How to change the tubes in a mesa boogie triple rectifier guitar amplifier 

Thank you! You’re right. It’s not in the manual. I called and talked to their customer service. That’s how I found out. Cheers!

Scott Ray very true. I definitely learned a lot having that amp. I’ve since sold it and am not a mostly a Vox guy now.

where is actually this switch?

​@@user-or6hg9rq7hit's labeled on the back, near the bottom right. I'm sure you already figured that out, but I just came across this video as I need to change mine out:-)

Thanks for the comment! I've definitely heard about wearing gloves before, and you definitely want them if you need to change a tube shortly after playing. But I've always changed my tubes with my bare hands. If the oils in your hands were enough to be a factor, like in a halogen lamp, the tubes would melt any plastic, telex, and wood near the tube the first time you turned the amp on. Also, the magic happens within the cathode/anode etc, the glass is just a protective layer similar to the glass around a lightbulb, I'm not overly concerned about fingerprints affecting my tone. Hopefully I don't sound like a condescending ass. I definitely respect your opinion and appreciate you taking the time to comment. These are just some of the things I've learned along the way. :)

Valves dont get hot enough for that to be a problem. It's good practice but not essential. Not like a car head light

The packs don’t specify. You just want to make sure you put the matched tubes, in the correct matching slots on your amplifier. On this particular amp, you work outward to inward. 1-6, then 2-5, then, 3-4.

@@austinlindsay Gotcha, thank you!

SuperJiggawhat I’m glad you found it useful. I’m not sure what they wire them up in that order. Could be something to do with electrical flow that is necessary, or just an engineering decision from the creator that just stuck around.

Arie Bergs hands are far cheaper and easier to use.

Those are the Rectifier tubes.

@@austinlindsay what purpose do those tubes serve other than the power tubes? 😮

I never learned much about them. From what I understand they convert AC current into DC.

+Mitchell Holthouse The 3 ones to the right are not power tubes, they are Rectifier tubes. and they don't have to be replace often, same thing with pre amp tubes. Pre amp tubes usually hold up a long time.

+Heavy Metal For Life I see. I went ahead and replaced the rectifier and pre amp tubes on my dual recto. found out you have to like unscrew a cover that goes over the tubes to get them. kind of threw me off at first

hehe :), dual or triple? Is it just me that thinks that triple is overkill when people buy it because of it's 150 watts, 100 watts is enough to play on a arena xD. I really have to swap my power tubes, it's humming and one of the tubes seems to be close to exploding at some points.. o.o

+Heavy Metal For Life mines a 100. also I'm surprised that you prefer el34 over 6l6 for metal playing

Actually, after a long time of playing the 6l6 now, i kinda started liking it more, for some reason i got a bit obsessed with megadeth and wanted a really crispy thrash tone, but now i go for the scooped fat tight thingy sound, i love it, kind of the sound that metallica is using.. Although i don't want to be a copy cat. so i'll just use some stuff that i really like about their tone and the modify it myself :).

Cesar0787 If everything works as it should, and you like your tone. I wouldn't change them. If you're looking for a different tone, then it would be worth it to change them to a set of tubes that fit your tonal desires.

+Cesar0787 My Recto's sound like crap just after a couple of years. Change your tubes out! You'll be in heaven once you hear the difference! Guaranteed!

Thank you for the comment. I don't actually have any experience in that. But back when I did still have my Triple Rectifier, I would often send the support people at Mesa Boogie an email with my question, and they were always very helpful.

As long as you swap out EL34s for EL34s you shouldn't have to do anything but bias the amp.

Thank you.

+dizzle49er The spray is generic contact cleaner that you get at Radio Shack or similar store. It just helps to clean off the contact points of electronics. It's not totally necessary, but it's nice.

I run kt 88 power and pre kt66 sounds way better to me than the Mesa Boogie tubes......

CliporisFPV because the tubes are in matched pairs. They work in conjunction with each other. You don’t necessarily need to pull them out in a certain order. But since you need to put them back in pairs, it helps in remembering.

I liked them. I remember the "flubby-ness" that I disliked went away after I put the new tubes in.

michaelmcsky it could be from the tubes, or it could be a great number of other things. None of which I'd know without being there to hear for myself.

Thx, i got it. It was the 6L6 Tube in the 50 Watt stage. First I tought it would be the preamp tubes. The Clean stage sounds really clean again now. But with the broken tube, the overdrive stages sound much better. A nice sideeffect

+Heavy Metal For Life. I'm not sure if that's a joke or not. Since there are only two settings. If it's not a joke and you have further questions. I recommend contacting Mesa's customer service. They're very helpful.

Hehe, I feel so retarded right now o.o. There was a sticker right on the switch so no one would switch it accidentally, the sticker had the exact same colour etc on the switch, it was also quite dark and it was impossible to see it, then again, i feel so stupid right now xD!

Heavy Metal For Life Ah, that's funny. I know exactly what sticker you're talking about. Well, I'm glad we got it figured out. :)

Yeah ;)

Sooooooooo glad you took the time to point that out.

No don’t go. Please stay!! What ever will I do if you won’t watch the video I posted 11 years ago?! 😱

Sooooooooooooo glad you took the time to point that out.

Heather Deline Ah, yes, I forget that everyone everywhere knows everything about tube amps. I should just take this video down.

thanks for the video =) Didn't know how pairs match ;) (just need to change on a single recto tho) just ignore this H & C... he sure knows everything about everything xD