Mesa 20/20

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Zaphod B

Zaphod B

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Have any of you guys used a Mesa 20/20 with the M4?

My Randall RT2/50 is a great power amp but it's much more amp than I need. I'd like to use something lower-amperage so that I can actually get the power section breathing a little bit.

Other than the Mesa 20/20, are there any other low-amperage tube power amps that would be appropriate for the M4?
 
I've got a M4 with a 20/20 and I think it sounds pretty good but was actually thinking of moving to an RT2/50 because I want more headroom and the flexibility of changing the tubes with the front face bias capabilities. I guess if those features aren't important to you the 20/20 might be worth it. The EL84 sound pretty bright but with good bottom end as well, it's responsive/punchy. The volume knobs are not too sensitive so you don't have to worry about moving it slightly and blowing our your ear drum. I've had the M4 with the old Rocktron Velocity valve, 2:90 and 50/50 as well as a RT2/50 a long time ago. I think with a little bit of tweaking you can pull relatively close sounds with each amp or find a sweet spot for it but it kind of comes down to the features you want on the amp i.e. ability to run different tubes, Deep mod, switching capabilities, etc.

If you're interested in doing a trade of some sort let me know, I'd be up for chatting and figuring out something.
 
Anyone tried the m4 with that new rocktron 300?

I'm not sure if they canned it or just put it really far in the back burner, but I wish Egnater would come out with that one space power amp idea they had once the modular line starts up again! :thumbsup:
 
Zaphod B":lxjwtjlt said:
My Randall RT2/50 is a great power amp but it's much more amp than I need.
Click to expand...

You can put in JJ 6V6 tubes on one of the channels to get lower output.
 
RockManiac":1qoh2gti said:
Zaphod B":1qoh2gti said:
My Randall RT2/50 is a great power amp but it's much more amp than I need.
Click to expand...

You can put in JJ 6V6 tubes on one of the channels to get lower output.
Click to expand...
Really? How does that work? Are the 6V6s just lower-output tubes? What kind of output decrease would I see?
 
With a pair of JJ 6V6's you drop the power of the RT2/50 to around 22 watts. But ONLY use JJ brand 6V6's, they can handle the plate voltage of the RT2/50. The bias range for the JJ 6V6 is 18-22 mv.
 
Another option is Yellow Jackets, http://www.yellowjacketstc.com.
They will safely allow you to use EL84s, and they come in several different wattage and class options.

BTW, I've owned a 20/20 and an RT/50, and the Randall beats the Mesa by a mile tone-wise.
Plus the Mesa has the fan from hell, and its hard to find a quiet replacement because it has to fit in one rack space.
 
RockManiac and rockridge98, thanks a bunch.

I did contact Randall tech support and their tech said that 6V6s are fine, and to bias at 25-28mV. But I did wonder about the plate voltage so it's good to know that the JJs will take it.

Also Yellow Jackets did come to mind but I didn't know if they'd work.

Great info!
 
I think I'll try 6V6s in one channel of the Randall, and Yellow Jackets with EL84s in the other side. This will allow me to have an "American/British" split as I do now with the normal 6L6s and 6550s.

I appreciate all the help.
 
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