Anybody else using NOS (ANOS) tubes in Mark V?

About 9 months ago I purchased a 2 year old Mark V. It is a great amp, very versatile with tons of great tones. I found Channel One’s Clean and Fat modes, Channel Two’s Edge, and Channel Three’s Mark IV all easy to access and very usable with great tones throughout each mode. However I did find Channel One’s Tweed, Channel Two’s Crunch and Mk I, and Channel Three’s Mk IIC+ challenging to dial in tones that felt “right” to my ear.

So I decided to try some ANOS (Used) preamp tubes. I started by changing just V1, then overtime replaced V2-V7. Wow, what a difference. Every aspect of the amp improved, more articulated cleans that are very 3d, gain structure is tighter with less graininess and the modes are more distinct from one another. All the modes that were good are now better and the modes that were challenging are now accessible and engaging. I am using a Mullard I61 in V1, RCA 12ax7 Long Black Plates in V2 and V3, the rest (V4-V7) are Sylvania Long Grey Plate 12ax7. All are ANOS (used) tubes, said to be at or above 1450 Mhos. To compare as best I could, periodically I re-installed the original Mesa preamp tubes. They sounded worse than I had remembered. To be fair, the original 2+ yr old Mesa preamp tubes may be getting weak and thus contributing significantly to the difference I hear. But I really think that NOS tubes are awesome in the Mark V. Btw, I also have a Fender HRDX. I installed three NOS tubes in that, big improvement to the tone, but nothing like the improvement to the Mark V.

I have not tried other brands of ANOS tubes such as; Raytheon, Phillips, Telefunkens, Amperex, Tung Sol, or RFT, and am curious if other Mark V owners have experimented with NOS pre-amp tubes and what they have experienced....

Interesting there, and good info.

Where did you pick up these tubes, or where can we buy NOS preamp tubes to try. I would like to get a couple for the first two or three positions...

I am in the process of procuring some new tubes for my Mark V. Glad to hear the Mullard I61 worked well in the V1 position, as that is my plan as well. For the rest, I'm bought a selection of Tungsram, Amperex and a newer Mullard (1965?) and will experiement with these until I am satisfied. This posting gives me hope that I am on the right track; thanks for that!

I am getting my tubes from ebay, but there are some reputable dealers out there who specialize in NOS/ANOS tubes. One vendor I found is TC tubes at http://tctubes.com/. They have a good selection of new and NOS/ANOS tubes.

This thread has be gassing for some new tubes now. I have always been curious about the NOS tubes, but have been too cheap to buy. Might just have to dip into the bank for a new tube!

I have purchased NOS tubes from both "tube suppliers" and via ebay. Tube suppliers are usually more expensive, but in general are a more reliable source. But their selection is usually less. Tube suppliers I highly recommend are KCA (www.kcanostubes.com), and Doug's Tubes (www.dougstubes.com). The only tube supplier I strongly NOT recommend is Hi Test Guitar (www.hitestguitars.com). As for Ebay, I have enjoyed buying tubes via ebay. But you have to be willing to invest more time researching and learning. make sure they show the test results numbers and will accept returns (satisfaction guarantee). Different tube testing machines use different scales. TV7 is a common tube tester, its scale is 32 (min) to 64 (max), with 48 being good. Another common tube tester is the Hickok 539 (and other Hickoks) that score in Mhos, 800 being minimum, 1250 being good, and 1600 being new tube to original 12ax7 spec. Thus 64 for TV7 equates to 1600 Mhos. It seems that no matter the scale it is a 2x linear correlation between bad and new (ie. 32 to 64 and 800 to 1600). Not surprisingly, I have found that the closer to "new" the better overall performance. But I am using many tubes in the 1300 - 1500 Mhos range that sound fantastic. on ebay I have had good luck with; tubemazestore, greengirl613 and desireme1979. but I have not purchased enough from any of these suppliers to make a recommendation.

Superb information, thank you!

my interest peaked last night, and I threw in an old gold pin EH 12ax7 in v1, and there is quite a difference form the mesa 12ax7. Looking forward to trying this NOS tube stuff.

Gman1951, thanks for posting tctubes.com. what a great selection. Also he delineates between good and new, which is valuable information. Looking seriously at his 7025 tubes.

I'm not reading any of this sh!t 'cause this will further separate me from my money!

OH MAN!!! Cool results though...crap...just heard my money walk out the door :lol:

JEB3 said:

Gman1951, thanks for posting tctubes.com. what a great selection. Also he delineates between good and new, which is valuable information. Looking seriously at his 7025 tubes.

Click to expand...

Glad to hear it!!

To provide an update, I will be receiving the last of my NOS/ANOS preamp tubes later this week. I also ordered a quartet of Winged "C" EL 34's because I wanted to get a bit more "snarl" in my lead tones (I do have to say that I LOVE the clean sound of the 6L6's. I hope I don't compromise too much of that tone). As soon as I get up and running, I will post my opinions, FWIW.

Hi-->some questions

Do I have to use on V2 and V3 the same tube?
Better so?
Doesnt matter?
matched pair necessary?

Isnt the main Tone influence V1 to a max V3?
If so could one use with no auditable loss V4-V7 stock ones?

Thanks for light in the tunnel

Roland

V1, V2 and V3 can be all different brands of 12ax7 tubes and the tubes do not have to "match" each other. Actually, V2 is dedicated to only Channel 2, this allows Channel 2's tone to be flavored by the V2 tube selection, with no impact at all on Channel 1 or 3. Once I buy an Amperex 12ax7, one of the places I plan to experiment with it is in V2.
btw, I forgot to mention earlier. If you buy ANOS tubes, I highly recommend that you; inspect the pins to make sure they are straight, lightly sand the pins with 1000 grit sand paper and then clean the pins with alcohol or Deoxit. It can make a huge difference in the quality of the tone.

V1, V2 and V3 can be all different brands of 12ax7 tubes and the tubes do not have to "match" each other. Actually, V2 is dedicated to only Channel 2, this allows Channel 2's tone to be flavored by the V2 tube selection, with no impact at all on Channel 1 or 3. Once I buy an Amperex 12ax7, one of the places I plan to experiment with it is in V2.
btw, I forgot to mention earlier. If you buy ANOS tubes, I highly recommend that you; inspect the pins to make sure they are straight, lightly sand the pins with 1000 grit sand paper and then clean the pins with alcohol or Deoxit. It can make a huge difference in the quality of the tone.

I've found that I like Brimar tubes in my Mesa Mark V 35.
Seems to have smoothed out the sound and tamed the highs.
I have:

1966 6057 T 12ax7 in V1 and V2
1961 cv492 12ax7 in V3 and V4
1981 Mullard cv4004 in V5

I've been flipping between stock Mesa 12AX7/Brimar 6060T 12AT7 in the Phase Inverter.
Not sure what I should keep in the Phase inverter...don't want to burn a Mullard or other expensive tube there. Any recommends?