18Watt.com

I'm getting ready to finally build my Tremolo TMB amps. I'm going to make one head, and one combo to start with. One with 7189 (EL84s) tubes, and one with 6V6 power tubes. This is completely arbitrary, but somebody vote which version should be which: should the combo get the 6V6 or 7189 tubes?

I think I'm leaning towards the 7189 in the combo.

Thanks,
Josh

Agree ...noval tubes in combo & octals in head.

I would choose the bigger sounding tube for the combo. A head can be made to sound bigger with a 2x12 or 4x12 anyway...

Bieworm wrote: ↑

Mon 07/27/20 2:55 am

I would choose the bigger sounding tube for the combo. A head can be made to sound bigger with a 2x12 or 4x12 anyway...

Which tube sounds bigger? Any evidence of this?

JMPGuitars wrote: ↑

Mon 07/27/20 6:56 am

Bieworm wrote: ↑

Mon 07/27/20 2:55 am

I would choose the bigger sounding tube for the combo. A head can be made to sound bigger with a 2x12 or 4x12 anyway...

Which tube sounds bigger? Any evidence of this?

You 'could' opt for a 36W with the EL34 bottles

Bieworm wrote: ↑

Mon 07/27/20 7:45 am

JMPGuitars wrote: ↑

Mon 07/27/20 6:56 am

Which tube sounds bigger? Any evidence of this?

You 'could' opt for a 36W with the EL34 bottles

Why you dodging the question?

JMPGuitars wrote: ↑

Mon 07/27/20 7:47 am

Bieworm wrote: ↑

Mon 07/27/20 7:45 am

JMPGuitars wrote: ↑

Mon 07/27/20 6:56 am

Which tube sounds bigger? Any evidence of this?

You 'could' opt for a 36W with the EL34 bottles

Why you dodging the question?

Because none of them sound bigger to the other ... just little different. Never had a warm heart for 6V6'es... the EL84 has always been my nr1 for tube overdrive, but that's subjectieve.. I know. Both my 18 watts sport the NOS 6P14P power tubes. I like 'em.

Bieworm wrote: ↑

Mon 07/27/20 8:14 am

Because none of them sound bigger to the other ... just little different. Never had a warm heart for 6V6'es... the EL84 has always been my nr1 for tube overdrive, but that's subjectieve.. I know. Both my 18 watts sport the NOS 6P14P power tubes. I like 'em.

I've never made anything with 6V6s, so I'm curious to see how the head comes out. Time to go drill the combo cab to mount the chassis before I start populating it.

They sound identical in my Egnator Rebel20.
However in Dave Brons' demo I thought the 6V6s sounded fuller. Through my little computer bluetooth speaker.

I would have to agree with Bieworm. I prefer the overdrive characteristic of the EL84 over the 6V6. The transition to overdrive is smoother with the EL84 to my ear, probably owing to the softer pentode knee. I've built a 6V6 Plexi (with very high voltage plates and much lower screens) and while it was a great amp, my preference would be for EL84s. I've also built a Trainwreck Liverpool that was a monster of an amp. Huge, bold sound. I preferred it to an Express (with EL34s). I don't find one tube to sound less full than the other, just subtly different. I do love the sound of a Princeton Reverb (6V6s) but things must be done (such as large input grid resistor on the cathodyne, etc) to keep the overdrive smooth. Otherwise, and in general, I find the 6V6 to have a slight "blatty" quality when driven hard that I find less desirable. I built a modded Tweed Deluxe for a fellow with larger power tube grid resistors and cathodyne mods that was very smooth and next to his Lite IIb (which I also built), they were just killer sounding. They complemented each other well. You could definitely hear the midrange forward clarity of the Lite IIb.

Here's my new chassis design. I went with 8 inch depth this time. My last crazy build was too tight.

Thanks,
Josh

I finally had a little time to make some more progress with this. Wired up (most of) the reverb driver, and the heaters.

Aaaand here I go again finding a little time...

I decided I wasn't going to use a sag resistor on this build (and if I wanted to, it could be after the standby switch), so I went PTP with the SS rectifier straight to the standby switch. It was a simple solution when deciding whether or not I wanted to make a rectifier board, where to mount it, etc...

And for once I'm putting the Zener after the first filter cap (can). That's the left leg of the flux capacitor. I think this is going to be a fun amp to build, and maybe even fun to play.

looking good Josh!
i presume the switched pot in position "R" is for the reverb,are you finally going to show us your reverb circuit? suspense!

geoff 1965 wrote: ↑

Wed 09/09/20 7:17 pm

looking good Josh!
i presume the switched pot in position "R" is for the reverb,are you finally going to show us your reverb circuit? suspense!

lol, it is for reverb. I'm still deciding on whether I'll use the switched pot or not, but that will be for a reverb tone switch if I do (bright/warm).

I got a lot of work done the past couple days.

First I wire up the front panel: Then I install the board and connect the front panel: Then I wire the tube sockets: Then I connect the rear panel jacks:
BTW- I'm contemplating sharing my reverb circuit. If you can figure out enough/ask the right questions based on what I post in here, I'll share it.

Thanks,
Josh

Josh this is what I derived from my marble clubreverb. It has a great 1-tube reverb...
Do you reckon it could work? I also stepped away from the 36W tremolo TMB idea.. I gigged with my 18W trem TMB last weekend and I just loved it. I don't need nearly 18 watt so I will never need 36W. Besides, I still have my vibro king when I need more volume.. played it yesterday for 30 minutes and it sounds sooooo great!! After that I played my tremolo TMB for 2 hours straight... go figure !!!

That's a sure sign you gel with it.

Dd

Okay, I'm kind of surprised nobody has noticed an old flaw on my board's layout. I figured at least one person would have noticed by now.

JMPGuitars wrote: ↑

Sun 09/20/20 2:18 pm

Okay, I'm kind of surprised nobody has noticed an old flaw on my board's layout. I figured at least one person would have noticed by now.

No components?