Mark IIb Power Tubes Question

[Murfman]

I had this post buried in another thread and instead of hijacking that thread away I figured I should repost it here.

I figured the preamp tubes were shaping most of my sound. Mike B at Boogie replace all my tubes (preamp and power) when he recapped it and re built the effects loop, etc.

I'm wondering now about these newer power tubes in my Boogie Mk2b. They are Mesa tubes that say STR 430. Down on the base they say 16 AC YEL. Are these real cold tubes? Is the 16 YEL the bias number?

I'm wondering if I should yank these and go for a warmer Tube. Anyone with any Tube suggestions? I like really like raunchy, warm, black face fender tones...early Pete Townsend, Keith Richards, SRV stuff.

I'm wondering baout getting my amp modded for bias adjustments. Might give me far more options!

-Murf

 

[Redguitar3]

I ask Mike which of the colors are best to use based on the transformer in my Mark IIB + (mod’s by Mike B.) and he suggested either the Yellows or Greens for the best overall performance. I think I remember him saying that the grays and blues run cooler. What pre-amp tubes are you using? I like GE and RCA, for a wide range of tones, the RTF’s seem to have a nice raw early crunch tone. Of course the choice of speaker has a Hugh effect (IMHO).

Anyone else out there have a suggestion?? :wink:

 

[ANIMATED SUSPENSION]

The new Mesa/Boogie STR440 is a noticeable improvement over the old STR430, warmer and more crunchy. I'd try them first !! The colour is the match code, the number is just a batch code. Bet they were matched/tested by AC !? If you want early break up, in theory, code red and yellow should be better than blue or white, green and gray being the 'middle ground'.