The Amp Garage

i will. i do want to to give it a chance with the tubes in it now. i will probably try all kinds. i have a few seimens, i have two xf-2 mulards i have a ecc-83 mullard, and a few more other old EI 7025. thanks This is a fun process. You'll be amazed how much difference tubes make in one of these am...

When I was experimenting with steel, it was brought up to me that some people prefer a single tap. For a couple of reasons: 1. Some people might worry it would sound different than the same tranny dual-primary 2. Single tap is more "original" -- closest to the real things 3. Fewer wires to cut and t...

Not to be a downer but i've found in preamps for studio that tubes often colored the source i was recording in a way that wasn't a first choice for a forward mixing track ( vocal, snare, kick, etc) I really enjoy the sound of a tube mic and tube compressor or eq. +1 -- that's one good reason to hav...

The core saturation that MM is talking about is the bad saturation. But there's more to it than that. If the technical babble is confusing, skip it and read the bottom conclusion. Realize, I don't design these trannies. I read a white paper or two, I'm NOT a transformer expert, so I try to keep it a...

Moose, Not that I want a Mercury Magnets tranny Moose, it is just that you know your trannies. Do you know if those guys at MM ever cloned an original Pacific? They advertise to send your vintage in and they will clone it. Mark I played an Express clone that utilized the MM "Wreck" transformers. It...

I built a tube mic pre. Hammond power tranny, cinemag input and output trannies, and reasonably high quality caps inside. The circuit was similar to the aikido mic pre -- just google it -- and the component values were chosen by using a simuilation. The amp has a buttload of headroom, is super quiet...

Hey Moose. I guess I went wrong on trusting the schematic on the Liverpool then. I always thought that somebody had mesured 235-0-235 on one so that's what I bought. Where did the 260 come from? What are we looking for on the plates of a Liverpool? The 331V for B+1 and the 234V over the PT have pro...

RJ, First -- the power tranny used for most stuff is the same. Even on Rockets. RH pointed you back to that, but I wanted to make it clear here. Actually, 260 is a tiny bit low compared to what voltages we know about. 250 way too low. RH spec'd that tranny for his own purposes. The 250 would have be...

T I've got a couple questions if anyone can help out - Are the Pacific and Heyboer transformers for an Express both 300-0-300 volts? A 2nd relative question - We all know that the AC power seems to be a bit higher today than it was 20 years ago. What impact does the higher voltage have on our effor...

You can fuss over it all you want with waveforms and the like, but Glen used Pacifics in his touring rig clones and got close enough for his ears. You want Franchesca tone, that's the owner of Franchesca and her clone, anecdotal evidence says Pacific will work. Besides, they're the only other option...

My gut feeling when I later got my Pacific transformer Express was that it was slightly more mid focused, slightly more aggressive, and maybe had slightly less deep lows. I don't remember much difference in the brightness but it was months between hearing the two amps. Yeah, I did a touch of experi...

Awesome. I was just telling someone I love tremolo effects in my sound. Interesting that this one has just a hint of the shift that makes it a true vibrato -- much less than the Maggie or other vibe pedals but enough to give a different color to the tone compared to a normal trem. Thanks for sharing.

I would imagine trying to find a Pacific would be darn hard to do. I see that there is a Pacific transformer company is that the same company but they don't sell this type anymore? I can get my hands on Pacifics, easily. Allyn, your glorious forum sponsor, has a good relationship with them and he, ...

Glen,

In case I haven't said it this week, you're always remarkably helpful. It is much appreciated.

I can't really diagnose for sure, but the only more authentic transformer is a Pacific and it will be ostensibly identical to the Vintage Spec, though you might hear a difference. That's what Glenn used in his clone, and why I switched steel to match it. At this point, the other question that comes ...