What brand of tubes?

iceman79

New member
I just bought a Mesa/Boogie Studio .22+ and I was thinking about changing the power tubes. Right now it has 2 JJ/Tesla EL84's and I'd like to try a different brand. It also has 5 Mesa 12AX7's for the pre amp. So what do you guys suggest?
 
Re: What brand of tubes?

i like the jjs but nos el84's arent overly expensive compared to 6l6's, im not that big a fan of the sovtek el84's, kinda toppy at full volume. as far as the preamp tubes, mess around and see what works for the tone you are looking for.
 
Re: What brand of tubes?

Definitely with NOS. Ei would be a good choice, but personaly, I'd go with that one below :

(from ww.kcanostubes.com)
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N.O.S. Tesla (NOT JJ!) EL84s $50 Per Matched pair

1970s vintage. Best deal in NOS EL84s. Higher gain and more bite than JJ EL84s. Excellent in your Blues Jr., Marshall 18 watt, Matchless, Bad Cat, Vox AC-30, AC-15 or Dr. Z amp. hi mike -- my tubes were waiting when i got home from work yesterday, and your recommendation of the NOS Tesla (non-JJ) EL84s was spot-on -- rich and balanced, perfect breakup threshhold! thanks for your excellent service, including the advice -- that's real value-added! woody mitchell. Hi Mike:Great tube!!! Very clean and sparkly compared to the stock Sovteks that came with my amp. I’m getting some great bell like tone out of them. Very smooth and defined when they break-up. Eddie S.
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Otherwise you could try Ei, but they are not as tough as others.
 
Re: What brand of tubes?

I've got some Ei EL84s in my Mesa Blue Angel right now & I'm liking them alot....and they're about $10.00 each!!!
 
Re: What brand of tubes?

I'd probably put JJ's or EI's in it, and you'll probably hear a difference, since they may be worn. If you want nice tight gain out of it, spend $14 each on 3 GT12AX7C's.
I've messed with a lot of pre tubes and the Chinese Shuguang 9th Gen. that GT selects are killer in every amp I put them in. I think I even like them better than the GT12AX7M's which are $22 each. The best price is at revolutionguitar.com
 
Re: What brand of tubes?

Gearjoneser said:
I'd probably put JJ's or EI's in it, and you'll probably hear a difference, since they may be worn. If you want nice tight gain out of it, spend $14 each on 3 GT12AX7C's.
I've messed with a lot of pre tubes and the Chinese Shuguang 9th Gen. that GT selects are killer in every amp I put them in. I think I even like them better than the GT12AX7M's which are $22 each. The best price is at revolutionguitar.com

Why only 3 out of 5?
 
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