Mesa Dual Rectifier: 6L6 vs. EL-34 (Video)

[D-Rock]

I just put EL34's back in my Recto. I'm trying to carve out an unboosted metal tone and I'm hoping the EL34's will relax the lowend and add some more present mids. I still need to put it through it's paces though.

 

[fluff191]

I was looking to relax the lows as well and they really did the job.

 

[DoomBuggi]

Could you combine the EL34 with the 6L6 on that amp? I'm sure that it would sound pretty sweet.

 

[fluff191]

Hmmmmm I think Eurotubes offers a set with EL-34 and 6L6 tubes........Might be worth checking out.

 

[scottcrud]

When I had a 94 Recto back in 94, I put a quad of Tesla ( not JJ ) EL34's in in and never put 6L6's in that amp again. The Teslas sounded great in that amp.

 

[reverymike]

I don't know. . .to me, the 'sound' of a great Recto is 6L6s. I'm not big on trying to make amps sound like different amps - I think they should sound as they are intended.

 

[Laura]

I had a customer/friend DR over here a few weeks ago. Loved the amp all over again but it was super flubby in the low end. Put some Tung Sol el34b's in there and that amp sounded amazing. Flub was almost gone and the cut and clarity were dramatically improved. I always ran 6L6's in mine when I owned DR's but if I got one again, I would go EL34.

Great clip as always!

 

[rupe]

Great riffs and playing...very cool. I thought both sounded great but I preferred the extra mid-push/complexity that I heard from the EL34s...no wrong choice here though.

 

[acalaf]

Prefer the 6l6's. that said, I liked your old 2 channel recto better. This one is fizzy and digital sounding on the top end. great, tight playing though.

 

[fluff191]

Yeah the new speakers are also contributing to the fizz as well. The 4x12 cab I had with the 2 channel Recto was REALLY broken in. Sounded amazing!

 

[thegame]

After years of swearing off Rectos, I really enjoy playing my friend's Single Recto when we get together. Dialed in right, its not too flubby at all.

 

[TheMagicEight]

There is an increased presence gain with the 34s from what I am hearing which would be added cut as you state. I am wondering about the mesa autobias and whether or not there is an increased wattage output with the 34s??

VERY interesting you should say that. First off, yes, IME the 6L6s are not biased as hot as the EL34s. However, there's more to it. Mesa Rectifiers use 1k screen grid resistors, ideal for EL34s. 6L6s can handle 470-ohm resistors, though, running them a little hotter than with the EL34-spec 1k. You'll see most "6L6 only" amps - including the SLO - running these 470-ohm resistors here because for most people, that's what sounds better. To them, 1k sounds weaker, almost down on power in comparison. I'm sure Mesa went for 1k because it's unsafe to run EL34s with a smaller resistor.

I'm going to try changing to 470-ohm on mine. Maybe that would make a good Rectifier sound even more badass!