Mesa JP-2C Tube experimenting

[the4thlast1]

About a week ago I rolled a few preamp tubes in my JP2C , mostly v1 and v2 .... I found the stock JJs to sound good in the amp. I know some guys mentioned compairing a original 2c+ to a JP and found they prefered the tubes they had in the original. Has anyone found that they like different preamp tubes in the JP ? I mostly have new production preamp tubes , JJ, Ruby, Tungsol, EH, Mullard, etc ,.....the JJs sounded great out of those.

So today out of curiosity I tried a few different sets of power tubes in my JP2c. In most amps I find swaping power tubes makes a pretty big difference , I know some guys say the opposite but not in my experience. Especially if you have an off set.

Anyways in the JP2c the differences are more subtle for me than the rest of my amps. So far Ive tried the stock JJ, TADs, Ruby short bottles, Sovtek Wxt+ .... So anyway I'm between the stock JJs and the Tads at this point but would be fine with any of the mentioned sets. The Tads have a bit tighter and faster response in the lowend but the JJs are a little sweeter.

So in the end for me the stock tubes all sound very good, It makes sense since they were probably testing and tweaking the design with all JJs. Anyone experiment with theres yet ?

 

[LP Freak]

One of the stock tubes died on me after a couple weeks (unfortunately at a gig). I ended up swapping them for TAD's and yes, prefer them too.

 

[Racerxrated]

Try to find a quad of Sylvania 6L6 GCs, single or double getters. Doug's or KCA has some usually, or try to get some from a reputable vendor elsewhere. Don't pay for nos Mesa branded, they'll be a fortune. ANOS from a good seller will work fine and every one of them has measured between 30-40ma which is right in range for my C+. Made a difference for me.

 

[midnightlaundry]

Always run a Long Plate in the PI spot. Long Plates in general usually give you more of everything, but run the risk of microphonics in gain spots. Use wisely.

 

[psychodave]

Try to find a quad of Sylvania 6L6 GCs, single or double getters. Doug's or KCA has some usually, or try to get some from a reputable vendor elsewhere. Don't pay for nos Mesa branded, they'll be a fortune. ANOS from a good seller will work fine and every one of them has measured between 30-40ma which is right in range for my C+. Made a difference for me.

I tried a quad in the amp I had. Major improvement. I also felt a C8 in V1 sounded a lot better than the JJ.

 

[the4thlast1]

Thanks for the info guys ... I have tried a lot of 6L6s but have not had a quad of the Sylvania , I will look around ... Whats the price range on these ?

 

[Racerxrated]

Thanks for the info guys ... I have tried a lot of 6L6s but have not had a quad of the Sylvania , I will look around ... Whats the price range on these ?

ANOS from a good vendor has run me 40-60 per tube, one was very low ma and was exchanged without hassle. Dougs I think.

 

[psychodave]

Thanks for the info guys ... I have tried a lot of 6L6s but have not had a quad of the Sylvania , I will look around ... Whats the price range on these ?

It all depends. New will cost you a lot. Like $400 a quad. Used but test new will be half that. The big problem is finding some that you can use due to the fixed bias.