Power Tubes for Mesa/Boogie?

[jads57]

I'm still trying to find out how to buy the correct power tubes other than Mesa Boogies brand that I don't care for. What is the correct plate current draw for 6L6's as well as EL 34's for a Boogie amp, specifically a Nomad 55. Or what does the Groove Tube 4-7 transalate to in other brands of tubes, say JJ, TAD, Tung Sol,etc ? Thanks again in advance!

[HipKitty]

Seriously, just have your Boogie re-tubed and Re-biased by a known quality tech, preferrably with Boogie experience. For what it's worth, Boogies are biased on the "cold" side from the factory. You could drop in any of those brands and most likely not experience any troubles....it does depend on whether the amp's bias was changed after the factory setting and/or the quality of the tubes you are putting in (i.e. were they quality tested and matched or not). However, the amp will sound it's best biased properly...this goes with any tube amp.

[jads57]

I ordered a 2 sets of power tubes from Antique Electronic Supply. TAD 6L6GC's, and a set of JJ EL-34L's. I told them they were for my Boogie, but the guy said they just come matched from their supplier already. Not sure if they will be in Mesa's fixed bias range or not. Thanks !

[GTRJoe]

Talk to Doug of Doug's Tubes. He's hooked my up with a few sets of SED 6L6's for my MK III's .

[HoboMan]

Call Eurotubes and tell them what amp you have.
http://www.eurotubes.com/

[jads57]

Thanks Fella's, next time I order tubes I'll give Doug's tubes or Eurotubes a call.

[HipKitty]

+1 with Doug's or Bob at Eurotubes. They should hook you up with tubes that fall into the factory spec.

As far as Antique goes, you should be ok, again, if the factory bias wasn't changed...probably run a little cold for both brands. I assume you ordered them matched?

I still recommend a re-bias by a good tech....

[jads57]

Yes , I ordered both sets matched. At worst I'll go to a local amp tech to have them set properly! Thanks again!

[155]

arent mesa's just rebranded jj's?

[GTRJoe]

Current Mesa 6L6's are Chinese made.

[wizard333]

When ordering tubes for any non-adjustable bias amp, order them in the "middle range" of the values that company uses. Thats where the bias for those amps is set at the factory.

[jads57]

Thanks Wizard333 that's the first logical answer I've received yet!

[HipKitty]

When ordering tubes for any non-adjustable bias amp, order them in the "middle range" of the values that company uses. Thats where the bias for those amps is set at the factory.

The problem here is that the "middle range" of one brand can be quite different from the next brand. An example: bias measurements of brand "x" can be 10 ma higher when compared to brand "z". Now, that might seem to work on the face of things, specifically if the amp is biased cold from the factory...but dangers lurk.... What is not being considered here is the possibility of bias drift away from the factory spec or, again, a re-bias post-factory setting. Without getting into a biasing lesson here (I'm sure there are plenty posts here on the TGP that cover this), if you drop in new tubes without verifying the bias voltage with the new tubes, you could stand the chance that the voltage may be too "hot" and cause subsequent damage to the tubes and possibly the amp.

I'm far from discouraging anyone from learning how to bias their own amps...in fact, I have taught hundreds of my clients to do so and have installed the capabilities to do so in our production amps. What I'm suggesting (and encouraging here) is to be aware of the dangers that lurk by just sticking any set of tubes in without verifying the biasing.

I do encourage everyone to invest some funds into any one of the quality bias measurement tools available on the market and some of their time in learning how to bias. In fact, if I remember correctly, Eurotubes has videos online to help understand how to do it.

[jads57]

Thanks for the info HipKitty!

[zombiwoof]

Lord Valve (NBS Electronics) will supply power tubes that are matched to Boogie's specs if you request it. He's also an interesting character to deal with! And he burns in and tests his tubes extensively (the infamous "hammer test"). He has a website, but you need to subscribe to his email catalog (which I haven't gotten in a long time, by the way) to see what he's got, or the best bet is to call him directly.

Al