mesa boogie studio pre.... what tubes are you using?

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I put in a set of high gain JJs and was underwhelmed. Doug's has a set that includes 3 or 4 tube types so you can tube-roll. A lot of people are recommending Mullard box-plates (if you can afford it) or Tung-Sol in V1.

Mesa tubes now come from the same factory as JJ (Czech). Avoid the SPAX7, it has really low gain in my experience.

There are only 2 factories left, Czech and China. Lots of NOS ones out there, though.

Do you want lots of clean headroom, heavy clip, or something in between? Do you want bright or dark?
 
You'll have to play around a bit. Maybe a med gain, low distortion V1 and V2 plus a high gain med clip V3. The signal chain is

V1A V1B V2A V2B for rhythm
V1A V1B V3A V3B V2A V2B for lead

There is a LOT of gain available on the lead channel.
 
I took my Studio Pre out of its rack last night to replace the reverb tube (ancient (original?!) 1990 Mesa tube replaced with a russian Electro-Harmonix).

I noticed that the four 12AX7s have been replaced at some point before with Groove Tubes. While I like the tone as it stands I was wondering if, for example, JJs or EHs may sound better, especially in the lead channel?

Cheers,
R
 
I'm using Mullard reissues. They are great, like them better than JJs and Tung Sol reissues (though I really liked them too, just a bit too hi-fi).
 
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