I want to know...

What the hardest color code my mesa single rec can run safely. there are stock yellow code mesa 6l6's in it right now.
I would like as much headroom as i can get before the powerubes start to distort. also i assume ill need a really good PI to go along with the powertubes...
I want a smooth sound like a dual rec running JJ preamp tubes and sovtek 6l6's.
thanks in advance.

If you're trying to find some to buy, go to google.com and do a search for the type of tube you want. Lots of stuff pops up. When all else fails give Mesa a call and get them direct.

bump.
can i use any color coded tubes in my amp? or only the specified yellow ones?

any mesa color tube will work safely in a mesa

thanks mr 10 posts, can anyone else confirm this?

if it says mesa on the bottle, it's safe to use in your amplifier, period. if its not a mesa, you can buy tubes from someone who can 'match' them to your amplifier for big headroom. eurotubes.com dougstubes.com.

once again, if its not a mesa tube, you can't just plug it in. the tube needs to be selected because its falls within the safe operating range of mesa's fixed bias.

DAMAGED said:

thanks mr 10 posts, can anyone else confirm this?

Click to expand...

oooh sorry big man mr 6 posts.

Yeah, it's true that any Mesa tube will work in any Mesa amp, but you should get them all the same color (rating).

As I just got it today/yesterday was that as long as you have your matched pair the same color then everything is fine. So, if you have 2- they are the same color. If you have 4- then there must be at least 2 matching pairs, if not all matching. If you have 6- then there must be at least 3 matching pairs, if not a quad and a pair or all matching. I look at it like any other amp and figure it as a simpler way than trying to match #'s of microhms to percentage of change between the matched pair. Looking at a color seems a lot simpler now. The fact that they are fixed bias makes things real simple if you are stuck or lazy... Oh, mine are... and you just match them all. The nice thing is that they don't take into consideration any wear on the tube so you just replace them in at least a pair at a time depending on your power settings and playing habits.

Typically in a push/pull circuit a nicely matched phase inverter is essential. Mesa seems to think it is not as necessay according to the manual I downloaded. I would still get one if none of your tubes will cut it. I have my own tube tester so I check my tubes occcasionally so I am not just wasting money because the I think an amp sounds bad one day. I cylce the tubes around and blueprint my amps. Not having much experience with "Mesa" yet, I can't say much about the color code just swap and go until I have more experience. I would think that like most other tubes and amps that you could have tubes dying faster than others. But if you look at it like their example (a light bulb) it makes sense in that analogy. They have to be doing something right though. The gear sells itself.

thanks for the info, i ended up getting a pair of grey JJ 6L6's from Tube Town, they sound great in my single rec. Brought back the headroom and tightened the bass alot. the old tubes were stock mesa yellow str 430's