The Amp Garage

From what you say, you have put the signals out of phase, and they are cancelling - the thin sound is just the remainder of the two signals combined, because the two signals are not perfectly out of phase.

4Ω, 5Ω, 8Ω... It's all the same to that little radio. That is not a bad guess. Running the radio output transformer into a 4 ohm load could cause problems with sustained output at full power. Into 8 ohm you would not have a problem, but it would be a little quieter, and likely add a little grit to ...

I should point out that the UL84 is not exactly similar to the EL84 - the 6.3V valve that is similar to the UL84 is the EL86, which has a slightly lower power and anode voltage specification. That Philips radio is a much better choice - 6.3V heater string. The 5 ohm speaker is standard Philips pract...

The isolation transformer could make it safe to touch exposed parts of the chassis - but only if wired correctly, and you should also consider that you are dealing here with something that is roughly 60 years old. The transformer would not prevent the hazard of a circuit failure that could result in...

According to the EU regulations, it is not legal to plug a guitar into any apparatus where there is the chance that the chassis is live. The use of an isolation transformer does not get around the regulations. You break the law if you use such an apparatus in a public place, like playing a bar. For ...

Not that I've done it, but I know a lot of people print theirs on decal paper which gives a nice finish that can be transferred onto a metal surface, then varnished to improve durability.

I don't recall anyone marketing transistor sound as a feature It happened in UK. Transistor amps got respectable from about 1972 onwards. Carlsbro stopped making valve amps and started selling their Marlin and Stingray models. There was an English company, PA¦CE, that sold gear under several brand ...

As far as hybrids, there have been several approaches, including Musicman's SS pre and tube power stage, Marshall's Valvestate with its buried voltage amp and cathode follower, and Vox's Valve Reactor push-pull 12AX7 into a SS power amp. None of these has been able to replace the real deal. That de...

Trade secret: you can solder to aluminium foil for earthing connections. You need a big iron or soldering gun, about 50W - 60W. First, you get your duct tape in place. Scratch over the area you want to use as an earthing point with the tip of a craft knife - that removes enough plastic coat, if pres...

Never really caught on anywhere - but they are still going, despite being senior citizens now.

Old folks can still boogie ... might mention that while I watched that vid, it was trying to sell me an elderly access bathroom ...

My dotfret is an ES333, 10 years old, but I spent time with a 62 345 in my youth and have a friend who has a couple of real dots, so I speak from some experience ... Those Yamaha SGs are great guitars, I have one, but only the 2000 & 3000 models go up . Yamaha did make a great line of semis in the 7...

No harm mixing 63/37 with 60/40, but you lose the "quick set" property. The idea behind 63/37 is that it doesn't need much "holding in place" because it sets quickly. If you use that with a big hot gun, you can minimise thermal shock to sensitive components like capacitances and semiconductors. Just...

It really does depend on the amp, as to what can change the tone. About two years ago a pro guitarist friend of mine decided he wanted something more portable than his rack system, and bought a Bogner combo. The manual said quite clearly that fitting NOS valves could only improve the amp, so we trie...

Is there a large-ish capacitance on the input that you are now bypassing? Sometimes a large high voltage cap, around 0.5 - 1 microfarad, is placed on the input to give a safety factor in case of major disaster (some valves will do strange things). If that is in place, it will build up charge before ...

TUBEDUDE wrote:He loved the tone, but couldn't get over the habit of stomping something to change the tone.

Build him a simple A/B switch box and let him set two channels on the amp. Then hide all the pedals. Took me 40 years to get around to doing it ...