Engl E530 and Mesa Boogie 50/50 Tube Selection Help

[born2rock4life]

 

Hey guys and gals,

 

I'm looking to retube both my Pre-Amp and Power-Amp.

 

Pre-Amp : Engl E530 - Stock Engl ECC83 in V1/V2 positions (12AX7/ECC83)

Power-Amp : Mesa Boogie 50/50 -Ruby Tubes 6L6GC STR (I also have a spare matched quad of Sovtek 5881WXT's)

 

I just threw the Ruby Tubes in which I assume the old owner had in originally, as the boxes they were in when I received them were the Sovtek's original packaging. The Sovtek's are what were used for the past year of play, but this past weekend I got a wild hair to throw in the Ruby's to see the tonality difference. None of the tubes are blown / microphonic.

 

I personally feel the Ruby tubes are warmer and more full-bodied sounding than the Sovtek's. The Ruby tubes have a bit more low end resonance it seems, and so much so that I had to turn off my EQ pedal which was bringing up the Low/Low-mid's from the old Sovtek's in order to let my cab breath and not sound overly saturated in the low-end. To the Sovtek's credit, I feel the gain and raw brutality for chug's was tighter and more emphasized. Granted the tone was more sterile and less colored in the ranges described. So far, I like both and have yet to decide on which I prefer.

 

To the point of new tubes...

 

I am considering swapping out my Engl ECC83 tubes with a NOS Mullard ECC83 in the V1, and then a Sovtek 12AX7LPS in the V2. I am also considering a NOS RFT 12AX7 in the V2, but I don't want too much low-end as I've come to understand the Mesa will color it a bit and I need the tightness/punch to be there.

 

As far as the 6L6's in the Mesa Power-Amp, between both the Sovteks and the Rubys I have on hand, I am unsure if I'll need to replace or want to replace those after making those changes to my Pre. 

 

In terms of tone and music style which my music is modeled after; think a range from Killswitch Engage to Metallica in terms of clean and distortion tones.. and with that said, I'd like to open this to hear your guys' feedback and suggestions on both the pre and power section tube choices.