Preferred EL34s for the Mark III?

Short form: I think my Mark III sounds crappy in class A, and really improves in overall quality running in simulclass (where it sounds great).

I'd replaced the original EL34s that came with the amp with a pair of Mullards (the only thing I could find at the time), and I'm wondering if I might be able to do something better here.

It's probably going to be a week before I can post any sound clips for comparison as I'm leaving for a business trip tomorrow. For starters I'm just wondering what other people's experiences in class A have been like.

Well, I tend to agree, but you gotta remember it's only 15 watts in Class A, so there's little headroom, and everything starts to clip and distort very early.
That said, where did you buy those Mullards, and were they chosen for the Mesa Mark III?
I know they're biased cold, but tube sellers generally sell you tubes to match the amp, if you tell then which amp you have.
I personally prefer the STR-450. I like the STR-442 over the STR-447.
That makes me a cork-sniffer.
The SED Winged "C" is s'posed to be good.

cork sniffer!

This was me buying tubes for the first time. I said "I need a pair of <Boogie preferred EL34s>"

They said "We have Mullards"

Me: "uh. Okay"

I will look into some of the options you have suggested. Thank you!

I'm using now original MESA EL34 for nearly three decades and it sounds still GREAT in class A. I like the Class A more because of its nastiness. But the "gentleman-like" A/B feels also good for me sometimes.
In the the second red that I bought one year ago I've 6L6 AEGs in the outer sockets and they sound also GREAT but different.
As I know AGS are not available any more (?????)

STR-450 or SED Winged "C".

Can't go wrong with either. I've used both.

People often suggest Winged C's.
People sometimes suggest Ruby BSTR's.
Doug from Doug's tubes suggested BSTR's so thats what I bought. I like them a lot.

I use Winged "C"'s in the outside sockets of my Mark III blue stripe and really like the way it sounds in Class A, as it has more of a Marshally tone than when running in Simul-Class mode. I usually use class A when not playing with a band, but use Simul-class when playing live because it seems to have more presence and girth in that mode. Class A can sound a little too mushy when pushed hard.

I use some of the old Svetlana EL34's in my MKIV that sound great. Should sound good in a MKIII.

STR 416's

I would think that the Mark III would be designed around these EL 34's.

STR 450's Second.

Haven't tried the yet. Will next week. Again if Mesa branded these tubes, they gotta be awesome.

But don't spend too much time on the Power Section. Spend more time if you haven't yet, the Preamp section. I experimented with a GE 12AX7WA in the VI, and a Telefunken in V2 and what an AWSOME sound! I am keeping it. It smoothed out the midrange and made this Blue Stripe sound mellower but keeping the rage in the lead channel.

I bought my mkIII new and pretty sure it came with 6L6's right through out
[ the green screen printed ones from the 80's ] the el34's sounded bass shy to me
and the 6CA7 version was the best compromise , I thought they said 17 watts, which seemed
fine unless you needed " country " clean

okgb said:

I bought my mkIII new and pretty sure it came with 6L6's right through out...

Click to expand...

Yeah, mine did too. Immediately put Mesa EL34s in and never looked back. At 25W, my green stripe's A mode sounds great cranked and has been a predominant setup for me over the past several years at viable bar-gig levels. Keeping it in ch1 and using dirt pedals yields a whole new Boogie experience.

So, I finally got a chance to stop by American Music this afternoon and picked up a set of Mesa Boogie STR-447 EL34s. I plopped them into my Mark III about an hour ago...


...aaaaaand holy crap it's like a new amp. It sounds great and A mode sounds snarly in a way it never did before. I may be high, but the cleans actually sound better than they did as well. I may throw back in the Mullards and record some A/B clips to check my sanity.

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. It was good to know that people found value in A mode, or I might have just written it off instead of following peoples' advice and swapping out the tubes.

-Daniel

And, having done that: are the STR 450s that much better than the 447s? They cost about 3 times as much, which isn't really a hardship, but I'm just curious. The 447s already seem like a major step up from what I had previously. It definitely sounds more Marshally than Simul-Class...did.

Hey, I haven't played around with Simul-Class with these tubes in yet.

*Runs off*

dlpasco said:

...aaaaaand holy crap it's like a new amp. It sounds great and A mode sounds snarly in a way it never did before. I may be high, but the cleans actually sound better than they did as well. I may throw back in the Mullards and record some A/B clips to check my sanity.
-Daniel

Click to expand...

That's just what I'm always telling.........."Welcome" :wink:

dlpasco said:

And, having done that: are the STR 450s that much better than the 447s? They cost about 3 times as much, which isn't really a hardship, but I'm just curious. The 447s already seem like a major step up from what I had previously. It definitely sounds more Marshally than Simul-Class...did.

Hey, I haven't played around with Simul-Class with these tubes in yet.

*Runs off*

Click to expand...

IMO, yes the 450's are WAY better than the 447s. I purchased the 450s many years ago when they were $70 a pair. I have a pair of the 447s that just sit in my closet as an emergency backup. Not fond of them. I perfer the =C= EL34s over the 447s.

I can't say spending $150 for a pair is what you need to do, that's out of my range, but $80 for a pair of =C= I'll do. Even at almost twice the price of the 447s.

Just my 2¢

Tuna141 said:

I use Winged "C"'s in the outside sockets of my Mark III blue stripe and really like the way it sounds in Class A, as it has more of a Marshally tone than when running in Simul-Class mode. I usually use class A when not playing with a band, but use Simul-class when playing live because it seems to have more presence and girth in that mode. Class A can sound a little too mushy when pushed hard.

Click to expand...

I think I know what you mean, I've been working on getting Marshally tones myself recently. So far, so good.