06/13/2026
Always try something new! Bought a few of these sub-miniature low power tubes originally made for battery powered hearing aids and radios. At 20mA heater current I figured these could be a game changer for pedals. Tube tone at low power?
So I got this prototype up and running, sounding good, but not really enough gain to be an overdrive for anything but humbuckers. Will try a transistor front-end for higher gain, let the tube do all the clipping.
Anyhow, maybe it's all for naught? People warned me about this! Every time I hit the footswitch the tubes would ring like a Banshee for about ten seconds. High pitched whine in the low kilohertz. Silicone glue did not help and possibly made it worse. How could these have possibly worked in hearing aids?
Stay tuned...
