New 14 watt Express build

[M Fowler]

Very cool amp and sounds good as well. The cab is beautiful.

Mark

[Mark]

Great looking build.

Did you have much trouble with the wooden front panel?

[wpaulvogel]

I don’t think so. What kind of trouble do you have. Only thing I don’t like is having to retorque to nuts for the pots switches and jack. I run a separate ground wire to a screw/lug/nut for the input ground and I have a separate one for the tonestack etc. I don’t rely on anything passing through the wood to provide ground.

[studiodunn]

awesome build and next level on the winding your own!

One of my favorite express builds ran about the same voltages and used 6k6 tubes . I thought it had just the right volume and didn't lose the Feel of a wreck.

[RJ Guitars]

... The 6P3S tubes are made for this amp.

For those scouring the archives for the subtle mention of a real gold nugget, this might be it for Express players around the planet. I've run them in at the full Wreck voltage but never built a lower voltage/wattage amp around them (yet). They are apparently kin to a 5881 in design, which I tend to like anyway. In my amps they were pretty loud but I suspect this is telling us they sound pretty good at lower voltages.

[johnnyreece]

... The 6P3S tubes are made for this amp.

For this scouring the archives for the subtle mention of a real gold nugget, this might be it for Express players around the planet. I've run them in at the full Wreck voltage but never built a lower voltage/wattage amp around them (yet). They are apparently kin to a 5881 in design, which I tend to like anyway. In my amps they were pretty loud but I suspect this is telling us they sound pretty good at lower voltages.

This also made me think of your 6Y6 version. I'm finally back to building (slowly, for sure), and want to get my 6Y6 Express done. Hoping maybe it will bump my 2W Express out the door, which will mean more money to fund the next project!

[wpaulvogel]

... The 6P3S tubes are made for this amp.

For those scouring the archives for the subtle mention of a real gold nugget, this might be it for Express players around the planet. I've run them in at the full Wreck voltage but never built a lower voltage/wattage amp around them (yet). They are apparently kin to a 5881 in design, which I tend to like anyway. In my amps they were pretty loud but I suspect this is telling us they sound pretty good at lower voltages.

I’ve put 6f6gt, 6k6gt, 6v6gt, they are all thin. I’ve got a pair of old Tung-Sol 5881’s and they are good but the 1.8 amps heater current warms the power transformer. The 6P3S draw about 700mA each and I wish now I’d used EI125 laminations for the power transformer because it’s just not enough inductance for the heater winding. The HT winding only sags about 30 volts. My intention was to get 4 amps but I’m new to custom winding and I learned from this one.

[Mark]

I don’t think so. What kind of trouble do you have. Only thing I don’t like is having to retorque to nuts for the pots switches and jack. I run a separate ground wire to a screw/lug/nut for the input ground and I have a separate one for the tonestack etc. I don’t rely on anything passing through the wood to provide ground.

That’s what I worry about tightening the the wooden front panel. The cab looks beautiful.

Regards

Mark

[wpaulvogel]

I make sure to use the washers under the nuts for the input jack and pots, and for the toggle switches I use Carling switches and buy the trim nuts that are a bit wider than the supplied little thin ring nuts. The trim nuts are knurled just like the little ones but have a stop shoulder. They tighten securely to the switch body and you tighten the hex nuts inside the chassis to secure the switches. I have thin wrenches to tighten the hex nuts. The lacquer relaxes and displaces requiring re tightening, it’s not the wood. I don’t get crazy tightening the nuts on the first, second or third time.