there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

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

Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal

User avatar
norburybrook
Posts: 3290
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 12:47 am
Location: London
Contact:

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by norburybrook »

thanks Martin, I had put a wrongly labelled 10k pot instead of a 100k :D, it has been rectified now and I've got a decent level of gain control.

I did wonder about having a pot on the back of the amp so it could be controlled from there, but I'm not sure if the lead dress would cause issues, I suppose I could try it. Seems like It would be a nice thing to have on the front panel just labelled 'gain' , the leads would be short then and you could use shielded.

I've got it set about halfway at the moment and that seems like a real nice sweet spot.

Also I've been playing it with my les paul which has unpoted PAFs and 50's wiring and it's amazing how you can have the neck set on 3 and clean and then switch to the bridge in an instant and have full on rock OD, just like the video, the tone controls work just like in the video too. need to watch my hearing though 116db isn't good for my ears.

any thought on getting the master volume to work with a wider range, would a linear pot be better or is that going to be worse?

Just waiting for my switch to arrive for the fast slow and I'll be done I think.

need to make a cabinet now...not sure if I like this bit....


Marcus
User avatar
RJ Guitars
Posts: 2662
Joined: Tue Nov 14, 2006 3:49 am
Location: Los Alamos, New Mexico
Contact:

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by RJ Guitars »

Marcus, nice job of using what you have and creating an Express... That's something Ken Fischer was known for. Thanks for sharing this with us... we all learn and benefit from these threads. rj
Good, Fast, or Cheap -- Pick two...

http://www.rjguitars.net
http://www.rjaudioresearch.com/
http://diyguitaramps.prophpbb.com/
User avatar
norburybrook
Posts: 3290
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 12:47 am
Location: London
Contact:

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by norburybrook »

RJ Guitars wrote: Tue Oct 03, 2017 1:16 pm Marcus, nice job of using what you have and creating an Express... That's something Ken Fischer was known for. Thanks for sharing this with us... we all learn and benefit from these threads. rj
Thanks RJ, funnily enough I've just made a cabinet for it today :D so I'll post a picture of it with it's clothes on.

I need to make some sort of back panel but didn't have enough plywood left!!! needs a handle and feet now and I still haven't got the fast/slow switch on.
IMG_20171003_144905.jpg
IMG_20171003_144840.jpg

M
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
User avatar
pompeiisneaks
Site Admin
Posts: 4222
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2017 4:36 pm
Location: Washington State, USA
Contact:

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by pompeiisneaks »

Oh man that looks OUTSTANDING! Love that color and the tan triangle in the middle. Very classy.

~Phil
tUber Nerd!
User avatar
norburybrook
Posts: 3290
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 12:47 am
Location: London
Contact:

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by norburybrook »

thanks Phil, totally ripped off(inspired) from the Komet 60 HD :D


M
User avatar
JazzGuitarGimp
Posts: 2355
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2012 4:54 pm
Location: Northern CA

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by JazzGuitarGimp »

norburybrook wrote: Tue Oct 03, 2017 5:17 pm thanks Phil, totally ripped off(inspired) from the Komet 60 HD :D


M
A bit reminiscent of divided by 13, too. :-)
Lou Rossi Designs
Printed Circuit Design & Layout,
and Schematic Capture
User avatar
M Fowler
Posts: 14017
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:19 am
Location: Walcott ND

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by M Fowler »

It does look like Divided by 13.

Great project.
User avatar
norburybrook
Posts: 3290
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 12:47 am
Location: London
Contact:

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by norburybrook »

Update.

I re used the old peavey combo cabinet a while ago and made a vox AC30 style cabinet with 2x12 alnico's in. I thought the express might work with it but it sounds better through the Marshall 4x10 I have, so, I treid my Rocket with the alnico cab, of course it sounded great :D

dilemma....not for long. As I'd used the same chassis for both amps I just put the rocket in the purple cab and the express in the wood one and job done.
DSC_1572.JPG

I like having a matching rig :D

M
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
mojotom
Posts: 237
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2006 12:47 am

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by mojotom »

How do you like it compare to your 102 and Bluesmaster gain wise ?
I build one a while back and it was a bad boy but not easy to play and quite in your face. Wonder about building another one.
User avatar
norburybrook
Posts: 3290
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 12:47 am
Location: London
Contact:

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by norburybrook »

Tom,

Sorry just seen this. How do I find it? for me it's just too gainy, there's not enough clean head room for it to work for me. You have to have the guitar volume really low and that means there's a lot of hiss/gain still coming out of the amp which makes it useless for anything Subtle in the studio.

For an all out balls to the wall rock sound it's great. I've profiled it with my Kemper on full gain and I did use that sound on a studio session recently for a 90's style Lukather solo on a track.

It was fun to build but it's not an amp I'd ever really do again. I prefer my Rocket for what I do. The rocket sounds great in conjunction with the #102.


M
RockinRocket
Posts: 628
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2011 5:23 am

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by RockinRocket »

Getting a good usable clean is kind of tricky at first.
Here are a few tips Ive found.

-The more treble you let past the tone stack the dirtier the amp will be when you roll back the volume. Keeping the tone stack pots somewhere around 5ish works well and sounds quite good. The 500p bright cap still works here.

-Vol past 2oclock the amp will only crunch or a dirty clean on vol roll off.

- Guitar pots make or break this affect. My les paul (what ever pots are in there) have a massive clean range that I can find a usable clean in the 1-3 range. While my SG has PCB mounted pots and its very difficult to get a clean out of it.
User avatar
norburybrook
Posts: 3290
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 12:47 am
Location: London
Contact:

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by norburybrook »

Yep , I noticed guitar volume pots are very different and make a huge difference. A good volume pedal is the answer to that though :D

I can a get a clean sound but as I said it's too noisy though for recording anything subtle in the studio, and live it's just not loud enough to compete with a band. Rock or blues would be fine however, which I suppose is it's intended purpose :D


M
User avatar
RJ Guitars
Posts: 2662
Joined: Tue Nov 14, 2006 3:49 am
Location: Los Alamos, New Mexico
Contact:

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by RJ Guitars »

norburybrook wrote: Sun Nov 12, 2017 11:14 am... and live it's just not loud enough to compete with a band. Rock or blues would be fine however, which I suppose is it's intended purpose :D


M
I suppose it's all relative to what kind of band you are talking about. I've found the Express to be painfully loud when played through a 4x12 cabinet (or just about any other cabinet)... these things are famous for cutting through the mix and making the guitar player heard over the band. Subwoofers have made music a bit difficult to sort out who is playing what but that might imply that the drums and bass are going through the PA and I suppose it might be hard to compete unless you also pushed the guitar through the PA as well.
Good, Fast, or Cheap -- Pick two...

http://www.rjguitars.net
http://www.rjaudioresearch.com/
http://diyguitaramps.prophpbb.com/
RockinRocket
Posts: 628
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2011 5:23 am

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by RockinRocket »

norburybrook wrote: Sun Nov 12, 2017 11:14 am Yep , I noticed guitar volume pots are very different and make a huge difference. A good volume pedal is the answer to that though :D

I can a get a clean sound but as I said it's too noisy though for recording anything subtle in the studio, and live it's just not loud enough to compete with a band. Rock or blues would be fine however, which I suppose is it's intended purpose :D


M
I'm guessing you may have strayed to far away from a traditional Express. It should be plenty loud and the clean should stay near as loud as the dirty when rolled back.
User avatar
norburybrook
Posts: 3290
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 12:47 am
Location: London
Contact:

Re: there comes a time in a mans life when he needs to build an express

Post by norburybrook »

Only thing I've strayed from is:

Adding a fast /slow switch from the Komet.

Adding a 'cut' tone control on the PI.

positioning of transformers.

marshall 3.4k OT but I mismatch it to get 6.8k so not much difference there.


Everything else is exactly the same as the Original express posted on here value wise, including voltages as I had a power transformer specifically wound.

I'm glad it works for you guys , it's a great amp but it's not an everyday amp for me, :D

Marcus
Post Reply