More rocket fun

Express, Liverpool, Rocket, Dirty Little Monster, etc.

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guitarmike2107
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by guitarmike2107 »

I know, I had a young local guitarist here the other day, looking at building him a new rig, I am sure he thought it was loud but I felt it needed "1 more"
we were looking at hard rock tones, going to get the Les Paul out with it tomorrow so maybe I will change my mind then.

I used to gig happily with a 10w combo.....
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by guitarmike2107 »

also meant to say how did the noise of the amp compare to the express copy, the express has allot more gain so should have been more noisy.

I also don't think most amps that are set up to overdrive the power section work well with lots of pedals, all the noise from the pedals gets amplified big time regardless of if the guitar getting turned down, might be better to put a volume pedal after all the effects before the amp. you can also then do some awesome volume swell playing
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M Fowler
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by M Fowler »

Mike your layout is how I do my 18w Rocket with filter caps right in the circuit where they're needed and tie input jack ground to ground of cathode resistor/cap.

But if a TW Rocket was built using stock Ken F. design cap stack grounding I change that over to isolated input jack it helps especially with single coil pups.

Mark
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by guitarmike2107 »

I use similar methods for all my builds/layouts and I have built some pretty high gain monsters that are really stable and not nearly as noisy as production amps with the same amounts of gain. But a cranked amp can be hissy, but thats just resistors and tubes for you.

I remember being at a Gary Moore concert, his amps were on for ages before he came on, you could hear the hiss loudly from the crowd, not through the PA system....
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norburybrook
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by norburybrook »

Mike, the express had a VVR so we were using that so it wasn't deafening. My rocket and the express were pretty similar noise wise .


The king of hiss has to be Brian May. The sound of his multiple AC30's just sitting there is a sound to behold :D My friend Jamie Moses is his guitarist.


Marcus
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brejna
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by brejna »

Hey guys, this is little bit of topic.. Sorry
I finally started working on my Rocket :) I need some help on choosing layout.. I really love Mike's layout and I want use stock cap values. Will this effect level of noise? Also what are best grounding solutions?

Thanks
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RJ Guitars
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by RJ Guitars »

I really like Mikes layout and IIRC, there are a few similar iterations made up by Mark Fowler, Hoffman, and a handful of other TAG regulars.

My favorite layout for a Rocket is a variation of the Z-Wreck... something I call the "Tejas Twister". Despite it's Voxy English roots it has some of the best Texas blues tones you can ask for.

For those that haven't already noticed, this design borrows heavily from the Z-Wreck layout but makes use of the traditional style Wreck pre-amp board and transformers. One of of the best things that happens with this layout is that the transformers are moved away from each other and there is overall a lot more breathing room for everything.

http://diyguitaramps.prophpbb.com/topic18.html


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brejna
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by brejna »

This is very interesting layout, thanks for sharing. Is there schematic or layout with all connections?
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brejna
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by brejna »

I found schematic and layout from your Rockster and if I got it right all I need to add middle control is take off 10k resistor from bass pot, change bass pot from 1M to 250k, connect bass pot lug 2 and middle pot lug 2 and then solder 5k resistor between middle pot lug 3 and ground??
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RJ Guitars
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by RJ Guitars »

I'm in the middle of a big project but I'll try to follow up on your questions before too much longer.

If you consider the 25K mid control pot to simply be a variable resistor in place of the 10K mid resistor then you've created a variable mid control for a Rocket type circuit. In the real world you don't really want this resistance to go to zero ohms so it's best to tag a small resistor (~5K) on the end of it to ground.
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RJ Guitars
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by RJ Guitars »

brejna wrote:This is very interesting layout, thanks for sharing. Is there schematic or layout with all connections?
I've needed to finish this layout for a while so your prompt was timely...

"Warning" - consider it as new unverified work and proceed with caution

I used the TW Rocket schematic as the basic foundation for this build... the details of the Master volume and the effects loop are included in the layout but are not included in the Rocket schematic. I'll eventually work up a schematic for the Tejas Twister but don't hold your breath, it's not going to happen soon.

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brejna
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by brejna »

RJ Guitars wrote:
brejna wrote:This is very interesting layout, thanks for sharing. Is there schematic or layout with all connections?
I've needed to finish this layout for a while so your prompt was timely...

"Warning" - consider it as new unverified work and proceed with caution

I used the TW Rocket schematic as the basic foundation for this build... the details of the Master volume and the effects loop are included in the layout but are not included in the Rocket schematic. I'll eventually work up a schematic for the Tejas Twister but don't hold your breath, it's not going to happen soon.

Good, Fast, or cheap - Pick two

http://rjguitars.net/
http://diyguitaramps.prophpbb.com/


FWIW - did everybody's signature just sorta go away or is it just me?
Thanks for sharing layout. I will combine 2 layouts to make my Rocket, I will add your mid control to Mike's layout for more versitality..

Cheers
Brane
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RJ Guitars
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by RJ Guitars »

you are welcome...

If you want to play with the tone stack a bit, here is a fun tool to use: http://duncanamps.com/tsc/index.html

After playing with this tool for a while I actually grew to prefer the Marshall tone stack to the AC-30... ICYDAK -- (In Case You Didn't Already Know) the Rocket is the top boost channel from an AC-30.

Another fun little tidbit is: The Rocket preamp architecture looks a lot like the Marshall JTM 45 which is sorta based on the Fender Bassman.


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http://rjguitars.net/
http://diyguitaramps.prophpbb.com/
Good, Fast, or Cheap -- Pick two...

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angelodp
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by angelodp »

Hey rj, rolling back to my Rocket w/ reverb and PPIMV, you suppose I can use that effects loop without any issues?

Ange
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M Fowler
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Re: More rocket fun

Post by M Fowler »

Angelo,

I would just place effects loop between treble pot wiper and R10 220k PI entrance.

Mark
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