Draloric Resistors - Before and After - Video Demo

[Chris Brown]

Hey y'all... I did a demo video comparing before and after swapping my signal path resistors to the Draloric resistors from Jelle.

Honestly, while I was recording the "after" video it was hard to really tell, so in the video I seem fairly unsure. Upon editing and hearing the clips side by side I can definitely hear a difference in the mids and it's a nice improvement.

All the amp, guitar, and dumbleator settings are consistent from demo to demo. I tried to play similar in each video, but picking attack obviously varies, so that might play a role in the differences.

Also, three spots changed values from before the swap... the 390Ω in the GNFB became 330Ω, the v1 input is 22K, and the v2 input is 56K. Everything else I replaced with matching values. This could possibly play a role in the tonal changes.

[talbany]

Chris
Cool video! Enjoyed it
Here is my question? Can you tell difference in the character of the breakup or texture and harmonic structure (2nd or 3rd order) and does it sound more musical /smoother to you or is it the same?

(Obviously to get the full effect the amp should be at stage volume in overdrive/ PAB on say Bridge pup on the Les Paul or strumming chords on a Tele again Bridge PUP?..... Let us know if you notice any difference there curious to know )

Tony

[10thTx]

My subjective opinion is that I can hear a difference in tone between those whether on clean or OD. On the clean channel, I somewhat preferred the original resistors which sounded a dab mellower to my ears. On the OD channel, I definitely preferred the replacement Draloric resistors over the original ones. On OD, the original resistors sounded somewhat more muted. The latter resistors I thought had somewhat more brightness/honk and perhaps harmonics to it? I am also thinking perhaps these replacement resistors would allow the amp to cut thru a band mix somewhat better?

Just an opinion and my 2 cents worth. with respect, 10thtx

[Chris Brown]

Chris
Cool video! Enjoyed it
Here is my question? Can you tell difference in the character of the breakup or texture and harmonic structure (2nd or 3rd order) and does it sound more musical /smoother to you or is it the same?

(Obviously to get the full effect the amp should be at stage volume in overdrive/ PAB on say Bridge pup on the Les Paul or strumming chords on a Tele again Bridge PUP?..... Let us know if you notice any difference there curious to know )

Tony

Thanks, Tony! I played it this weekend on a decent sounding stage and with overdrive+pab the tone is definitely a bit smoother in the high mids... less congested if that makes sense. It might just be my own bias but there seems to be an increase in the harmonic content on the overdrive channel in general.. more complexity in the high end. You can kind of hear what I mean in the overdrive+bridge pickup section of the video.. just the slightest increase in the richness of the harmonics after the swap.

It's all really subjective though... maybe the wind blew just right on the Les Paul

[martin manning]

Hey y'all... I did a demo video comparing before and after swapping my signal path resistors...

Nice demo, thanks for putting it together. Clearly not a night-and-day difference. If someone had changed those parts without telling you, would you know something was different? I'm going to go with inconclusive at best, since the test was not blind, and some values were changed. Sounds great either way, though!

Also, three spots changed values from before the swap... the 390Ω in the GNFB became 330Ω (-15%), the v1 input is 22K (vs. 33k, or -33%), and the v2 input is 56K (vs. 68k, or -18%). Everything else I replaced with matching values. This could possibly play a role in the tonal changes.

The smaller PI tail resistor reduces NFB (more overall gain, reduced bandwidth), and shifts the presence boost frequency up. The smaller grid resistors are increasing the high frequency response just a bit in the audible range (well under a dB at 10 kHz).

[Chris Brown]

My subjective opinion is that I can hear a difference in tone between those whether on clean or OD. On the clean channel, I somewhat preferred the original resistors which sounded a dab mellower to my ears. On the OD channel, I definitely preferred the replacement Draloric resistors over the original ones. On OD, the original resistors sounded somewhat more muted. The latter resistors I thought had somewhat more brightness/honk and perhaps harmonics to it? I am also thinking perhaps these replacement resistors would allow the amp to cut thru a band mix somewhat better?

Just an opinion and my 2 cents worth. with respect, 10thtx

Thanks for you input! I'm not sure I like the cleans better one way or another. You are right about them being a bit mellower before.. It's really subtle but there is something about the way the lows or low mids changed. I suspect with a few turns of the tone controls I could get the clean channel to sound exactly the same before and after. The overdrive on the other hand seems to have some clear improvement to my ears. Like you said... sweeter highs and more honk. What you called muted... it's like it was just slightly congested before, and now it's not (whatever that means lol). That same thing that sounds different in the clean channel might be what's giving that vocal/honk quality to the overdrive channel.

[Chris Brown]

Hey y'all... I did a demo video comparing before and after swapping my signal path resistors...

Nice demo, thanks for putting it together. Clearly not a night-and-day difference. If someone had changed those parts without telling you, would you know something was different? I'm going to go with inconclusive at best, since the test was not blind, and some values were changed. Sounds great either way, though!

Also, three spots changed values from before the swap... the 390Ω in the GNFB became 330Ω (-15%), the v1 input is 22K (vs. 33k, or -33%), and the v2 input is 56K (vs. 68k, or -18%). Everything else I replaced with matching values. This could possibly play a role in the tonal changes.

The smaller PI tail resistor reduces NFB (more overall gain, reduced bandwidth), and shifts the presence boost frequency up. The smaller grid resistors are increasing the high frequency response just a bit in the audible range (well under a dB at 10 kHz).

Thanks Martin! You are so right... If I didn't know something had changed I would most likely attribute it to the room if I even noticed at all. Without comparing the clips side by side I really wasn't sure if I was hearing a change or if I was just hearing what I wanted to hear.

All together, those 3 changes could surely account for some (or even all) of what I'm hearing as an improvement in the overdrive channel's mids and highs.

[Chris Brown]

On the subject of component choices, on the recent Georg Birkmaier episode of GuitarWank he talks about Dumble offering him the option of NOS vs modern parts. He says that Dumble told him they sounded the same but the old parts looked neater.

[martin manning]

On the subject of component choices, on the recent Georg Birkmaier episode of GuitarWank he talks about Dumble offering him the option of NOS vs modern parts. He says that Dumble told him they sounded the same but the old parts looked neater.

Wow, that is quite the revelation!

[talbany]

Thanks, Tony! I played it this weekend on a decent sounding stage and with overdrive+pab the tone is definitely a bit smoother in the high mids... less congested if that makes sense

Yes that makes perfect sense. Thanks! and enjoy the amp
BTW.. Did Jelle tell you that the type/brand of resistor was more critical to the sound than using the exact value in certain spots?
Tony

[Chris Brown]

Thanks, Tony! I played it this weekend on a decent sounding stage and with overdrive+pab the tone is definitely a bit smoother in the high mids... less congested if that makes sense

Yes that makes perfect sense. Thanks! and enjoy the amp
BTW.. Did Jelle tell you that the type/brand of resistor was more critical to the sound than using the exact value in certain spots?
Tony

lol no he didn't, but I have definitely come across that statement around here somewhere

[bepone]

imo the most critical is anode resistor, sometimes also grid g1 resistor.. i would try to put those metal films and for other positions in signal dralorics carbon film!
carbon film in anode - darker sound
metal film in anode- more presence
carbon comps in anode - more musical, but darker and noisy with time

combinations in those are many, one amp is one year in rotation only with the resistors

[erwin_ve]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for posting this. As revealing it might be or not I really dig your approach and open mind.
There always be oppsite views on this matter.
Even if you got all the right values on the changed spots people will tell you that the fluctuating wall voltage may be a factor. (And it does matter yes).
I had a few years back a plate resistor swap which I posted here on TAG. Besides my own view on this there may be another factor: feel/compression.
I recently was listening to a Rick Beato vid on YT with a demo on variac voltage for a Marshall like Van Halen did.
Honestly there were sonic differences. But for the playing guy it was a even bigger difference due to compression and feel.
Some may hear, but for me as a player feel is a big factor.
Maybe over time you can post your views on this?

Erwin

[martin manning]

For me it's hard to ignore the significance of what Georg Birkmaier says in the 7 March Guitar Wank podcast. It's a first hand account, and he recalls it very clearly: No difference in the sound of old vs. new parts, just cosmetic appearance and better reliability for new. HAD was fastidious about many other things, but this detail he left to the customer's personal preference.

[ijedouglas]

For me it's hard to ignore the significance of what Georg Birkmaier says in the 7 March Guitar Wank podcast. It's a first hand account, and he recalls it very clearly: No difference in the sound of old vs. new parts, just cosmetic appearance and better reliability for new. HAD was fastidious about many other things, but this detail he left to the customer's personal preference.

I have no doubt that HAD could build a similar sounding amp with new parts vs old parts, I don't take it that there is no difference in sound. If you have ever tested different resistors on your V1 plates, you will clearly hear a difference. I also think he was asking George regarding a fender build which may be more forgiving than a higher gain ODS. I am by no means an expert but I have certainly done a ton of tests on everything from the power supply to the input jack and parts do matter.