Did a wee bit of tone tweaking today...MP3 inside

[Normster]

First off, I really loved the way my amp sounded, but it was a bit too touch sensitive. It's nice to be able to dig in a little and get some bite, but too often the amp was biting back. Also, I really needed to get rid of the harshness in the bass register.

Anyway, I changed V2b's Ck from 5uF to 1uF. Bass is tighter now and much smoother. To fatten things back up, I put the .02uF mid cap back in. (I had a .05uF in there before trying to drop the lower mids a bit, but with the 1uF Ck, the .02uF works great.)

To take some of the bite out, I raised the snubbers from 270uF to 470uF. This is a really bright amp. Even at 470uF, I've got top end to spare.

Here's a clip with before and after. "Old" amp is from 00:00 to 01:34. "New" tweaks start at 01:35. Drive is at 11 o'clock, tone controls at 12 o'clock. Settings are the same for both takes, but the bit recorded after 1:35 is much warmer to my ears.

http://bad-domain/music/Driving2.mp3

[Icetech]

Norm, i love the song.. and your playing.. BUT i have to disagree.. i think the amp sounds alot better before 1:35 than after.. after is just too middy and in your face for me:( but to each thier own:)

[Normster]

Yeah, I agree in part. What's missing is the nice chewy top end, but it is much easier to control now. I may go back to the 330pF snubbers. I gave them a try first but it still seemed a little too sensitive to pick attack. Maybe I should just learn to play better.

[Icetech]

yeah i kinda noticed with the one i built on your layout that if i play it soft in clean mode its ok.. soon as i really attack it turns into a horrible monster that wasnt to punish my ears:)

[mlp-mx6]

Distinctively different tones. I liked them both. I had a hard time with the guitar level in the mix - it would be much easier to make suggestions if the guitar were hotter in the mix. I tend toward the creamy side of distortion tone, but do want the top end to respond to pick attack - like Ford gets when things are chirping.

Sounded like you were also playing very delicately - wonder how she records when you dig in!

Cool tones, any way you slice it!

Michael

[Normster]

I do play with a fairly light touch, especially with this amp. It tends to bark and chirp if I get too aggressive. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it's like trying to play a different instrument. My Bassman has a very similar circuit but is much more forgiving. One of these days I'd like to swap the OT's just to see how much difference the iron makes in the tone.

[tonelab2]

Love the clip and your playing. The first section sounded more touch sensitive to me but my ears aren't the best nowdays. Seems to have more of an edge to it, on the brink of control (which I find more exciting) Which OT are you currently using in that build?

[Robert]

I really liked the clip as well. I also prefer the first sections tone. A cleaner, more articulate sound with a bit more edge than the second half. Do you have a link to the backing? Sounds like it would be a fun one.

[dogears]

Norm,

Try these mods.....

Change snubs to 390pf

Add a .33 or .47 cap to CL2 bypass.

Make sure the treble cap is on the high side. I think you have a 270pf, no?? Raise it about 20pf.

Raise the CL1 cathode resistor a little. Shhh........

Report back!

Nice clip btw..... I would like to hear the tone be a combo of the two parts.

[Normster]

Thanks for the comments, guys. As I listened back this morning, I'm thinking I may have to throw a switch on the back to select snubbers.

Tonelab, the OT is a 50 watt Bassman from Hoffman. (022871)

Robert, the backing is from Marinblues at thegearpage. Here's a link to the thread... http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... p?t=134773

Dogears, we're on the same page! I don't have any ceramic 390pFs leftover, but I'll throw some 360pF micas in there to see if it's going the right direction. I definately like the ceramics better than the micas for snubbers. (Yes, I CAN hear the difference. lol) I think I have a slightly larger value for the CL1 Rk so I'll drop one in to see if it opens it up a little. It does sound just a hair too compressed.

The treble cap and OD2 bypass will have to wait for my next Mouser order. (I know you said CL2, but I assume you meant OD2.)

[Bob-I]

The treble cap and OD2 bypass will have to wait for my next Mouser order. (I know you said CL2, but I assume you meant OD2.)

Norm, Fry's has little ceramic caps that have worked well for me.

[Bob-I]

I finally had a chance to listen carefully.

the difference is pretty dramatic. It appears that you've lost some of the the sparkle with the mods. Yes it's smoother but I like the sparkle. Maybe a tad more on the treble knob will fix it, but I kinda liked the "before" better.

[pedro]

Nice clip,
but i agree with Bob - I prefer the "before" ! Has a nice sprinkling of sand in the tone which gives it some grainy breakup and note definition.
Maybe bit of both would be good - warm mids but with retained grainyness.

Both good though - go with what you prefer - not what your peers think !

cheers
Pete

[Normster]

Well, I had no time to mess with the amp today, but I did discover something simple...the bright switch actually makes it sound like it did before I made the changes! I could never stand the bright switch before, but now it's actually useful.

I made my monthly Mouser donation today, including the Vishay/Dale metal films. We'll see what happens next week. Sooner or later, I'm going to get all the animal noises sorted out...growl on the bottom, bark in the mids, and chirp on the top. LOL

[Bob-I]

Well, I had no time to mess with the amp today, but I did discover something simple...the bright switch actually makes it sound like it did before I made the changes! I could never stand the bright switch before, but now it's actually useful.

Excellent, the best of both worlds.

I made my monthly Mouser donation today, including the Vishay/Dale metal films. We'll see what happens next week. Sooner or later, I'm going to get all the animal noises sorted out...growl on the bottom, bark in the mids, and chirp on the top. LOL

Mouser needs love too. as do all the other animals.