Mark IV owners, what tubes do you use?

[krankguitarist]

I'm thinkin' about swappin out the tubes on my Mark IV for safety's sake...dunno how much use they've seen with the previous owner, and they certainly don't look like they're new.

So...what kinda tubes are ya'll using in your Mark IV's? How's the mark IV with the 6l6/EL34 combo? Any experiences or thoughts are welcome .

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Mark IV owners, what tubes do you use?

I have a 1989 Mesa Mark IV-A EVM combo, that I use with a 112 EVM Theile cab. I use the SED/Winged C 6L6s and the SED/Winged C EL34s in the outer Class A sockets. If you want more headroom, I might go with an all 6L6 set, but I prefer the tone of 6l6/EL34 combination. I really think this is the best combination in the Mark IV. The Mark IV combos can be really punishing on tubes--and the SED/Winged C tubes have not only great tone, but the mechanical toughness to to hold up in these amps. I like JJ's in Marshall heads, but in my Mesa Mark Series combos--SED Winged C.

In the preamp section, I find that using all JJ's creates a tone that is too dark; but, I have had very good luck with them in certain positions. I have a couple of amps with a balanced phase inverter JJ; and they can be really good in reverb circuits.

In all of my Mesas, I use the Groove Tubes 12AX7-M Mullard Clone in the V1 socket. These have a nice creamy top end--but be careful to get one that is noise-free. In the V2 to V5 sockets, I tend to use a combination of stuff--whatever seems to work best in that amp. There might be Electro Harmonix, Mesa, GT-Ms or JJ tubes--in whatever order they sounded best on that particular day. But the V1 socket is the most important tube in that circuit--so get a good one.

Now, let me add that I don't play with extreme gain--my LEAD GAIN and LEAD DRIVE controls are almost always in the 5-7 range (though I do use slight compression and a very slight, always-on boost at the beginning of my pedal board). I tend to go for a very smooth, singing distortion. So, these tubes work for me in my classic/rock/blues/country/pop/do-everything band. If you need a harder, more aggressive tone; or a darker one--then there may be better combinations.

Try the Boogie Board at http://www.grailtone.com/forum/index.php for some more advice from other Mesa fanatics. And it is always a good idea to re-read that Owner's Manual every now and then--just as refresher course for all those controls! LOL!

Good luck!

Bill