Sweet and Silky If you dig vintage-style sag and creamy smoothness, you'll love the Mesa/Boogie 5Y3 rectifier tube. Long a favorite for smaller amps, the 5Y3 is also a key ingredient in the Lone Star Special's sonic cocktail, so it has quite a bit of range. It has the most sag out of any Mesa/Boogie rectifier tube, so it provides gorgeous organic compression and delicious sustain. Read on for more information about how Mesa/Boogie's rigorous testing process helps them produce some of the finest vacuum tubes in the world. Welcome to Tube Town In Mesa/Boogie's tube manufacturing facility, there is a large sign depicting several Mesa Boogie tubes happily frolicking and dancing about with "Welcome to Tube Town" written above it. Though the sign seems to promise vacuum tubes a fancy-free vacation when they enter Tube Town, that couldn't be further from the truth. Tube Town is more like a boot camp for vacuum tubes, as they must pass a series of increasingly rigorous tests to prove themselves worthy of the Mesa/Boogie name. Tested Under Extreme Conditions First, Mesa/Boogie's tone warlocks place them in a tube-testing device built by an aerospace engineering company called the Son of Robo-Tube, where they are subjected to a battery of seven tests designed to place them under maximum duress. If they manage to withstand the mighty Son of Robo-Tube's best shot, they move on to a significantly less scientific test, the aptly-named hammer test. While the tubes are receiving a signal, a Mesa/Boogie employee whacks them with the butt-end of a hammer. Because, frankly, if it can stand up to a hammer, it can handle just about anything! If they stand up to the wrath of Thor, they move on to yet another test wherein Mesa/Boogie's tube wizards zap them with 5,000 watts of radiofrequency, which removes any impurities. Finally, Mesa/Boogie's tube specialists place the tubes in another space-age machine that hits them with a very small amount of signal. This determines whether or not any impurities that might shorten the lifespan of the tube remain. If they fail to meet a high threshold for purity, they get tossed in the trash. The Best of the Best If the tube passes all these tests without washing out, it receives that Mesa/Boogie stamp of quality and goes out the door to retailers like Wildwood. Though Tube Town is a nightmare for tubes, it makes them into elite examples of excellence with superior reliability, durability, and sound. So, when you stick Mesa/Boogie tubes in your amplifier, you can rest assured that they'll sound killer for a long, long time and withstand the rigors of gigging. Thanks to Mesa/Boogie's insane attention to detail and high standards for quality, these are some of the finest vacuum tubes on the planet. We are proud to present them in all their glory, and we know they will serve you faithfully. We invite you to plug in, crank up, and experience the magic of Mesa/Boogie tube tone!
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