Mesa Boogie Stiletto Trident Retube Kits

The Mesa Boogie Stiletto Trident is another Mesa amp with lots of flavors available. The different combinations of power tubes and rectifier tubes that can be run is pretty large. The kits we offer here are the most distinctive in tonal character, forged from many years of research. Every kit is configured to provide a specific sound/experience.

All our Mesa Stiletto Trident Retube Kits include power tubes that are hand selected to run perfectly in Mesa amps. We have extensive hands-on experience measuring the fixed bias points in these amps and what grade of tubes will achieve optimal performance.

The default power tubes for all of our Mesa Boogie Stiletto Trident kits are the JJ E34L’s. Thru the years the JJ E34L’s with their added punch and articulation have become a favorite here at Eurotubes and with our customers. They are very tight with an extended low end over a standard EL34. However you can use the Power Tube drop down to select the JJ EL34’s, the JJ EL34II’s, the JJ KT77’s or the JJ 6CA7’s. The JJ EL34’s are known for their mid range bloom and have a slightly looser feel when compared to the E34L’s. The JJ EL34II’s are not as aggressive as the E34L, but they are a little fuller in the lows and low mids than the EL34’s. The JJ KT77’s have an extended frequency response with big/chunky lows (even deeper than the E34L’s) and chimey/present highs. The mids are very smooth for an EL34 type tube and when driven they’re extremely rich and complex. The JJ Big Bottle 6CA7’s have big lows (on par with the KT77’s), an emphasis in the lows mids, and very round/natural highs. This gives the tube a very thick and round character that’s as close to crossing a standard EL34 with a 6L6 as you can get.

Note about Rectifier tubes: Many Mesa owners choose to run their amps in the “Solid State Diode Mode”. The main reason for this is the amp will make more power in this mode and the amp will have more punch compared to the “Tube Rectifier Mode”. Mesa chose to use 5U4GB Rectifier tubes which sound and feel saggy. Some players like this, however there is another option which is to use the GZ34 or 5AR4 Rectifier tubes. The GZ34’s supply more voltage than 5U4’s do. So when using GZ34’s you will get very close to the same power out put from the amp, and you get the warmth of tube rectifacation without the saggy feel of 5U4’s. This is why we offer kits with GZ34’s, and 5U4GB’s and without Rectifier tubes.

The Standard Retube Kit is as close to OEM as possible. Maintaining the amps stock level of headroom and gain while providing a warm but even handed overall sound. The kit includes one matched sextet of JJ E34L’s by default, one Balanced JJ ECC83S for the phase inverter (V5, farthest from the input jack.) and Four Standard JJ ECC83S’s for V1 – V2 – V3 – V4.

The Gold Pin Retube Kit uses the JJ ECC83S Gold Pin variants to provide a smoother, creamier, and more singing overall sound. This option is less aggressive and has less “teeth” when driven hard. If you like a classic raunchy gritty overdriven tone, we recommend looking to the Standard or High Gain option. If sweet, open, and more refined is what you’re after this kit will do it. The kit includes one matched sextet of JJ E34L’s by default, one Balanced JJ ECC83S Gold Pin for the phase inverter (V5, closest to power tubes), and four Standard JJ Gold Pin ECC83S’s for V1 – V2 – V3 – V4.

The High Gain Retube Kit uses our hand picked high gain selected JJ ECC83S’s. If you’re looking for maximum crunch and grind this is where you want to be. Sonically this setup is very similar to our Standard Retube Kit but with a little extra gain on tap. The kit includes one matched sextet of JJ E34L’s by default, one Balanced High Gain JJ ECC83S for the phase inverter (V5, closest to power tubes), one Standard ECC83S for V4 and three High Gain JJ ECC83S’s for V1 – V2 – V3.