5G9 build: sounds fantastic …but not very loud at all

[deci belle]

Do other 5G9 players have similar experience?

I just built a 5G9. It sounds gorgeous; deep and clear (and the trem is wow): but it's not very loud.

I even switched to 21w 6L6Y metal-clad tubes, re-biased and matched the impedance, now it sounds even better, but…

The one AY7 gain stage and then the PI… not much to work with for loud— I'd heard it's a "junk-yard dog" kind of amp!

Do others usually use an AX7 in V1?

The speaker is a Weber 12f150b.

I'm just trying to figure out what normal is for this amp.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Should see 15 ish clean watts, and you're using a fairly efficient speaker. With 12AY7, I think your complaint is more about gain, not power. Yes swap in an AX and maybe that'll be the formula. Remember when these were designed, it was for "polite" playing, but since rock n roll started up everybody (almost) is expecting bark n snarl. Hey, that's the junkyard dog!

[deci belle]

Oh~ OK! Ya, it's very polite and has character too, Leo-Gnardo. I'll just enjoy it as it is— of course I'll try the AX7 too. Thank you for the response to my question!

I'll do the test to see what the clean watts output is on the oscilloscope— cuz I never did that before.