Mesa Boogie with 6V6 Tubes?

[Gryphon]

Has anyone checked out the 6V6 Tubes in a Boogie Mk. IV ? I just
wonder if it愀 worth trying. I惴 quite satisfied with the 6L6 but it愀
way too loud for home use. The manual says that 6l6 Tubes will add the
sweetness of the Deluxe-Reverb design.
Is this true or just a marketing gag?
Any experiences/opinions will be appreciated.

Thanks
Gryphon

[PMG]

On 15 Sep 2001 19:12:33 -0700, a920...@unet.univie.ac.at (Gryphon)
wrote:

>Has anyone checked out the 6V6 Tubes in a Boogie Mk. IV ? I just
>wonder if it愀 worth trying. I惴 quite satisfied with the 6L6 but it愀
>way too loud for home use. The manual says that 6l6 Tubes

(did you mean 6V6 here?)

>will add the
>sweetness of the Deluxe-Reverb design.
>Is this true or just a marketing gag?

No, Mesa-Boogie is a marketing gag.

>Any experiences/opinions will be appreciated.
>
>Thanks
>Gryphon

I don't know if you can just swap 6V6 tubes into a 6L6 amp. You
wouldn't be able to do it with any 6L6 Fender amp without some mods to
the amp, otherwise it would just burn up the tubes REAL fast.

But if Mesa has provided a way to make that swap and not burn up the
tubes (I don't know) then the 6V6 tubes would give you a less hard
sound than the 6L6 tubes would, and it wouldn't be as loud. But keep
in mind that 2 6V6 tubes would still pump out approximately 20 watts,
and that's still pretty damn loud for use at home.

Pete

--
I've been in the dark most of my life --Mr. Know-It All

[wall...@kmsi.net]

Here's a quick top-of-the-head response without checking the MB's
schematic.

As I recall, 6V6s have the same pinout as 6L6s. They have very different
voltage/gain/impedance characteristics, though. And they're bloody tough.

If you plug them in and adjust the bias to keep the power dissibation
reasonable, they should work. Might even sound OK -- who knows.

If you don't want or have the resources to get in and measure plate
current, and you're not too worried about taking hardware risks, you could
try plugging them in in a dark room, and watch to see if the plates glow
red at all. More than the faintest glow in the dark is too much. It
really depends on whether the amp runs fixed or cathode bias.

This may sound odd, but I once accidentally powered up an amp I was
building with no bias at all. The tubes glowed cherry red for a minute or
more. But they were fine later.

One caveat: 6L6s can handle a lot higher plate voltage (not current --
voltage) than 6V6s. I'm not sure what voltage the Mesa-Boogie runs. If
it's over, say, 450 volts, I wouldn't do it. Under 400 is better.

And, of course, if the amp self-destructs, this was a forged message.

/kenw

PMG <avo...@home.com> wrote:

Ken Wallewein
Calgary, Alberta
ke...@kmsi.net

[Nate Connors]

I used to own a Mark IV and used it with 6V6 tubes always. I tried 6L6 and
EL34's but found the 6V6's to sound the best. I would set the amp on
triode, class A, and Tweed power (I think you HAVE to have it on Tweed with
the 6V6's - check your manual). It was a combo so I replaced the stock
speaker with a Vintage 30 and would play it like that or through a 4x12 with
Vintage 30's. IMO, those settings are the best way to have that amp set up,
although to each his own...

Nate

"Gryphon" <a920...@unet.univie.ac.at> wrote in message
news:ca1f2d2a.01091...@posting.google.com...

> Has anyone checked out the 6V6 Tubes in a Boogie Mk. IV ? I just

> wonder if it´s worth trying. I´m quite satisfied with the 6L6 but it´s

[Matthew Honnert]

> One caveat: 6L6s can handle a lot higher plate voltage (not current --
> voltage) than 6V6s. I'm not sure what voltage the Mesa-Boogie runs. If
> it's over, say, 450 volts, I wouldn't do it. Under 400 is better.
>

Every 60-100 watt Boogie I've ever worked on was well over 450 volts.
Usually closer to 500 volts, depending on wall voltage. Maybe the MK4 has a
reduced voltage when set on "tweed".

Matthew