6AU6 and 6J5 for Guitar amp or pedal.

[TechnoBeaver]

I'm itching to get my feet wet with some tubes.

I got a single 6AU6 and a single 6J5, can I bulid a small amp or distortion pedal with these components?

I have seen similar projects with different tubes. I am look ing to take the edge of my big SS amp or even build a small tube amp.

Can I get any distortion out of a setup like this.

If you think it's plausible I should be able to fiqure it out from there.

Thanks!

[gain-wire]

hi TechnoBeaver (love the name!)

you can always get distortion with any amplifier configuration. It just depends on how much and how you design it.
Refer to NJ7P Tube Database Search and you will have some characteristics for the 6AU6. It's a pentode, and judging by the plate current, it's meant to be a preamplifier. You could possibly drive a transformer in a class A configuration and run that to a line out, and you could get class A power amplifier distortion.

So, no you can't drive a speaker, unless with the 6J5 ( NJ7P Tube Database Search), which is a medium-mu triode (meaning medium amplification factor), but in any case you'll need a matching transformer. Do you know the ampage website (AX84)? The AX84 project: a low-power tube amp kit

If you're not yet too knowledgeable about tubes, it's good place to start. And I don't mean to say that I know alot about tubes, because I don't but in order to know about tubes, you must know about amplifier classes. These apply to both solid state and tube devices.

cheers,

gain-wire