Why has Mesa changed their stock tubes???

[G.I.G.]

I asked this question in another thread, but does anyone know why Mesa has started using Chinese 6L6's to put in their amps vs. the Russian made Sovteks? If you go to their accessory store and look at their tubes, it says they are shipping their amps whith the Chinese tubes now. They also stopped carrying the Svetlana's, at least on their website. I was just about to order a set of those too. Any ideas???

http://store.yahoo.com/mesa/mesboogtub.html

 

[dzeitlin]

try going to http://www.tubesandmore.com or one of the many online tube dealers. They'll be cheaper than Boogie also.

 

[G.I.G.]

Thanks for the info. I'm still curious why Mesa went to the Chinese tubes instead of the Russian Sovteks. I wonder if they feel that they are better tubes or just if they are cheaper or more accessable.

 

[Surfcaster]

They still sell Russian 6L6 tubes, only they are Svetlana, not Sovtek...they are just listed on the page as Russian 5881 STR-425, 5881 and 6L6 are different names for the same tubes. If you click on the link, the image shows the tube is marked 5881-6L6. Now why they are shipping amps with the Chinese tubes, I don't know...they're actually only minimally different in price.

 

[G.I.G.]

They still sell Russian 6L6 tubes, only they are Svetlana, not Sovtek...they are just listed on the page as Russian 5881 STR-425, 5881 and 6L6 are different names for the same tubes.

I thought the Svetlana's were marked STR-454, not STR-425. They also have 425's listed at $45 a pair, when the 454's used to cost $60 a pair. Are you sure they are the same thing?

 

[SlaveofPain]

they are not the same thing. i'm curious myself but i'm sure that some dealers might have some str-454 still in stock. Svetlanas are very good tubes though.

i've heard on various forums that the str-440 are much better than the sovtek 430's and that mesa stopped putting the 430's in their amps because of many complaints. i don't know if this is true so don't flame me! :lol:

 

[Boogiebabies]

The STR*440 is the Ruby 6L6GCMSTR. It is Ruby's own design on their equipment, but made in China. It is a copy of the Sylvania 6L6. I have used them for two years without a problem. I even have a set of the Boogie labeled STR*440s and they are superb as well. I think the Boogie STR-440 is a decent deal. They get screened by Ruby and then by Robotube at Mesa.
They are much fatter sounding than the STR-430 / Sovtek 6L6WXT, although the STR-430 IMHO is a great tube in a Rectifier or Road King.

 

[Surfcaster]

Okay, I could be wrong...perhaps it was the STR-454 they used to carry...I remember thinking the Svetlana's were a fair bit pricier. So does that mean the STR-425s are Sovteks?

 

[MesieBooga]

The STR*440 is the Ruby 6L6GCMSTR. It is Ruby's own design on their equipment, but made in China. It is a copy of the Sylvania 6L6. I have used them for two years without a problem. I even have a set of the Boogie labeled STR*440s and they are superb as well. I think the Boogie STR-440 is a decent deal. They get screened by Ruby and then by Robotube at Mesa.
They are much fatter sounding than the STR-430 / Sovtek 6L6WXT, although the STR-430 IMHO is a great tube in a Rectifier or Road King.

This is true.

I called Boogie and the 454's are out of stock. I got some Chinese 440's (recommended by MB for the IIC+) and I really like them.

 

[G.I.G.]

Okay, I could be wrong...perhaps it was the STR-454 they used to carry...I remember thinking the Svetlana's were a fair bit pricier. So does that mean the STR-425s are Sovteks?

That's a good question. I don't know who makes the 425's. Anyone else know?

I have the 430's in both my Dual Rec and my Rect-O-Verb now and haven't had any problems. Although, I'm thinking of retubing my Dual Rec soon and if there is a better alternative out there, I'd like to know about it.

Has anyone had problems with their 430's? I'm curious why they switched tubes in the amps that they ship from the factory. Are the Chinese ones that much better?

 

[Ken j]

425's are Sovteks according to this site. I wish they would update the site to show the 440's and any other new tubes.
http://homepage.mac.com/mesaboogie/tubes.html

 

[Surfcaster]

I called Boogie and the 454's are out of stock. I got some Chinese 440's (recommended by MB for the IIC+) and I really like them.

So does this mean they are temporarily out of stock and will soon have more, or they can no longer get them?

And I don't see the 440's listed either...are they still available?

 

[Ken j]

440's are the newest 6L6 that Boogie offers. They are not on that list but are on the MB web site. There are some others missing from that list.

 

[j37nm]

My experience with the russian tubes were that they had spikey highs. They were smooth at all. Very shrieky, and harsh.

The chinese tubes have a smoother overall response, and more midrange punch.

I preferred the chinese over the russian tubes.

 

[Zerberus]

The STR*440 is the Ruby 6L6GCMSTR. It is Ruby's own design on their equipment, but made in China. It is a copy of the Sylvania 6L6. I have used them for two years without a problem. I even have a set of the Boogie labeled STR*440s and they are superb as well. I think the Boogie STR-440 is a decent deal. They get screened by Ruby and then by Robotube at Mesa.
They are much fatter sounding than the STR-430 / Sovtek 6L6WXT, although the STR-430 IMHO is a great tube in a Rectifier or Road King.

Waitasec, am I understanding this correctly that Mesa is working together with Ruby Tubes/Magic parts and/or buying tubes from them? Or merely buying the exact same tube, but from another source?

I´ve changed amps once this quarter, I don´t really want to have to do it again...