Boutique Tube guitar amp Class A vrs AB Which is better? D-Lab electronics Battle

The Battle Continues. This time D-Lab takes on his own. 6AQ5 Class A vrs Class AB. Distortion vrs Chime. Both housed in a vintage Realistic Gold cage. Very cool demo. The verdict is yours! I love this old stuff, the dynamics, tone, fullness, tube amps rock!

[@TheGuitologist]

Super fantastic sounding amps, Terry! Great stuff. I'd like to hear each one with the volume cranked all the way to 10 with that Tele neck pickup. On the Strat, volume and bass dimed with treble on about 7 would be heaven.

[@d-labelectronics]

Thanks man, Yes, these little guys turned out well. The cages are from Old Realistic mono amps from the early 70's. I had the cages laying around in the basement. So, the thought hit me to make some bone basic amps. The chassis was actually 1/4" too small, so I added aluminum strips on the sides for proper fit. The SE model actually has the original bottom cover stamped "Japan"

[@startend7196]

Terry, you are an artist!

[@rciancia]

Terry, as you know I have just built the 6AQ5 AB amp from your design and I can tell from my own ears, that is the winner hands down. Your design is just awesome on this one. I am mounting mine in the cabinet now and will be done. All of your circuits are just amazing.... always happy to hear your products. Thanks so much my friend - Ron

[@d-labelectronics]

Cool deal man, Yes, I have been watching the progress of your amp build. The Super Mighty Mite is the same as your schematic. The only change is, I bumped up the grid coupling caps to .047uf. This gave the amp a bit more fullness. I appreciate your friendship. Have fun with the hobby. TD

[@richardleerodgers5303]

nice work beautiful sounds

[@kerryg4119]

Tony with that guitar on class AB takes the prize for me. Great sound.

[@kenhancock8931]

CHEERS Terry WYLE E. COYOTE Super Genius . Exellent Video as always Thx

[@bradc32]

they sound great I like how you use the 6aq5/6av6 tubes.they are much cheaper than the usual tubes for guitar amps

[@whatsstefon]

Both sound amazing. Would love to A/B them myself, but alas, we live on the opposite sides of the globe. I'd love to build one of each of these myself. The SE sounds almost gig worthy, as everything gets mic'd up these days anyway.

[@davidkaiser810]

I could take either one. They both sounded fantastic. I am currently building a 5E3 clone, I would like to see how they compare

[@74dartman13]

They're both awesome! It's just me I guess, but I like the class A a little better. Has great tone and it's simpler and smaller. I like simple...less tubes to go bad and it fits in a nice small box...great for an old radio cabinet!

[@hpelisr]

Great sounding amps, good clarity. Would like to build one,with a little more watts?Can you get more watts out of the Ab amp?

[@TheMrmiko]

Great sound for both of them, but i liked the A class better. So the winner, for my opinion is Mighty Mite.

[@jessd1952]

I like the way the second one (ab) crunches and compresses when he dug into those strings on the tele. I also prefer the harmonics (belltone). But let's not make the mistake of thinking the A class was poor, both were great and both were more quiet than my 5e3 deluxe. These probably have a three prong plug which is a little safer.

[@ncsuperdad]

Do you have a video build on the ab amp? Are you sharing schematics? Love to try building one. Thanks Terry!

[@Wildman9]

They both sound great.But I like my little Allen Classic 10.

[@larry6686st]

Both sounds good. I'd go for the AB amp.

[@RobertKohut]

Nice!!

[@PaulinTaegu]

The Mighty Mite should be the one called SE since it is a Single Ended amp and the other is a PP amp. Now you could bias the PP as Class A too and then compare it to the Single Ended amp. Both in Class A you'd probably hear the difference of the PP vs SE output transformers.

[@covingtonpeoples]

This is great! I’m currently trying to decide which path to take with some 6aq5s and 6au6s. Also, I see that shure 70h (s?) in the beginning. I happen to have the shell and a destroyed diaphragm. Any idea where I might find a replacement? Love your videos!

[@kardRatzinger]

How come the Push-Pull amp is class AB if it has the same plate supply voltage as the class A amp?

[@BigFatNastyMan]

I'm gonna cast my vote with Tony. Class AB. From what I could hear on my phone, it has a richer sound. Both are great however. Good job.

[@domenicmirto7351]

Hi Terry, Thnx for the great channel... Are the schematics available...? ... Keep posting, we're watching and learning...

[@stephenquail3168]

If I had to choose between the two it's the Class AB for me.However the class a is a great sounding amp too.I bet they they sound great with pedals too.

[@seankerrigan1627]

Matey (a term of endearment here in Aotearoa (New Zealand), love your stuff... and so well timed, as in I've got the last amp I built from scratch, which had a 6av6, and 6au6 and a 6bm8 SE years and years ago, and now I've decided to build one with a 6x4, a 6at6 and a 6aq5 SE(all from a way old car radio) and, now the reason for my writing, what might we be able to do with the 6at6 and 6av6 diode functions while they are still being used as triodes? My knowledge of how they work in radios, anything radio except for amps, is abysmal but I can't help thinking, hoping, that the same function of diodes fro clipping when placed across collectors and base in a pedal might actually be achievable with these little seven pin babies .

[@The0nionKnight]

As much as I love pure class A, the winner here is the AB for sure. The super version has a fantastic tone!

[@micha-elcleveland1265]

I like the AB. Sounds like a mash between a big Fender and Vox = Foxer, Foxy, Fox of an amp!

[@voxpathfinder15r]

It's not so much which amp is better, it's which amp better suits the guitar you are playing for the style you are playing.

[@anvil777]

They are your amps Terry so they do sound great both. I’d go wit the one that would have been sounding better overdriven to me.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

3:15 CLASS A 5:54 CLASS AB SIMILAR LICK ...but second guy demo's better, witth strat, and tele bass pu on AB, but not class A Both amps have their purpose, but I prefer the grit and warmth of CLASS A, especially for bed room playing. Introduce reverb and these amps would be perfect Fender family amps supreme!

[@budandbean1]

Really love these, they always seem to break up at the perfect time. How do you do that Terry? Oh, I like the AB a bit better. I’m listening with good headphones and it seems to pull more nice tones.

[@d-labelectronics]

The Mighty Mite Class A amp is now listed on Reverb.com for sale

[@jeffconley819]

Hey Mr D lab.......do you still make those AB super mighty mite. Or do you have a kit so I can build my own.

[@jeffconley819]

I like the class A also.

[@jcmcclain57]

It’s all in the camo tolex speaker cabinet... All kidding aside, they both are very nice sounding amplifiers. Obviously the AB output will have a lot more gain, but the Class A magic is the full wave signal reproduction. I like both of them and probably would lean toward the class A for overall tone and sound. The class A would mike up nice in the studio.

[@RobertKohut]

Both sound "Mighty" good!! In this AB test of the Class A and Class AB amps I think my A choice is the Class AB amp over the Class A amp (whew, that's a lot of letters!). A pretty 'classy' choice if I say so myself!! In Canada I would say I like it , Eh! But I guess now I need to say I like it Eh Bee....LOL

[@crazyuncleduke8012]

I like both of them but if push came to shove I'd take the class A since it sounds like my 1965 blackface Fender Champ.

[@dennisperusse3837]

What is the primary impedance of two 6aq5 in push pull? I have a schematic from the Rick Tone amps but no specs on the OT that was used.

[@d-labelectronics]

The Hammond 125H is 10K

[@jonathansmith2710]

A little confusing since SE implies single-ended for many viewers. It seemed more logical when you called the P-P version the "Super Mighty Might." Great to see these type of A/B demos. I suspect the harmonic content of SE vs PP becomes a more significant factor when guitar amps are pushed further into distortion?

[@jasonkirkham550]

I like both. but, I favor the A/B. I might be asking for a schematic

[@aliveandfilming2]

I wonder if a slightly bigger class , would compete more. I was expecting the A to be louder

[@Dennis-mq6or]

Very impressed by both amps. Alone either one would sound great, but having just heard the single ended, the switch to push pull sounded muddier, muffled, like someone dropped an extra piece of grill cloth over the speaker, Where do you get your chassis and covers from? I really like them! They remind me of a cross between a Dynaco and one of the small Knight Kit amps from Allied Radio.

[@jeffconley819]

What brand guitar is the guy in the red T-shirt playing .

[@JoseLuisVasquezGiraldo]

Mighty Mite FTW!

[@Fr0stbyte89]

D-lab Electronics RE: Your comment about the SE amps being susceptible to hum - I just re-capped a 5w Kalamazoo Model 1, which has no filter choke and small-ish capacitors in the power supply, and it's quiet as a mouse even when cranked. Would you consider building another Mighty Mite without the filter choke to compare the hum levels in a future video? Keep up the good work!

[@d-labelectronics]

Hello, Yes I have built this circuit several times without the choke. Instead I usually make a PI filter using a 250 5W resistor instead, pretty close the the same hum level. This time I had a spare choke to add.

[@ralphvickers2339]

your ring girl looks like one of Alex Lifesons stage front fan club

[@voxpathfinder15r]

I know Toni liked the class A/B better - but he sounded better with the class A amp. I think it has more compression that suited his style better.

[@teddsmith2426]

A is good. But, there is something about AB. Maybe the centertap that allows you to feel the amp push back or the lag when you starve the electron clouds with a low note at high volume.

[@mikem1614]

Both sounded great but I prefer the sound of the AB amp.

[@ricks8473]

How about the Stromberg Carlon PA amp sitting on the bench!

[@d-labelectronics]

That one was sent to me by a Sub for a D-lab conversion to guitar amp. A very cool looking piece. Have not powered it up yet.

[@DeadKoby]

I've generally liked Class AB a little better... based on my amp collection

[@jamesberlo4298]

The Man with the Telecaster is good !

[@hpelisr]

Sale the class A amp to that fellow with the red shirt and I'll take the other one. Nice amps. I want to build one.

[@maynardmadsen8712]

What kind of chassis are you using on those?

[@d-labelectronics]

Made by Hammond, Aluminum

[@d-labelectronics]

The Super Mighty Mite is now on Reverb.com

[@mrredritehand]

AB just comes ALIVE compared to ClassA or SS. But depending on what purpose or situation you need it for, classA might be the better option, and they all have their place in the world of music production no doubt. I've listened to classA amps that steal the damn show tho! And my Boss Nextone emulates ALL of them extremely well too, so Godbless them all ha ha.

[@theonewease]

HEARTBREAKER! Now THATS! what I'm talking about! Tony! Keep the GFR alive!

[@theonewease]

ps... tell Tony C, Lonesome Dave Peverett used to tell me the only effects he needed were in is fingers! Tony knows how to work dem amps!

[@roimark358]

I prefer the small one.

[@kornami8678]

Those 6 with the thumbs down must be transistor amplifier lovers.

[@muzikomanasguitar4941]

Fu***ng amazing... :)))

[@cardboardboxification]

D-lab make a pre amp , and mono blocks or all in one , tube amp for a MP3 player...

[@gregellis8672]

I would be happy with either one. I like the bald guys playing better 73 .

[@mrredritehand]

They're both bald lol

[@johnbellas490]

Terry: I think the AB amp is a little better, I think that the push pull output is great in that it gives more BEEF when you want it, but I like the class A too in that it has a PURE tone quality, so my thumbs up for the Class AB Senior by "just a hair" ------------------ John Bellas KC2UVN -------------- Hmmmm Maybe 7 would be heaven !!! as Brad says below !! it even Rhyme's --- ha ha, Ive got to remember that one :-) :-) !!

[@DennisFeinsteinCEO]

Why do those amps sound like a Squire Frontman 10w with the treble on 10? 😐

[@jonathansmith2710]

Because your listening through your phone or laptop's crappy speakers.

[@duster71]

I dont know,i like the class a tone, sounds a little sweeter.

[@PaulinTaegu]

Both biased Class A and I'm guessing the Players would like the sound of the SE OT over the PP one. PP the OT cancels out most of the 2nd harmonic distortion. The SE OT cranked up will have the 2nd harmonic as its greatest harmonic distortion which is musically related to the tone played and make the distortion sound better than the PP OT to most. It is almost like adding a second related voice to the tone you play.

[@fredbach6039]

I liked the punch of the push-pull but it's tone came out harsher on my earphones. The single-ended class A had a fuller warmer sound that seemed to my ear not so willing to go into distortion or more graceful at it.

[@mfowler8808]

Proof most guitarist plug in dime all the controls bypassing the tone stack so why bother. I going build them with just the volume control.

[@JulianA-tr6pt]

M Fowler Diming a tone stack doesn't bypass it, especially on a Fender style treble-middle-bass stack. It's always scooping some mids and shaping your sound, which I find is extremely important in a good sounding amp. The closest way to bypass 3 knob stacks is actually by turning the treble and bass to 0 and cranking the mids.

[@tomsheft4223]

Check your website! GoDaddy needs to be fed!

[@d-labelectronics]

Yep, I let it lapse. Not sure if I need the site. Do most of my dealing thru KZbin & Reverb.com

[@sounddesignerinc.1770]

Where can i buy one

[@d-labelectronics]

Should have them ready soon. Still finalizing/post test, etc. Where are you located?

[@sounddesignerinc.1770]

Gleview, Illinois

[@d-labelectronics]

Do you want the Super or small Mighty Mite? Be glad to sell you one. TD

[@sounddesignerinc.1770]

D-lab Electronics either one, they both sound good, but the lesser $$ is fine:)

[@d-labelectronics]

$250.00 for the little guy $325.00 for the SE model

[@greatreset3]

That guy almost plays as bad as me! 🎵🎸