Caevan O’Shite

Thank you, Myles! You're O.K., I don't care what Mr. Rogers said about you! (It was all Captain Kangaroo's and Big Bird's fault, anyways... )

Question number one: Do you think you could scrape up the proper schematics (and maybe even a layout diagram, etc.) for my discontinued Carvin Vintage 33 amp? The closest I've been able to get- and this was right from Carvin- was their schematic and manual for the similar 112 Nomad. Obviously, if one is nominally rated at 33-watts, and the other 50-watts, respectively, they're not 100% identical... ~And~ Question number two: Say, Myles... ...wadya think of this type of an "attenuator" set-up? In general, and as opposed to other "commercially available units"? _______________________ http://i14.ebayimg.com/03/i/01/b6/99/9e_2.JPG Thanks again, Myles!

Question number one: Say, Myles... ...wadya think of this type of an "attenuator" set-up? In general, and as opposed to other "commercially available units"? _______________________ http://i14.ebayimg.com/03/i/01/b6/99/9e_2.JPG ~And~ Question number two: Do you think you could scrape up the proper schematics (and maybe even a layout diagram, etc.) for my discontinued Carvin Vintage 33 amp? The closest I've been able to get- and this was right from Carvin- was their schematic and manual for the similar 112 Nomad. Obviously, if one is nominally rated at 33-watts, and the other 50-watts, respectively, they're not 100% identical... Thanks again, Myles!

Thanks, Myles! I'm glad I didn't steer him wrong, but I also wanted to "leave no stone unturned"... So, naturally, I turned to you!

Myles... did I give Dave a good answer? Is there anything I've overlooked? What're your ideas here? I'd greatly appreciate your opinions! (Please read the following, thanks!) My reply: "Hmmmnn... you don't mean that you want to use the attenuator on the (Roland?) JC-55, do you? Being a solid state design, the JC shouldn't require attenuation, nor would it benefit from it. (And I believe that most, if not all, attenuators out there are tube-amp specific.) If I understand you, you want to use both amps through one cab, and an attenuator on the output of the Randall, right? (Or, have I missed the boat here? Is the Randall a preamp that you want to use through the JC-55?) Using one ss- and one tube-amp into one cab presents some monkeywrenches... Perhaps you could find an arrangement using something like the Headbone switchers from Tonebone that would work for you. They make multi-amp/one-cab switchers in two models, one for tube-amps, and one for ss. Palmer also makes some products that might help you out here, but at least two pieces of pricey gear would need to be used together, maybe more. Add to all of the above the attenuator of your choice... You might be better off getting a second cab, and a good attenuator that suits the Randall and whichever cab you decide to run it through. (Tonebone also makes some very excellent A/B/Y one guitar/multi-amp switchers; probably the best out there now."

He's The "Anti-Myles"! Hmmmnn... didn't cost ya for college, huh? That's not particularly apocolyptic or diabolical... Must be you're the evil one!

Aaaa, I no longer own that amp, but it always bothered me, nagged at me, that I couldn't figure that out; that is, the "shunt"-method on that particular amp. Thanks! I feel better now... I have done the "Ohm's law" application, using two wire-wound 1-ohm resistors off the cathodes, though. I have permanently installed them in amps before! Well, them's the breaks, concerning breakers! Hmmmnn... that would make your 28 year old son kinda special... uhmn, does he show any signs of being particularly good, or kinda, you know, evil? As for Mr. Chips and Friday... I'm glad to know they got the "big treatment"! Sounds special... !

Hi again, Myles! I used to have a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12, and when I attempted to perform a "transformer shunt" reading/biasing-procedure, as per the description and instructions in Dan Torres' Inside Tube Amps book, I couldn't get a reading. As far as I know, I followed everything to a "T" and did everything correctly, but got nada on my Fluke DMM. Any ideas as to why? Is there something about Fender HR D'Vs that I missed the boat on? ~AND~ What are your personal feelings about cathode-biasing in general? And, what if adjustable, trim-pot circuits were used instead of fixed-value resistors for cathode-biasing? ~AND~ Any idea about whether or not a resettable "breaker" could be used instead of the fuses commonly used in tube-amps? Are there any applicable (slo-blo, etc.) breaker-switches available out there for just such an application, that you know of? Why is the sky blue? Where do babies come from? Why did we flush my two goldfish, Mr. Chips and Friday, down the toilet? Thanks, Myles!

DARKLAVA- Did you buy that amp brand-new? If so, if there's any problem, take it right back! Don't risk voiding your warranty; go back to the store with it, and don't take any runaround crap. I mean, be polite and all, but don't let somebody talk you out of a replacement or factory-authorized fix, O.K.? I think that Myles will agree with me here, as well.

Hi, Myles! >BUMP< for folks lookin' for tubes...

Thanks, Myles!

Myles, just curious: what are your thoughts on Maven Peal amps, in particular the Ganesha (1- to 100-watt) and Tuskadaro (1- to 50-watt) "plexi"-heads with their "Sag" and "Wattage" controls? If you've had the oportunity to check them out, how would you compare them to other "plexi"-style heads, such as the Wigle Purplexing heads?

MrNJGG, must you be such an arrogant and provoking horse's ass? It's one thing to play around and even be abjectly rude on the open forum-proper; it's another to do so within this thread. If you've got a helpful, insightful reply that will lighten Myles' workload and answer a posted question, by all means, do so. If you're going to dick around in a smug, smarmy, teacher's pet affectation, then, by all means, shut up for once in your life. Bullshit is bullshit. Oops, my apologies to any horses who might be reading this... I apologize for this interuption and reactionary posting, Myles, but I've gotta make the call this way, this time. Now back to our regular program...

Thanks for the quick response, and good, useable info! But- I was referring to the separate input channels being out-of-phase, when "jumpering" and combining them on one amp. Any light to shed on this! Thanks again!

Hey, Myles, big dumb question time: (Or, more like it, a bunch of big dumb questions...) How are the channels on bf and sf Fenders, and Vox AC30 TB's, "wired out of phase"? Is it a simple manner to either rewire them for in-phase operation, or even to install a switch for either/or selection? Or is there something I'm overlooking here, is there a real good reason to leave 'em that way? For that matter, on a Vox AC30 TB, is there any reason that removal of the "unused" preamp-channel's first preamp tube wouldn't result in a more robust tone and more gain in the used pre channel, the way that this is the case with bf Fenders? Any good tips for getting the most out of a new Vox AC30 TB, as far as "tricks" and quirks and ways to "personalize" 'em? Thanks for your time and trouble, Myles! Hope I didn't bug you too much!

Yeah, as long as you just do it carefully, and remove any spring-retainers or the like, the tubes will pull out of their sockets. You may have to gently wiggle them a bit. Then, the YJ's just plug directly in, "retrofitting", and require no further adjustment or modification of any kind. They "auto-bias", being cathode-biased and designed for this. Just let them warm up for a few minutes before going from "Standby" to operating-status. Then, jam yer heart out!

Yeah, probably; Teahead reports that he uses his THD Yellow Jackett equipped Fender DeVille 2x12 for gigs, pushing it fairly hard for grind and growl; he even used to use a THD "Hotplate" attenutor between the amp and speakers, to reduce the overall volume, but has since gone without it as he prefers the tone without the Hotplate. I do not know if he ever needs to mic the amp, though.

I'll field this one for ya, JJ; don't worry, I only answer questions here when I'm beyond sure that I've got a good answer, and Myles gave me the official Okey-Dokey to do so on his thread here. So... Those THD Yellow Jacketts replace the power tubes- the "big ones"- and you'll need two for your DeVille. (The original tubes there in your DeVille are of the 6L6 variety; the "little ones", the preamp tubes, are 12AX7-types.) And, as long as your amp is in good working order, you won't need to change anything else, or adjust anything, as they're self-biasing, being cathode-biased. Teahead uses a Tele and loves his YJ's, and won't play out without'em!

Merry Christmas, Myles! (Figured you'd get this soonest on here, bud!) Thanks for everything, you make the world that much cooler!

BUMP for Xander and his rumbling Bassman head...

Hey, roy d- I can give you an answer, if you don't mind my stepping in on this one for Myles. Myles can (and will) tell you if I'm wrong here: In the case of a Champ, for some obscure reason lost to the ages, Fender production defined its speaker's impedence as 3.2-ohms, which turns out to be the nominal DC resistance of that speaker. Not the same thing as true impedance. It turns out that a 4-ohm speaker is just what the Doctor ordered, whereas an 8-ohm speaker will cut your power roughly in half and probably be detrimental to your tone. That being said, as long as you use a speaker that is equal to or greater than the specified impedance, you are unlikely to damage the amp's components. If you load the output with a speaker rated at a lower impedance, it is potentially more likely that you can and will damage something, like an output transformer and tubes. Do not use a 2-ohm speaker on a Champ. Imagine a team of draft-horses that expects to be pulling a sled with a ton of payload, and when they set to it they find rather jerkingly that it's closer to a half- or quarter- of that... at the very least, some sore, strained muscles and ligaments, right? (Or imagine running your car's engine into a transmission and suddenly shifting down to 2nd or 1st while cruising along on the expressway.) !!! Same for your amp's parts... Some amps handle impedance mis-match well enough to use it as an additional tonal ingredient. These are generally amps with very beefy, big over-rated power- and output-transformers and power supply components. If I recall correctly, both THD's Andy Marshall and Bruce Zinky, who was behind the Fender Vibro-King, Dual-Professional, and Tone-Master, have made comments like that regarding some of their designs. And the owners manual for the GT Electronics Speaker Emulator that I have mentions getting a better tone by setting its impedance selector higher than the rating at the amp's output jack. However, I don't think that any Champ quite falls into that category, short of being very heavily modified! Go with 4-ohms. There are a number of great replacement speakers for your Champ out there. Kendrick makes 'em, and I'm pretty sure that those new "vintage-reissue" Jensens include a suitable one. If you want to use it for recording, stick with a small size like the original. That small speaker will sound huge in a recording, perhaps bigger-sounding than a larger speaker would. If you want to use it "live", maybe you'll want to opt for a larger speaker like a 10", though that would require enlarging the hole in the cabinet's baffle-board.

Thanks for the input, Myles! Man, if that's not a stamp of approval, that actually carries some weight, I don't know what is! Now it's less a matter of "If", and more a matter of "when" I buy a Comet or Meteor. When I do, I'll have to come out to LA so you can scope it out (literally, right?). And, uh, gee, maybe you'll have an amp or two that I can check out! Just further curiousity, I know what I like about the Tone King model that I tried; how do you like their features, tone, and playability? What do you like and dislike in any amp? Personally, that is, you know what I mean; as in what works for you, not what's "good" or "bad". Hmmmnn??

Myles, just curious... Do you have any oppinions, experience, or knowledge concerning Tone King amps, in particular their Comet and new Meteor series combos? I played a Tone King Comet 20 two-6V6 1x12 combo once, and its "clean" channel- which could easily be coaxed into some really nice less-than-clean tones- was easily the very best "blackface Fender" I've ever played. There was a 40-watt/2x12 version with two pairs of 6V6's, each with its own output transformer and speaker; it could be configured to footswitch from the full 40-watts with four 6V6's, two OT's, and two speakers, to the differently voiced "lead" pre-channel with two 6V6's driving one OT and speaker with 20-watts. The Meteor series is supposed to be an improvement on the Comets; if so, they must sound stellar! I do know this about the new Meteors: they look mighty sharp! If you're curious, here's a link; you can check things out at the Tone King website. Let me know what you think.

I'll take a tentative whack at this- Myles gave me permission to hop in here now and then, or I would feel like I was stepping on somebody's toes- I seem to recall that the reason against this wasn't for fear of damage, but concerned a loading or phase issue, that would affect your tone. If you like the way it sounds, then I think it's safe to stick with the jumpering. If I can find further details- I've got all manner of books and magazines ferreted away in my packrat like digs- I'll return to post'em. In the meantime, don't lose any sleep about it!

CaevanO'Shite........... (Myles)"I like 5's as they run at the most ideal current draw in these cathode biased amps." "Balanced triodes in any area other than the phase inverter would yield no value, and you'd be better off saving the money for a nice meal, or a lot of pizza." Thanks! Oh, man, you had to say "pizza"! "Mmmmnn... forbidden PIZZA... !" -k