JJ kits from Eurotubes

[metalmaster]

I have just recently re-tubed my Mark IV with a high gain kit from Eurotubes. I was reluctant at first to do it because so many people have complained about 'dark blanket' effects on your tone. I have been running the JJ's for a few days, and let me tell you, there is no such problem as far as I'm concerned. I fired the amp up and was thrashing away in minutes! Made a couple of EQ tweaks, and that was it. The improvement in sound after the retube is substantial. My palm muted notes were much more defined and responsive. Artificial harmonics are now much easier to pull off, and the distortion is just nasty! IMO it puts a 5150 to shame. I am so glad I finally tried the JJ's, they kick the crap out of the Mesa tubes that were in there.

I've heard others say that the Mark IV eats high gain JJ ECC83S's for breakfast when used under constant high gain and drive settings. I hope this isn't the case 'cause the re-tube kit was fairly expensive ($118). But it sounds so **** good! I'm like a pig in the proverbial pile of excrement.

 

[masque]

i was just checking out the kits for the 20/20 and triaxis....does anybody have any opinions on JJ kits for these items? There is a certain lure to being able to buy "one" kit for my equipment vs. tracking down individual tubes that folks are happy with...I have always just used the tubes you buy from Mesa and the more I read the more it seems that folks around here don't like the Mesa tubes. There was a great thread about tubes for the triaxis but it requires quite a bit of homework and tracking down people that actually have these old vintage tubes available....which i don't mind to do but if these JJ kits are good then that is at least another option for me.

 

[Timbre Wolf]

i was just checking out the kits for the 20/20 and triaxis....does anybody have any opinions on JJ kits for these items? There is a certain lure to being able to buy "one" kit for my equipment vs. tracking down individual tubes that folks are happy with...I have always just used the tubes you buy from Mesa and the more I read the more it seems that folks around here don't like the Mesa tubes. There was a great thread about tubes for the triaxis but it requires quite a bit of homework and tracking down people that actually have these old vintage tubes available....which i don't mind to do but if these JJ kits are good then that is at least another option for me.

I'm a perfectionist, so I can justify, to myself, the efforts tracking down my favorite rare tubes. But I also see the value of having a simple, go-to source of reliable good tubes. I should probably recommend the Eurotubes route to anyone who's not as obsessive as me (that's 99.9% of you), as it leaves you more time to play guitar.

Get on with it!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

- T

 

[jackieTHEjokeman]

I put the hi-gain kit in my Mark IV too. I had two of the jj's blow out a couple of months after...had to stick my stock mesa's to replace them. Oh well, at least I still had the V1, V2 and V5 covered with jj's.

 

[metalmaster]

Yeah Jackie, I think I heard the short pre-amp tube life thing from you. I hope this doesn't happen to me. I've talked with others here, and they have been using JJ's in their MIV's for like two years on end with no probs at all. Maybe it's all just luck of the draw, some tubes **** the bed while others last forever. I think Eurotubes has some kind of replacement policy if failure occurs within a few months of use. I'm not sure though. Even if I have to buy a replacement here and there, I'm not too worried. 13 bucks per tube is a small price to pay for such thick, rich distortion. I am so happy with what I hear coming out of my amp.

 

[metalmaster]

I've just read that Bob at Eurotubes is out of the the high gain ECC83S tubes for a few weeks. Seems the demand for them is on the rise. Good thing I got mine when I did. People who don't play metal or shred should stop buying them up, since they don't set their gain and drive to 9.75 anyway. I hope these tubes don't become a scarce commodity like NOS tubes.