I am a new proud owner of a Mark V and cannot be more happy. I went ahead and re tubed with new JJ's from Eurotubes and like the results however, I would like hear from anyone who has a a favorite combination/brand that they like and how it affects their tone.
Tube Suggestions
- Thread starter jdgebha
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jb's 52
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I use to run Winged C's for EL34s and I thought they were decent.
I've tried Mullards, EHX, and Tungsol in different positions for the pre-amp tubes.
For that last couple re-tube, though, I have stuck to whatever Mesa is re-branding.
I've tried Mullards, EHX, and Tungsol in different positions for the pre-amp tubes.
For that last couple re-tube, though, I have stuck to whatever Mesa is re-branding.
Monstercastle
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I'm sticking with the Mesa tubes too. I tried Chinese in the preamp spots because I love them in my Marshall, but went back to the Mesa branded JJs. They fit that amp better for me.
There is some compromise with using EL34s. Two of my favorites are Gold Lion KT77 (still have them but not using them at the moment) or the JJ 6CA7 (those did not last long though 
) CH2 and CH3 were awesome. The Mesa EL34 are not that bad either but seem to sound a bit harsh but you need to get those going before they start to rock. The clean channel will suffer and will not be clean or as clean as a 6L6.
I have a preference for the SED 6L6 but now they are overpriced as they are out of production. Bummer as those sounded really great in the RA100 too.
TAD 6L6GCSTR were also great but I broke one and do not want to run a mix quad. I have been happy with the stock power tubes as of late.
Preamp tubes is where the money is with this amp. At least you do not need to worry about cathode follower circuits with this amp as it does not have any. Currently I have Mullard 12ax7 long plates in V1, V2, and V3 as it cuts some top end or at least rolls it off somewhat. Rest of the amp is all Stock. I will probably change back to all stock tubes today as I am waiting for a new amp to arrive so I can compare out of the box performance. I feel the CH2 seems to sound better when you change V2 to something else. I have several old Mesa 12AX7A Chinese tubes that work really good in the V2 spot. I have loaded the entire amp with those and discovered how noise free it became. The Mesa branded JJ tubes also offer reduced noise. Found the other brands seem to introduce noise in the amp (including the Mullards, Tung Sol, EH, Svetlana or just simply most of the New Sensor Tubes since they use a coiled heater element vs flat wire). Also found the Mesa SPAX7-A helps to cut some the harsh treble response in V1.
Many times I prefer the stock tubes over the other variants.
) CH2 and CH3 were awesome. The Mesa EL34 are not that bad either but seem to sound a bit harsh but you need to get those going before they start to rock. The clean channel will suffer and will not be clean or as clean as a 6L6. I have a preference for the SED 6L6 but now they are overpriced as they are out of production. Bummer as those sounded really great in the RA100 too.
TAD 6L6GCSTR were also great but I broke one and do not want to run a mix quad. I have been happy with the stock power tubes as of late.
Preamp tubes is where the money is with this amp. At least you do not need to worry about cathode follower circuits with this amp as it does not have any. Currently I have Mullard 12ax7 long plates in V1, V2, and V3 as it cuts some top end or at least rolls it off somewhat. Rest of the amp is all Stock. I will probably change back to all stock tubes today as I am waiting for a new amp to arrive so I can compare out of the box performance. I feel the CH2 seems to sound better when you change V2 to something else. I have several old Mesa 12AX7A Chinese tubes that work really good in the V2 spot. I have loaded the entire amp with those and discovered how noise free it became. The Mesa branded JJ tubes also offer reduced noise. Found the other brands seem to introduce noise in the amp (including the Mullards, Tung Sol, EH, Svetlana or just simply most of the New Sensor Tubes since they use a coiled heater element vs flat wire). Also found the Mesa SPAX7-A helps to cut some the harsh treble response in V1.
Many times I prefer the stock tubes over the other variants.
