Members notjonahbutnoah Posted August 17, 2012 Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 Ok, so this is just a bit of a PSA for people who have Mesa Stiletto Stage II's or really any fixed bias amp. If you like to get different kinds of tubes(other than Mesa), like me, be sure to get middle of the road or low clean headroom. I have a Stiletto Deuce Stage II head, and had been having issues when I recently tried to retube. I was blowing fuses and every thing. The problem was that I asked for high headroom tubes. They do something weird and are too much for the amp. Mesa must have biased either the Stilettos or the Stage II Stilettos a little hotter than their normal amps. (I think). I had ordered a set of JJ E34L's (had been using a set of them for close to two years with no problems). The only difference was with the set I already had in there, I had ordered middle-of-the-road headroom, and this time, since I had switched to all pedals for dirt, I ordered high headroom. Welp, upon installation, I blew a fuse. I thought some crazy {censored} was going down with my amp and that one of the sockets was making a bad connection or something. So, I replaced the fuse, did some contact cleaning and retensioning and the same thing happened. Fuse blown. So I then put the old tubes back in, and boom. Worked fine. Took the amp (and the new problem tubes) in for service because at this point I was scared. Aside from a couple noisy resistors, amp was given a clean bill of health, as were the new tubes, though they just tested the new tubes and didn't install them. Thing is, when they were bringing the amp out form the back, one of the new tubes slid out of its box and broke on the floor. I settle for 50% off the work and two matched pairs of EHX EL34's since they didn't have a matched quad of EL34's. I got in touch with the tube store, gave them the specs on both sets (Ip measurements one was 37, the other 48 I think... whatever that means). I said I wanted a pair to match whichever pair would provide the most headroom. Upon recieving them and trying them... same thing. Blown fuse. Old tubes still worked fine. So I tried mixing a pair of the 48s with the 37s. (put the 48s in the middle and the 37s on the outside) It actually worked decently, and I was able to play it loud for a bit with no blown fuse. They were running a touch too hot (gray plate inside glowing a bit), so I didn't leave em in very long, but they worked. So. My conclusion is that something about the Stiletto (or the Stage II's, not sure) makes them very sensitive to high Ip rated tubes. Personally, I wouldn't get anything past 37. So all you Stiletto owners, definitely ask for low to middle breakup style power tubes and not high headroom. You'll blow your fuses. The rest of you fixed bias users... just be careful. Them tube vendors, even if they're reputable, might not be familiar with your specific model. To some of them a Mesa is a Mesa is a Mesa, which I reckon isn't quite true. Sorry for that rant... I know one of you {censored}ers is bored at work so read it! Anyone who actually knows their asshole from a tube socket might want to chime in and tell me I'm an idiot or explain why I experienced what I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members greg apocalypse Posted August 17, 2012 Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 Can you mod it to be biased to solve that problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CME Posted August 17, 2012 Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 I do believe the stilettos are biased hotter than most Mesas. If I remember right Myles from GT suggested EL34's with a 7 rating for my old ACE to be in spec. If you'll tell your tube vendor what you're putting the tubes in, they should be able to get you a set that will work. If they don't know or seem to understand I'd find a different vendor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 67mike Posted August 17, 2012 Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 Use MESA tubes.....no????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madryan Posted August 17, 2012 Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 So wait... They didn't pop the new tubes in and check the voltages? Your "tech" is a {censored}ing moron. FWIW tubes can cause issues for a variety of reasons. I've had brand new tubes that were crap despite "testing" fine. You never know till they go in the amp and you get out your meter and start probing around. Did you get these from Bob at Eurotubes by any chance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notjonahbutnoah Posted August 17, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 Use MESA tubes.....no????? Once, on my first tube amp (Mesa Nomad 45 212 w/ 4 EL84s), I used Mesa tubes. I bought it used and it came with Groove Tubes. They were good. After those I picked a random "matched quad" of JJ's from a no name ebay seller and lucked out becuase they worked and sounded great. I got to really reading the manual and was sold on Mesa tubes by that. So, I went and grabbed a matched quad of gray ones I think, and man. It sounded really harsh and nowhere near as good as the JJ's.... for awhile, then smoke started coming out. So, I took them {censored}s out and haven't used Mesa tubes since. I've always had good luck except for this recent headroom kerfuffle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notjonahbutnoah Posted August 17, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 So wait... They didn't pop the new tubes in and check the voltages? Your "tech" is a {censored}ing moron. FWIW tubes can cause issues for a variety of reasons. I've had brand new tubes that were crap despite "testing" fine. You never know till they go in the amp and you get out your meter and start probing around. Did you get these from Bob at Eurotubes by any chance? I dunno if they tried installing them, they just said they tested them. It's Indianapolis, good techs are sparse and have looooooong wait times. The one I went to was a licensed Mesa service center though. Yeah, I got the crummy and the good E34L's from Eurotubes. If I want JJ's I've gone there and always been pleased until now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madryan Posted August 17, 2012 Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 I dunno if they tried installing them, they just said they tested them. It's Indianapolis, good techs are sparse and have looooooong wait times. The one I went to was a licensed Mesa service center though. Yeah, I got the crummy and the good E34L's from Eurotubes. If I want JJ's I've gone there and always been pleased until now. I won't deal with Eurotubes. They're right up the road too but I prefer to deal with suppliers who sell quality merch. I'd rather order from Tube Depot of Dougs Tubes or Laura (Valvequeen) and have to wait for my tubes to travel across America then have next day service from Eurotubes. Just sayin. I'd send the tubes back (If you can) and order a real set of tubes like SED's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted August 17, 2012 Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 I won't deal with Eurotubes. They're right up the road too but I prefer to deal with suppliers who sell quality merch. I'd rather order from Tube Depot of Dougs Tubes or Laura (Valvequeen) and have to wait for my tubes to travel across America then have next day service from Eurotubes. Just sayin. I'd send the tubes back (If you can) and order a real set of tubes like SED's. This. (except for the Doug's Tubes part ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madryan Posted August 17, 2012 Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 This. (except for the Doug's Tubes part ) I've never had a problem with the guy. I only slag people I've personally had issues with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuidanceOfSin Posted August 17, 2012 Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 It's Indianapolis, good techs are sparse and have looooooong wait times. lol, was going to ask you who you used. I assume it wasn't Kevin...great work obviously and always busy because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notjonahbutnoah Posted August 17, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 lol, was going to ask you who you used. I assume it wasn't Kevin...great work obviously and always busy because of it. I used Spectrum Sound. Kevin is at Uncle Alberts? My bassist took an amp there once, and it was there for almost three months. Bassist said he was a cool guy, but the amp has had the same problem since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members greg apocalypse Posted August 17, 2012 Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 I've never had a problem with the guy. I only slag people I've personally had issues with. I've never had a problem, but when retubing my old VHT Pitbull, he seemed kind of quick to recommend the very most expensive tubes.... hahaha... Maybe you get what you pay for, maybe they were the best, or maybe he just had a smart business plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madryan Posted August 17, 2012 Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 Can't send em back because I swapped em for the EHX tubes, which I will be able to use in my Peters and a friend's Marshall TSL 60.SED's? Never heard of em. Why are they good? I used Spectrum Sound. Kevin is at Uncle Alberts? My bassist took an amp there once, and it was there for almost three months. Bassist said he was a cool guy, but the amp has had the same problem since then. SED Winged =C= tubes have been by far the most reliable and best sounding tubes I've used over the years. They're not cheap but they sound stellar and they're built well and seem to hold up better than anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notjonahbutnoah Posted August 17, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 17, 2012 SED Winged =C= tubes have been by far the most reliable and best sounding tubes I've used over the years. They're not cheap but they sound stellar and they're built well and seem to hold up better than anything else. I might just give em a try in my peters since it's so easy to bias. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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