After receiving requests for a lower-powered combo version of the Lerxst Omega in the 15-20 watt range, I wanted to ensure that the lower wattage amp still had the punch and feel of the Omega. I’ve never been a big fan of EL84s and how they tend to fall apart when driven hard. I had experimented with some British-based designs using 6V6s in the power section and was able to voice them like smaller EL34s. So, I mated a simpler single-channel preamp of the Omega with the two 6V6 power amps, and the Lerxst Chi was born. To enhance the “big-ness,” I chose a Celestion G12-65M Creamback for the added headroom on the speaker.
The last amp I designed for this project was the Chi 30. It was essentially a head version of the Chi but mated to a cathode-biased two EL34 power section. It still had the same FX loop as the Chi and Omega. We built one for Geddy for his home studio.
