Need help deciding on my next amp build...

[chikov]

I know this community is very knowledgeable and that is why I hope I will get one or two advises that will help to steer me in the right direction. I want to build an amp that is very "touch sensitive". I've built amps with a lot of headroom (Ceriatone Overdrive Special 100W) and it was great but too loud and too heavy for me. I've built Princeton derivative that is my favorite right now, but I have to crank it pretty loud to get a juicy overdrive tone... I like push pull amps with long tail resistor phase inverter. I do not want it to be too heavy (lbs) or too loud... What is the most touch sensitive amp you played or heard? I know that one can set up most of the tube amps so that they are sensitive to the attack, but some amps should stand out as especially good at it... Any word of advice?
PS. I do like the Rectifier tube and the sag that it gives the tone...

[dorrisant]

When you say "touch sensitive", I think Express. If that is too much to build or handle, try a Rocket... Maybe 2x EL84 for a little less volume to get that beautiful crunch that they are capable of. They are great with pedals too. Still one of my favorite platforms. You might take a look at rj's Pedal Mule too.

[xtian]

And I have my own favorite, the 6G6B that morphs into JTM45 territory by subbing a 25K pot for the tone stack tail resistor. A pair of 6L6 or EL34 for about 40 watts. There's the intersection of Fender and Marshall right there. Add a PPIMV master or VVR and you've got a lot of territory covered. And yes, touch sensitive.

[ChopSauce]

If your Princeton is already too loud, you might consider building a single ended (SE) or a push-pull of (small) triodes for power section, whatever pre-amp you go for.

In my ignorance," long tail pair phase inverter" sounds like "more power"

[arjepsen]

I agree with the Rocket suggestion. Then install either the larmar ppimv or a vvr.
Or you could try the Hoso56 from el34world. (havent tried that myself though).
Or you could try to go for a Soho build - the one I'm working on buildingis quite touch sensitive and it can cover lots of ground

[Rockwell666]

And I have my own favorite, the 6G6B that morphs into JTM45 territory by subbing a 25K pot for the tone stack tail resistor. A pair of 6L6 or EL34 for about 40 watts. There's the intersection of Fender and Marshall right there. Add a PPIMV master or VVR and you've got a lot of territory covered. And yes, touch sensitive.

I am with Xtian, fender brownfaced circuits are just about as warm and touch sensitive as it gets. with a few improvements it could be a very versatile amp. even cascading the two channels with a shared cathode adds a lot of dynamics.

[chikov]

When you say "touch sensitive", I think Express. If that is too much to build or handle, try a Rocket... Maybe 2x EL84 for a little less volume to get that beautiful crunch that they are capable of. They are great with pedals too. Still one of my favorite platforms. You might take a look at rj's Pedal Mule too.

Thank you for your help. I decided to go to the Trainwreck part of the forum and look for a schematic but a lot of files have this funny .sch extension and i can no open it... I'd like to try the schematic that would have 2 EL84 in output and a rectifier tube, but I can not find this kind of schematic yet (if anyone has it can you share a link to it?). Next, I will look for the Pedal Mule.

[chikov]

And I have my own favorite, the 6G6B that morphs into JTM45 territory by subbing a 25K pot for the tone stack tail resistor. A pair of 6L6 or EL34 for about 40 watts. There's the intersection of Fender and Marshall right there. Add a PPIMV master or VVR and you've got a lot of territory covered. And yes, touch sensitive.

Hmm, do you have a schematic for the amp you just described? I do love the sag that rectifier tube gives to the tone and Bassman does not have it... forgive my luck of education, what does PPIMV and VVR (and larmar) stand for? I promice I will ask it only once

[Colossal]

what does PPIMV and VVR (and larmar) stand for? I promice I will ask it only once

PPIMV = Post Phase Inverter Master Volume
Larmar (Master Volume) = a concatenation of Larry of Larry Amps and Rockstah Mark (RIP) who started a big thread on the MetroAmp forum about this version of master volume
VVR = Variable Voltage Regulator

[xtian]

do you have a schematic for the amp you just described? I do love the sag that rectifier tube gives to the tone and Bassman does not have it... forgive my luck of education, what does PPIMV and VVR (and larmar) stand for? I promice I will ask it only once

Here's my build thread: http://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=29736

The schematic is the Fender Bassman 6G6-B, Normal channel only.

[pompeiisneaks]

When you say "touch sensitive", I think Express. If that is too much to build or handle, try a Rocket... Maybe 2x EL84 for a little less volume to get that beautiful crunch that they are capable of. They are great with pedals too. Still one of my favorite platforms. You might take a look at rj's Pedal Mule too.

Thank you for your help. I decided to go to the Trainwreck part of the forum and look for a schematic but a lot of files have this funny .sch extension and i can no open it... I'd like to try the schematic that would have 2 EL84 in output and a rectifier tube, but I can not find this kind of schematic yet (if anyone has it can you share a link to it?). Next, I will look for the Pedal Mule.

You'd need to install expresspcb to view them, it's free. If you're on a mac there's an app called jschem as well that works pretty well to view them.

~Phil

[chikov]

do you have a schematic for the amp you just described? I do love the sag that rectifier tube gives to the tone and Bassman does not have it... forgive my luck of education, what does PPIMV and VVR (and larmar) stand for? I promice I will ask it only once

Here's my build thread: http://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=29736

The schematic is the Fender Bassman 6G6-B, Normal channel only.

it's a beautiful amp and I watched the video - it sounds great! I did not find the schematic for it... Do you have it?

[labb]

Give this one a look. It is a variation of the Marshall 18 watt...one heck of an amp. http://gerkules.16mb.com/tubeshematic/i ... te_TMB.jpg

[xtian]

I did not find the schematic for it... Do you have it?

I spelled it out for you: Fender 6G6-B Normal Channel. To the Google!

[pompeiisneaks]

Gotta use my favorite 'let me google that for you'

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Fender+6G6-B+schematic