.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: Gonna change the tubes in my Mesa Stiletto...

Preamp tubes don't have a bias adjustment so it doesn't matter, in which case it sounds like you got a bad tube, no surprise being a new sensor tube.

I don't know about that. I've got a Mullard, several Tung-Sols, an EHX, and a couple Sovteks, and none of them have had any problems.

By the way, Pinto, you're right. It depends on the amp. Some of the newer amps have an outward-facing pot with test points on the outside of the amp. I've got to unscrew the chassis from the headshell, pull out the amp, set it in the headshell carefully to make sure I don't screw up the tubes, fire it up, measure, adjust, then go back to the start in reverse. If I just had to stick my multimeter in and turn a screwdriver, the work-to-reward ratio would change drastically.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Gonna change the tubes in my Mesa Stiletto...

From a brute force/organic tone stand-point, I'll put my Rhoads up against your Stiletto ANY day.... :naughty:

Well yeah, it's a clone of a pre-1990 amp, so I wouldn't count it in my assessment. I meant "Marshalls designed after 1990". The RR is killer.

Your 6100 though ... kaboom!

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Gonna change the tubes in my Mesa Stiletto...

Eh, I think the stuff from the Reflektor factory goes up and down as far as durablity. I wasn't really meaning to make an unfair generalization, just that "it happens".