So a few years ago I called mesa just to talk about power tubes. I was thinking about swapping the power tubes in my V and I wanted to see if the wonderful people at mesa could give me some info. I really wanted to know if anybody at mesa rolled tubes. I don't remember who I talked to but of course he said everybody there uses 440's for their V's. I was just feeling him out but he said it very convincingly. We then talked a bit about how the V was designed specifically with the 440's in mind. Just like the mark II was designed around the 415's, the V was designed around the 440's. I even heard somewhere else that mesa even tweaked the V to get some of that 415 sound that the 440's just can't do. So I wondered; what's the power tube the JP2C was designed around? Obviously it's a new amp, and mesa uses 440's for all thier new amps, but the JP2C is different, it's supposed to be a reissue. So if mesa is true to thier word, (I'm naive and belive everything they say) then the JP2C would be better suited with the 415's in the power section. So I got my hands on a quad of these babies, the Sylvainia STR 415 6l6. :mrgreen: New old stock even! And I thought I'd share my opinion.
I'd always heard amazing things regarding the 415's. This is my first time experiencing them and they definitely live up to the hype. I almost crapped my pants when I fired up the JP with these babies in there. Holy **** they're good. Noticeably better, right away. Slightly louder, a lot crisper, tighter bottom end(my palm mutes might be showing up on a Richter scale somewhere), a high end that has pleasantly crisp sparkle, a touch sensitivity that still has my jaw on the floor, and a clarity that makes the organic sounding JP sound even more organic. If you own a JP2C, it's hungry for the 415's. The 440's sound week in comparison. They sound loose and fizzy. I can't go back to them. Even the feel is different. The 440's feel loose, where the 415's feel tighter. The 415's just feel right. They respond so well to the nuances, it's remarkable. As I was breaking these bad boys in I could help but think about mrsmitty and the reasons he didn't get along with his JP. I wish he could give these a shot. Such a difference. I might still be high but I was thinking about the tweak mesa did to the V to give some more of the 415 flavor. And the differences we discussed between the V and the JP in mrsmittys honeymoon thread can almost be summed up with these tubes. I mean that the V is tighter, brighter, and less scooped. Besides the bottom end, I'm my opinion, mesa gave the V some of these qualities to make up for the inadequate tubes. And I also think they didn't do a great job of it, if what I'm talking about has any truth to it. I say that because that nasty midrange character the V has... well that might be in part to the tube tone chasing. I was playing the JP with the 415's and I thought; this is what the V was chasing, or trying to copy, these beautiful tubes, but it couldn't quite get there. Or maybe I'm completly wrong and the V just has its own thing. But these tubes somehow remind me of the V, so the whole tweak thing popped in my head. Anyway, mrsmitty, I think these tubes were the answer to your JP2C woes. I think the JP2C, just like the mark II, is suited for the 415's. And before someone says; of course the 415's are going to sound better and they're better suited for any amp, well, that's why I mentioned mrsmitty, all the things he thought were lacking in his JP2C are made up for with these tubes. They fit the JP2C like a glove, it's a match made in heaven. :mrgreen:
I'd always heard amazing things regarding the 415's. This is my first time experiencing them and they definitely live up to the hype. I almost crapped my pants when I fired up the JP with these babies in there. Holy **** they're good. Noticeably better, right away. Slightly louder, a lot crisper, tighter bottom end(my palm mutes might be showing up on a Richter scale somewhere), a high end that has pleasantly crisp sparkle, a touch sensitivity that still has my jaw on the floor, and a clarity that makes the organic sounding JP sound even more organic. If you own a JP2C, it's hungry for the 415's. The 440's sound week in comparison. They sound loose and fizzy. I can't go back to them. Even the feel is different. The 440's feel loose, where the 415's feel tighter. The 415's just feel right. They respond so well to the nuances, it's remarkable. As I was breaking these bad boys in I could help but think about mrsmitty and the reasons he didn't get along with his JP. I wish he could give these a shot. Such a difference. I might still be high but I was thinking about the tweak mesa did to the V to give some more of the 415 flavor. And the differences we discussed between the V and the JP in mrsmittys honeymoon thread can almost be summed up with these tubes. I mean that the V is tighter, brighter, and less scooped. Besides the bottom end, I'm my opinion, mesa gave the V some of these qualities to make up for the inadequate tubes. And I also think they didn't do a great job of it, if what I'm talking about has any truth to it. I say that because that nasty midrange character the V has... well that might be in part to the tube tone chasing. I was playing the JP with the 415's and I thought; this is what the V was chasing, or trying to copy, these beautiful tubes, but it couldn't quite get there. Or maybe I'm completly wrong and the V just has its own thing. But these tubes somehow remind me of the V, so the whole tweak thing popped in my head. Anyway, mrsmitty, I think these tubes were the answer to your JP2C woes. I think the JP2C, just like the mark II, is suited for the 415's. And before someone says; of course the 415's are going to sound better and they're better suited for any amp, well, that's why I mentioned mrsmitty, all the things he thought were lacking in his JP2C are made up for with these tubes. They fit the JP2C like a glove, it's a match made in heaven. :mrgreen: