Re: re-tube
Not going to get crazy with NOS expenso stuff here:
Mesas are fixed bias amps so you'll either have to go with Mesa branded power tubes, or find out what the fixed bias is on your amp and find tubes with ratings to match. As far as pre-amp tubes, 12ax7's, you can use any brand... just kinda matters what type of tone you're looking for. JJ's seem to be very warm and darker sounding, in my opinion, not so great for metal cause they seem to round off the initial attack or sizzle in the distortion. They work well if you have an overly bright amp. Made one of my Marshalls sound muddy, made the other sound very classic rock. 9th gen Chinese tubes work great for high gain, but not as reliable... sometimes go microphonic quickly. Right now one of the best production 12ax7's available is the Tung Sol reissue. They sound pretty fantastic and are very reliable. Another is the NOS RFT, these are a bit pricier but great tube!!
I would probably just stick with Mesa branded power tubes in your situation. As far as new production EL34's though, Winged "C", Svetlana, JJ, Mullard reissue are good.
I tend to stay away from anything Groove Tubes puts out. I know this is kinda weird cause most of their stuff is just rebranded Russian or Chinese. Just have had consistant reliabilty issues with them. Their 12ax7 Mullard sounds great if it doesnt go microphonic on about 3 hours of use... not all had this problem, but a lot did. Their 6CA7GE doesnt sound that great compared to the Winged "C" EL34, and I had some that only lasted a couple months with typical 3 night a week rehearsal schedule.
The way I'm running a '79 2203 is, JJE34L's power tubes and, NOS RFT in V1, Tung Sol Reissue in V2 and V3. This is for a high gain application and it sounds super punchy and thick. I'm getting that super fat Mesa low end mixed with very rich Marshall mids and swirly top.
You can always email Mike at KCA NOS tubes and he'll get you going for the price range that will fit you.
