Now you see why I asked for an accurate schematic, photos and layout, as without that info, no one else can have a clue whether the problem is due to the design, its implementation, or a bad component.
Twisting wires may be beneficial in the case of a pair of wires carrying balanced signals, or when one or more of the wires has a low impedance connection to 0V common.
Also it may help in the case of wires carrying signals of opposing polarity with some gain between them, eg grid and anode of the same stage, anode and anode of cascading stages. Because capacitance between the wires will create a negative feedback loop, rolling off high frequencies, thereby improving stability.
I got it. You're messing with plate resistor values. Higher plate resistor values equals more gain. When the gain is high enough, oscillation is inevitable. Tube quality will affect this. Better tubes can take higher plate resistor values before the oscillation starts.
If you are pushing for more gain, it's better to increase plate resistor values in two stages by a moderate amount than it is to increase the resistor by a large amount in a single stage. Rather than 330K in one stage, try 180K in one stage and 220K in the next stage.
Other ways to increase drive/distortion: Convert an amplification stage to a cold clipper. Increase the cathode resistor to a value between 10K and 39K. Keep the plate resistor value below 100K when doing this. (82K is good.) Alter the value of the 470K mixer resistors, to allow more signal to pass from one stage to the next.
I was trying to have v1b plate adjustable for giggles and shits. 100k(Marshall), 220k(Soldano) and 330K(Friedman). The mod worked fine, but guess the 5" of lead made the oscillation since it oscillated on any of the three settings. Thanks again for the help and the good info
