henry4841

I try my best not too but.............. Some years ago I had a mouth like a sailor but now I try to be smarter than I was then.

Put another coat of oil on the finished wood part of chassis and sprayed the aluminum with some clear enamel. Should be able to start some assemble inside in the morning if all goes to plan.

You see this too much these days. At least in my opinion. Too easy to become a slave to an electronic device.

Something else I wanted to mention about Roger, he did not like a lot of 2nd harmonics judging by what was said on the video. He wants to cancel it out even in a SET. For those that do not know a SET amplifier as a rule has a good bit of 2nd harmonic, most every one. To me a little 2nd harmonic gives an amplifier some personality. I like it. That is the reason I prefer single ended amplifiers over push pull ones. Do not get me wrong I like PP amplifiers but my preference is single ended. SET tube amplifiers are all single ended class A. This Sweetie amp by Maynard has a lot of personality. There are many like myself that will love the sound of the Sweetie and then there are those, not so much. Same thing about any SET tube amplifier no matter who sells or designs it. Nelson Pass in his First Watt amplifiers builds some personality in each and every one of them. He has stated that he has on a few occasions introduced some 2nd harmonics when there was not enough of it in some of his First Watt designs. The Pass Labs amplifiers, not so much. Different crowd of buyers. I have a SET 45 tube amplifier I throwed a lot of money, for me, into. Tried to build it as best I could without going extravagant. I have heard many times over the years how well it sounds. Mine is not one of my favorite amplifiers. It is a SET but very clean and sterile sounding. Over the years I have wondered why I disagreed with those that praises the sound of the 45 tube. My thoughts at this time in my life is I do not have a trained ear to appreciate the sound the SET 45 tube amp delivers. I believe the praise comes from it's ability to reproduce lets say a violin string accurately. I have very little experience ever hearing a violin and certainly not in my house. I do not know how a good violin is supposed to sound. My experience of music is what I enjoy and what I am use to hearing in a singer of band on a recording and not live music. I do believe I have a pretty good ear on what sounds good for most. My best friend who passed away 2 years ago was paid to work the sound board for the local bands in my area. Bands considered his hearing to be what they wanted their audience to hear. Every time I finished a new amplifier he would come over and listen to it with me and we would discuss what we were hearing. Did not always agree. He preferred the sound of an open baffle full range speaker setup I have over the sound of my big horns. I still use the bass bin of my LaScala's but set a big horn on top of it when I listen this way. The best compliment he could give is when he said I had my system dialed in the way he liked when he worked a sound board. He also toured for a few months with a professional band. Never can remember the name of that group. He had to remind me every time the subject came up. He only toured with them for a few months. Told me it would have killed him if he stayed much longer. I will not go into the whys but will only say too much of a good thing. At least what one thinks is a good thing when they are young. I say it again, enough rambling from an old man early this morning.

Morning guys, early morning for me. I have been watching one of Roger Modjeski's seminars at the Burning Amp Festival held in San Francisco every year the last couple of days freshening up on tubes and their circuits. Every time I watch any speaker at the Burning Amp Festival I learn something new about audio and electronics. Roger was an audio engineer that once taught at Stanford. Let that sink in, taught at an Ivy League school. In country boy language 'really knew his stuff.' I said knew, past tense, being he passed away in 2019. He appeared at the BAF twice, 2015 and 2018. I can almost guarantee you will learn something new every time you watch one of his speeches on tube circuits. Right at the first of the video he throws out the input cap and ground resistor in the front end from someone's amplifier. Not physically. That is what Maynard and I discussed a few days ago. I see both of them as good insurance but like Roger said not essentially necessary. He had an unconventional way of designing amplifiers as well. Doubling the voltage on the power tube but lowering the current reaching the same dissipation figure recommended in the tube data sheets. He was very successful doing it this way. One of his old used amplifiers brings thousands on Ebay now. When giving one of his speeches in a crowd of engineers and geeks his knowledge and calculations flow like water from his mouth. For anyone wishing to understand tubes and tube amplification better I highly recommend watching his two BAF seminars. He loved teaching best of all of his talents.

I've decided to let the aluminum show on my amplifier. I am going to spray some clear enamel over the tops of the plates though for protection. Enamel paint sticks like glue and if I clean the panels well the enamel paint should stay on a long time. I really do not even want to sand them for better adhesion. I would not even spray enamel on the chassis if it were for my own use. What does it matter if it shows a smudge or stain later. That is what aluminum does. The Biltmore house in No Carolina has a copper roof that stains and streaks like crazy. Many consider the look eloquent. I like the bare aluminum look over being painted. I want this amplifier to look like it belongs in a man cave and not in a ladies parlor. Look and feel like it was built like a tank. An instrument not looking too elegant but look more like a tool to produce music. Buying one of those ready to cut holes in cases on Ebay is a real temptation to get out of all the work I am doing on this chassis but I like working with my hands. There is pleasure to be enjoyed cutting dovetails by hand joining two pieces of fine hardwood together. It is a woodworkers kind of thing. A large majority of the furniture in my house was built by me over 20 years ago. When my ex left she took most everything with her so I had to get my furniture stick by stick. That is the way country boys describe getting furniture. If I were just starting to build tube amplifiers, and wanted to build one that looked good, I would probably go for the one above on Ebay. When first starting to build I was in a hurry to see if I could do it. Now after building 15 or so I just like enjoying the process. Taking my time enjoying every stage. Work an hour of two in the morning then quit and do something else or nothing at all. I am almost positive I could sell a chassis like this on Etsy for $300 real easy. There is a demand for hand built articles on Etsy. Years ago I sold some different kind of things in a store I had on Etsy. Sold really well as fast as I could make them. Nothing to do with audio amplifiers or speakers.

How much does Front Panel Express charge for their services Seti?

I found this seller on Ebay and it is very tempting for me to consider using one of these if I build another tube amplifier. In the description it says 'Services available chassis drilling, polishing and other wood types for additional charge.' Save a lot of work building an amplifier than the way I am doing it. But I kinda enjoy working with wood and making holes with my drill press. For the last few years my woodworking shop has not had seen much use. https://www.ebay.com/itm/114550529401

Great find Seti. I am just a country boy and not familiar with design software and too old to want to learn. Good news though for you young'uns that like that sorta thing. Thanks for sharing. I am sure someone lurking on this thread will follow up one day and use their services.

I decided to check Ebay for the price of the 6N3C tube now and as I thought they are not cheap anymore. I have a number of them in my box of tubes that I bought years ago for practically nothing considering the price of tubes. The word must have got out how good they sound increasing the price. As previously stated they are Russian NOS tubes, made in Russia when tubes ruled. Probably still a good deal at todays prices. A quick check of a NOS American made 6L6 reveals you can purchase a 6L6GA for $40 at Tube Depot. Most of time the GA or other similar designation on the end of a tube number is the physical way it looks. We knock gear made in Russia now but one must remember Russia sent a missile into space before we did. Like a lot of stuff they did they got the info on how to do it from the west in secret. Not such a deal to purchase now but still it is a good sounding tube to my ears. https://www.ebay.com/itm/394201461586?hash=item5bc83cf352:g:LQwAAOSwMMJiLTFs&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAkJDdHlxi0LM1I4mD8PofUazIwR9NVnUvq2aTDQM4oKq7%2FU8U2FPkCDSqETqUPfTdANMCXLfi4Sr2MEUdMTF1yhGIPtifhkiA87OqIuPyUQuCWDn%2BT8ofLsskyZSKUCzqtdKsiCOOmzhFHJejTJQEkm62GnC3pMlpJkUqARRTGWD6d4NblCSnX%2FqoVRfCsOEzHA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR9C0r8TiYA

The best compliment ever from you about the Little Sweetie. I hope you enjoy it for many years to come. As many amps as I have now I would not want to be without one Sweetie in my collection.

Nothing glamorous about making holes in metal but has to be done. Will not be long before starting build inside the house now.

Can't think of a better way for us to pass the time at this stage of our life.

Just noticed view number has changed to 3,000 difference since yesterday at this time. Thanks everyone. This thread is actually your thread not mine. Just have some fun here.

Hey guys we had an increase of 2K views yesterday. Hard to believe there has been so much interest in hearing what two old guys like Maynard and myself have to say about tubes. Maynard is actually the tube guy. I did not have a tube in my house until 10 years ago. SS had always been my interest in electronics since my youth whereas Maynard's focus has been tubes in his. I hope Klipsch let's us continue. At least until they come out with a tube amplifier of their own. Nothing ever stays the same, there is always change at every corner in life. Planning on doing a little work on the new Sweetie project this morning. I am still waiting for some parts for it from Parts Express. Shipping cost has really increased. I bought $30 worth of parts and shipping was $10, 1/4 of the money I spent there. Nothing we can do about it but complain.

Sorry Maynard, I should have been more specific. The C3 cap is on the 6SJ7 pentode number 2 grid, screen grid that goes to ground. You are correct in knowing what I was asking.

To do any tube swapping with the Sweetie you are going to have to find another tube that will be operated at the same voltage and current rating as the tube you are going to replace it with. Right off the top of my head I do not know any other tubes to substitute for the ones in the Sweetie. There are likely some pre-tubes that could be used but the ones that Area51 has in his amp have engraved on them "Made in England." I would almost bet money they are Mullard tubes and if they had the Mullard name on them they would be $100 apiece or more. In other words a highly respected brand of tube. Believe me there was a strong temptation for me to keep those tubes but I bought them for Area51 one's amp and that is where they went. You can get away with trying different types of tubes in an EL34 amplifier. My SET EL34 amplifier was designed for the EL34 tube. Other tubes such as the 6L6, KT-77,KT-88 and others that belong to the family of the EL-34 can be swapped in without doing any harm to experiment some, but. The but is my EL-34 is optimized for the EL-34 tube and any other family of the EL-34 will work but the amp is optimized for the EL-34. Voltage and cathode resistor changes need to be made for it to be optimized for any of the other tubes in the family of EL-34 tubes. That is if you want to get the best out of a specific tube. That being said with that amplifier it can be done and it is fun swapping the many different offerings of the EL-34 family of tubes in it. Personally I like the sound of the 6L6 tube. Maynard has said to me in the past that it is not his favorite tube. The 6L6 has a sound much like the 6Y6 to me in tone, probably the reason I like that sound. By the way the 6L6 tubes I have are not exactly 6L6's but a Russian version of it called the 6N3C. This is an old audio Russian tube and not one of the new production ones being sold by JJ or Sovtek etc. Use to buy them cheap but have not priced them lately. Big and sound good to me. By the way some consider bigger is better when it comes to tubes. If you notice bigger tubes are bigger priced. A few nights ago I was doing some swapping of tubes in the SET EL-34 of mine. Three different types. The Gold Lion KT-77's sound really good. The 6N3C's sound somewhat better to my ears. A pair of JJ EL-34's not so much to my liking. Sound good mind you but a little touch of harshness to my ears in the vocals. Probably just me. Last night I did a little comparison of one of Nelson's FW clones with the Sweetie. The Aleph J. Great sounding SS single ended amplifier. Sounds much like a SET tube amplifier. The guy can sure design a SS amplifier that has a very tube like sound. I really like the sound of the Aleph J. That being said I will give the edge to the Sweetie when it comes to vocals. Slight edge mind you, the Aleph sounds really good. The main difference is the price of a new First Watt amplifier vs a well built SET amplifier. Use to be a FW amplifier was in the neighborhood of $4000 to $5000 range. That was when Nelson was personally building the First Watt amplifiers himself. He has since given the production of the First Watt brand to his other company to build, Pass Labs. I have noticed the newer offerings price of First Watt amplifiers has went down some. The newer offerings that is. Cheaper labor it seems than the master himself building. You can find a well built SET amplifier for around 1/2 the price of one of Nelson's SS amplifiers. Better bang for buck is the way I see it. I am like many others in that when it comes to sound tubes still rule.

If any of ya'll think you may want to make electronics a hobby should take a good look at the scope and signal generator I just bought. For less than $200 you will have as good equipment of some the electronic repairmen I watch on youtube. I am talking guys that do repairs for a living, not for play. What you find on their bench will often by a 30 year old 20mgz scope and signal generator. These were not hobbyist items but for the working man. They are old and there is always a chance that the school they came from were not honorable and throwed in a non working one when they were sold as all working in bulk. The seller seems to be straight and if you get good ones chances are they will last a long time. A friend I helped online get into the hobby of building amplifiers bought a new scope and signal generator and he really knows very, very little about electronics. The reason being his kids think he's is a genius now. For $200 they will make some of your in-laws believe you are smart. https://www.ebay.com/itm/265864241373?hash=item3de6be60dd:g:2LwAAOSwlOpi~865 https://www.ebay.com/itm/265862712323?hash=item3de6a70c03:g:rmYAAOSwUU1i~8x~ Just to add I bet the seller will sell them for $70 each buy it now if you contact him. I know, unless things have changed.

That is what is said on the net. Sound good to me when brand new but most what you read on net say best after 100 hours on them. In a tube there are some impurities in the materials inside that have burn off and be caught by the getter.

Turn it off when not in use. I usually just turn it on and start using it. Warm up probably does help some. No, if I decide to turn a tube amp back on I do not hesitate. A coat of wax will be all it will need to preserve the wood. Stick with 6Y6, and 6SJ7 tubes. I honestly do not think you are going to find any better 6SJ7 tubes than you already have. The tubes in it now should last a very long time. Those old tubes were made to last.

Sorry to hear about water heater. I think we all have been there in the past, at least I know I have. Luckily my old house has the water heaters at ground level. Good to hear the Sweetie is working fine with no problems. I did my best to build it where it will not give any problems. One reason I like Maynard's designs because he is easy on the tubes running them for long life. For a tube amplifier the Sweetie runs rather cool. Should give years of service. The 6Y6 sound grows on you the more you hear it. Smooth and sweet sounding. If your speakers are somewhat bright the Sweetie may be just what you are looking for.

I see no problem discussing an out of date discontinued old horn speaker. Made around the time of the K-horn. Those big horns made back then sound great then and will sound great now. We Klipsch owners will still consider the K-horn the best of the best for home use. That A-7 was more of a pro speaker for auditorium use. I sat too close to one of them at a concert and my ears rang for a few days after.

Me too. http://www.roger-russell.com/voigt/lowther.htm