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The Sushi Box FX Secret Society

#5,341
Here’s the gut shots from my old Edison.

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#5,342
For what its worth Ive had mine out to two loud rehearsals, and the very mild microphonics mine has was not an issue (granted I had mine on full time). My drummer noticed enough to inquire what changes I hade made to my pedal board.

Sushi Box FX said:
If your equipment uses the EF86, you have to like it enough to deal with microphonics or get something else. Vintage Mullard design notes suggested using a tube socket that is shock mounted." So the optimum way forward may be moving it to the bigger box and either finding a different mounting solution or leaving room that damper rings can be added.
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This :thumbsup:
 
#5,346
Sushi Box FX said:
So I may end up discontinuing Westinghouse. I'm getting the impression that every single EF86 in the world is microphonic, some just more than others. So I finished wiring up all the Westinghouses for the April batch, and I wanted to use as many of my soviet 6J32P (EF86 equivalent) tubes as possible, so I plugged in each one that I have (total of 18) and cranked up my amp, then tapped on the tube. Every single one is microphonic. Some are just a slight ringing, while others sound like the bells of the Sistine Chapel. But every single one.

So I reluctantly reached for my box of new Tube Amp Doctor EF86 ($25 each compared to $3 for the 6J32P). Plugged one into the first pedal then just for fun, cranked the amp and tapped the tube. MICROPHONIC. I tested 5 more TAD EF86, all of them also microphonic. The TAD are all definitely in the minor microphonic category, but there were a handful of 6J32P that were just as quiet as the TAD, which means they're just as usable as the TAD?

When I say I cranked my amp, I mean the Master of my 300W head was at 3:00 through a 2x10 cab, and my ear was right up against the cab. Is this a realistic setting for live performance? I have no idea, I've never gigged with this amp. Is it possible the "mildly microphonic" tubes are good enough to not be noticeable in a live setting? Maybe, really depends on the setting and what the user feels is "good enough." I really love the tone of this thing, especially around 235V (the "sweet spot" to my ears and what I will be setting the maximum at unless told otherwise) it really opens up and has a special character I don't have in anything else, but I really don't feel good about sending a bunch of pedals into the world when I know for a fact that every single one will be some level of microphonic. Am I also tired and frustrated and maybe not thinking completely analytically? Sure.

So I apologize for not keeping my promise, the pedals are technically finished and just waiting for tubes, so no Westinghouses have been shipped yet. I'll think it over more in the morning, in the meantime please let me know what you think. As a one-man company I don't have a panel of subject-matter experts to bounce ideas off of, so I rely a lot on public opinion here.
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Is the microphonnicness mitigated at lower voltages? Maybe that’s one reason why the Edison is only 30V?
 
#5,347
BunchyMutt said:
Is the microphonnicness mitigated at lower voltages? Maybe that’s one reason why the Edison is only 30V?
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Microphonics are still present at lower voltages, they're just more evident with higher output level. Microphonics are inherent to the tube, not the circuit.
 
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#5,349
Sushi Box FX said:
If your equipment uses the EF86, you have to like it enough to deal with microphonics or get something else
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Alright.
The "get something else" is more what I was suggesting.
Can you set up two of your WH, one with an EF86, then another with a different tube, whether it be a 12AU7 or whatever, and A/B them, while adjusting the voltage to the non-EF86 one, to see if another tube can approach a similar tonality that you're getting with the EF86 equipped WH @235V?
 
#5,350
dedpool1052 said:
Alright.
The "get something else" is more what I was suggesting.
Can you set up two of your WH, one with an EF86, then another with a different tube, whether it be a 12AU7 or whatever, and A/B them, while adjusting the voltage to the non-EF86 one, to see if another tube can approach a similar tonality that you're getting with the EF86 equipped WH @235V?
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I mean I could try something, but EF86 is a pentode and the 12A*7 series are triodes, anything I try would sound different. Honestly I think Space Heater with the gain rolled back would be about as close as you can get with a triode-based preamp, but the character is still different.
 
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#5,353
NKBassman said:
Are there other small pentodes you could try?
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I mean there are literally hundreds of different varieties of sharp cutoff pentodes, it would just be about finding one that has similar curves and responds similarly. With the prevalence of EF86 in Vox and Matchless amplifiers, if there was a good replacement out there that sounded as good, I would be curious why they aren't using it. I'll look around, but that will take a considerable amount of reading and likely won't happen right away as I have other things that demand my attention.
 
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