Tube help needed fast

[mwalluk]

Looking to order some preamp tubes for my Mesa rectoverb combo. I need to order anywhere from 1-3. It has 5 v spots with v5 being the pi. V3-v4 are cathode followers though. I read new sensor tubes should be placed in those spots so I would need to go either jj or Chinese.

I have a ei yugo for v1 which I like. I plan on ordering a sovtek lps for v5/pi.

I currently have 5 gt 12ax7r which I believe are JJs. I have a jj and a jj 803. Not a huge fan of JJs. I have a Tungsol and 2 ehx. I also have a genalex gold lion ri which is nothing special.

I need suggestions for v2-v4 spots. I'd be willing to invest $30-$50 on a single nos tube if it's worth it for v2 and occasional driver usage.

Also power tubes are gt 6l6 ge. What relabeled tues are these? Mainly looking for preamp advice but will also take power suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: Tube help needed fast

Except for the JJs in V4 & V5, my entire Mesa has New Sensor tubes in it. The power & rectfier positions have been that way for about a month now & the preamp has been that way since last May, and I have been playing it twice a week at band practice for a total of about an hour and a half each time with an hour or two of time on standby (depending on how much we f*** off on You Tube or how deep the BS gets during our break between sets), and haven't had any issues yet (knock on wood). Did they say why Nes Sensor tubes shouldn't be used in the positions you mentioned?

If you do end up going with Chinese tubes, the re-labled Shuguang/Marshall tubes in my JVM sound decent, although the one in the Reverb Buffer position did pop awhile back, which got replaced with a JJ.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Tube help needed fast

From a previous thread....

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.

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: Tube help needed fast

Ok, I missed that when I was skimming (bad habit).

I guess I'll keep running what I'm running until they pop.

 

[TSE]

Re: Tube help needed fast

Look into the Ruby 12ax7hg from Doug's Tubes. They can handle high cathode current and they have tight bass with good definition and clarity compared to JJs. To me they sound like a Tung Sol with mids and without the extra treble. These became my go to tube in my 6505+.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Tube help needed fast

What's a good reverb tube?

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Tube help needed fast

What's a good reverb tube?

JJs or sovtek lps are fine for reverb

 

[hydro]

Re: Tube help needed fast

JJ makes a 12AT7 which is supposed to be nice for reverb. I am about to try this tube myself and see how it does.

https://www.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php?page=view_products&category_id=2&sub_category_id=13