Have this amp in for repair (maybe restoration). Those of you familiar, this one has a house fuse (I'm 67 yo, I know them well), the 80 rectifier, 6A6 preamp (no shield), and a pair of 42's. Tubes all Ken-Rad (appear to be the original set) and as stipulated on a Gibson model tag attached to the inside of the amp. Anyone know where I might find a schematic for this exact model? I have yet to find one with the pair of 42's. Oh, and this model only has one input jack, not two. I'm guessing it might be from one of the original late-1935 production runs. Anyway, correct schematic please, anyone? TIA. Pete
6a6 80 42,'S.
Volutone Model 5 schematic
PersonalWebKit.com Web Site
I think i have seen Valco or early Supro that had 42's. Maybe Gibson didn't make it?
Volutone Model 5 schematic
PersonalWebKit.com Web Site
I think i have seen Valco or early Supro that had 42's. Maybe Gibson didn't make it?
If you know ~~1935 amplifiers, it should not take much time to trace-out a 3-tube amplifier (you know what the '80 does).
I have seen just enough early Gibson plans to be sure they were changing them every week. Mozz's link shows two 6A6 and yours is one 6A6; you "can play" with a low-gain preamp but somebody in Gibson woke-up to the advantages of a higher-gain preamp (and adding another similar stage is the way to do that).
I have also suspected Gibson contracted-out the ugly electronics to a Radio Factory, and that factory may have sold similar product out a side-door as "Volutone".
'42 is a 6V 2A5, both on 6-pin base, which evolved to 6F6 octal. 6V6 will do 6F6 work with less bias and drive so drove-out 6F6... but in 1935 6F6 would be the Big Tube.
One thing even you may barely remember: Grid Battery. A teeny 1.5V cell soldered directly in the grid circuit. These worked for years and years. May be dead now. "May" wake-up if you drill a pinhole and get a microdrop of water into it. There are other hacks, none real authentic. But is this a gigging player or a shelf display?
I have seen just enough early Gibson plans to be sure they were changing them every week. Mozz's link shows two 6A6 and yours is one 6A6; you "can play" with a low-gain preamp but somebody in Gibson woke-up to the advantages of a higher-gain preamp (and adding another similar stage is the way to do that).
I have also suspected Gibson contracted-out the ugly electronics to a Radio Factory, and that factory may have sold similar product out a side-door as "Volutone".
'42 is a 6V 2A5, both on 6-pin base, which evolved to 6F6 octal. 6V6 will do 6F6 work with less bias and drive so drove-out 6F6... but in 1935 6F6 would be the Big Tube.
One thing even you may barely remember: Grid Battery. A teeny 1.5V cell soldered directly in the grid circuit. These worked for years and years. May be dead now. "May" wake-up if you drill a pinhole and get a microdrop of water into it. There are other hacks, none real authentic. But is this a gigging player or a shelf display?
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