# Tubes in Mesa Rectifier for High Gain



## Enochian (Jul 16, 2011)

I know there are tons of threads out there regarding tubes, but I have a specific question regarding getting a sound that I think people on this forum can answer.

I just picked up a Mesa Rectoverb V.1 (single rectifier) and it came with all original tubes. I am looking to tighten it up and get as much gain out of it as possible, so I swapped out preamp tubes V3 with a Groove Tubes ECC83 and V1 w/ a Mesa SPXA7 (I wanted the first input stage to be as clean as possible, before boosting the other stages).

Can anyone recommend a better setup for a Rectoverb? Or even a Dual Rectifier and I'll extrapolate from there. Also the power tubes are 6L6 (STR430) -- I tried STR440 and they sounded warm and rich but I lost some of the chunky mid range and some bite that I was getting; so the original 430's are back in. What about the Mesa STR425's? 

But the main question is what is the optimal tube configuration for getting the most gain out of a single Recto?


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## warlock7strEMG (Jul 16, 2011)

If u want to get some more gain and bite out of ur Recto, put some JJ high gain preamp tubes from Eurotubes. I wouldn't recommend them for amps like 5150's that are already aggressive and have tons of gain, but the Rectos while having plenty of gain on tap, tend to be a little smoother than most high gain amps. The JJ high gain pre's tend to have a brightness to em which will accentuate the frequencies to make an amps existing gain have some more bite to it and give it a more "singing" quality, if u will. 

Just be careful with how much gain and presence u use with ur Recto, as their gain is hugely dependent on the power section. So cranking ur volume will give u much more perceived gain. I know that's true for tube amps in general, but most high gain amps depend mostly on the preamp, whereas most Mesas it's more it's like 60% preamp, 40% power amp when it comes to it's gain, so keep that in mind


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## budda (Jul 17, 2011)

Want it tight and dry?

a) recto's arent the tightest/dryest amps
b) *less* gain, boost it, low bass.

If you want "the most gain", your amp will sound like shit.


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## mhenson42 (Jul 17, 2011)

More gain and tightness..... don't worry about tubes, stick a boost in front. BB Preamp, OD808, Timmy, Bad Monkey, etc... there's hundreds to choose from at any price point. It'll do what you want without messing with tubes.


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## Rook (Jul 17, 2011)

I was basically gunna say what Budda and mhenson42 said.


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## Enochian (Jul 17, 2011)

warlock7strEMG said:


> The JJ high gain pre's tend to have a brightness to em which will accentuate the frequencies to make an amps existing gain have some more bite to it and give it a more "singing" quality, if u will.



So it sounds like JJ pre's are the way to go. I have used them in my Mesa Nomad and they definitely gave it more bite and definition at higher gain settings, albeit the Nomad is NOT a high gain amp.

I also picked up a Tube Screamer variant--An Ibanez Jet Driver which pushes it into saturation on the Red channel pretty well. But it doesn't provide a fast attack sort of clipping... It sounds good but it's kinda muddy and just isn't that tight for fast chunking riffs IMHO. So I'm still searching for the perfect pedal. I haven't tried the xotic stuff yet (BB Preamp in particular).

I'm also gonna try what *Budda* recommended. That combined with what *warlock7strEMG* was saying about Mesa's having 40% of the gain in the power section gives me some parameters to play with. Thanks guys!


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## warlock7strEMG (Jul 17, 2011)

Enochian said:


> So it sounds like JJ pre's are the way to go. I have used them in my Mesa Nomad and they definitely gave it more bite and definition at higher gain settings, albeit the Nomad is NOT a high gain amp.
> 
> I also picked up a Tube Screamer variant--An Ibanez Jet Driver which pushes it into saturation on the Red channel pretty well. But it doesn't provide a fast attack sort of clipping... It sounds good but it's kinda muddy and just isn't that tight for fast chunking riffs IMHO. So I'm still searching for the perfect pedal. I haven't tried the xotic stuff yet (BB Preamp in particular).
> 
> I'm also gonna try what *Budda* recommended. That combined with what *warlock7strEMG* was saying about Mesa's having 40% of the gain in the power section gives me some parameters to play with. Thanks guys!



Yea man JJ tubes are great in my opinion, and I do think the high gain preamp tubes would be a good choice for adding some edginess to the Rectos big round tone, not specifically for adding gain. But regardless of the pre's u use, I still stand by the approach of using as little gain as possible and boosting to get u the rest of the way there, as the others have posted. The Jet Driver I've read is a cool pedal but I really don't think that will accurately give u the attack and tightness u are shooting for, it's more of a distortion pedal. An OD pedal would tho. The circuit tightens up the low end and brings out ur attack. Try a Maxon OD808/OD9 or BBE Green Screamer. Or if ur on a budget, the ibanez TS7. I have one and tho it's not my fave it works really well with the Rectos voicing.


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## Bribanez (Jul 26, 2011)

Try a GE7 thru the loop...


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## Leuchty (Jul 27, 2011)

I agree with boosts and settings.

However, you can't go wrong with Tung Sols or JJ's in the preamp.

Also try SED Winged C's, EL34's, they will tighten and give a good solid midrange.


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## Koop (Jul 28, 2011)

When I had my Single rectifier I changed to Svetlana EL34's and was amazed by how much better they sounded than the stock 6L6's. Single rectos need EL34's IMO. The amp became a lot more crunchier, tight and PUNCHY! Also, a boost is needed immensely. 

If you want tight, use EL34's. A lot of guys like Ruby EL34's

I didn't like JJ's in every position in the preamp. I would go with JJ for for V2, but that's it. For V3 and V4 you should use chinese tubes like Sino, Shuguang, Penta. V3 and V4 are the cathode follower positions and Russian tubes don't work well there, you may experience volume drops.

Tung Sol's and EH work well for V1. Sovtek 12AX7 LPS is liked as a phase inverter, though I have never tried it. 
Try this:
V1: EH
V2: JJ
V3: Chinese
V4: Chinese
V5: EH or Sovtek LPS


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## jd267 (May 7, 2015)

JJ's blow in the recto' to me they blow period. But any how I like shunghang 12ax7 and lps for phase inverter . The power tubes are relabeled ruby's and they sound great to me . When I re tubed mine Doug from dougs tubes knows how Mesa grades there tubes and sold me a quad of ruby's a tad hotter than Mesa spec and the amp slays!


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## glpg80 (May 7, 2015)

honestly JJ sound like dog *s*hit.

stick with 9th gen chinese or tung sols. stick a boost out front and an EQ in the loop.


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## Jayd41 (May 7, 2015)

Tungsol are pretty gainy preamp tubes in general and sound 4x better than JJs (at least).
I like my Tungsol 6l6gc-str for power, but have never tried el34 of any type in the power section.

Like others have said though, a boost is your best bet for tightening and increasing perceived gain.
Get a digitech bad monkey for $30. Set the gain at 9 o clock, the bass and treble at noon and the volume at 3 o clock or more. Boom... awesomeness.


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