Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

[bungalowbill]

I just bought a circa 2001 Mesa Boogie Rectoverb 50 combo and I can tell the the tubes are shot by all the microphonic rattles and other little noises.

I know Boogies are pretty much bulletproof and I don't think there is anything wrong beyond a tube change...so, here are the questions for the connoisseurs...What tubes to re-tube with and would EL-34s be preferable to the stock 6L6's?

I don't need the whole high gain channel 2 mojo going on......I need nice. fat clean tone and maybe just use channel 2 for a low gain crunch tone....pedals will cover the rest.

Thanks

 

[tone4days]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

yunno, when i retubed my boogie, i just went with boogie tubes of the same flavor as came stock because i liked the sound 'as is' ... i was not disappointed - they sounded great .... i never did the comparison to EL34s though ... kinda wish i wouldve ... but then again, i liked the cleans so much, i didnt want to deviate in search of some kind of 'marshall-ness'

good luck
t4d

 

[some_dude]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

Current production Mesa tubes are relabelled JJ ECC83s and some sort of Chinese 6L6.

If your tubes are stock it'll be loaded with either relabelled Sovtek or EHX 12AX7s and Sovtek 6L6s. Mesa doesn't carry them anymore, but if you want to maintain the stock sound those are the tubes you're after. The only caveat is that New Sensor changed the specs on their tubes in 2008 and they can no longer handle the voltages present in the V3 and V4 positions (cathode followers). You'll have to use JJ or a Chinese tube in those spots.

Honestly, I like the stock Mesa tubes... although I did find using all JJs in the preamp was too dark/undefined, so I replaced the V1 with a TungSol 12AX7 to brighten things up and add definition.

 

[Van Noord]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

I like EL34's, but did not like them in my Solo 50.
So far my fav are Mesa branded 5881's. (Sovteks). They sound big, clear and warm.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

if you want big clean and fat then stick to the 6l6

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

I just came back from the basement giving this thing a workout and I hate to say it......my old Blues Jr. sounds better.

I think I will sell it and look elsewhere instead of throwing money at it....first Boogie that I really didn't care for....


maybe I should just get a Fender. :scratchch

 

[some_dude]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

By the sounds of it, you'd be the second person to sell it rather than replace the worn out tubes in it. :lol:

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

By the sounds of it, you'd be the second person to sell it rather than replace the worn out tubes in it. :lol:

You would be correct sir....at least the price was right enough that I won't lose any money.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

Current production Mesa tubes are relabelled JJ ECC83s and some sort of Chinese 6L6.

If your tubes are stock it'll be loaded with either relabelled Sovtek or EHX 12AX7s and Sovtek 6L6s. Mesa doesn't carry them anymore, but if you want to maintain the stock sound those are the tubes you're after. The only caveat is that New Sensor changed the specs on their tubes in 2008 and they can no longer handle the voltages present in the V3 and V4 positions (cathode followers). You'll have to use JJ or a Chinese tube in those spots.

Honestly, I like the stock Mesa tubes... although I did find using all JJs in the preamp was too dark/undefined, so I replaced the V1 with a TungSol 12AX7 to brighten things up and add definition.

I didn't know that about V3 and V4.

I think the Mesa preamp tubes labels from that time are something like:

Russian 1 = Sovtek
Russian 2 = EHX

 

[jeremy]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

I just came back from the basement giving this thing a workout and I hate to say it......my old Blues Jr. sounds better.

I think I will sell it and look elsewhere instead of throwing money at it....first Boogie that I really didn't care for....


maybe I should just get a Fender. :scratchch

youre retiring the blues jr cause its old and youre worried about reliability right? what price range you looking at?

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

youre retiring the blues jr cause its old and youre worried about reliability right? what price range you looking at?

I have 6 bills in the Boogie and I shouldn't have too much problem unloading it at that price...so, 6 bills is what I got.

 

[glassman]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

Worn out power tubes in a Recto series Boogie sound exponentially worse than worn out power tubes in almost any other amp. They sound weak, thin and totally lack any punch whatsoever.

A new pair of 6L6s may very well transform that amp.

Plus, it will make it a whole lot easier to sell if it sounds like it should.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

id look at used fender. i know there was a used custom vibrolux around here for about that a month or so ago. not sure what the going rate is. how important is reverb?

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

Worn out power tubes in a Recto series Boogie sound exponentially worse than worn out power tubes in almost any other amp. They sound weak, thin and totally lack any punch whatsoever.

A new pair of 6L6s may very well transform that amp.

Plus, it will make it a whole lot easier to sell if it sounds like it should.

Maybe I could give it a try.....I never played a boogie that was so touch insensitive.

id look at used fender. i know there was a used custom vibrolux around here for about that a month or so ago. not sure what the going rate is. how important is reverb?

The reverb broke in my Junior years ago...no biggie.

 

[glassman]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

Maybe I could give it a try.....I never played a boogie that was so touch insensitive.

That would be a prime indicator that the tubes are worn out...in a Recto Boogie.

The idle current in the Rectos is centered at 18mA with fresh mid-grade Boogie tubes. This makes them REALLY dynamic. I've had several in the shop that had tubes that were worn to the point that they were only drawing 5 or 6mA at idle. A fresh set of tubes yielded results that were nothing short of epic. The old "worn" tubes were still good enough to slap in a Fender and sound awesome.

 

[HamerPlyr]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

I put a set of Groove Tubes 6L6 GE in my Rectoverb and it totally revived what had become a comparatively lifeless amp. It's a pretty small investment to determine if it's the amp for you and if it's not, it should improve it enough to allow you to get all of the money that you have in it back out of it.

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

That would be a prime indicator that the tubes are worn out...in a Recto Boogie.

The idle current in the Rectos is centered at 18mA with fresh mid-grade Boogie tubes. This makes them REALLY dynamic. I've had several in the shop that had tubes that were worn to the point that they were only drawing 5 or 6mA at idle. A fresh set of tubes yielded results that were nothing short of epic. The old "worn" tubes were still good enough to slap in a Fender and sound awesome.

I put a set of Groove Tubes 6L6 GE in my Rectoverb and it totally revived what had become a comparatively lifeless amp. It's a pretty small investment to determine if it's the amp for you and if it's not, it should improve it enough to allow you to get all of the money that you have in it back out of it.

i guess I will buy a pair of matched 6l6's tomorrow.....

Glassman, what do you recommend?

 

[H8Red442]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

When I retubed my Dual Recto a few years ago I went with Mesa's tubes. I was retubing based on a diagnosis from Mesa of a failed clean channel. So when I say I noticed no difference between the new and old tubes, that is to say it's not that it didn't correct the problem, because it wouldn't have (ended being up a bad pot). It's more to say Mesa does a great job at maintaining consistency for the tubes they select and brand their own.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Mesa Rectoverb 50 retube

I would recommend the SED/Winged C 6L6s in that amp. My very, very close second choice would be the Groove Tubes GT-6L6-GE; and third would be the safe bet--the Mesa branded tubes. These are what I have in my Mesa amps. In this combo, I would avoid the JJs, as they seem to microphonic in these high-powered combos.

If you want to go the EL-34 route, try the Winged C's' or the Mesa-branded Siemens.

The JJ 12AX7s can be dark sounding. You may find that a set of mixed brands will work the best and allow you to tailor your sound. The Mesa SP12AX7 is a good choice for the V1 socket.

Good luck.

Bill