What tubes do you like in your Boogie Recto?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JakeAC5253
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After having 6 different Rectifiers over the years, the one consistent thing is that JJ EL34L's are the 100% correct choice, and the only tubes I will use in a Dual Rectifier.

The just give it the low end tightness and punch that these amps need.

Other tubes can get mushy, either on the low end or in the mids.


JJ EL34L's.

Nuff Said.
 
To tell you the truth, I've got a quad of JJ kt77's, JJE34L's, Winged =c= 6L6's, Tung-sol el34b's and a pair of JJ6v6's to run in a pair with my kt77's for my Roadster. ALL of them sound great, different but great. Sorry but that's probably no help at all!
 
I threw in some JJ E34L's and some Ruby 5U4GC's. I love my Mesa with this set up. :rock: :rock: I think I will try some different preamp tubes soon.
 
roadifier":2vehfa82 said:
TAD short bottle 6L6's
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+1 these are very popular too. The TAD 6L6GCSTR (tall bottle) are also a rebranded chinese i think. But the TAD 6L6WGC (short bottle) is deffinately kick ass though in rectos
 
I have a JAN GE 12AY7 lying around. Has anyone tried a 12AY7 or other lower gain/higher current tube in the phase splitter position of their Recto? Anything to report?
 
Another user of the ruby 6L6's based on doug's recommendation. The JJ high gain preamp cocktail recommended by eurotubes as well and i couldnt be any happier although i am gassing bad for some jj el34l's. Since its an early recto (first 100) i have no problems with flubby bass. Its tight as fuck without a boost.
 
steve_k":2iyq8v5j said:
I just stuck with Mesa tubes for all my Mesa's. Never had a problem with them, they are tested well.
Steve
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+1. Steve's right on. I have always used Mesa 6L6GC, 12AX7 and 5U4G tubes in my Tremo and have had zero problems. They sound great and hold their tone/punch for a long time. You really can't go wrong here.

Wow, that was my 666th post - must be a full moon or somethin'.....
 
I'm not opposed to Mesa tubes really, I just like what I've heard from SED users. I just ordered a quad of SED C's from Valve Queen! I'll always have the original 6L6 if I decide to go back. I'll probably go with Doug's suggested preamp cocktail and maybe some EH Rectifier tubes, but that's down the road if I ever need them, I just wanted to grab the SED's now because of the price raise. I'm cheap, get over it :D
 
I'm having trouble deciding between Mesa and TAD short bottle 6L6's. I'm leaning towards the Mesas because I'm broke, haha. Could use some cheap pre-amp tubes too. I like the 9th gen Chinese in the Rectifiers usually.
 
In rectos, your best results for changing or enhancing tone is in the preamp. Power tubes dont have as much of an affect on the tone as the preamp tubes
 
droptrd":ny8bjwvp said:
In rectos, your best results for changing or enhancing tone is in the preamp. Power tubes dont have as much of an affect on the tone as the preamp tubes
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Oh yeah, no doubt about that. I actually like the amp the way it sounds as is, not looking to change its sound. I just hoped to get a little more clean headroom in the power section, be able to turn it up a little more before the tone started to smear is all. From what I could gather, the SED C's are good for this.
 
shoulda tried the EL34L's.

Pick those up next time.
 
EL34, EL34L, E34L. Are all of these things the same, or is there some real quantitative difference there?
 
EL34's are EL34's.
different brands may sound different, but all will sound like EL34's.

E34L is probably a typo

JJ EL34L's is another type of EL34 tube, but with different character...tight tight bottom end, and in a Recto, whose low end can be boomy and loose, especially with 6L6's, it tightens up the bottom end and gives it more midrange for better cutting on the mix in a live situation.

Check out this website for tube descriptions and such...
http://thetubestore.com
 
mightywarlock":180az3g0 said:
E34L is probably a typo
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Nope, it's E34L.... I have some sitting beside me.

JJ EL34L's is another type of EL34 tube, but with different character...tight tight bottom end, and in a Recto, whose low end can be boomy and loose, especially with 6L6's, it tightens up the bottom end and gives it more midrange for better cutting on the mix in a live situation.
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This.

Regular EL34s in a Recto thin the amp out and up the midrange content. E34Ls have a lot more bass to them, and tonally sit somewhere between the two. So you get some of that different midrange content, but you don't loose all your bottom end either.

Myself, I've gone back and fourth a number of times between EL34s, E34Ls and 6L6s and I prefer 6L6s. They're a little more scooped on rhythm, which is fine by me, and single notes hit with more authority. I find that with EL34s single notes are a little softer and recess a little bit, despite the extra midrange.

Still, I totally suggest trying things out for yourself. Tone is subjective after all.
 
Its really hard to thin out the lowend on a recto to the point it makes you go - Where's the beef?
 
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