thanks for the link to the voltage chart, i didn't even know it existed! 

i think i now halfway understand what is going on in there... but i don't dare take the measurements myself, so i'll take it to a tech and get on his nerves with my half-knowledge.

thanks a lot, i sure appreciate!!!

Hello,

I don't want to harras Nik with a thousand mails, so I think I should give it a try here:


In my 5X3, I swapped the GZ34 for a NOS 5Y3 and the sag is plain gorgeous.

From what I understand, with the 5y3, plate voltage is reduced by roughly 40Vs, meaning the 6L6GCs are now running a bit "cold".
The cathode bias should take care for the most of it and I shouldn't see any major problems.

But what if I dropped in 5881s (400V/25W) instead of the 6L6GCs (500Vs/30W) - would these be the adequate power tubes to use in conjunction with the 5Y3?


I'm bad at math and have little tube knowledge (as can be seen in my previous thread, haha) and i have no real knowledgeable amp guy in my area - please be patient with me. 

okay here's a live recording of my 5X3 with a 2x12 cab (V30s, open back).



excuse the bad playing and singing... but you'll get an idea of the amp's character.

no pedals at all, played with a hagstrom semi-hollow.

the correct tubes are here and it sounds fantastic. 

< tears of joy.

i'll post a linky in the sound clips section.

Alrighty!!



Nik's sending me the correct tubes ! Super!

 

hmm.. i can't find any letters on the PT.

but on the chassis it says "5X3" in hanwriting, so i assume it was just the tubes.

Got back to Nik and he will send me a set of correct tubes - great service!

And i was already wondering why it wasn't a tad louder when i tried it out, ha ha!

That much i know 



yeah it seems like someone mixed up the tubes only. phew.
if only i knew a bit more about tubes i would have noticed earlier. 


one transformer says 5e7, which is the big one, 
and thanks for the PT info (340) > i'll check tonight.

 

thanks for the input, folks! i appreciate! 

____

the amp came shipped with an NOS Zaerix 5Y3, so i if i understand correctly, this tube is safe to use and i can replace it with a 5V4, which will not put as much strain on the amp as a GZ 34 (which, in turn, is actually in the amp's tube chart).

since the GZ34 is in the tube chart, i should not run into problems if i actually popped one in, right?

which leads to the next question:
____

the chart says 2x 6L6GC, but the amp came with E/H 6V6GTs.

aren't 6V6GTs lower power than the GC type? i don't get it.

____

since it came configured with NOS 5Y3 and 6V6 GT, i assume it's safe to use as is, even though the tube chart asks for GZ34 and 6L6GC?

if i want to put in a 5V4 or even a GZ34, i should also swap the 6V6GTs to 6L6GC, just as the tube chart says, no?

_____

i just looked at the 5e3 vs. the 5x3 layout, and the tubes the amp came shipped with are for the 5e3, not the 5x3. could it be i don't even have a 5x3 here? 

 

_____

and please excuse my crude english, i'm not a native speaker and my technical knowledge is close to zero.

hello there,

my 5x3 arrived preassembled and it sounds great. i have some questions regarding the tubes, as it's all just alphabet soup to me:


1) the amp's tube chart says GZ34 as rectifier, but the amp came with a 5Y3.
- what's the difference in characteristics, if any? which one would you prefer?

2) if i understand correctly, 5V4GA, GZ34 and 5Y3 can be used as rectifier tubes,
- can you tell me what tube will give which result?

3) it's safe to use any of these 3 tubes as the amp is self biased,
- is that correct? i play cranked all the time and i don't want to fry the amp.


answers highly appreciated,

cheers!