Mark V tubes, speakers and more..

Hey guys,

Curious what most have settled on for tubes and speakers or maybe in the end its just personal preference and I'll continue testing.

In my band, the other guitarist has a Marshall DSL100 and matching 1960a cab with Celestion T75s.

I have the Mark V, sometimes my BFG modded Dual Rectifier. I use a Splawn 412 with at first Celestion Lynchbacks and CL80s, followed by UK V30s and CL80 and currently V30s and Redbacks. I also swapped my tubes for JJ tubes which are my preference. Power tubes are 6CA7. I may try the 6L6 tubes again.

Since I switched to the Redbacks, it's been a bit dark and couldn't hear myself as well at rehearsal. Maybe I need to go back to the 80s.

Main guitar is a PRS SC250 with 11-58 strings in D and drop C.

Anything you see in my set-up you see as an issue?

I do love the improvement the JJ tubes made, more girth for sure and thickness in my tone. Seems quieter too.
But I think maybe I need to adjust the EQ more.
Crunch mode sounds incredible though with this configuration.

Thank you!

I use a metal grille mesa 4x12 with c 90s. It sounds fine, maybe a little sharp. I have 1 evm12L and am trying to find a second so I can replace the bottom 2 c90s, last one I ordered got lost in the mail.

Im not sure what kind of tubes are in mine because I bought it used but I think I may need new ones as the tone out of my Mark V is just okay, not incredible. I also notice an annoying amount of whirring and background noise even in standby but that may be normal

Schpleef said:

I use a metal grille mesa 4x12 with c 90s. It sounds fine, maybe a little sharp. I have 1 evm12L and am trying to find a second so I can replace the bottom 2 c90s, last one I ordered got lost in the mail.

Im not sure what kind of tubes are in mine because I bought it used but I think I may need new ones as the tone out of my Mark V is just okay, not incredible. I also notice an annoying amount of whirring and background noise even in standby but that may be normal

Click to expand...

I have an early or older Mark V90 and it is whisper silent and sounds incredible. I installed all new tubes and used deoxit to clean the tube sockets. Have you cleaned the sockets?

Go to speakers are Redbacks, CL80, K100, V30 and Lynchbacks. I tried Creambacks but did not like

boardn10 said:

Schpleef said:

I use a metal grille mesa 4x12 with c 90s. It sounds fine, maybe a little sharp. I have 1 evm12L and am trying to find a second so I can replace the bottom 2 c90s, last one I ordered got lost in the mail.

Im not sure what kind of tubes are in mine because I bought it used but I think I may need new ones as the tone out of my Mark V is just okay, not incredible. I also notice an annoying amount of whirring and background noise even in standby but that may be normal

Click to expand...

I have an early or older Mark V90 and it is whisper silent and sounds incredible. I installed all new tubes and used deoxit to clean the tube sockets. Have you cleaned the sockets?

Go to speakers are Redbacks, CL80, K100, V30 and Lynchbacks. I tried Creambacks but did not like

Click to expand...

Sweet, I have a cab with some v30s I can try for comparison. I've never changed tubes before, I used solid state up until this amp. I've heard el84 is good for the mark v. Are there any specific tubes you'd recommend to try?

boardn10 said:

I have an early or older Mark V90 and it is whisper silent and sounds incredible. I installed all new tubes and used deoxit to clean the tube sockets. Have you cleaned the sockets?

Click to expand...

When you clean the tube pins and sockets with deoxit do you use the spray or the brush applicator or the little needle applicator? Thanks

Hi,
I use the DeOxit spray container. I take the tubes, spray the pins and then slide the tubrs in and out of the tube sockets a few times. I have resolved countless and odd amp noises with this method.
My Mark V was making strange plinky sounds and weird noises I could hardly describe. It was on some modes but not others. I used DeOxit to clean and the noises vanished and now the amp is super quiet.
Any time I get new tubes, I clean with DeOxit. A lit of tube sellers will tell you to ensure you do this cleaning step. I recently did it to all my amps and it got rid of a lot of unwanted noises, even hums.

Schpleef said:

boardn10 said:

Schpleef said:

I use a metal grille mesa 4x12 with c 90s. It sounds fine, maybe a little sharp. I have 1 evm12L and am trying to find a second so I can replace the bottom 2 c90s, last one I ordered got lost in the mail.

Im not sure what kind of tubes are in mine because I bought it used but I think I may need new ones as the tone out of my Mark V is just okay, not incredible. I also notice an annoying amount of whirring and background noise even in standby but that may be normal

Click to expand...

I have an early or older Mark V90 and it is whisper silent and sounds incredible. I installed all new tubes and used deoxit to clean the tube sockets. Have you cleaned the sockets?

Go to speakers are Redbacks, CL80, K100, V30 and Lynchbacks. I tried Creambacks but did not like

Click to expand...

Sweet, I have a cab with some v30s I can try for comparison. I've never changed tubes before, I used solid state up until this amp. I've heard el84 is good for the mark v. Are there any specific tubes you'd recommend to try?

Click to expand...

What speakers are you using? My Splawn is killer with the Mark V using Redbacks/UK V30s.
Also, my Stone Age with Redback/CL80 and Bogner with K100/V30(China) also sounds brutal and huge.

Speakers are tubes are a personal preference.
With my Mark V (90), I am not a huge 6L6 guys, but many swear by them.
I use JJ 6CA7 power tubes in the correct grade from Eutotubes and its sounds awesome at band practice.
Just as fat as the 6L6s, but thicker mids and warmer, and tighter to my ears.

boardn10 said:

Hi,
I use the DeOxit spray container. I take the tubes, spray the pins and then slide the tubrs in and out of the tube sockets a few times. I have resolved countless and odd amp noises with this method.
My Mark V was making strange plinky sounds and weird noises I could hardly describe. It was on some modes but not others. I used DeOxit to clean and the noises vanished and now the amp is super quiet.
Any time I get new tubes, I clean with DeOxit. A lit of tube sellers will tell you to ensure you do this cleaning step. I recently did it to all my amps and it got rid of a lot of unwanted noises, even hums.

Click to expand...

Are you sure your DeOxit spray bottle wasn't filled with WD-40? :lol: The true miracle spray!

But seriously, I'll try this for sure. My Mark V makes some soft crackling sounds (sounds like a bad power tube but it isn't) that two amp techs haven't solved, all tubes have been rolled twice and the problem persists. I suspect a bad component somewhere but I'll definitely try a good DeOxit cleaning before having a tech look at it again.

Haha...

I have WD-40 as well, plus WD-40 silicone spray.
I also have liquid duct tape - that stuff is cool! I've repaired a few minor speaker issues with that magic liquid.
Oh my girlfriend and I also use WD-40 Intimate lube!
I bring duct tape and WD-40 to bed. She loves it. :twisted: :mrgreen:

OK, I'm joking, of course. :lol:

Did these techs try DeOxit or anything to clean the tube sockets? It's no joke, they get dirty and even dust getting in there, can cause bizarre noises. I was upset at the noises I was hearing with my Mark V in various modes and with various knob adjustments. It's all going thru the tubes. Once I did the cleaning, every noise disappeared.

Your issue could be different but every noise issue I've had with my Mark V, Dual Rec and Shiva were resolved with cleaning tubes/sockets. Some tube builders and sellers won't support their tubes or warranty unless you clean the sockets before use.