JJ's or Mesa tubes.

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mr_fender

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Hey all,

I need to fully retube my Mark IVa combo. I've heard a lot of really great things about the JJ's from Eurotubes, but have never tried JJ's before. The Eurotubes standard 6L6 Mark IV full retube kit is about $50 cheaper than a full set of Mesa tubes, so this is VERY tempting. I just wanted to get some input on the various differences between the JJ's and the Mesa's. I've had great results with Mesa tubes in the past and want to know if the JJ's can compete. Are the JJ preamp tubes noisier or more prone to microphonics that the Mesa's? Also does anyone know if Eurotubes offers any kind of warranty on their tubes. I dug arround a bit on the website but didn't find anything. I though I remember seeing somewhere here on the forum that they had a 6 month warranty just like Mesa. Anyone know?
 
I have never owned a Mark series, but with a Triple Recto and a couple of other heads, I've had good results with JJ Power Tubes (6L6 & E34L). IMO they are not the Best, but by far not the worst. I keep finding myself going back to the SED =C= ("winged C") Power Tubes. To ME they are extremely tight, musical and almost 3D textured.

For 12AX7's I feel that JJ's in all the pre-amp spots muddied up the amp. I will tend to mix different pre's dependent on their function. My fav is the Tungsol in V1, a JJ high gain in V2, and 9th gen. chinese the rest of the way in the Rectifier Series.

I've had good service with Bob at Eurotubes, and only one bad tube out of many that I have bought (gassy 6L6). However JJ's are all he sells.

There are many tube vendors, and lately I have been dealing with Doug Preston at Doug's Tubes. He carries a number of brands and knows his stuff (as well as Bob at Eurotubes).

Good Luck
Dom
 
I did a full high gain re-tube (pre's & power) of my Road King I & Mark IV Combo with JJ's from Eurotubes about 2 months ago. Totally freakin' amazing, no regrets whatsoever. You'll never know what they sound like till you plug them in & hear for yourself. Save some bucks & give them a try.
 
I replaced my Marshall EL100100 power amp with JJs. A definite improvement. A tighter bottom end for hi-gain applications and good price plus great service.
 
Not a fan of JJ here....for the price, they are good tubes, but they are no better than the stock Mesa tubes IMO....had a lot of trouble with their consistancy too :?

I'm not running my first retube from Doug (www.dougstubes.com) and am EXTREMELY happy! SED =C= 6L6s with a Tung Sol, Sovtek, and 9th generation Chinese tubes in the preamp....amazing setup that really brings my recto back to life!
 
Does it mellow any harsh top end frequencies? I prefer smooth top end and tight but big bottom end. Zero harshness preferable.
I basically run the Mesa Rect Preamp + 2:90
 
I agree. For the price, not bad at all. I would recommend Groove Tubes. I switched to Groove Tubes after I had too many JJ tubes fail on me. No matter what, both of them have great customer service.
 
I bought a matched sextet of JJ's KT77s from Doug's Tubes and have had nothing but positive things to say about them.

I thought about trying a set of SEDs next, but after playing through the KT77s I don't think I can go back to an EL34 :)
 
cellardweller said:
Flashpoint said:
I thought about trying a set of SEDs next, but after playing through the KT77s I don't think I can go back to an EL34 :)
What is your observation of the difference between the KT77 and 6L6/EL34???

Well, I've said before, to my ears the KT77 is the best of both worlds. It has the bottom end of a 6L6, smooth articulate break-up, nice sizzle on the top end, and the punch and clarity of an EL34.

They break up a bit smoother than the EL34, but you don't lose that aggressive punch. The cleans are much warmer as well. They have a very full bodied "3 dimensional" sound.
 
Flashpoint said:
Well, I've said before, to my ears the KT77 is the best of both worlds. It has the bottom end of a 6L6, smooth articulate break-up, nice sizzle on the top end, and the punch and clarity of an EL34.
Would you say that they are best suited for any particular type/genre of music???
 
Hi bought 2 retube kits from Eurotubes a few months a go ( 1 set for a DR and one set for a SR).

The first 6l6 tube I attempted to install in my DR broke. The guide busted off . I have changed plenty of tubes but won't be naive enough to say that my technique did not cause the break. However, I have changed plenty of Mesa tubes and never had this happen.

More importantly : Tone. Tone is subjective and I realize that my opinion is simply my opinion. My take was that JJ's were a bit sterile. I will say that the clean channel was more pleasing to me but channel 3 in my DR was severely altered. The channel completely lost all it's sizzle and no longer spewed out the sonic mayhem I am used to.

I took the JJ's out and retubed my DR with Mesa's.

Bob at Eurotubes is a great guy and informed me that the broken tube would still work without the guide. It did but I removed them within 2 weeks anyway.
 
I have quite a few requests from customers to use the JJ's. Many of them have liked them, a few have not. Most of my customers have been enjoying and requesting retubes with SED (winged C), Mullard and TAD brand tubes. There are quite a few "regulars" that only use Groove Tubes.
 
cellardweller said:
Flashpoint said:
Well, I've said before, to my ears the KT77 is the best of both worlds. It has the bottom end of a 6L6, smooth articulate break-up, nice sizzle on the top end, and the punch and clarity of an EL34.
Would you say that they are best suited for any particular type/genre of music???

I'm hesitant to try and put a label like that on them....

I will say this: I play a lot of metal, and the KT77s definitely gave my Stiletto the balls that it was lacking with the stock Mesa EL34s. People hear my amp and can't believe that it's a Series I.

I also get great blues and southern rock tones though. Like I said, I'm really hesitant to pigeon-hole these tubes. They're just great all around.
 

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