elkin 6 tube amp

[johnboy]

does anyone know anyhting about elkin 6 tube amps? are they any good? what kinda watts should i expect? My friend has one...he was $400 for it...does that sound fair? would with work well with a cobra 142 gtl base? thanks in advance

[Foxhunter]

does anyone know anything about elkin 6 tube amps? are they any good? what kinda watts should i expect? My friend has one...he was $400 for it...does that sound fair? would with work well with a cobra 142 gtl base? thanks in advance

I'd wonder what model Elkin that is? What type of tubes are in there and what is their condition? It is in working order? To what degree would depend on the current condition of the tubes (need a tube tester). The problem with some tubes is their expense and limited availability. A quick check on CB Tricks only yielded 2 models, a 4 and 12 tube. [Please login or register to view this link] . Here's a small exerpt discussing Elkins amps:

Q: I live in North Carolina and around here the guys are real big "Elkin" amp users and they put crazy high prices on them because they say that a guy named Ray built them here in Elkin NC.
My question is --- is this true? if not where were they made? and what is a good price for the amps?? I paid $170 for my 2 tube--$215 for the 4 tube--$300 for the 6 tube--and $400 for the 8 tube. that was about 5 years ago. What is a good going price now --I know a couple of guys who have some that they are wanting to sell.

A: yes, the elkins were made right here in nc (yes i'm a tarheel also). they were made in elkin nc, and his name -is- ray. they are no longer made, but there are still plenty out there. as far as i know, ray will still work on them, but will no longer make them. there is a guy about 20 miles south of me who built these amps with ray at one time, and still repairs them also.
as far as prices, you'll pay about what you paid for the amps above depending on the # of tubes and the condition of the amp. they are all over nc and it should not be hard to find one.

Q: I think they were made in 3,4,6,8,12 tubers. Are they good?? User friendly,...Easy to work on,.... availability of schematics? What kinda of wattage can you get? Just wondering b/c a local has one for sale

A: I think they are a fairly good amp to run.I've never heard of a 3 tuber though.You may mean a 2 tuber.However,it is 2 different version's of the Elkin.You have a standard 4,6,8,and 12 tube.Then you have a Super 4,6,8,and 12 tube.The difference is the Super Elkin's have a low and high power switch on them.The standard Elkin's do not.You have different tube variation's too.Some of the 2 tuber's have 6DQ6B tube's and some have 12DQ6B's.As far as the 4,6,8,and 12,i have seen those with either JAN-1625 or 12DQ6B's.These amp's do real good on AM but SSB don't hit on too much as far as i'm concerned.
They are pretty good for swing power.I use a 2 tube Elkin to drive a bigger amp i have now.As far as i know,there isnt a schematic diagram easily available for the Elkin's.If so,i've never seen one.I have took several close up picture's of the underside of a few Elkin's in good working order for troubleshooting purpose's though.
As for the wattage,i'd rather not comment on that.But with an Elkin of 4,6,8,or 12 tube's in good shape,i dont think you would be disappointed.

I hope any of this may be a start.

[King Mudduck]

If the amp looks really nice and the tubes are good in it then yes 400.00 is a good price for one. These amps ARE NOT ABOUT BIG POWER NUMBERS!!!! These were built for strong modulation and great sounding audio so if you think that you will see big power from them then your in for heart break and driving them with a high power radio will only wear them out faster.

A 12 tube is good for around 800 watts but with massive modulation! Straight 8 is about the same but a cluster 8 will do over a 1000 easy and a 4X4 ( bigger transformer and hotter tubes ) 8 tube elkin will do around 1300 watts. Straight 6 will do 500 to 600. 4 tube will do 350 to 400 depending on power used to drive it and a 2 tube elkin will do 175 to 200 watts. Now if you take that little 2 tube to Ray and let him hop it up a little you will see a little over 300. Now the power that you see from these amps will vary from amp to amp because some of the amps will have a stronger transformer in them than others. Ray has told me the reason for this is that back when he built these things new he would use what ever transformer that he could get the cheapest for at the time and some times he got the hot one at a good price and used them. Most of the amps used cheap tubes that would have a great sound and do descent power numbers but would not break the bank when you had to do a re tube. As i said these amps are built for big modulation and strong audio. I have a friend here in town that has a 12,8,6,4 and 2 tube elkins and with any of them he sounds like he is running way more power than he really is!!

[steve10316777]

I have a Super 6 but the 2 small tubes are showing a short where can I get these tubes are n what are the bymbers on them. The numbers are wore off on the ones that I have.