Hi Cobra,
        Great looking amp! I'm just starting a 5E3 build(my first) and I'm interested in the split cathode mod. Now that the "honeymoon phase" is over, would you still recommend it? What cap values did you use on each channel?
                                                                                         Thanks in advance,
                                                                                                            Gerry
P.S. how about some gut shot pics?
                         

Hi PaulS and welcome to the board!
     I can't answer your last two questions because I have no first hand experience with the 5E3. I bought the kit but haven't put it together yet due to time restraints. From what I've read, your description of the volume function is a well known "feature" of this amp and is normal to the circuit. I ran across a "Bruce Collins Mod" that people seem happy with and I plan on using it in my kit. It's called the "Tone Volume Mod Kit w/PDF file builder's guide" and you can find it here:
http://www.missionamps.com/kits.shtml
                                                                                      Hope this helps!
                                                                                           

Here: http://www.ceriatone.com/images/layoutPic/marshallLayout/TMBEFceriatone.jpg

Hi Mitz,
     First, I'll point out that "your" version is really the "revised" version. Mr. Weber almost always (if not always) adapts the original version using his own unique changes. You can find the original layout here:
http://www.ampwares.com/ffg/
   Edit: Click on "Narrow Panel Bassman" on the left hand menu. Then scroll to the bottom and click on 5F6-A Chassis Layout.
     You can replace the WZ34 with a GZ34. The WZ34 is Mr. Weber's solid state "Copper Cap" that is used to replace a GZ34 tube. As long as there is a 5 Volt heater supply for the GZ34 (and in this case there is) you can use the GZ34.
   As for the 12AX7's:
A 12AX7 = 12AX7B
A 12AY7 = 12AX7 but produces less gain, as does a 12AT7, a 12AU7 or even a 5751. It's all a matter of gain factor. You can read specifics here:
http://thetubestore.com/gainfactor.html
    Lastly, I'm not 100% sure about the fuse. I'm guessing it would be a slow blow based on my experience with my Vox amps but hopefully someone with a Bassman amp can chime in. Hope this helps.
                                                                 Best of luck, Gerry (grod915)
                                   

I don't have a Ceriatone JTM 45 or 50 but if Nik uses a genuine Marshall part or clone you may find a replacement here under Lamps/Fuses/Holders..
http://www.tubesandmore.com/
P/N P-L14-6
Also here:
http://www.turretboards.com/
and here:
http://www.mojomusicalsupply.com/item.asp?pid=17987&pg=44997&id=8280100os

Both amps are 6 watts. You can look up the info on these and many other Fender amps here:
http://www.ampwares.com/ffg/
I refer to this site constantly; it is a treasure trove of fender information.

The EF86 pre-amp tube is a little more aggressive, has a little more gain than the 12ax7. It was made famous in the original Vox AC15 & AC30/4 amps in the late 50's,early 60's. If you get a chance, plug into a new Vox AC 15 or 30 "Heritage" amp. They have resurrected the old EF86 circuit in these amps. But be forewarned, the EF86 tubes had/have a habit of going microphonic. I believe this was the main reason Vox dropped them 40+ years ago.
        P.S. - I own a Vox AC15 "Heritage" head & I just bought the 18 Watt EF86 kit from Nik so you could consider me a fan of the EF86 sound.

According to Ted's Schematic, you  replace R19 with a 50K Linear Pot to create an adjustable fixed bias. R19 is the horizontal 56K resistor on the left side of the layout. It is connected to the 15K resistor on one side and the other lead runs between the two 8uf caps to ground.
    So, just replace the 56K resistor with a 50K-L pot and your good to go!
                                        Hope this helps and good luck, Gerry.

I think I'm too spoiled lurking on the other older, established boards where new threads get responses within hours if not minutes. I'm actually kind of excited to have found this board while it's still relatively new. It should be cool to see how it grows.
       Oh, and to complete the riddle I started, the logo in question belongs to a now defunct company called "The Voice Of Music" - http://thevoiceofmusic.com/

Boy is this a low traffic board. We need more members!
Anyway, to answer my own question, a fellow member of the Plexi Palace Board pointed out that the first three digits of the #code to the right of the tube are 322 indicating that this is a Tung-Sol tube! I still have no idea what "brand" that logo represents but I guess it really doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure it is not a Tung-Sol logo.
      A quick search on tube codes led me to this:
http://www.triodeel.com/eiacode.htm
A handy site to I.D. some (certainly not all) tubes! Just thought I'd pass this along, I love it when I learn something.
                                                                                              Gerry

It looks like I am not alone in my appreciation for this amp. Check out this auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300222453620&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020

For the Vox uninitiated, the Cambridge is the combo version of the Berkeley.

Does anyone recognize this logo? :

   I'm just curious as to what company made this 6V6.
                                                                             Thanks - Gerry(grod915)

Moved to "General"

A thousand apologies sahib! NoPrints mentioned the 16 ohm red fang and I was off and running. Also, I was at work and not able to check out my 18 watt Ceriatone kit that is still sitting in it's box. I'm home now and I dug out the switch supplied with the kit. It's an Alpha 12 position switch set up to provide 3 positions W/ 2 poles. I made up this drawing using 1/2 the switch for clarity although you could wire it using the opposite poles. I hope this helps you out Tim:

         

Hi NoPrints,
   I dug up a pic of the transformers here:
http://www.brown-note.com/kit/
  I'm pretty sure the lead you're calling Orange is considered Red by ceriatone although it does look more Orange than the Red leads on the Primary side. That (the red/orange lead) is your 16 ohm tap and should be connected to the "Tip" tab of the phone jack, then jumpered to the "tip" tab of the second phone jack. The Black lead from the transformer is your ground lead and goes to the "shaft" tab of the phone jack as does the green star ground lead. That is also jumpered in parallel to the "shaft" tab of the other phone jack. As long as you're not using an impedance switch, the other leads (green & yellow) should be wire nutted or insulated apart from each other and anything else.
        Personally, I prefer to use a 3 position rotary impedance selector switch. I buy them here:
(Halfway down the page)
http://www.hoffmanamps.com/MyStore/perlshop.cgi?ACTION=thispage&thispage=parts7.htm&ORDER_ID=230793486
You can select impedance taps with this to run different or multiple cabs for the ultimate versatility. Hope this helps!

                                                                                    Gerry(grod915)