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6X4 Rectifier Questions

Posted by FlaCharlie (A) on April 17, 2017 at 10:36:00

I recently saw schematics for some small guitar amps that used a 6X4 rectifier. They use a single 6.3v filament winding to heat all the tubes - 6X4, a pair of 12AX7s and a 7189A. A couple of them had one side of the winding grounded and no center tap, another had a center tap.

Somehow I was under the impression that rectifiers needed to have heater supplies that were separate from the other tubes. Perhaps that's because so many use 5v rectifiers while the other tubes use 6.3v.

Is this a proper implementation of the 6X4? Can other rectifiers be used like this too? Specifically, can all tubes be powered by the same supply, assuming the voltages are the same and the current rating is sufficient? What's the downside of such an arrangement, if any?

And what about having one side grounded? Most rectifier windings seem to be floating with no center tap and most of the other tubes are heated with a CT winding.

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