FredZepp Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 It's a simple EL 34 design with a master volume , tone and volume.. that's it. Supposed to be around 18 watts.. but it does get really really loud through a 4 x 12 cab. I just picked it up and haven't spent much time , but the initial workout was quite promising. Great sustain, punch, and nice cleans.. it goes to a nice classic rock overdrive with volume pegged but not into metal territory. It does a fine job with Zeppelin tunes without any pedals needed. Can't wait to see what happens with some boost into it.... gonna be fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Very cool, Fred, Congratulations! You mean EL84, not EL34, though, right? The skinny power tubes appear to be EL84s, and the wattage would make sense. We'd love to hear some clips, brother! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted May 5, 2016 Author Share Posted May 5, 2016 Very cool, Fred, Congratulations! You mean EL84, not EL34, though, right? The skinny power tubes appear to be EL84s, and the wattage would make sense. We'd love to hear some clips, brother! Yes....I meant EL84.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gianluca Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 congrats, looks like an how-it-has-to be amp enjoy it :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 The simplest circuits have the purest sound. Happy NADs FredZepp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted May 5, 2016 Author Share Posted May 5, 2016 It was described as an 18 watt Marshall meets a hot rodded Supro... (think Zep I and II ) ... well that got my interest. The simplicity reminds me of the old Supro Thunderbolt head that I had.. it had only two knobs. This one adds a master volume ( I like that ) and has EL84's instead of the Supros 6L6s. I may eventually put together a clip ( thanks for asking for that, Schundog ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Nice score, Fred. No rectification (tube or ss). Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 that is pretty neat!! what was the first riff you played thru it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 that is pretty neat!! what was the first riff you played thru it? Oh wow.. hard to remember the first riff... Maybe The Lemon Song.. also What is and should never be , to hear quiet and loud parts. Played with the sustain on the solo to Heartbreaker. Then Bitch cause it seems good for Stones tunes. Today it did nicely with Bring it on Home, Whole Lotta Love and Sympathy for the Devil . Then I added a Provalve 2 pedal in front and Custard Pie,Houses of the Holy, Dancin' Days, and Powderfinger sounded just right. And a little bit of Suffragette City/ Ziggy Stardust somewhere in there.. I'm forgetting a bunch probably. I did realize that unless you are at pretty high volumes , it does need a boost in front for a lot of harder rock tunes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 SWEET!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212Mavguy Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Nice score, Fred. No rectification (tube or ss). Interesting. It's SS rec'ed. Check out the row of diodes in the last pic far right. They're right next to the big black filter cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted May 28, 2016 Author Share Posted May 28, 2016 It's SS rec'ed. Check out the row of diodes in the last pic far right. They're right next to the big black filter cap. Thanks. I didn't know the answer to that comment. When I picked this up, the seller kept mentioning how absolutely quiet this is and how loud it gets. Both are accurate observations. It gets a great overdriven classic rock sound with humbuckers , plug in and play. Really nice... But my minihumbuckers or single coils can benefit from a pedal to get that tone at a reasonable volume. ( master volume at 1/4 is a good volume in a room .. at 1/2 it's outdoor show type loud, through a 4x12 cab ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212Mavguy Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Some of the high dollar Alessandro amps are based on circuits as simple as this one...this amp has a good layout and nice parts, the power supply looks healthy, the OT is big and fat, hence the good volume/harmonic output. Some vintage tube shopping will yield spectacular results. Try to find a vintage RCA 7025 shortplate and RCA 12ax7a/7025a shortplate, also an Amperex Bugle Boy 12ax7 shortplate as well as a Mullard 12ax7 Short Plate, those are to have brighter and darker tastes of US and Euro tones for the palette, also a Telefunken ribbed plate 12ax7 for the phase inverter. One of the RCA's is for V1, the 7025 is smoother, the 12ax7a/7025a is grittier/snarlier and the following Euro tube choice goes into the V2, the Amperex is brighter than the Mullard. If you want the cleans to reflect a British/Euro flavor then just reverse the positions of the US and Euro tubes...You will get some very nice tones, and you can voice the amp to a particular guitar, speaker cab, room, or ah, player altitude/attitude. You might try reversing the positions of those el84's after you get done voicing the preamp to see which way gives the best sustain/harmonics, likely there will be a difference. Woohoo! Boutique amps for boutique guitars! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212Mavguy Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 I screwed up in my previous post, this amp has only two preamp tubes. Woops! Still, the Telefunken makes a great phase inverter tube, and the other 12ax7's listed will all work well in that first position. My apologies for the misleading words previously written! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted May 29, 2016 Author Share Posted May 29, 2016 Some of the high dollar Alessandro amps are based on circuits as simple as this one...this amp has a good layout and nice parts, the power supply looks healthy, the OT is big and fat, hence the good volume/harmonic output. Some vintage tube shopping will yield spectacular results. Try to find a vintage RCA 7025 shortplate and RCA 12ax7a/7025a shortplate, also an Amperex Bugle Boy 12ax7 shortplate as well as a Mullard 12ax7 Short Plate, those are to have brighter and darker tastes of US and Euro tones for the palette, also a Telefunken ribbed plate 12ax7 for the phase inverter. One of the RCA's is for V1, the 7025 is smoother, the 12ax7a/7025a is grittier/snarlier and the following Euro tube choice goes into the V2, the Amperex is brighter than the Mullard. If you want the cleans to reflect a British/Euro flavor then just reverse the positions of the US and Euro tubes...You will get some very nice tones, and you can voice the amp to a particular guitar, speaker cab, room, or ah, player altitude/attitude. You might try reversing the positions of those el84's after you get done voicing the preamp to see which way gives the best sustain/harmonics, likely there will be a difference. Woohoo! Boutique amps for boutique guitars! Thanks for the details. I always appreciate your knowledge and enthusiasm when it comes to tube amps. I would probably do well to consider what tube changes could do to get me to my ultimate tone. I'm currently going through the learning process of what this does with different guitars ( I've got a bunch of different ones ). I'm very pleased with how it does with med to hotter humbuckers, but am comparing pedals to put in front for single coils etc to get the right amount of overdrive without changing the tone too much. I rarely use pedals, but I had been using a Provalve 2 when I needed more boost.. But I remember that when I was using a Supro Thunderbolt ( way back when ) I had good luck with a simple EH Linear Power Booster 2 in front. I think that pedal is still floating around here somewhere, I may try that. I mostly play Les Paul type with humbuckers , so it's nice it's doing really well with those with nothing else needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212Mavguy Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Enthusiastic yes, right all the time, obviously no. You might laugh at this one, for that single coil help... what about an EQ pedal, you get quiet clean boost with/without tone shaping, with any other pedals you might want to add before or after... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkKitty Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Very, very cool. I love simple amps like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentrocks Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 that is the Sheetski right there!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.