My take on an SSS

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ReAmemiya034
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Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:37 pm

Re: My take on an SSS

Post by ReAmemiya034 »

What kind of rectifier diodes are you using for the power section? I'm also having a hard time finding the .5hy inductor & the bias knob, where did you get yours?

Thanks,
Vy
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mhartman
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Re: My take on an SSS

Post by mhartman »

I used 1N4007 diodes for the power rectification and a hefty 1N5408 diode for the bias rectifier.

As far as the inductor goes, I found mine on ebay, but I haven't found a good reliable, steady source. That being said, using a wah inductor should work just fine (ebay is a good source for these).

This amp layout does not have a "bias knob". I wanted to build the bias section as hefty as possible given the cathode follower setup, so I followed SSS04's lead and just used a resistor to ground (the 130K to ground in the PI section). Adjust this resistor to adjust the power tube bias.

Have fun!
ukulele
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Re: My take on an SSS

Post by ukulele »

Just wanted to say thank you for the layout, I made my SSS clone according to it and it works great. I used Hammond power transformer and Magnetic Components OT.
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mhartman
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Re: My take on an SSS

Post by mhartman »

ukulele wrote:Just wanted to say thank you for the layout, I made my SSS clone according to it and it works great. I used Hammond power transformer and Magnetic Components OT.
No problem. Congrats on the build. That really looks great! Please let me know if you found any issues with the layout as you went through your build so I can update it if necessary. Very nice! :D
ukulele
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Re: My take on an SSS

Post by ukulele »

Well not really big deal and for someone who has built amps quite obvious but reverb driver tube cathode connection is missing and also in reverb driver the 4.7M seems to go to the other side of 10k resistor in SSS schematic. Thanks again :D And it's very loud!!
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Structo
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Re: My take on an SSS

Post by Structo »

Hi ukulele,

I would love to see more pictures of your amp.

Always interesting to see others take on a circuit. :D
Tom

Don't let that smoke out!
ukulele
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Re: My take on an SSS

Post by ukulele »

Hi Structo

I have some cleaning to do before it goes to a cabinet. I'll try to record some sound clips also.
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Sumran
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Re: My take on an SSS

Post by Sumran »

Great build. Thanks for letting others ride along and for sharing the info.
Randy Summers
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67plexi
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Re: My take on an SSS

Post by 67plexi »

mhartman, I like your amp and the layout you did is great. The part I'm having issues with is
I don't see how your amp relates to the Dumble SSS amp #1-#4. It does look like a Two-Rock
1. no PAB relay or foot switch.
2. no reverb relay or foot switch.
3. no FET or relay or foot switch.
4. on the filament center tap it's not 100k it's 100r
5. on real SSS amps input is 22k volume is 68k not 33k & 47k on #1 & #2 was 34k. 150 watt is 22k
I'm sure your amp sounds great good work
This is a photo of SSS I'm working on now. PI will be 5751 & 12BH7A no Vibrato this time.
The only reason I mention the absence of a foot switch is when I'm on stage I can't be flipping switches.

Best regards, Steve.
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talbany
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Re: My take on an SSS

Post by talbany »

PI will be 5751 & 12BH7A
Steve
When I built mine I tried different types of PI and driver tubes..5751 12BH7,7025,12AX7,5963, 12AU,12AT's and a few others I don't remember!

I ended up with a 12AX 0r 7025 in the PI and a 12 AT in the driver.. The 5751/12BH7 combo and many of the other lower gain (40%) to me made the amp feel a little too tight for me (like I was playing a Bass Amp) As I prefer something with a little more gain to loosen the output section a bit..YMMV of coarse but just as a suggestion try something with a bit more gain if you want to add a little more sing in the Singer when you get it going..

Good Luck

Tony
Last edited by talbany on Sat Apr 26, 2014 6:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.
" The psychics on my bench is the same as Dumble'"
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mhartman
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Re: My take on an SSS

Post by mhartman »

67plexi wrote:mhartman, I like your amp and the layout you did is great. The part I'm having issues with is
I don't see how your amp relates to the Dumble SSS amp #1-#4. It does look like a Two-Rock
1. no PAB relay or foot switch.
2. no reverb relay or foot switch.
3. no FET or relay or foot switch.
4. on the filament center tap it's not 100k it's 100r
5. on real SSS amps input is 22k volume is 68k not 33k & 47k on #1 & #2 was 34k. 150 watt is 22k
I'm sure your amp sounds great good work
This is a photo of SSS I'm working on now. PI will be 5751 & 12BH7A no Vibrato this time.
The only reason I mention the absence of a foot switch is when I'm on stage I can't be flipping switches.

Best regards, Steve.
Thanks Steve. Yes, there was a good reason that I called it "my take" on an SSS - it was just that, my take. I never claimed that it was a 1:1 clone of any particular SSS, just an SSS inspired build. I took elements from the Two Rock Sterling Sig (which is a loose clone of SSS04) and elements from SSS02. Then, once the amp was built, I tweaked with my ears instead of just doing a paint-by-numbers build. Good catch with the 100k/100R - yes the build used 100R. I've updated the layout with the correct values so no one is led astray.

Regarding the grid resistors, are you sure that the V1B grid resistor is 68k on any of the real SSS amps? I've never run into this value for V1B. Also, if we're being picky, SSS01 and 02 used paralleled 68k resistors on the input grids (for 34k), which might react slightly different than a single resistor.

Yes, no relays. They would have been easy to implement, but the build was for me and I don't use amp foot switches when I play, I use my guitar volume and pedal board.

Nice looking build. Got a layout/schem that you can share with the group? I'm sure that the board would be appreciative.

Thanks again. Mike
Last edited by mhartman on Sat Jun 07, 2014 6:58 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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ElectronAvalanche
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Re: My take on an SSS

Post by ElectronAvalanche »

Nice looking build. Looks like a SSS05 clone? Got a layout/schem that you can share with the group? I'm sure that the board would be appreciative.
Yes indeed! Plexi67 please post a schematic!

Electron
Nyquist_Criterion
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Comment on your SSS build in the jpg

Post by Nyquist_Criterion »

I have just finished reading the entire of your build here and all the other associated posts. I am new to this forum and some of the lingo used is a little different to me, but I am sure I will catch on. Any how, I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed reading what you have taken the time to assemble and I want to thank you. Also I picked up on where you had said in the disclaimer that the building of amps is your hobby and that you are no engineer; which of course is a wise thing to do. But let me tell you, I am an engineer and looking at the pictures of your build I can tell you that it all looks very well thought out and executed to me. I mean you really did your planing well, from the layout and electrically it looks to me like it should blow the doors of the place. Must be loud as can be. I tell you at audio frequencies, building valve amps is as much an art form as it is technical. This is a good thing for relaxing almost like a zen thing or something like that. That is why I do it, it relaxes me and lets me think of tone instead of all the messy things that go with high freq. From reading some of these post, you people really impress me. Thank you.
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mhartman
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Re: Comment on your SSS build in the jpg

Post by mhartman »

Nyquist_Criterion wrote:I have just finished reading the entire of your build here and all the other associated posts. I am new to this forum and some of the lingo used is a little different to me, but I am sure I will catch on. Any how, I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed reading what you have taken the time to assemble and I want to thank you. Also I picked up on where you had said in the disclaimer that the building of amps is your hobby and that you are no engineer; which of course is a wise thing to do. But let me tell you, I am an engineer and looking at the pictures of your build I can tell you that it all looks very well thought out and executed to me. I mean you really did your planing well, from the layout and electrically it looks to me like it should blow the doors of the place. Must be loud as can be. I tell you at audio frequencies, building valve amps is as much an art form as it is technical. This is a good thing for relaxing almost like a zen thing or something like that. That is why I do it, it relaxes me and lets me think of tone instead of all the messy things that go with high freq. From reading some of these post, you people really impress me. Thank you.

Thanks Nyquist. Welcome to the Amp Garage!
sunnydaze
Posts: 174
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2008 9:15 am

Re: My take on an SSS

Post by sunnydaze »

Congratulations to Mike Hartman for a really great amp build and many thanks for taking the time to post and share on the forum. I know I'm a bit late to find this thread, (I mostly visit some of the other areas). Recently, I've developed an interest in and have been following some the JM signature build threads. I kept seeing SSS and the JM signature names kind of used together, wasn't sure if these were the same amps or similar. That led me to a lot of other post, and is how I ended up here. Sorry you experienced some negative comments on the other related amp build you posted.

I'd appreciate if you could comment a little on the way the bias is working in your SSS amp. It's clear to me from your layout how the negative DC is reaching the powertubes, but I'm a little confused as to the effect this negative Dc is having on the CF. I kind of looks like the negative DC may be a little bit higher (more negative) on the cathodes of the follower than the grids. Is that what's happening - both the cathode and grids of the follower are receiving the negative DC, only the cathode is getting slightly more?

Once again, congratulations and thanks.

Mike
Sunnydaze
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