Need some Advice, just got a Stancor A-3800

[cpk313]

For $49 off of ebay and I have been gearing up to a Matchless build - 2 channel that will be a Spitfire/Nighthawk combo. I bought a Edcor 25w 4k OT for it along with a Hammond 270FX that I had and a Thordarson choke. I bought the Stancor thinking I could make an Express at somepoint as I have a nice pair of old Mullard EL34's but I should have done some homework before thinking that because I am to understand that, that is not an appropriate tranniefor EL34's. It was used in the Liverpool though yes? So now my bit of a quandary is do I adjust my build to incorporate the Stancor in some sort of Matchless/Liverpool mish-mash, though that I am sure is biting off way more then I can chew. Or do I stick to my planed build and have some patience like a grown man? Right now my hurdle with the matchless build is doing the layout since I an trying to build a single chassis nighthawk/spitfire but also with reverb and incoorperating a very nice buffered FX loop that I got from one of the the Mods on the Soldano forum who makes them. It is like a nicer version of the one offered by mojo and metro. Thanks Guys!

[cpk313]

I mean a Liverpool is going to be it's new home. Geez what was I thinking?!?

[hitchcaster]

i did a search for you.... looks like its debated if it was used in liverpool.... "sellout" says it was never used in any trainwreck... "allyn" says he saw it in an original liverpool... regardless its the correct spec for liverpool and rocket so id say you will be very happy with it. probably your best option unless a more expensive A3801 beats it.

[M Fowler]

I use 4k3 in Rocket
5k2 in Liverpool
6k6 in Express

But that's just me maybe not correct but it works well.

Here is what Hogy from Komet Amps said:

The Stancor A-3801 that was used in both the Express and the Liverpool is 6.6k plate to plate. The later Pacific versions are the same.

If there ever was a Wreck built with a 5.2k, it was a one-off. Maybe for a specific player. That is, if it exists...

There are quite a few variations in Rocket transformers, but that's another story and another reason.

Ken went through a bunch of transformers to pick out the ones he would use. He told me he typically ordered batches of 25, and would use maybe ten of them for Trainwrecks. The rest he used for non TW repairs or gave away to friends.

He'd listen to the whole batch and number the ones he'd use. He'd also mark them as to whether they sounded bright to him, or dark, or crunchy of clear, etc.

Then he'd use them accordingly to finalize an amp, according to what a particular player was looking for, or simply how an amp turned out. If it was a very bright amp, it'd get a dark transformer, etc.

When I originally built a Liverpool for myself, Ken asked me what guitar I'd mostly be using it with and what sound I was after. He then sent me a 6.6k Stancor from his stash that was marked "#4" and pretty much did exactly what I wanted.


Hogy

[cpk313]

Thanks Guy's for the responses. Wow Ken sounds like he and John Dunlavy had a lot in common. He made Dunlavy speakers, huge monitors used in mastering studios and hifi systems. He would get a pallet of drivers from Vifa and reject up to 80% of them. Funny wonder if the people shelling out $400-500 for a A3801 realize there is a better then average chance the one they are buying would not have made the cut. Wonder what the difference between the "good" & "bad" one's were?

Anyhow I currently have two output transformers on hand. One is a 25w 4k primary Edcor and one is the 30w 5k primary Stancor. The Edcor is bigger, same size as the Hammond 270FX I am using for the power tran. because it is rated from 20Hz to 20k Hz. I'm not sure about the Stancor but I am pretty sure it is not the same as the Edcor as far as response goes. I keep waffling on which one to go with for this Matchless build that has taken me forever to finish. I am at the point of doing the layout so that when I go to drill the top plate for the amp I'm not angry later. The other amp I want to build eventually is a 6v6. I thought that I could maybe use the Edcor for that and mis-match the speaker load so there in a 8K reflected load and then maybe be able to run 6l6's without a load mismatch. Here is a picture of the Hammond PT, Stancor OT, and Thordarson choke. I thought they looked like a match!

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