Express with New Pacific Transformers - Modernized Approach

[bkvance]

WOW, being new to the family, this is a very clean looking chassis. I think the powdercoating will look cool in colors that compliment the wood choice.

BKV

[ampgeek]

SWEET Rj!!

What technique are you using to make your boards? I have been using an Apache laminator to transfer images with great success. But...never anything that large...yet!

Cheers,
Dave O.

[njwrecks]

looks great RJ - cant wait to hear it- Love the white chassis!

[Bob S]

Wow - how clean is that !
Impressive - even by RJ's standards.
Great Work RJ.

[RJ Guitars]

Hey guys, thanks for those encouraging words. It's really easy to keep a build looking clean and tidy when you only solder a couple wires a day and the amp doesn't even work yet. Once I have to unsolder and fix stuff the look of things could change drastically... if I did a good job of designing the board maybe that won't be an issue?? It has been a fun project and I have a little time for making some more progress this weekend.

SWEET Rj!!

What technique are you using to make your boards? I have been using an Apache laminator to transfer images with great success. But...never anything that large...yet!

Cheers,
Dave O.

I use a professional PCB house... not cheap but no mess to clean up and the quality is first rate. I applaud you for making your own boards. I am starting to believe that if you approach the PCB implementation from the view of creating the ultimate amp rather than the cheapest one you can fabricate, then it's a great tool.

[ampgeek]

Thanks mate!

Yep.....I couldn't agree with you more on the overarching PCB philosophy.

For me, it also represents a huge feeling of liberation that empowers the scratching of that creativity itch (heaven knows I am in true need of some of that..creativity that is!). You don't get stuck having to "compromise" your desired approach to match that of others.

That, to me, is worth the resource investment (that I know I will never recover monetarily) by an order of magnitude. It is, afterall, just another branch in the DIY family tree as the vast majority of those reading this will fully understand!

Rock on,
Dave O.

[ampmike]

Its great to see the RJ emblem again in your posting.Your build is looking fantastic.really nice.Love the white chassis!!!Have fun RJ!!!!!Mikey

[bkvance]

rj,
I got both quotes, and really wanting to hear more about this PCB build so please keep us all informed.

Thanks,
BKV

[RJ Guitars]

Finally, a little bit of time to work on this project again. The photos tell the story for the most part... it went together pretty easily and aside from having to swap the leads on the output tranny to stop the mad squealing, I didn't have to fuss with it much to fire it up. Why is it with a 50/50 chance that it never seems to be that I get those leads in the happy place the first time??

I put in an old set of preamp tubes that I use for new builds and then sorta randomly grabbed a pair of 6V6GT's for the output tubes. It was late when I finished it up so I couldn't really turn it up and listen to it but what I heard sounded quite nice... tomorrow maybe I can crank it and try a set of EL34's as well.

[xtian]

Really nice and simplified looking, with the PCB and the cap cans. The white chassis is classy. Very nice, RJ!

[Colossal]

Very sharp RJ!

[Bob S]

Stellar work RJ.
Dual B+ voltage too.
Impressive - the pcb makes good TW clones do-able for mere mortals.
Well Done.

[RJ Guitars]

Thanks for the kind words...

I got a chance to turn it up and it does sound very cool... very Express like. I can't say it's better and certainly no worse than any of my other Express builds but that isn't necessarily saying anything negative.

Dual voltage is interesting (don't try this yourself - no telling what might happen)... I switched the voltage real time and watched the voltage reading on my Fluke slowly rise and fall over several seconds. There is an audible difference but it is pretty subtle. I did a similar thing with the output tranny primaries and there is only a subtle difference there as well... again switching in real time is not a practice I'd recommend but it does make the direct comparison more valid.

With the 6V6GT tubes it's a little more smooth, not as loud and not quite as over the top as a typical EL34 Wreck... After I played it a bit with the 6V6GT's I put in a pair of Svetlana EL34's. Nothing quite like an EL34 Express, a savage beast with a bad attitude and way stinking loud. I have some vintage EL34's that I'll try once I am done flipping switches and build some trust that everything is ok with her.

I gotta play it for a while and break it in while I learn it's finer points a bit more... It's a satisfactory beginning and It's ready to use as soon as I get it loaded in a cabinet.

[jeff12]

Very nice rj, I like the dual voltage switching and output impedance.
Wanted to try dual voltages myself but have not yet.
Very clean looking build, white chassis makes it nice and bright.

[Reeltarded]

That is quite developed. It is a beauty of a build!