All metal se amp, 2x6sk7,6v6

Hi everyone ,
Found in my small stash of tubes a couple of 6sk7’s and 6v6 metal.
So I thought about building a se amp with what I have lying around .
I know most people say 6sk7’s are rf and useless, still, I’m just experimenting in order to learn.
If anyone has an idea for a schematic I’d appreciate any input .
I’ll go ahead and build something out and post schematics along the way, criticism is very welcome.

 

Actually i was using valvewizard´s page for the purpose...Fantastic site!
One question I have and it might be a stupid one : should I set the two stages the same or how do you decide which settings for each stage?
I´ve hardly seen amps with two consecutive pentodes ...I did build Bendyha´s Effing Else, which sounds fantastic.Other than that, not much is to be seen.
What´s the rule to choose each stage´s settings?Why is it usually a pentode followed by a triode (or the other way around)?
I konow I have 300v as b+, don´t necesarily need a tone stack (beacause i never use it), was thinking more of a gain+volume, or even gain+volume+master if that makes any sense.
Again, not an expert at all, have built quite a few amps following opther schematics, and tweaked as far my knowledge allowed me to so no offence if someone needs to call me an ignorant!

 

Don’t have a pedal...don’t need distortion either, just aiming for a little bit of breakup, if feasible with those tubes...

 

Hi there,
I gave it a go yesterday .
I chose 33k for Ra and -6v curve on the graph
Ra 33k
Va 150v
Rg2 150k
Vg2 97v
Rk 1k
Vk 5.2v
(Voltages indicated are measured ones)
That’s about 5.85mA (Ia + Ig2).
Specs indicate 9.2mA Ia and 2.6mA Ig2.
Should I try to get closer to that? After plotting the load line I tried several resistor values and the ones I indicate are the closest measured/calculated.
Other values just had nothing to do with the calculated ones.(voltage readings vs voltages calculated).
Assuming these settings are ok I could move on to the next stage.
Should I set the second 6sk7 equally? I ve wired a 1M pot between stages. Coupling capacitor is 0.047 (because I had one lying around).
Any help would be welcome, am a bit in the dark here.
B+ is 300v by the way.
Thanks!

 

Danlad and Printer2: triode strapping is an option as you say, but the idea is to try an all pentode amp.

Depending on the results as pentode.
Am not in a hurry...

 

hi there,

Schematics of where I am at ...
I chose b+ of 300v and 9.2mA, bias at -4.5v with a 33k resistor
Voltage readings are quite different from what the maths say (if they are correct that is).
One doubt I have is whether I should sum Ik+Ia+Ig2 to get the full dissipation
289-146.6=142,4/33000=4,31mA (plate) (according to graph should get about 100v)
289+92=197/150000=1,81mA (grid2) (according to Merlin, I calculated the plate to grid factor and result is 3.5 so if my bias point is [email protected] i should have 1.82ma on the grid. 100v/0,00182=110k , closest resistor I had was 120k. But it just didn´t work so added a pot hence the strange 190k value.Tuned it so I could get the 4.5v bias voltage.
Correct me if all of this is absolute crap.
4,5/820=5,48ma (Cathode)
That would be 10mA total if i add everything.

Should I try getting closer to the knee of the curves ? -3v would be spot on then.With 40v on the plate at 8mA
Don´t really understand how to calculate the gain and how much I should aim for.
Second stage I tried to go for half after reading too much and understanding too little ...
Grid leak : not clear either whether the 470k after the volume pot is correct. Supposedly you should´nt load the second stage too much.

Anyways, will continue my obscure learning path .Perhaps choosing pentodes isn´t the easiest as first amp designed from the datasheets.
But what the hell, it´s part of the fun


I do feel like running around in circles ...

Played around plugged into a Jensen c8r, output transformer is 7,2K , speaker 8ohms. Pretty nice sounding already...

 

As recommended by 2L man, I biased more centered
Keeping the 33k plate resistor I have 153v, 98v on g2 (with 150k resistor) and changed rk to 1k, having 5.3v.
I used Merlin’s factor calculation to set up g2
Data sheets say 2.6mA @100v for g2 with 9.2mA for Ia
9.2/2.6=3.54 factor
My chosen bias point is [email protected]
4.6/3.54=1.3mA for g2
200v drop/0.0013=150k g2 resistor...
1st stage set (for the moment...)

Printer2 : sounds like a plan.and I like that pot arrangement, I’ll give it a go with 2nd stage as triode.
I assume that would allow me to dial in first 6sk7 and then I can move along fiddling with the next one.Whether I keep it as triode will depend on results.
Looking up how to wire pentodes as triodes I came upon this article which will require more reading in the future . For the moment and being the crappy student I am I just jumped to page 23
http://www.audiodesignguide.com/New2A3/ETF06TS.pdf

 

curious to see what you come up with!

 

How many times can you go around the circle ?
I´ve tried all sorts of combinations...triode to pentode, pentode to triode, pentode pentode...With and without cathode bypass caps...
All sorts of values and all sorts of settings.

And keep coming back to the same point.
1st stage stays as pentode , values as seen on schematics.
2nd stage : tried the recommended or typical values on the datasheet.
But am not satisfied .
Sound is good, nicely balanced, plenty of volume for a se home amp.
But it´s a tad harsh, even playing around with the tone pot on the guitar it´s a bit too percussive. I am not getting the breakup i am aiming for, even at full volume.

There might be different causes for this :

-speaker used is a Jensen c8r, in some of my different settings the cone was flapping. i do not know what causes this, is it too much gain, is it the ot, is it the
impedance between stages?

-I dont understand in valvewizard´s pentode page why at the bottom he chooses 1.6mA to calculate the gain. Is it because of the chosen bias point?
If that´s the case then I should have 4.6mA x 33k = 155. not that it means much to e but compared to most triodes it´s a hell of a lot of gain.

This morning i decided to set both pentodes the same and am going to try with a tone stack (just bass/treble + volume) between the two 6sk7s.

And am going to give it a go with a 12" speaker I have lying around.

This is a much harder quest than i thought it would be, but i came across loads if interesting reads.
The last one being https://livinginthepast-audioweb.co.uk/index.php?p=valvegaincalcs
It´s a tad more complicated as an explanation than valvewizard´s and haven´t really had time to understand it.
Bit by bit...

Maybe i am just on wrong quest and should go back to copying other people´s schematics and using usual tubes but that ain´t no fun!

Will update with results with the new schematic and 12" cab...

By the way guitar is an epi 1966 reissue or whatever it´s called with a Fralin P90 (just another variable to what´s coming out of the amp).

 

Yep why not, do you have or know of a schematic that shows how this could be done ?