A3801 value?

tsutt · Post by **tsutt** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 3:23 am

WHO'S wearin tinfoil hats...............

Any magic wands involed. hhehe.

hitchcaster · Post by **hitchcaster** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:08 am

Allynmey wrote:I've also built a good number of TW's with 3801's (both black and silver). The Pacific's I have are as good if not better than a lot of originals. Much more consistent too!

I've A/B'ed a few in my life!

I haven't gotten into the 3801's yet.... but I've got a rocket with RJ's heyboer's in it. I have 2 pairs of cloth a470's and I A/B'd one from each pair. the 470's are close but one sounds a little better. the heyboer sounds more "right" though and I prefer it. the stock 470 is not the right trannie for this amp IMHO. the whole "mod" thing and people saying ken sent his to merren or somewhere to make it right has always been a head scratcher for me. same goes for what the right trannies are for the rocket in general. so are the RJ pacific, K&M, and yours allyn all exactly the same? or did each guy make his own "deal" with whoever he got on the phone over at pacific?

also I'm waiting for your trannies to show up eagerly, I just hooked up a old showman trannie just out of boredom cause I don't want to reset up everything once they do. thanks!!!!

redshark · Post by **redshark** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:20 am

Trainwreck transformers is still some sort of mistery. Everytime I ask the question about the model or part number of the stancor PT that went in express or liverpool amps nobody knows the number or numbers. Go figure!! still if you are building an express or rocket Allyn's pacific sets are the best.

MCK · Post by **MCK** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 4:16 am

redshark wrote:Trainwreck transformers is still some sort of mistery. Everytime I ask the question about the model or part number of the stancor PT that went in express or liverpool amps nobody knows the number or numbers. Go figure!! still if you are building an express or rocket Allyn's pacific sets are the best.

I asked the PT question and searched high & low but could not find the answer. Mystery (for me) continues...

hitchcaster · Post by **hitchcaster** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 5:06 am

MCK wrote:
redshark wrote:Trainwreck transformers is still some sort of mistery. Everytime I ask the question about the model or part number of the stancor PT that went in express or liverpool amps nobody knows the number or numbers. Go figure!! still if you are building an express or rocket Allyn's pacific sets are the best.
I asked the PT question and searched high & low but could not find the answer. Mystery (for me) continues...

yeah that is wierd... the PT wouldn't seem like that big a deal for a "secret"

heres some K&M iron I just saw on the gearpage. that's the pacific iron??

Richie · Post by **Richie** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 6:08 am

Probably easier to look up the old stancor transformer data book. There are only 2 i believe that have the correct voltages taps,and size and ratings that match what was used. One has a dual tap . Its been a while since i looked.
Just search the bunker of doom Stancor transformer books.

http://www.bunkerofdoom.com/xfm/stancor ... 66_014.jpg

selloutrr · Post by **selloutrr** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 6:27 pm

tsutt · Post by **tsutt** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 6:56 pm

But you said it took you 8 years to find the info.HMMMM. not trying to make wave but the ? was asked before but not answered. not by me however. just sayin.

redshark · Post by **redshark** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 7:21 pm

Thanks selloutrr!! last mistery solved!!

selloutrr · Post by **selloutrr** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:30 am

redshark wrote:Thanks selloutrr!! last mistery solved!!

I can think of a half dozen things you probably have yet to find out lol.

redshark · Post by **redshark** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:51 am

selloutrr wrote:
redshark wrote:Thanks selloutrr!! last mistery solved!!
I can think of a half dozen things you probably have yet to find out lol.

you think so? like what? I would like to know..

selloutrr · Post by **selloutrr** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 4:31 am

nah I'm good. I've helped enough. I'm done.

hairyandy · Post by **hairyandy** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:58 pm

Wow, lots of latter-day TW experts on here these days! I don't seem to remember you guys being around when all of this info was being unearthed by guys like Allyn, Plexi, Billy and a host of others...

Andy

Hogy · Post by **Hogy** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 4:05 pm

Ken had a lot of, shall we say unorthodox views about his amps. He also was a very funny guy, and I'll leave it at that.

That said, he did grade his transformers. He would buy them in batches of 25 and listen to all of them in a test amp. He'd keep the ten best and use the rest for repairs.

Out of the ones that were destined for Trainwrecks, he numbered them and made notes of the way sounded. Bluesy, crunchy, gainy, bright, dark, good for a Strat, good for PAFs, etc. That kind of stuff.

So when he got around to building your amp, he'd ask what you were looking for. What was your main guitar, what amount of gain you liked to play with, what was your musical style. And picked a transformer accordingly. In other words, he wouldn't pick the same OT for George Lynch's amp that he would pick for Bernie Brausewetter's.

Of course, Ken also believed that as an amp was breaking in, it "molded itself" (his words) to a player's touch and main guitar...

Hogy · Post by **Hogy** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 4:10 pm

selloutrr wrote:
You will not find a nos for sale. Production totaled 500. It was discontinued due to being unstable and Prone to failure and hum.

Not after this, that's for sure.

They would occasionally pop up on ebay, I bought a number of them over the years. They do tend to buzz, but can be re-potted to fix the issue.

The Amp Garage

A3801 value?

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