6G3 circuit - what can you tell me about tone knobs/dirt pedal recs to save my ears ?

What speaker is in the amp, Mike? I'm not so sure about why the Normal channel feels hotter to you, but I do know that the speaker choice could/can/will make a difference in volume / dirt at different levels....
Do you jumper the two channels? One can get a bit more coloring this way --- add the opposite channel and it's pretty awesome really.... I don't leave home without it

 

What about trying a less efficient speaker. I usually jump the normal & bright channels on my 6G3 to get more thick sound with some added brightness. The normal channel typically seems louder as it has more low end content, so your experience would be normal in my usage with the 6G3. Jumping the channels won't help you get more overdrive though.

I have been going through a bunch of overdrive pedals over the past year and I keep coming back to the Black Arts Toneworks Black Forest. It's based on a Colorsound Overdriver, but has treble & bass controls. It also has a 5 way filter switch for the input. It works with about every guitar and amp I throw it at. Stacks great with other pedals. What I like best about it is the Black Forest can do both clean boost and heavily overdriven sounds with aplomb. Not sure why more people don't get into this pedal besides the prejudice that Black Arts Toneworks primarily serves metal players. I have used this pedal many times with a Princeton 6G2 and the Deluxe 6G3 amps. I wouldn't think a Rat type pedal wouldn't really do what you are looking for.

You could always just use ear plugs when you are doing the heavy jams. It's way cheaper than buying another pedal or changing a speaker. For something that gets great grind at lower volumes, why not trying to find a Gibson GA-8 Gibsonette. Those amps get plenty of righteous grind at lower volumes. No tremolo, but the sound of the vibrato on the 6G3 Deluxe can be gotten on any number of vibrato/tremolo pedals.

 

I used an attenuator (Swart Night Light) with mine, and it sounded glorious at a reasonable volume.

 

The 2 channels on mine are pretty even, if anything I think the bright side is a little hotter, but maybe that’s just the high end coming through. I will say the normal side is usually hotter on all the other brown amps I’ve played through, and I figured that was due to the trem on the other side taking a little “purity” away.

I’ve used a Wampler Euphoria and Paisley Drive with mine, like them both.

And yes, mine is a loud 20 Watts too.

 

+1 on earplugs. The 6g3 circuit is just going to be loud if you want the cranked sound. In my 6g3 clone, I actually ended up putting in a more efficient ceramic magnet British voiced speaker to get the best out of the overdriven sound. It sounds great when pushed, but you need earplugs or it'll hurt you. It is as loud or louder than my supro thunderbolt clone with is running 2 x 5881 and a pretty efficient 15. I haven't found it to be particularly "pedal friendly". Mine is modified a bit from the classic 6g3 circuit though so you might have more luck there but I'd be surprised.

In the end, pedal at lower volume is going to sound like the pedal. If you want the 6g3 cranked sound without hearing damage (and you already have an inefficient speaker), you are either going to have to try earplugs or maybe a power attenuator.

 

1) Is the amp an original 6G3?
2) Has the bias been set with the original GZ34?

The reason I'm asking is early models used a 125P2A power transformer which puts up a higher B+ than the later 125P17A.

My '61 has the 125P2A and I use a 6087/5Y3WGB rectifier; which gives me about 420v biased at 20ma per tube. If I were to use the stock GZ34, my B+ would be in the 455v range making the amp louder and cleaner.

A friend has a '62 with the 125P17A; and is using a GZ34 with the voltages in the same range as mine.

We're both using Celestion Type A speakers.

I've found an old Fulldrive 2, J. Rockett Blue Note or King of Tone IV all work well with this amp.

 

Z Brake Lite attenuator. Mount it inside the cabinet. Not cheap but will knock 2 or 5dBs off the volume with no change to amp tone. 8dB=slight coloration. 11dB=significant coloration.

As far as pedals go, I'm really digging my new Mad Professor Ruby Red Booster. It's a treble booster and a clean boost, with a master volume.

 

What's the plate voltage in relation to the bias current?

 

Fwiw, if that Oxford is original, it is not an inefficient speaker as were the Oxford 12’s from 1966 on. Fwiw, the 6G3 is a killer amp, to my ear.
Imbalance in the channels??? As suggested above,....perception due to the slight difference in the channel....or....one triode in V1 could be weaker than the other.

 

I put a Cannabis Rex in my Deluxe....but then I wanted more clean volume.
Be interested to hear about it if you go with an attenuator.

 

Terrible problem, owning a vintage 6G3. You have our deep sympathies.

Back at B+, what are your voltages?

 

I have not noticed that with mine.