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Vintage threads from the first ten years

6L6/6V6 Swap

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9/4/1997 11:16 PM
Bob K.	6L6/6V6 Swap I have a '83 Fender Concert running two 6L6's for 60watts output. If I change the bias and plate voltage can I replace the 6L6's with 6V6's? What will it do the the tone and output? Can I still use the original output transformer? Thanks.

9/5/1997 5:47 PM

There was a brief discussion of this
topic on this BBS not too long ago - the
question was whether the tubes can safely
be swapped without modding the amp, as
Kevin O'Connor suggests. (Check out his
comments re: this substitution on London
Power's FAQ page)

Most respondents indicated it might work with
NOS tubes, but would probably fry the newer
Chinese stuff. There was some discussion of
dropping the plate voltage with zeners, to
get it more into the range needed for 6V6s.

O'Connor says up to 450V is pretty safe -
others aren't so confident.

This topic also pops up occasionally on
alt.guitar.amps, where it has been pretty
much beaten to death. You might take a look.

An easier, switchable alternative might be
to wire the existing power tubes in
pseudo-triode mode if power reduction is
what you're after.

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