Mark V tubes

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firmani99

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I am about to retube a mark V for the first time. What tubes are you guys using in a mark? I play mostly hard rock. Not really metal though.
 
I did attempt to reply but was long and when I submitted it got lost prompting me to sign in again.

Non-the less, the short version with no details:

Power tubes: TAD6L6GC-STR really good overall tube, similar in tone to EL34 for a 6L6 type tube.
Rectifier tube: EH-5U4G (do not forget this tube when you replace the power tubes).

V7: Sovtek LPS or Mullard Reissue. Matched and balanced triode.
V4-V6: Tung Sol 12ax7, standard non-gold version.
V1-V3: NOS Mesa 12ax7a (Chinese version with square getter, left overs from my band days and Mark III). Tube was made by Shuguang but not sure if the quality is there in current production. GT has similar tube 12ax7C. Best if generation 9. Tung Sol works will in V1 and V3. You should get something with a little bite for V2, Mesa (or JJ), EH, or GT. I will definitely have to get a few of the GT 12ax7C to see how they compare to the old Mesa tubes. I had the Penta Labs version and they were terrible. If you are going with NOS tubes, most important would be V1.

Having all Tung Sol is not bad either. However Crunch on CH2 will seem a bit bland. A brighter tube in V2 makes a difference. So either Mesa, JJ, GT, EH brand will suffice. Avoid any long plate preamp tubes in V1 -V3 otherwise you will hear the mechanical noise getting transferred into electrical noise. Especially when channel switching. I tried Mullard reissue and it was useless anywhere except for V7. Same goes for the Sovtek LPS (better version of the Mullard re-issue but can be noisy in the gain positions).

My all time favorite preamp tube for all positions is the Mesa 12ax7a (Chinese) tube from the 90's that has the square getter. No longer in production. not sure what gen Shuguang tube they are. If you are interested in the Shuguang preamp tube get the GT since they claim to filter and select good one's (I am assuming). There is also the TAD 12ax7 which I have not tried either.
 
Due to:
-some bad luck with some Mesa STR-440 6L6s going microphonic within 6 months of purchase
-Mesa 12AX7s losing their treble/presence response in less than a year

I retube with Tung Sols now.
 
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