Clip of new non HRM build

[Tonegeek]

I am still tweaking this amp, but can't do much more till my hearing gets better after having the "Hiney" flu as my friend and cab maker Ken calls H1N1. Before I got sick though, it was sounding pretty good. Here is a clip that I made today using a canned backing track. The amp is a #124 based non HRM with some popular tweaks. This clip has a 47pf bright cap on the master. I am finally trying a MM tranny and this one is their Bassman OT with 4-8-16 taps. I like this amp a lot but can't tell how much is due to the tranny. I can say the amp sings and breaks into feedback easily.

Guitar is a mex strat with a bit overwound bridge pup. Speakers are 2 x g12h30s in a Modified THD cab. I have 2 brand new Heritage G1265 speakers that I am waiting on a cab for and can't wait to try the amp with those.

[Colossal]

Sounds great Whit, nicely done! I can hear a kind of Eric Johnsony edge when you "dig in" on certain notes. It's got a nice, throaty mid honk to it as well. Would enjoy seeing some photos when you are feeling better.

Regards,
Dave

[ayan]

I am still tweaking this amp, but can't do much more till my hearing gets better after having the "Hiney" flu as my friend and cab maker Ken calls H1N1. Before I got sick though, it was sounding pretty good. Here is a clip that I made today using a canned backing track. The amp is a #124 based non HRM with some popular tweaks. This clip has a 47pf bright cap on the master. I am finally trying a MM tranny and this one is their Bassman OT with 4-8-16 taps. I like this amp a lot but can't tell how much is due to the tranny. I can say the amp sings and breaks into feedback easily.

Guitar is a mex strat with a bit overwound bridge pup. Speakers are 2 x g12h30s in a Modified THD cab. I have 2 brand new Heritage G1265 speakers that I am waiting on a cab for and can't wait to try the amp with those.

I think it sounds terrific!

Gil

[heisthl]

I think it sounds terrific!

Gil

I'll see your terrific and raise to fantastic! Very nice sounding clip.
Which variation of the 101 HRM entrance are you using?

[Tonegeek]

Thanks for the reviews!

Would enjoy seeing some photos when you are feeling better.

Regards,
Dave

Here's the chassis.
I don't get the cab till Friday, but it will be black with silver string and pipeing.

I think it sounds terrific!

Gil

Gil,
The planets aligned for me to build this amp. I had read many discussion on the HRM vs Non HRM, high vs low plate, etc. and when a friend contacted me about an amp, I decided this would be the one to fit the bill. Its got your treble bleeder (great idea btw - really helps out without going full HRM). ALso went with a 100ka drive control. I got my own version of an OD entrance mod, but its not much different from your 6n//4m7 idea. I use a 220k feeding a 250k trimmer and I switch a .0047 over the 220k for some extra bite. Its good for SRV stuff. I ended up with .02 on the OD1 coupler and .01 on the PI entrance, but that could change after I put the amp through the G1265 set. I notice that these amps respond a bit differently to PAB. I only have 2 footswitches so I made the PAB really fat. The normal PAB is too middy for my tastes. Same with the Mid boost, but together they sound OK, although the gain change is a bit large. Also, this amp really wants to go fuzztone if you don't get your gain structure just right. I probably need to mess with the OD trim a bit on that account. The client likes the Peter Lerche vid and his sound is kind of on the edge of fuzz so this is going to cover that nicely. I am going to try this amp tomorrow with a PRS to make sure it likes humbuckers OK. Works great with the Strat. The future owner uses a Strat and a 335.

I think it sounds terrific!

Gil

I'll see your terrific and raise to fantastic! Very nice sounding clip.
Which variation of the 101 HRM entrance are you using?

I guess you meant non-HRM. Its a variant of #124. I have a .05 coupler off V1b. OD ent. is 220k > 250k trimmer set at about 60k from ground. But, I may have had the 4n7 I mentioned above switched over the 220k for that clip.

[odourboy]

Sounds great Whit!!

Looks cool too!

[Tonegeek]

Sounds great Whit!!

Looks cool too!

Thanks Brian. Here it is with the matching cabs.

[mlp-mx6]

Sounds great and looks cool too. Did you do the labels yourself or have control plates made? If you made them, what did you use?

[Tonegeek]

Sounds great and looks cool too. Did you do the labels yourself or have control plates made? If you made them, what did you use?

Jeanne at bnplasers.com created the plates from my artwork. They are laser etched Silver Satin Alumamark.

[Sven]

This is what I think Dumble amp is all about.

[IcemanB52]

Fantastic tone! I'm working on my 3rd build (50W non HRM), and I can't quite seem to nail that singing OD. Will the treb bleed remove some of the harshness I have in my OD? Only schematic I've seen has 500KB in series with 0.001uF.

Also, what effect dooes changing coupling cap values have on the OD tone. Maybe I need to buy a bag of caps and start experimenting!

Again, congrats on a super build. I'm sure your customer will be blown away.

[Tonegeek]

Fantastic tone! I'm working on my 3rd build (50W non HRM), and I can't quite seem to nail that singing OD. Will the treb bleed remove some of the harshness I have in my OD? Only schematic I've seen has 500KB in series with 0.001uF.

Also, what effect dooes changing coupling cap values have on the OD tone. Maybe I need to buy a bag of caps and start experimenting!

Again, congrats on a super build. I'm sure your customer will be blown away.

The treble bleed seems to help the most with balancing the bass content when in OD. Ayan did a good thing when he came up with this and I recommend it. It won't remove harshness because it operates at a lower frequency than where things get harsh with these amps. For harshness control, first get the amp sounding good in clean mode and an even, balanced tone in OD using a low drive setting. The OD entrance network can be a source of harshness. If your drive is way low and it is still too much distortion, then back off the OD trimmer. I have mine at ~75k measuring from wiper to ground. There is a balancing act you have to do to get the amp to sing and at the same time not be harsh or fizzy. A lot of that is done with the OD entrance network. On my builds some the OD network and other sections of the amp are left unwired until the very last because I clip different parts in there till I get the ones that work best. After I made this clip I had to change some stuff in 2 places because the client will be using G1265 speakers and the cab was not ready until after I started tweaking using G12H30s. Its a system and it all works together. Change one thing, you might have to change other stuff too!

Look at the snubbers (caps across the plate and cathode of the OD tube - higher value = less fizz). Are you using any bright caps around your level controls? Ditch those temporarily.

Yes, coupler caps make a huge difference. Usually they will affect the bass content and you have to get the right values for each section of the amp. Same for the cathode bypass caps with the added variable that they can affect gain as well. If you are using a known good schematic, my experiece is sticking with the recommended bypass values is pretty safe, but be prepared to experiment with the coupler values.

If you continue to have issues, post a schematic and provide details on speakers, cab, and guitar you are using.
thanks

[IcemanB52]

Tonegeek,
Thanks for the info. I'm using the tweeked D'Lite schematic with a 1X12 cab and Eminence Private Jack speaker. Pre OD is 0.05uF and 10M. OD entrance is a 220K into a 100K trimmer. I started with 30k (wiper to GND) and gradually upped it to 40K. OD now sounds better. I'll continue to tweek the OD trimmer, and I plan on giving the treb bleed a try. So much to learn!