Hello Tom!
On 19 Jan 98, Tom Scioscia wrote to Duncan Markley:
 TS> :) Besides, I'd probably have it biased very slightly high so that it
 TS> *very slightly* breaks up,
Boom.
 TS> just so I have a really sweet clean sound. Not
 TS> enough to kill the tubes, though.
Biasing it *properly* will toast the tubes quickly, let alone a little hot. 
The only way to get them to distort is to cut the B+ level.  When you do 
that, you eliminate the entire problem.  385v is the rated max for a current 
6V6 (they can live at 400 when biased "cold")... they sound WONDERFUL at 
around 325v. The 6L6 can handle a higher plate voltage, but as with the 6V6 
circuits, the old Fender designs need a serious B+ diet.
A 50v stud-mounted zener reverse-biased against the center tap on the power 
transformer will drop B+ by 50v (substitute 50v for whatever zener you use 
for your desired drop).  If your transformer has a 5v filament tap for a tube 
rectifier, that will drop an additional 30 volts compared to a solid state 
rectifier.
I strongly urge you to check out the vacuume tube date on 
http://www.aros.net/~tboy/ampage/tubedata/vtd.html before continuing a DIY 
project based on an old Fender design.
In the 60s, tubes were rated at a particular voltage, but most types, 
especially the old Sylvanias, could handle voltages far above their rated 
voltage.  Current tubes are built TO the original rating and not beyond.  If 
you do build an exact clone of an old Fender design, I strongly urge you to 
use only good quality, tested, NO$ $ylvania$.
C-ya! Rich
--- GoldED 2.40
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