Mesa STR-415's?

I replaced the tubes in a guy's Vibrolux Reverb the other day.
He gave me the old ones.
They were STR-415's, Made in USA!

He said that I put the tubes in that amp about 7 years ago and has never really played it much because he has about 20 amps.
They look brand new.

Does anyone here know who these were made by? I can't find any other numbers on them.

Might have to try them in my Heartbreaker on the 50 watt setting!

I believe Mesa/Boogie STR-415s are relabeled Philips/Sylvania 6L6GCs. High quality tubes with great tone and very long life.

Rampage said:

I believe Mesa/Boogie STR-415s are relabeled Philips/Sylvania 6L6GCs. High quality tubes with great tone and very long life.

Click to expand...

That is correct, they are some of the best USA made 6L6GC's.

http://www.kcanostubes.com/content/nos-sylvania-6l6gc-str415-matched-pairquartet

Dom

Too bad they are so expensive! I would easily get another duet and put them all in the Heartbreaker if I could afford it!

Maybe I'll try a duet of STR 440's with the 415's.
Right now I'm running JJ E34L's, but really miss the thump of 6L6's in it!

Yesterday I plugged in my Ruby branded 6L6's (matched to STR-440 specs) to compare with my STR-387s and there are definitely some slight differences:

The clean tone on the Sylvanias is way more vibrant and "sparkly", the Ruby's were a bit dull. The lead tone is slightly less murky (only slightly, I adjusted it with the presence knob). The Rubys sounded a bit more modern and scooped. The bass response was the same, honestly. The Sylvanias seemed to cut a bit better. That said, After taking a long time without the Ruby versions of the Sylvanias out of my amp and switching back in for awhile, I was actually more impressed putting them back in. They are about 90% close. The only downside was the slight murkiness (more noticable with my Ibanez guitars that tend to cut).

As for the manufacture: they will all read "6L6GC USA" at the top. The very very early ones are Fender labeled (I have some of those) and are labeled with silver and read STR-387. The Blue/Green Mesa labeled ones are the only STR-415's and are within Mesa spec. I can never remember which ones came out first. During that production time Fender switched labeling to the big orange Fender labels on their assortment for STR-387s and Peavey issued their "Super 7s" (I have some of those too) They are matched a little hotter than the 415's. The off the shelf Phillips/Sylvania ones can vary in bias, but are relatively close. I'm pretty sure the yellow labeled single getting version is what the Ruby is based off. I've heard a forum member say the plates/grids/etc are all the same except for the getter assembly. Seems reasonable enough for me based off of performance alone.

So....does Ruby make a re-issue?
I just tried their website, but the catalog was down!

domct203 said:

Rampage said:

I believe Mesa/Boogie STR-415s are relabeled Philips/Sylvania 6L6GCs. High quality tubes with great tone and very long life.

Click to expand...

That is correct, they are some of the best USA made 6L6GC's.

http://www.kcanostubes.com/content/nos-sylvania-6l6gc-str415-matched-pairquartet

Dom

Click to expand...

Andy,
Dom and Rampage are correct. They are Sylvania made 6L6GC's. One of, if not the best, 6L6's ever made.
In fact Mesa designed the Mark series around these power tubes!

As a heads up this tube reseller above (http://www.kcanostubes.com) is very knowledgeable about tubes.
But he's one of the most overpriced tube resellers out there.

To further demonstarte how overpriced he is read the following.
He bought all - about 150 tubes - of these NOS (New Old Stock) Mesa STR-415's about a year ago from another seller.
The other seller had them priced pretty high already but perhaps more fair at $150 a pair ($75/ tube).
This other seller would also sell singles tubes for the same individual price. Btw this included shipping.
And if you were buying more than one pair this other seller he would give you a very decent break on the price (even if it was only two pair!!).

Well this Kcanos reseller found this guy and his stash of NOS Mesa STR-415's and bought them all.
I know this because I had been in contact with the other seller.
And for about two weeks+- was in contact other BB members who I thought would want some of these tubes.
The idea was to put in a larger order so all could benefit from the quantity discount.

When ready to buy two quads (8 tubes) I contacted the original seller.
Much to my surprise he told me he had sold all the tubes and to who he had sold them.
So I contact the Kcanos and was blown away at how much he had marked up the tubes.
This clown had marked them up over 50% than what the other seller had been selling them for!! :shock:
And closer to 75% over what he had paid for them!
And he didn't have to do a **** thing testing wise. All were already matched and spec'd to Mesa standards.

For instance he wants a $450 for a quad plus shipping! That's over $112.50/tube!!
The other guy was selling the exact same Quad for $275 INCLUDING Shipping - which was only $69/ tube)!
If buying two quads from the other seller the price dropped to $250 a quad or only $62.50/ tube!

I asked Kcanos if he would give a quantity discount. He said no.
I mentioned knowing where he got the tubes and how much he paid. He then became arrogant and demeaning.
Needless to say we didn't buy anything from this guy. Just wasn't and still isn't worth it.

In all honesty I truly respect his tube knowledge but,
on the flip side this guy is one of the causes of so much overpricing of vintage tubes on the market these days.
I hope Kcanos goes to his grave with every last one of these Mesa STR-415's still in his possession.

Monsta-Tone said:

So....does Ruby make a re-issue?
I just tried their website, but the catalog was down!

Click to expand...

The Ruby 6L6GC MSTR (matched and spec'd by Mesa as the STR-440) is a close reissue of the single getter version. I dunno if they claim it's a reissue or not, but you can look at the tube and see that it is, and even Mesa says it is.

The SED =C= is supposed to have tone like the Sylvania, but it's construction isn't like either that I can tell (or the late model RCA, which resembles the single getter Sylvania. To me the RCA's have some very explosive tone, but I can't find any matched to Mesa spec's.) The EH is the closest reissue to the RCA, but it's "upgraded", like the =C=. The Ruby is the closest to a true reissue i've seen, but I don't have a pair of =C='s to truly tone test against my Sylvania's or RCA's.

@gts: I've seen alot of price gouging in tubes, both NOS and used, also false claiming in tube tests and what the tubes really are.

On the up and up, for anyone wanting some replacement STR-420's for their Mark IV I saw a big influx of silver ("platinum") labeled Shanguang 6L6GC's on ebay, which I do believe were the original 420's before relabeling. These have brown bases instead of black, but I do think they are the same. Anyone with some 420 experience may wanna do the pepsi challenge on them!

Right on! Thanks guys!

George,
I had a phone conversation with KCA years ago. I thought he was pretty smug as well. I fully understand the need to make a profit, but he might as well work on Wall Street with those mark ups! I know the guys at the Fender Forum really like him.


So....
Here is my tonal scenario:
Fender-ish cleans with a little grit
Souped up Marshall leads with lots of gain, but serious clarity
I don't want any mushy tone, but wouldn't mind if they were a little lower output or lower breakup. There is nowhere on this island that I can unleash a 100 watt monster!

What duet would you guys recommend to place with these fine 415's?

Andy the Winged C's are a very good tube. I have used them in my Mark II as well as the STR-415's.
It's been awhile since swapping them in and out/ doing a comparison but if memory serves me well they were very similar.

Only "issue" with Winged C's is they jacked their price up around January of this year.
Used to be a very good price for a pair ($40-50) Now it's around $60-70. Still not bad compared to NOS Sylvania 6L6GC / STR-415.

If there were no more STR-415's in the world, or for that matter STR-416's (EL-34's) I'd be using the Winged C 6L6's and EL34's

Btw I have had the same experience with KCA Tubes, he (Mike) is very smug and can be pretty even condescending.
Perhaps that comes with an extensive knowledge of tubes (or anything) but I don't need to say I've bought from him to feel the tubes I use are "legit".

Have you considered the TAD 6L6WGC-STR (special tube request Shuguang designed by TAD)? Supposedly, they breakup a bit earlier and are chock full of vintage tone. Pricing is fair, too.

http://www.dougstubes.com/power-tubes/6l6-5881-kt66/tad-6l6wgc-str.html

gts said:

Andy the Winged C's are a very good tube.

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+1 billion.

I haven't tried other tube brands in my amps yet but I have both the =C= EL34s in my Marshall and =C= 6L6s in my 2:90 and they kick copious amounts of hiney.
I have heard JJs, Sovteks and TADs in other amps and lets just say I wasn't really impressed

Keep a look out for the STR 415's. I just bought a matched quad for $250.00. This is a steal. The Phillips/Sylvania 6L6 STR 415's are the best of this type I've ever heard. They have a very warm, thick tone, but also a very nice chime.

Monsta-Tone said:

I replaced the tubes in a guy's Vibrolux Reverb the other day.
He gave me the old ones.
They were STR-415's, Made in USA!

He said that I put the tubes in that amp about 7 years ago and has never really played it much because he has about 20 amps.
They look brand new.

Does anyone here know who these were made by? I can't find any other numbers on them.

Might have to try them in my Heartbreaker on the 50 watt setting!

Click to expand...

They are absolute rubbish, and to help you out, just then them to me and I'll dispose of them for you

Ha ha, nah, they're great, my C+ came with a quartet only problem is to hear any kind of power tube overdrive in my music room I need to practically deafen myself.

Good catch.