So I couldnt like wait a day for the proper tubes to arrive for a vari-mu circuit, so I thought I'd just jam a big negative transient down 12AX7's tailed pair throat, in that "cold clipper" position. 12AT7 and 12AV7 worked a little better, to where you could at least hear some compression really happening from the grid reference ties being driven negative by the envelope voltage. Which turns out to be the interstage potentiometer's ground connection now tied instead to the envelope voltage control.
Same DC envelope circuit essentially as Fairchild, only I'm using a spare 70V winding on the opt my amp happens to have to drive the full wave bridge. It only takes about 1/5 of the voltage that can make, so I'd have some confidence in a 16 Ohm winding being able to work also (25V) to generate a negative going envelope for upstream diff pair tube gain control.
I bought some 150V Zeners on the 12th still not here, probably lost in the mail. Re-bought different ones from a different vendor...
Same DC envelope circuit essentially as Fairchild, only I'm using a spare 70V winding on the opt my amp happens to have to drive the full wave bridge. It only takes about 1/5 of the voltage that can make, so I'd have some confidence in a 16 Ohm winding being able to work also (25V) to generate a negative going envelope for upstream diff pair tube gain control.
I bought some 150V Zeners on the 12th still not here, probably lost in the mail. Re-bought different ones from a different vendor...