These days, the subtleties of power-tube distortion and clip are often overshadowed by the greatly expanded range of preamp gain available in modern amp designs. The power tubes’ type and role is indeed an important one, but it’s only part of a larger picture. The many patents we hold covering all aspects of the power amp – from Channel Assignable Wattage, Switchable Rectifiers, Switchable Classes of Operation and even Wiring Styles hints at our inclusion of the power amp as a huge part of the tonal greater good.

But it has always been our view that an amplifier’s magic comes from the perfect harmony between preamp and the power section.

It’s ironic that MESA has long been thought of as a company specializing in preamp sounds (not accidentally - since the all-tube, cascading high-gain preamp originated here). The long story may well provide you with some new insights as to how to approach tube tone and regardless of your tube preference, you may find yourself appreciating both for their inherent specialties. Like most things, there’s a long and short story, and the audible differences between the tubes oddly ends up being the short story. While there is certainly some truth to the idea that different tubes offer different flavors of tone, in Mesa’s humble opinion, the power tubes are largely ‘in service’ to the preamp circuit design the circuit is essentially the cake and the output tubes are the icing. Guitar players are quick to defend the how-and-why of their preferences and the type of tube used is a common jumping-off point for what makes an amp great. On the subject of tube amplification, you’ll often find discussions of one tube type being better than another.

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