Ruby tubes? And a few other questions?

[lambofgod24]

Ok another noob question, I just got my rectoverb series 1 head and the guy i bought it from said he just retubed it with ruby tubes are they good tubes? This is my first tube amp also how long do tubes generally last under normal use?
Also i see people talking about orange channel and red channel i dont really understand what that means my series one just has the 2 channels rythym and lead then the 4 different modes.
Anyways sorry for the long post Thanks.
-Kyle

 

[domct203]

The best advise I can give is to read your manual. If you did not get one with the amp download it from MesaBoogie.com

I can't comment on the Rubys, I've never used them.

Dom

 

[flyingvee]

I've used Rubys, and had good luck with them. But - fwiw, I've also been told that Rubys are something else, and just rebadged. So a Ruby in one size (EL34, for instance) may be good, but a 6L6 or EL84 may come from an entirely different supplier/manufacturer - so hard to say how good or bad they are as a whole.

 

[mikey383]

I think Rubys are mostly Chinese rebranded tubes. I like Chinese 12AX7s, and the old Mesa STR420 6L6 that everyone raves about are Chinese.

The orange channel is the clean channel and the red is the distortion channel, FWIW. They may be different on the ROVs..I'm not sure though.

 

[Jerrick]

If you have Ruby tubes, it may be easier to track down the original tube brand and then buy those. I have a pair of rubys that I use, labeled as e34l and a few other numbers. Couldnt find them anywhere to get backups, but found out they are JJ e34ls. A lot easier to get those.

They sound great for me. I like having a good amount of mid range so chords and very low notes are distinguishable and not just flubby noise.

Mine have lasted a very long time, years now. Im not sure what you count as normal, but I have 3 practices a week, 2 hours long, and then usually a show every week or every other week, some local, some out of town shows. They go through lots of vibrations, getting lugged around and all that fun stuff and are still going fine.