Got new tubes for my Ace... may be up for trading a few...

[MusicManJP6]

My brand new Ace came with some worn out tubes (can you say floor model?) so the store I bought it from sent me a FULL Mesa re-tube kit for FREE! Pretty cool of them.

They sent the following tube mix:

-(4) SPAX7s Russian-2s
-(1) 12AX7 Russian-2s
-(1) 5Y3 Rectifier tube
-(2) STR 447 EL34s

The Rectifier tube they sent is the one used in the Lonestar so i'm not sure how it will sound in the Stiletto. If it does not sound as good as the 5U4G that is currently installed then I may be up for trading it for a 5U4GB... Who knows though - it could sound killer!

Anyway, i'm very interested to hear the difference a brand new set of tubes will make! I'll update on the results...

 

[paytojt]

Good thing they were free! I wouldn't recommend the Mesa branded tubes in V1-V3. Once those were replaced in mine, the "bad" treble and presence began to sound good. I think I might have told you what I used exactly, but I hope the Mesas work better for you than they did me! I love the difference a Tung Sol made in V1. In a nutshell, the amp seemed to have more harmonics and was warmer sounding.

 

[MusicManJP6]

hehe, i'm glad they were free as well. I like having tubes for backup if nothing else. I'll definitely be doing something for V1 other than a Mesa. I'm really leaning toward an RFT like Ibanez4life suggested. I'll start with these Mesas though...

 

[JOEY B.]

The 5Y3 may not have the same pinout as the 5U4G/GB, so I would just sell that one, as the rectifier tubes last a LONG time. Stay away from Russian-2 tubes in V3 and V4, as per the MESA memo. I had a Russian-2 die in V4 of a Stiletto, now I know why.

 

[MusicManJP6]

yeah, I told them i wanted chinese if i had the choice... we'll see if the 5y3 fits or not...

 

[JOEY B.]

yeah, I told them i wanted chinese if i had the choice... we'll see if the 5y3 fits or not...

It's not a matter of it fitting the octal socket, (your power tubes will fit the rectifier tube socket) but a matter of which of the pins connect to what inside the rectifier tube.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I see... Eesh...

 

[AdmiralB]

5Y3 is pin-compatible with 5AR4/5U4, but it's not really capable of suppling current to an amp larger than about 25W. Sell it/make a paperweight out of it, and get a 5U4 or 5AR4.

 

[MusicManJP6]

It's up for sale in the classifieds... Thanks for the heads up!

 

[clutch71]

I'm wondering why they sent you 4 SPAX-7's? Unless I'm mistaken this is normally recommended for the input stage. You could use them in other places but seems a little overkill. Last timie I checked the SPAX-7's were $5 bucks more per tube.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I'm wondering why they sent you 4 SPAX-7's? Unless I'm mistaken this is normally recommended for the input stage. You could use them in other places but seems a little overkill. Last timie I checked the SPAX-7's were $5 bucks more per tube.

Yeah, i'm not complaining really, but it did seem odd.

When I did the swap I took out all chinese ax7s except V1 (which was a russian2) and replaced them all with the spax7s except i swapped v1 for a new russian. So, I switched over to Spongy after playing on bold and the volume faded out like stated in the Mesa memo we've all become familiar with recently. The SPAX7s were not labeled russian or chinese so i thought maybe they'd work. I ended up taking the v3 and v4 tube down to the local Mesa dealer and traded them for two of the new Mesa relabeled JJ tubes that Mesa just very recently started using. Apparently the JJ tube change is still pretty hush hush but they are going to all be JJs very soon from what my tech at the store said. Anyway, i'm getting ready to see if they work in V3 and V4 (cathode follower positions from what I've read) and see if they fix the problem. If so then it makes sense why they are going to a different tube and leaving the russian/chinese stuff behind. More to come later...

 

[Restless Rocks]

Yeah I don't know what they're thinking, I've been real happy with the Mesa tubes of the last couple years and I f$^&&in hate JJ 12AX7's in my mark amps. They should've known better than give your russian X7's for your stilletto.

 

[MusicManJP6]

The store I bought my Ace from in CA (off eBay) doesn't seem to know a whole lot about Mesas... but I got the amp for an incredible price and they've done everything they can to make me happy.