Road King II Tube Replacement

Hi guys first time poster! Sorry im pretty sure this topic may have been done to death but i have a couple of extra questions too and im a total noob, this will be my first tube replacement ever.

I recently bought a second hand RKII (Australian 240V) serial number in the 2300s. one of the 6L6 valves was not glowing and was a little cloudy (i assume it is blown). The guy i bought it from said that he bought it around '08 and it had lightly been used for a few years and its been in storage for about 4 years. I figured it would definately be time to replace all 14 of the tubes, start fresh and know im getting the best sound of this beast.

The only issue is that theres quite a choice for the tubes and im not sure exactly what tubes i need for what i want. I have no experience with any of this

I would like my clean channels to be sparkly and clear as possible and especially take pedals well. The gain channels to be pretty dark and have a good amount of lows/mids. I have got recommendations from Tube Depot/Dougs Tubes/bobsezshop (Ebay) and they all recommend different things. does it really matter that much? here is what ive been recommended from everyone

Dougs Tubes
We recommend the RUBY 6L6GCMSTR's, RUBY EL34BSTR's, our 6 x 12AX7 tone kit and 2 x EH 5U4GB.

Tube Depot
In regards to the tube selection, I highly recommend going with Tung-Sol for all but the 5U4. For the rectifier I would recommend either Electro Harmonix or JJ.

Bobs EZ Shop (Ebay)
5U4GB-1 USA
12AX7-6 Electro-Harmonix gold pin
EL34/6CA7-2 Electro-Harmonix Big Bottle
6L6-4 Tungsol


Are all of these going to be fine? I dont mind spending a little to get the best sound. Am i able to plug n play these guys or am i going to have to get a technician to install these? Should i just get my local guy to replace them with another set of mesa brands? Help!

Most folks here will say stick with Mesa tubes and while that is not bad advice I like NOS tubes. However I did buy a set of matched Electro Harmonix EL34 tubes from this link and if you email them first with the make of your amp they will match tubes that are in the perfect range for your amp. Im sure they have a lot of different brands and types so kinda go with what you like. For my 6L6GCs I had a bunch of old NOS GE tubes that I took out of my old amp and put in there. They sparkle like no tomorrow on the clean channels. I use one clean with el34 and the other with 6L6 but the choices and combinations you have are limitless. Harma valves website has a lot of legit tube reviews you can review that will give you an idea of what is out there if for no other reason than to start to whittle it down a bit. If I were you tho, before you go down the route of re-tubing your amp play it for a while. Your tubes may actually be just right and I know the RK can be challenging to dial in that sound initially. Tubes are like coffee. No two cups taste the same and no two tubes sound the same. Peter

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LNO5AC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

BTW I just ordered a matched quad from them coming this week. Ill give you an update on my thoughts.

I've tried loads of different makes - and have come back to Mesa tubes in all but one case:

Tung sol in V1

It gives a beautiful creamier response and more "feel"

Mesa test exhaustively and their tubes are very good. With a RKII you are looking at a million different tonal possibilities on stock tubes. New tubes will sound fresh and more full of life, warm up a little once played in a bit and will breathe life back into the amp if the ones in there were getting past their best.

A guy on here recommended I try a Tung Sol in V1 in my dual rec ages ago - I did and it was great. I have done the same in the RK and also it also sounds wonderful.

Welcome to the rewarding and frustration quest for great tone. (That seems to change on different days / different moods / different volumes / different guitars!) I've just finished playing for three hours and hit tonal heaven... I guarantee when i fire the amp up in rehearsal again in rehearsal, I'm going to think that's it somehow doesn't sound exactly like it did tonight. (Always seems to happen!)

The RK is the best most versatile amp with endless tonal possibilities that I've ever played.

Good luck - let us know how you get on !