5E3 Finished - first impressions and a question

4/27/2004 5:03 PM

Howard

5E3 Finished - first impressions and a question I just finished building my 5E3 clone using the new Weber PT and a 15V zener like the Mission Tweedy. I mistakenly bought the Sovtek 5Y3 so I was afraid to use the EH 6V6's at first, so I threw in a pair of Ruby tubes 6L6's I had around. I also put a switch in to short out the zener and used the 10w 250 resistor just to see what would happen with the 6L6's. I used the Mojo tweed deluxe replacement OT and plugged it into a Weber 8 ohm ceramic chicago (closed back).     What I got was a lot of clean spanky (almost brittle) and really loud! That was cool. I suppose this would really rock with a second 8 ohm speaker plugged in but would probably really overload the OT.     Alright, so the next day, I got over my fear of using the 6V6's. With zener engaged I get about 375 plate to ground on the power tubes. From what I've heard this is a little hot (too hot maybe?). Anyway, this really kicked ass. Tight bass, killer mids, and bright highs, regulated nicely with the PU and guitar tone pots. I mean, this was really loud and punchy. Kind of reminded me of my friends BF bassman. Definately not the tweed sound I was expecting, but really cool and balzy.     But, I was still concerned about the rectifier, and last night it occurs to me that I have an old phonograph (got to be from the 50's) that has a 5y3 in it. So this morning I dig the thing out of the junk pile, wash the years of crud off the glass and plug it in. This time, what I got was much more like what I was expecting. Much earlier and radical break up, less apparant loudness, and most noticably, less punch (especially in the lows). This is also a cool sound.     So, I couldn't be more pleased. I love both of the sounds I get with the 6V6's, and I'll probably be experimenting with the 6L6's some more.     I have just one nagging question though. Should I be worryed about doing dammage using the Sovtek 5y3?     Thanks to all on this board for answering all of my questions. My amp build is a success, and I'm looking forward to building the next one.