New trainwreck clone HOWLING

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

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audiosalvage
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New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by audiosalvage »

I have a ceriatone express clone that sounds good and quiet but I currently have a 12au7 in the PI position. The minute I put in a 12ax7, it begins to produce low frequency oscillation no matter what the volume. I've tried different tubes with same result. SOS
joeboo88
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Re: New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by joeboo88 »

Hi. Is this a new build? If so maybe think of swapping the the OT to power tube plate ( pin 3) connections, you might have positive feedback, going on.

If not maybe post some voltages and photos of the amp.
Good luck, Joe
audiosalvage
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Re: New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by audiosalvage »

Hi I've posted before previously with issues with a bad pot to get says new-build noise issues. There are pics of this unit. I can try what you've suggested but why would this not be an issue with the 12au7?
joeboo88
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Re: New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by joeboo88 »

Maybe because the 12au7 has hardly any gain compared to a 12ax7. if you give it more signal, the howling is amplified, I believe.
Alot of us have had this issue when building from scratch. and its a simple thing to do to eliminate the problem, and if it doesn't solve it you can swap the leads back, and go on from there.
audiosalvage
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Re: New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by audiosalvage »

I'll give it a shot and report back. Thanks
audiosalvage
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Re: New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by audiosalvage »

Looks like a quick test seems that worked. I will try it in a more real situation. Thank You
joeboo88
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Re: New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by joeboo88 »

Hope it works out.....with your Express your gonna have sore ears...what a beast.

I actually have a 12au7 in the PI position and a 5751 in v1 and an attenuator so I can crank it a bit and it still is a beast

Good stuff....
audiosalvage
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Re: New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by audiosalvage »

Yes, I've tried a 12au7 in v1 and PI and it sounds very plexy like. I think I'll ask santa for an attenuator.
aceofbones
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Re: New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by aceofbones »

audiosalvage wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 12:47 am I think I'll ask santa for an attenuator.
You should build one of these. It doesn't cost much in parts, and is easy to build. More importantly, it works really well. I'm using one with my Express, I just finished building, and it does a surprisingly good job.

The thread is super long (103 pages and counting), but the main updated info ion the build s always in the first couple posts. Check it out...

https://www.marshallforum.com/threads/s ... ing.98285/
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Colossal
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Re: New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by Colossal »

joeboo88 wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 1:58 am Hope it works out.....with your Express your gonna have sore ears...what a beast.

I actually have a 12au7 in the PI position and a 5751 in v1 and an attenuator so I can crank it a bit and it still is a beast

Good stuff....
Hey Joe,

Do you find a change in the range of your clean-to-mean after going to the 12AU7 and 5751? Did you adjust your PI values to compensate or just plug and play?

Thanks,
Dave
joeboo88
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Re: New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by joeboo88 »

Colossal wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:58 pm
joeboo88 wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 1:58 am Hope it works out.....with your Express your gonna have sore ears...what a beast.

I actually have a 12au7 in the PI position and a 5751 in v1 and an attenuator so I can crank it a bit and it still is a beast

Good stuff....
Hey Joe,

Do you find a change in the range of your clean-to-mean after going to the 12AU7 and 5751? Did you adjust your PI values to compensate or just plug and play?

Thanks,
Dave

Hi Dave. I didn’t want to mess around with the components, I just plugged and played. Actually I erred. I should have said I had a 12au7 in V1 and. 5751 in V2. When I just want the Express tones I run it like I just stated and I can dial the amp up almost half way and it still gets mean, without the cops coming.
if the wife goes out I usually run the amp with all 12ax7s and use my attenuator...lol. These things are so loud so fast that with the stock layout I can only use 2 on the dial. Thus lower gain tubes and attenuators.
It’s too bad these amps sound glorious when cranked, but most of us can’t really do that, and my Express usually sits unused a lot of the time. :|

Oh well my kid will get it, he just bought a house.... let the cops come to his place.
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Colossal
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Re: New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by Colossal »

joeboo88 wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 4:53 pm Hi Dave. I didn’t want to mess around with the components, I just plugged and played. Actually I erred. I should have said I had a 12au7 in V1 and. 5751 in V2. When I just want the Express tones I run it like I just stated and I can dial the amp up almost half way and it still gets mean, without the cops coming.
if the wife goes out I usually run the amp with all 12ax7s and use my attenuator...lol. These things are so loud so fast that with the stock layout I can only use 2 on the dial. Thus lower gain tubes and attenuators.
It’s too bad these amps sound glorious when cranked, but most of us can’t really do that, and my Express usually sits unused a lot of the time. :|

Oh well my kid will get it, he just bought a house.... let the cops come to his place.
Ah, ok. Interesting. Yeah, they are loud amps, for sure, and the only way they really sound and perform their best. I really love what they do, although I would lean a little more towards the Liverpool sound.
joeboo88
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Location: Way up North

Re: New trainwreck clone HOWLING

Post by joeboo88 »

Actually I built a Liverpool a few months ago with a ppmiv master volume and it actually sound good with the MV.
I never posted that build but it was built on one of RJs reverse chassis, but it still looks good.
Peace...
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