Tremolo TMB Reverb with 6AQ5 tubes
Moderators: JMPGuitars, Daviedawg, Graydon, CurtissRobin, colossal, zaphod_phil
- Bieworm
- Verbose Moderator
- Posts: 2414
- Joined: Mon 02/10/20 8:24 am
- Location: Belgium
Tremolo TMB Reverb with 6AQ5 tubes
Howdie!
Yesterday I was experimenting with 6AQ5 tubes in the power section of my recent Tremolo TMB Ironside amp. I must say I was very impressed with the sound. There seemed to be more OD on tap and a little less headroom and overall volume. I liked the way they both thickened the sound and gave it a very sweet high end.
Because the 6AQ5 require a max anode voltage of 250V I had to use the 0-190V tap on my PT. (275-190-0 secondary). I landed on Va 206V Vk 6V and Rk 56R, which gave me about 80% dissipation and a very nice and sweet growl.
When I was about to wrap things up I thought of trying the tremolo first.. bummer! There was nearly no tremolo at all!
So, by means of the experiment... what if I split the B+ after the rectifier, using a string of 5W zeners to scale down the B+ for the power tubes and the PI AND a separate branch with all filter caps for the preamp. Do I use another can cap 32+32uf 500V to filter the juice for the preamp? Or is using only 1x 47uf 500V + 2x 22uf for nodes D and E plenty enough filtering?
Or is there a better way to tweak the extra voltage I'm lacking for V1?
EDIT: Since I've still got some slack on the B+ I am gonna try to set the voltage with the 0-275V secondary.. zener it down until I have Va around 250V and see if that voltage is ok for the tremolo to work as intended.
Yesterday I was experimenting with 6AQ5 tubes in the power section of my recent Tremolo TMB Ironside amp. I must say I was very impressed with the sound. There seemed to be more OD on tap and a little less headroom and overall volume. I liked the way they both thickened the sound and gave it a very sweet high end.
Because the 6AQ5 require a max anode voltage of 250V I had to use the 0-190V tap on my PT. (275-190-0 secondary). I landed on Va 206V Vk 6V and Rk 56R, which gave me about 80% dissipation and a very nice and sweet growl.
When I was about to wrap things up I thought of trying the tremolo first.. bummer! There was nearly no tremolo at all!
So, by means of the experiment... what if I split the B+ after the rectifier, using a string of 5W zeners to scale down the B+ for the power tubes and the PI AND a separate branch with all filter caps for the preamp. Do I use another can cap 32+32uf 500V to filter the juice for the preamp? Or is using only 1x 47uf 500V + 2x 22uf for nodes D and E plenty enough filtering?
Or is there a better way to tweak the extra voltage I'm lacking for V1?
EDIT: Since I've still got some slack on the B+ I am gonna try to set the voltage with the 0-275V secondary.. zener it down until I have Va around 250V and see if that voltage is ok for the tremolo to work as intended.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
0 x
"THIS should be played at high volume..preferably in a residential area"
- Bieworm
- Verbose Moderator
- Posts: 2414
- Joined: Mon 02/10/20 8:24 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: Tremolo TMB Reverb with 6AQ5 tubes
Well I experimented with it some more by adding zener diodes in the B+ line after the rectifier. But when I put 250V on the anode (6P1P-EV spec max Va) there is still too weak tremolo for my taste.
But we run 300V max spec'd EL84 often in the 350V area.. in that regard, would it hurt to run the 6P1P-EV ( =C= Svetlana ) around 300V Va? They are supposedly very sturdy tubes with military specs...
Should I give it a go and remove some zeners to raise the B+? I will watch out for the event that those tubes fail on me...
Or do you say NO!!!! DON'T DO THAT!!??
But we run 300V max spec'd EL84 often in the 350V area.. in that regard, would it hurt to run the 6P1P-EV ( =C= Svetlana ) around 300V Va? They are supposedly very sturdy tubes with military specs...
Should I give it a go and remove some zeners to raise the B+? I will watch out for the event that those tubes fail on me...
Or do you say NO!!!! DON'T DO THAT!!??
0 x
"THIS should be played at high volume..preferably in a residential area"
- JMPGuitars
- Super Duper Admin
- Posts: 4103
- Joined: Tue 09/18/12 8:00 pm
- Location: South Central, MA
- Contact:
Re: Tremolo TMB Reverb with 6AQ5 tubes
It's probably a bad idea. Best case is they might sound good for a little bit, and die early. However, they're really cheap tubes, so if you don't mind losing the $4.00 you spent on them...
1 x
'I installed a skylight in my apartment yesterday... The people who live above me are furious.' - Steven Wright
Modern Ground Schemes
Soldering Technique
B+ Voltage Reduction
Amplifier Tools & Parts Info
Web Design: DolceVittoria.com
Guitars / Amps / Effects: JMPGuitars.com
(anti)Social: Facebook · Instagram
Items for Sale
Modern Ground Schemes
Soldering Technique
B+ Voltage Reduction
Amplifier Tools & Parts Info
Web Design: DolceVittoria.com
Guitars / Amps / Effects: JMPGuitars.com
(anti)Social: Facebook · Instagram
Items for Sale
- Bieworm
- Verbose Moderator
- Posts: 2414
- Joined: Mon 02/10/20 8:24 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: Tremolo TMB Reverb with 6AQ5 tubes
Lol! I will keep an extra pair in the combo just in caseJMPGuitars wrote: ↑Tue 02/21/23 9:04 amIt's probably a bad idea. Best case is they might sound good for a little bit, and die early. However, they're really cheap tubes, so if you don't mind losing the $4.00 you spent on them...
I’m going to tweak the B+ in steps of 10V up and see where that leads
0 x
"THIS should be played at high volume..preferably in a residential area"
- Bieworm
- Verbose Moderator
- Posts: 2414
- Joined: Mon 02/10/20 8:24 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: Tremolo TMB Reverb with 6AQ5 tubes
Ok… it’s fixed. I set the plate voltage at 283V and biased the tubes at 80%. Trem works nice and strong. OMG these tubes sound really nice!
1 x
"THIS should be played at high volume..preferably in a residential area"
-
- Occasional poster
- Posts: 302
- Joined: Tue 03/05/13 5:28 pm
Re: Tremolo TMB Reverb with 6AQ5 tubes
Did you drop the b plus for the whole amp in the end? Do they have the same pin connections as el84?
0 x
- Bieworm
- Verbose Moderator
- Posts: 2414
- Joined: Mon 02/10/20 8:24 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: Tremolo TMB Reverb with 6AQ5 tubes
Yes.. after the rectifier i have 345V.. then an bunch of 5W zener diodes dropping the B+ to 295V at the 1st filter cap.
The 6AQ5 has a different pinout because it’s a 7 pin tube.. though I used the Russian equivalent 6P1P-EV, which is also a 9 pin tube like an EL84, they don’t share the same pinout.
0 x
"THIS should be played at high volume..preferably in a residential area"
- JMPGuitars
- Super Duper Admin
- Posts: 4103
- Joined: Tue 09/18/12 8:00 pm
- Location: South Central, MA
- Contact:
Re: Tremolo TMB Reverb with 6AQ5 tubes
You don't need more than 160V to run the tremolo. So start thinking differently. What's the B+ source voltage before the anode resistors for your preamp?
0 x
'I installed a skylight in my apartment yesterday... The people who live above me are furious.' - Steven Wright
Modern Ground Schemes
Soldering Technique
B+ Voltage Reduction
Amplifier Tools & Parts Info
Web Design: DolceVittoria.com
Guitars / Amps / Effects: JMPGuitars.com
(anti)Social: Facebook · Instagram
Items for Sale
Modern Ground Schemes
Soldering Technique
B+ Voltage Reduction
Amplifier Tools & Parts Info
Web Design: DolceVittoria.com
Guitars / Amps / Effects: JMPGuitars.com
(anti)Social: Facebook · Instagram
Items for Sale
- Bieworm
- Verbose Moderator
- Posts: 2414
- Joined: Mon 02/10/20 8:24 am
- Location: Belgium
Re: Tremolo TMB Reverb with 6AQ5 tubes
This is where I landed..
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
0 x
"THIS should be played at high volume..preferably in a residential area"