No Chokes in Wrecks

[RCGPNY1]

Was just wondering if anybody knows(or guesses) why Mr Fisher, and builders of wreck clones don't use a choke.

[rooster]

Hm, maybe space and also I don't know of any 1K chokes. Fender used a 10K carbon 'choke'/resistor back on the '50s so not a new idea. He was probably going for a feel thing and who knows, maybe he tried it and liked it, and then didn't pursue having one built. The 25 Watt version resistor he used is a wire coil affair, so it does perform somewhat like the traditional choke. Of course it does not have the steel core.

I imagine it would sound/feel different but maybe in a subtle way, I don't know.

[redshark]

Maybe he heard something in the Traynor YBA-1a that he liked.
That amp doesn't have a choke.

[matt h]

(deleted)

[RCGPNY1]

These answers are all reasonable. What led me to the question is: Although they are not "high-gain" older Marshalls with chokes(IMHO) sound and feel better than modern ones that use resistors-I always was under the impression that Ken's amps were sonically more akin to a Marshall than a Fender derived amp. Funny that HAD and Fuchs generally do use chokes in their amps...again not high gain.

[Jackie Treehorn]

There's a lot of similarity to the Ampeg Gemini 1's power supply. Those are very underrated amps.

[matt h]

(deleted)

[Clyde]

There's a lot of similarity to the Ampeg Gemini 1's power supply. Those are very underrated amps.

Yes, didn't Ken work at Ampeg?

[Blackburn]

There's a lot of similarity to the Ampeg Gemini 1's power supply. Those are very underrated amps.

Yes, didn't Ken work at Ampeg?

Yup. And some stuff found in Ampegs got carried over into TWs.

[badtweed]

I think it is quite possible that he simply found it a way to cut costs without having the tone take a considerable hit.

I spoke with Ken on two occasions and he was very kind and helpful when it came to answering my questions about AC30 designs. He was quite pragmatic in our discussions about amp building. He wasn't of the mind that cost is no object. He was kind enough to send me out a couple of photocopies of Sepulveda era Vox tube amp schematics and asked that I send him a check for $5 to cover the cost of the photocopies. Nice that he even took the time to help me I think but he seemed to be rather frugal.

Ken's voice was really raspy and he did mention that he was ill but did not mention any specifics about the illness.

Around the same time I was also speaking with Mark Sampson who wasn't quite the nice and helpful guy that Ken was. I was considering a Trainwreck purchase from Ken who didn't seem at all enthusiastic about taking on any orders and he kept repeating that the wait was quite long and that the wait was the same for plain old folks as it would be for any celebrity. I believe he quoted the wait time to be over a year at that time.

I ended up passing on getting Ken to build me a Trainwreck and instead purchased a mint 65 AC30 from Sampson who btw did a very poor job packing the amp for shipping.

http://thebigwhistle.blogspot.com/

[rooster]

Here's a partial schematic for an Echo Twin that I just worked on. Note the 1K resistor used as a choke. It's a 20 watt old school wire wound tube-like resistor and still performs and measures like new. And actually there's two identical power supplies in the amp and both resistors are doing fine.

......and thanks for the story badtweed!

[Plexified]

I remember Ken talking about slew rate and speed . How quickly the note was thrown through the circuit with a fast attack . Solid state would be too fast so to me he was backing up from that and controlling it his own way . I think the tolerances , and installation of a choke were negatives and the possiblity of interferences . He had more tuning ability with the resistor and probably found the right one to his ears while tuning . Cost was probably favorable along with tolerances and bulletproof performance . But as Roe schooled me on the old Marshalls , god is there some good tuning to be had in these circuits with chokes ! David

[Paultergeist]

Maybe this question is heresy......but I'll just ask anyway:

What are the prevailing thoughts among forum members about the Ceriatone "Rock It" (pun on the TW "Rocket") layout -- which incorporates a choke in the PS rail? I ask because -- of the Ceriatone TW-inspired kits -- their "Rock It" seems to be the one I have heard the most about......and I confess that I have one of those kits -- or at least parts of one -- lying around with intent to build......

[M Fowler]

Paultergeist

The Rockit is built just like the TAG layout and the TW Rocket did use a choke as specified in the build info.

The opening of this thread should have read why no chokes were used in the Trainwreck Express and Liverpool but most of us already knew that so probably the OP felt no need to further explain that.

[Paultergeist]

Thank you for the explanation.

I guess I am just trying to catch up in my studies to the rest of the class!