6l6 in VHT Special 6

[kev1n]

Hi,
I was wondering what mods i would have to do to run a 6l6 in my vht special 6 and get the full 20 some watts from it. OT replacement? Bias? ect..
http://www.vhtamp.com/pdf/VHT_Specia...ic_5-17-10.pdf schematic

[Jazz P Bass]

That looks like a well thought out amp.
Triode, Pentode switch.
Half power, full power switch.
How many whats do you measure right now with the 6V6?

[ThermionicScott]

20 watts from a single 6L6 is pretty optimistic. 10-12 is more like it.

[kev1n]

ok. So what do i have to do? Just swap in a 6l6? or do i have to change something else?

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

It doesn't make anymore power with a 6L6 plugged in and the 6V6 sounds the best anyhow.
They make about 4 watts with the 6V6.
Yeah, you could rip the two transformers out and rebuild it with big ass class A iron for a couple hundred dollars so you could run the 6L6 and get maybe +10 watts out of it. Seems like a waste of money to me.

[kev1n]

ok then. Are there any mods you suggest for this amp? Also, couldn't i do something like the Weber 5E3P Proluxe?

[Steve Conner]

Well, what is it about the amp you're not happy with and want to change?

[kev1n]

I would like more clean headroom and i dont like the way the eq is voiced, i only use it bypassed.

[Steve Conner]

Probably best to sell it and get a bigger amp, then. The mods probably won't make you happy.

Edit: I see "Mod friendly" is actually in VHT's advertising blurb, so I guess you'll feel cheated if you don't get any suggestions for mods. Try removing C12 and see if you like the effect of the tone control any better. If not, put it back in and remove C11. Or, try one of the huge variety of mods for the Epiphone Valve Jr, this is practically the same amp.

[Jazz P Bass]

You also could try a speaker cabinet with more "paper" than that single 10" speaker.

[kev1n]

Thanks. I think im going to try new tubes and a weber sig 10s and see how that sounds.

[ThermionicScott]

A more efficient speaker would be my "mod" of choice. What does the VHT Special come with?

- Scott

[kev1n]

it comes with a vht speaker which is supposed to be inefficient on purpose to be quieter for recording.

[ThermionicScott]

Well, there you go. Pop in an efficient speaker and those 4 watts will be much louder.

- Scott

[kleuck]

Change the cathode resistor for a 270 or 300 ohms one (3 or 5 watt) and plug a 8 ohm cab in the 16 ohms ouptut (or a 4 ohms cab in the 8 ohms output) and you can probably get 8 or 10 watts from this amp with a 6L6.