Mark III Advice

I've taken out the tubes in my Mark III, and have been wondering what kind of tubes I should use to replace the old ones with. I'm curious as to what kinds of tubes you all prefer for your Mark IIIs, and it'd be nice to know what kind of music you all play just so I'd have some idea as to how your favorite tubes would sound in the Mark III.

Any help, advice, or mentoring would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

Last time I replaced them in my blue stripe simul, I used mesa tubes as they have them available in the proper range for your amp. I play blues, hard rock and metal, and these were fine for me. Others probably have different opinions, and that is O.K. Make sure you use matched pairs if it is 60 watt or simulclass, and a matched quad if it is 60/100 watt. Simulclass amps can use EL-34 in outer sockets. I now have a purple stripe simul that came with 6L6 in all 4 spots and I prefer them. These happen to be Groove tubes, which I have heard people complain about, but these seem fine to me. YMMV and all that jazz.

I haven't tried many different options in my Mark III, but I recently ordered a pair of Ruby EL34BSTRs and a pair of TAD 6L6WGCSTRs for my purple stripe simul-class III. The old tubes were Mesas and I have no idea how old they were. Compared to the old tubes, the new tubes add a good deal of midrange presence and smooth out the top end. The sound was a little thinner and sizzlier before. It wasn't necessarily a bad sound, though I do think it was a sign of worn-out tubes. I selected the particular replacements I chose based on what Doug's Tubes carried and general online sentiment.

If you are thinking of new production tubes, Doug's tubes has the Ruby 12AX7AC5 HG+ and the Penta 12AX7M for the preamp and the SED =C= power tubes that are the ticket for making the Mark series amp sound as it should. Musical style really doesn't play a big part in this selection.

If you are thinking about NOS tubes, Tungsram and RFT 12AX7's along with Sylvania 6L6 and 6CA7 are what I would recommend, regardless of musical style.

There is enough "wiggle room" in the Mark series settings to allow for a wide vaiety of musical styles using the same tube choices, IMHO. 8)

I like a combination of EL34 (for Class A) and 6L6 for my Mark III blue stripe Simulclass. The III is the Mark that I prefer that combination in. The amp can geta nice mean sort of Marshally tone when running in Class A and has a fuller yet still bitting tone when running in simulclass. I play just about every style of music except nu-metal.

Sweet, I really appreciate all the help, everyone. I suppose, now I'm wondering if I should have the amp serviced by Mike and then put in new tubes. I mean, it sounds like it'd be the safest course of action, but I'm sort of broke and in college. Haha. Thanks for all the input, folks.

The full Mike B. tune-up is probably overkill unless you think there's something else wrong with your amp. With yours being an '89, I'd say that's probably too new to require a cap change. Since the bias is hard-wired on Mesas, as long as you get your tubes from somebody who knows how to supply tubes for Mesas, it's just going to be a plug-and-play situation. I recommend dougstubes.com. Just place your order and then email him letting you know that the tubes on that particular order are going in a Boogie, and he'll take care of you.

a lot of guys will say I am crazy, but I really think that the Mark III is the least tube-sensitive amp I have owned. The tubes that make the biggest difference for me, pre or power, are the EL34s in simul-class. I always get =C='s for those. They seem to have a kind of "blocky" sound, without a lot of either extreme lows or highs, when they clip that really works with the tightness of the III. I have several sets of NOS Siemens EL34s and the =C= tubes actually sound better to my ears, the NOS ones add low mids that the III already has in spades.

I would say going out and shelling big money on preamp tubes for a III is probably a waste unless you have other amps (like a Recto) where it makes a difference you'll actually hear in a mix. (<=this is how I defend myself against the tube guys, yes, maybe you can hear it when you are tube rolling, but I will bet you a 5-beer lunch you can't pick out your NOS pre even in a real clean mix.)

CoG...I tried testing out a few Sovtek WA's for the preamp and Groove Tubes for the power section.:shock: Wow..that was probably the worst Mark III I'd never want to play again. Totally boxy and lifeless. The III's don't like those WA's one bit ( well, if your're into sweet singing sustain that is :lol. The LPS on the other hand are good stuff. Using my current Tung Sol,EH gold pin, and LPS with Winged =C='s is not even a minimal difference..more like night and day. I do agree though that EL34s have a very distinct sound, especially in these amps. They have a real nice rich top end that really help these amps sing - especially when you really get the juices flowin'.

Neptical said:

CoG...I tried testing out a few Sovtek WA's for the preamp and Groove Tubes for the power section.:shock: Wow..that was probably the worst Mark III I'd never want to play again. Totally boxy and lifeless. The III's don't like those WA's one bit ( well, if your're into sweet singing sustain that is :lol. The LPS on the other hand are good stuff. Using my current Tung Sol,EH gold pin, and LPS with Winged =C='s is not even a minimal difference..more like night and day. I do agree though that EL34s have a very distinct sound, especially in these amps. They have a real nice rich top end that really help these amps sing - especially when you really get the juices flowin'.

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Sorry man, tube guys can talk all y'all want about sweet singing sustain and feel, but I still bet you can't hear it in a full band recording I totally understand it's in the experience of playing the thing, and maybe that creates a better performance, but that's more a matter of it being what you are used to. I know that if I have a Roadster and a III side by side, and I have one RFT, putting that RFT in the Roadster will make a difference that a person who is not playing the guitar might notice and it totally won't on the III. Then again, I am one of those guys who whines and complains if I have to play through someone else's cab, especially if it has V30s in it :lol: and I don't know if anyone besides me and our drummer notices the difference there.

Turning the master up to about 2 on a Mark III solves most problems

Mark III amps are known to be very bright, and sometimes brittle sounding. Therefore, a warm sounding preamp tube like the Penta 12AX7M or the RFT helps to smooth out the rough edges of the tone. The EL-34 or 6CA7 power tubes (Class-A sockets) will also help in this department. I, myself like to get used to my amp sounding the best it can. The full band mix will ultimately be determined by someone else, anyway. FWIW, reliability alone will make me choose SED =C= or Sylvania power tubes every time. 8)

I was looking at dougstubes because it seems that's the consensus as to where to go to get quality product, and from what I'm reading here and on the website, I'll probably be going with the SED =C=. Since I'm totally new to tubes as a whole, should I go for the early, average, or late distortion on the SEDs?

OamrG said:

I was looking at dougstubes because it seems that's the consensus as to where to go to get quality product, and from what I'm reading here and on the website, I'll probably be going with the SED =C=. Since I'm totally new to tubes as a whole, should I go for the early, average, or late distortion on the SEDs?

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You won't regret the =C='s. I would start in the middle with average, it's hard enough to get a "clean clean" sometimes.

OamrG said:

I was looking at dougstubes because it seems that's the consensus as to where to go to get quality product, and from what I'm reading here and on the website, I'll probably be going with the SED =C=. Since I'm totally new to tubes as a whole, should I go for the early, average, or late distortion on the SEDs?

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If you are going for the 6L6/EL-34 mix, give Doug a call and tell him which amp that you are using. You can also discuss preamp tube choices while you have him on the phone.

JOEY B. said:

If you are going for the 6L6/EL-34 mix, give Doug a call and tell him which amp that you are using. You can also discuss preamp tube choices while you have him on the phone.

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Shoot, I know nothing about preamps, much less the tubes that would be best suited for each slot according to what I'm looking for. :shock: This sounds like a fantastic idea. Thank you.