Pairing a tube amp with specific cabinets coming from a Mesa D800

Amajew

Amajew

Jan 11, 2016
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#1
I would like opinions here, I currently have a Mesa D800 that I really like but I'm intrigued by tube amps and what they have to offer compared to a class D amp.

I currently have a Revsound 215T I recently picked up that I absolutely dig. It has the low end throw and gut punch I've been wanting that I wasn't getting from my Aguilar Db112 pair, GK Neo 212 pair or the Bodai 112 I currently own. I recently ordered a Barefaced 410 as well.

Of those three rigs, the Aguilars sounded the sweetest but couldn't keep up with a loud band. The GK's had their own voice but were very one dimensional where they sounded great right in front of the stack, but move a foot in any direction and the tone became thin. The Bodai 112 for my use is a very good cabinet but not well voiced IMO for the "rock style" tone I'm sculpting. The Bodai is also very, very bright which I don't have any use for.

The amps I've started to consider based on research and opinions tend to lead towards the Mesa 400+, possibly a SVT II non pro (maybe not because of the weight), Traynor YBA 200 or 300 and possibly a Mesa Strategy (but I feel it has more balls than I'll ever need).

What have you used with a good 215 or 410 cabinet that you have liked and what are your reasons?
 
#2
If you are playing loud rock, then most tube amps will greatly benefit from more speaker area than a 410, maybe more than 215 as well; otherwise not gonna be loud/clean enough. I have not directly heard them, but my recent research suggests you could get really good results from the Barefaced Six10. Very efficient (loud), a quasi-sealed design (sealed often recommended for tube amps due to damping factor), array design for the high frequencies so better off-axis response than a normal side-by-side driver cab, and pretty compact and light compared to other 6x10 I found.
 
#3
Amajew said:
I would like opinions here, I currently have a Mesa D800 that I really like but I'm intrigued by tube amps and what they have to offer compared to a class D amp.

I currently have a Revsound 215T I recently picked up that I absolutely dig. It has the low end throw and gut punch I've been wanting that I wasn't getting from my Aguilar Db112 pair, GK Neo 212 pair or the Bodai 112 I currently own. I recently ordered a Barefaced 410 as well.

Of those three rigs, the Aguilars sounded the sweetest but couldn't keep up with a loud band. The GK's had their own voice but were very one dimensional where they sounded great right in front of the stack, but move a foot in any direction and the tone became thin. The Bodai 112 for my use is a very good cabinet but not well voiced IMO for the "rock style" tone I'm sculpting. The Bodai is also very, very bright which I don't have any use for.

The amps I've started to consider based on research and opinions tend to lead towards the Mesa 400+, possibly a SVT II non pro (maybe not because of the weight), Traynor YBA 200 or 300 and possibly a Mesa Strategy (but I feel it has more balls than I'll ever need).

What have you used with a good 215 or 410 cabinet that you have liked and what are your reasons?
Click to expand...

The Traynors are both brilliant. Both have great front ends and the YBA200 is running (4) KT88s. A very solid, reliable power tube and better suited for bass than the EL34s or 6L6s that are used in the YBA300. Both have resonance controls that address the "damping factor" . The YBA200 could also run KT90s, ElectroHarmonix makes a brilliant one now. Not necessary, but it would yield even more power. The Traynor transformers are high quality and could handle the higher grid voltage of the KT90s. Ported or sealed has been debated forever and there are strengths in both designs. A sealed cab is a simple build, cab volume needs to be greater and it is driver specific. It rolls off at 12db/octave vs 24db/octave in a ported enclosure. They lack the roundness and warmth in the low end due to their transient response. Some like that some do not. I like both for different applications. For bass guitar I prefer ported. Porting is 90% science and 10% Voodoo, luck and trial and error. When it's done right the reward is high efficiency, extended low end with high output, focus with warmth. Regarding tube amps; the only downside....is the tubes. They don't like rapid temperature change or bouncing around and they are expensive to replace. The KT88s/90s will give you at least three years on the outside. The EL34s or 6L6s, a year or two. You have (4) @ 35.- 65. and up. Tonally the reward is there.
 
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#4
I have found that 6L6 tubes used in a reasonable design can have a lifespan of 2500-5000 hours. I wouldn't sell the 6L6 tube (or the EL34 for that matter) short.
 
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#5
agedhorse said:
I have found that 6L6 tubes used in a reasonable design can have a lifespan of 2500-5000 hours. I wouldn't sell the 6L6 tube (or the EL34 for that matter) short.
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I've used both of these tubes for 40+ years in Fenders, Marshall JMP50s, JCM800s, and a variety of Rivera's and would never get that amount of service out of them. They may not fail completely and may be use-able under perfect conditions ie. no movement until they've cooled, no bouncing around in the van, basically not normal "road" wear, but tonally, no I, personally have not had either tube last that long. And, I consider 6L6s and EL34s fairly robust in the tube realm. I have been using the same pair of EH KT90s for just shy of 3 years @ 450 gigs through every season and not babying them and have experienced no audible degradation. I'll get a year tops out of EL34s or 6L6s when biased properly. In one of the newer Marshalls that you can fry eggs over the vents 6-7 months. This is only my experience.
 
#8
Amajew said:
I would like opinions here, I currently have a Mesa D800 that I really like but I'm intrigued by tube amps and what they have to offer compared to a class D amp.

I currently have a Revsound 215T I recently picked up that I absolutely dig. It has the low end throw and gut punch I've been wanting that I wasn't getting from my Aguilar Db112 pair, GK Neo 212 pair or the Bodai 112 I currently own. I recently ordered a Barefaced 410 as well.

Of those three rigs, the Aguilars sounded the sweetest but couldn't keep up with a loud band. The GK's had their own voice but were very one dimensional where they sounded great right in front of the stack, but move a foot in any direction and the tone became thin. The Bodai 112 for my use is a very good cabinet but not well voiced IMO for the "rock style" tone I'm sculpting. The Bodai is also very, very bright which I don't have any use for.

The amps I've started to consider based on research and opinions tend to lead towards the Mesa 400+, possibly a SVT II non pro (maybe not because of the weight), Traynor YBA 200 or 300 and possibly a Mesa Strategy (but I feel it has more balls than I'll ever need).

What have you used with a good 215 or 410 cabinet that you have liked and what are your reasons?
Click to expand...

Tube amps tend to be a bit looser on the low end so you mighty want to avoid a cabinet that has a naturally loose and woolly sound. Also there is an interaction between a tube amp's transformer and the impedance characteristics of the speaker cabinet. I believe some ported designs manifest pretty drastic impedance swings that may not work well with some tube amps. Results vary by amp speaker combination and some ported cabinets sound glorious with tube amps, so don't rule out ported designs.

Given the voicing of the Aguilar DB series, I would think a pair of DB DB112s would probably sound great with most tube amps. Add a couple of DB112NT and buy a tube amp with a 2, 4, and 8 ohm transformer taps and you would have a hell of a modular rig. You could run 1, 2, or 4 speakers.

If the GK Neo 212 is voiced anything like the speaker in my old 700RB/112 combo, it's probably not going to sound great with most tube heads.

With either speakers, your probably going to want to dial down the tweeter. I have several tube amps, and many of them are voiced significantly brighter than the average solid state or hybrid.
 
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#11
agedhorse said:
Hmmm, maybe it's not the tube's fault?
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It is definitely not. It's application based. At home in a Macintosh (if you were fortunate enough to own one) I'm sure you'd get quite a long time of service. No banging around, temperature stability, etc. would all factor in. Mesa seems to have a rigorous testing procedure and warranty their tubes for 6 months. I don't believe you can get a warranty from anyone else. EH has always replaced preamp tubes that arrived microphonic and I have never received a bad power tube from them, but I don't believe I could call 6 months down the road and ask for a new power tube. So, kudos Mesa.
 
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#12
I was a warranty service center for McIntosh back during the late 1970s and early '80's, they used some techniques that were responsible for extending the service life of both signal and power tubes.
 
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