Resistors by Jelle and Tmerc/Chassis by Windham, OPT by Eric and cabinet by Taylor.. Thanks everyone who contributed..
Prologue
I pretty much stuck with the standard fare on this one although I did start with 50uf on the plates instead of the higher values no LNFB V1.. since I used the larger Bassman 100 NOS on this one I wouldn't have an issue with low end going to soft on me or being a bit sterile..I might raise it later but so far I rather the like the softer feel and the amps ability to run away is there in spades..
Parts used were KOA Speer Metal Films on Plates and cathodes and Phier CF's in signal path and PI..Nich XM series bypass caps and CTS's in Vol/Master/ trimmer/ Treble/Bass.. AB's in the drive and Level and Alpha's in between..
Iron
Fender Twin Showman PT and NOS Bassman 100 ( 4 ohm sec) and Twin choke..
Gave me 458 on plates.. 200v V1 208 v2 and 290/301 PI
Tubes
NOS 7581A matched drawing approx -48ma bias current
Amperex Longplate on V1/V2 and JJ Ecc803S in the PI spot..
No need for a FET!!
Conclusions
With the amp hooked up to the D-lator set on standard Non HRM/Robben settings the clean channel stays clean at fairly loud volumes (7581's) the mids pop nicely ala Skyliner and the amp likes to hang onto the notes..The feel is softer not real sterile and with the 65's is pretty well balanced..
With the PAB enguaged the preamp begins it's break as you lean into a note typical PAB fare..
OD
The OD is definately the cool part..
First thing I notice is the amps ability to run away, take certian notes wrap harmonics around themselves bloom swril and takeoff into feedback with little effort.. The other thing is the amp is very smooth as I would contribute most of this to the resistors used...So if smooth and creamy is your thing I recommend them.. The OD tone stays pretty well focused on up to fairly loud volumes.. In the studio with the PAB bumped the amp feeds back on virtually any note on any guitar.. Personally in the studio the PAB's volume jump is a bit much so we will need to see how it does in a live situation..The mid boost on the front panel is usable at low volumes but at higher values let's in too much low end and I lose some string definition so at gig type volumes I leave it off..The downside is the amp OD tone at lower volumes gets rather thin ( mid boost switch helps) It isn't until you get it up to gig volumes that all the beautiful things start to happen..
I rather like the 2.2uf cap in the presence as this helps sweeten the output section a bit although the presence control does not really kick in until about 12:00, I did however lower it to a 3K3 NFB resistor to help..
Conclusions
The amps ability to feedback on itself is the most noticeable..For U Jazz players who like a smoother OD tone the amp performed well although I am not certian how much of this is due to the resistor and Pot types used..For those rock players out there I would recommend something like a 183 type..
Here is a quick shot of the amp..I am still working on my studio in the new place and will update the post with clips eventually thought I would at least do a quick review to start..I will try to answer any questions you have..
Thanks for reading..
Tony
