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EdsTeioh posted:Hey guys, I'm having this issue with my 80's Peavey Butcher where I'm getting next to zero sound. If you dime the pre and post gain, you get low practice amp levels of sound. I've rolled a tube through the preamp and it didn't do anything, hit the volume pots with some cleaner, same. Does that sound like a capacitor issue? I don't think that's a transformer thing since there wouldn't be any output at all, right? Have you done anything with the power section yet?
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Dec 19, 2019 18:29
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Shugojin posted:Have you done anything with the power section yet? No, not even really sure what to do with that. Change tubes?
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Dec 19, 2019 23:24
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EdsTeioh posted:No, not even really sure what to do with that. Change tubes?
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Dec 20, 2019 00:41
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Wark Say posted:That'd be the traditional point of "hey, the least I can do without loving up too badly", yeah. And it's the most likely one. Something similar happened with my Mesa Recto-Verb head: When the LED indicating channel switching started loving up and the fizz was getting too much, a simple poppin' of the power tubes solved that poo poo like boom. Good to know; I don’t think those old Peaveys need biasing either, so that helps.
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Dec 20, 2019 03:30
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Definitely try the fuse first. It’s unusual that power tubes would all go out at the same time. After swapping the fuse turn it on and if it still doesn’t work check that all the tubes get hot. Or perhaps they get too hot which is also a problem lol.
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Dec 20, 2019 04:24
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Dang It Bhabhi! posted:Definitely try the fuse first. It’s unusual that power tubes would all go out at the same time. After swapping the fuse turn it on and if it still doesn’t work check that all the tubes get hot. Or perhaps they get too hot which is also a problem lol. It'd also be worth thinking about what caused the fuse to blow in the first place. It's a cheap enough part to swap in and see what happens, but there's a decent chance it's a symptom rather than the cause. I don't know that I'd consider tubes to be quite as dispensable. I mean you're easily going to rack up $60 worth of parts if you replace those too for diagnostics. I'm far from not guilty on doing this myself, but when I had some issues with my amp recently I was really glad I got a referral to an amp tech rather than the shop handing over some tubes. nitsuga fucked around with this message at 21:41 on Dec 20, 2019 |
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Dec 20, 2019 21:39
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Right, great point. The fuse would most likely NOT be the problem and you’d still want to diagnose what IS the problem.
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Dec 20, 2019 22:32
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Hey all, looking for some advice... I've got a pair of guitars, one's a good Les Paul copy, and the other's a Godin made Superstrat/Les Paul hybrid, both with mahogany bodies. Currently they're paired with a SS Orange Crush 30R that is slowly breaking down. I've also got mid 00s Roland Cube 30 that's got a nice clean sound, but it doesn't get very loud, and the tone quality is rather bland. I'm looking to upgrade to a smallish amp that has a decent tone and enough volume to play small venues, or larger ones with a mic. I don't play anything super heavy, and I'd like something that can sound clean low and high volumes, and will cooperate with pedals. Prefer overdrive or moderate distortion to fuzz. I have a shot at a used Vox AC15C1 for $385, foot switch included, but I'm concerned that the tone profile isn't quite right. Should I stick with solid state? Budget is around $600. fwiw, I have a QSC K8 powered speaker as well, so I could probably boost a smaller amp pretty capably if it can send out. beer gas canister fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Dec 28, 2019 |
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Dec 28, 2019 22:30
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Stark Fist posted:Hey all, looking for some advice... Would a Boss Katana fit the bill?
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Dec 28, 2019 23:03
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Stark Fist posted:Hey all, looking for some advice... That's a good deal on an AC15! They are tanks, but you could have that thing for years to come. As far as the tone profile, I guess that'd be your call. I think it would handle what you're after rather well, especially if you consider you can always run a dirt pedal to get the OD sound you're after. No FX loop, but again I think you'd be surprised what you can get away with. Otherwise, yes, you might consider the Boss Katana. They're popular for a reason, and either the 50 or 100 can probably do what you want them to do. They'd come in way under budget too. Still I don't think they'd have the longevity (or mojo) that the AC15 or some other used tube amp would. For that, it'd be worth looking at what's in town as far as used amps go (Craigslist, Guitar Center, Music Go Round, et cetera). That way you can check out what's out there, do some research, and go demo them. If you wanted to stick with a solid state amp, an Orange Crush Pro might also fit the bill. I was pleased with the one I demoed last month. nitsuga fucked around with this message at 00:07 on Dec 29, 2019 |
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Dec 28, 2019 23:58
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The Katana looks good. Does the modeling sound OK? Cube 30 COSM modeling is pretty muddy, I'll probably never use it live. As far as used Craigslist goes, I've scoped out a couple of AC15s and a handful of Blues Jrs. Everything else is way too pricey or SS practice amps. I like the idea of this Monoprice amp, and there's good buzz around it, but I'm afraid it's not loud enough. Might as well spring for the AC15: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=611815 beer gas canister fucked around with this message at 00:19 on Dec 29, 2019 |
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Dec 29, 2019 00:17
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You can get a Peavey Stereo Chorus for under $200 and they sound like a beefier Roland JC-120. For example: Peavey Stereo Chorus 212 Combo Recent https://reverb.com/item/30073048-peavey-stereo-chorus-212-combo-recent
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Dec 29, 2019 00:25
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Stark Fist posted:The Katana looks good. Does the modeling sound OK? Cube 30 COSM modeling is pretty muddy, I'll probably never use it live. The modeling is pretty decent on the Katanas. The FX are pretty good too. I’d probably skip the Monoprice amp, but I know someone who loves theirs. I still think for $600 you should be able to find a good used tube amp, but I can see how all the ways out there would work with what you’ve got. A little tempted to harass that dude with the Peavey. I had no idea those even existed. Brings back memories of the Crate amps all my friends had.
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Dec 29, 2019 04:06
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I always encourage people to get the Ampeg VL-502 which is a JCM800 with the usual mods and two channels at 50w. They can be had for $500 or less and they have a built-in attenuator for apartment rockin'.
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Dec 29, 2019 04:21
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Thanks for the info. I'll probably jump on the AC15. I couldn't find another one selling for this price online, so I should at least break if I sell it in the future.
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Dec 29, 2019 23:17
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I tested out both a Katana and an AC15 at a store yesterday, and liked them both, but the AC15 sounded stunningly good with my guitar, very rich, lots of sustain. The tone and volume knobs suddenly had a massive impact on the sound. It felt like I was playing a completely new guitar. Chords remained clear and balanced at low volumes. So good. I also like the sound of the Katana, especially the clean channel, although the models were completely usable too. There is a good broken up tone that can be dialed in on the clean channel that's quite good. Honestly a bit sad I won't buy one because it showed so much potential, and my guitar still sounded wonderful through it, miles better than my old 30 watt ss amps. It reacted well to the tone and volume knobs in a similar fashion to the Vox, but the amount of control seemed lesser. I'd say it had the most "sterile" tone of the bunch I played, but not without character. I also played an Orange Crush CR60, which sounded very fuckin good. They also had a couple of vintage English built Marshall combos which were just lovely, but too expensive.
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Jan 2, 2020 04:16
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That’s perfectly all right! I’m thinking a lot about picking up a local Peavey Delta Blues 210, but wonder how overkill it’d be for how I play now. Something about tubes though that keeps me coming back. Those Crush Pros are pretty sweet too.
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Jan 2, 2020 16:21
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I bought the AC15 and hooooly poo poo it sounds good. Definitely bedroom usable. The compression is effective even at minuscule volumes. I'm very impressed.
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Jan 6, 2020 20:07
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nitsuga posted:That’s perfectly all right! I’m thinking a lot about picking up a local Peavey Delta Blues 210, but wonder how overkill it’d be for how I play now. Something about tubes though that keeps me coming back. Those Crush Pros are pretty sweet too. Stark Fist posted:I bought the AC15 and hooooly poo poo it sounds good. Definitely bedroom usable. The compression is effective even at minuscule volumes. I'm very impressed. I remember being just blown away by the NAMM videos of the Night Train when it came out but for me I just really need my main amps to have effects loops. Basically a lot of words to say Vox amps are pretty freaking awesome and I'd be right at home using them for my main amps. I expect you will continue to love yours. Note: All tube amps sound better in pairs. 
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Jan 7, 2020 02:21
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I did some rudimentary testing by running the AC15 into Ableton via an SM58, on axis, and playing into the spectrum analyzer. Running into the Top Boost channel, here's what the knobs seemed to do: The bass and treble dials interact with one another. As you raise the treble, the bass will drop, and vice versa. Whenever the knobs are at the same setting, they're equal. Neither knob cuts particularly hard, nowhere near flat, but the bass appears to cut harder than the treble. The bass seemed to influence the range between 100ish Hz - 600ish Hz. The Treble ran from around 700ish Hz -1400 Hz. The middle area between those two ranges remained basically unchanged - there was a particular harmonic in that space that I could not touch. The Tone Cut knob appears to influence only frequencies above 4k, and when maxed, cuts them down to virtually nothing. When I tested the amp at Guitar Center, the salesman, a self-described tube snob, immediately turned that knob to full cut, and I've got to say I vastly prefer my LP copy like that. It sounds very rounded and mids-lush, wonderful with the neck pickup. It dulled my single coil Godin a bit, so I imagine it'd be less desirable to cut full on with a regular Strat. I suspect that this knob is a major contributing factor in the success of this amp. The conventional wisdom seems to be that the tone cut knob is used to moderate distortion, which it does well, but it has a significant impact on clean tone as well.
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Jan 7, 2020 05:22
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That 2-knob eq is called a Baxandall/James tone stack and, as you already said, their fun is that the controls interact with each other. In stereos/music playback this scheme wasn’t very easy to dial-in a sound but for instrument eqs it rules. https://www.ampbooks.com/mobile/amp-technology/james-tonestack-analysis/
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Jan 7, 2020 17:39
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Decided to give up on my Butcher; ended up trading for a custom 212 cabinet then bought an Orange Rocker 15 Terror. I've either got to learn how to work on amps myself or just steer clear of vintage tube stuff.
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Jan 24, 2020 19:25
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Went a little crazy on buying amps this week. Friedman JJ-100 is new, waiting on a Friedman Butterslacks, and the Peavey Roadmaster needs some work, but gonna be crushing. Cabs are Worshipper 4x12 2x15. Bass cab is an Electric, 2x10, 2x12, 2x15. 
Pokey Araya fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Jan 30, 2020 |
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Jan 30, 2020 23:32
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Do you guys have thoughts on the current crop of headphone amps? I know I asked about practice amps a few weeks ago but I need to go smaller and cheaper. How do the Amplug 2s compare to something like the EH Headphone Amp? Any favorites among the many Amplugs? I looked at stuff like the POD too, but that's a bit rich for what I wanna pay for one of these. I'd like to be able to use it clean or potentially with my ME-80 (I know the board has an amp sim, but it's not my favorite and I'd like to be able to play without my headphones connected to the pedal board, having the cable there is a pain)
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Jan 31, 2020 00:44
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Doesn’t someone here have a Two Notes Torpedo Live? If so, how are you liking it so far?
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Feb 6, 2020 20:15
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I drive a BBW posted:Doesn’t someone here have a Two Notes Torpedo Live? If so, how are you liking it so far?
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Feb 7, 2020 03:09
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e: Double post? the gently caress? 
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Feb 7, 2020 03:09
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I have an addiction. I have another amo, a Peavey Triumph 60 head from the 80s. I don't know poo poo about it except it was Peavey's answer to the Mark series. It needs tubing (low/sporadic volume output and general fizz on all channels) but I'm keen to give it some love. Anyone know anything about these things?
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Feb 15, 2020 09:38
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it's pretty much an early version of the ultra right?
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Feb 15, 2020 13:52
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Yea they’re cool. Good score. 😎
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Feb 15, 2020 14:08
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Finally got around to fixing my Vox "Student" amp. It's a ~5 watt tube amp, based on the All American 5 circuit, BUT with an actual power transformer so it can't electrocute you as easily. Made by Thomas Organ in the US for one year, 1965. It had a loud hum and was pickup radio when I got it. Changing caps got rid of ~80% of the hum, but it had a steady hum that didn't change with the volume. Poked at it a bunch, figured it was a ground problem, but couldn't figure out where it was. Realized later it was the volume control/power switch since besides the steady hum, the amp was basically off/kind of loud/louder but not that much. Ordered a replacement, which arrived and sat on my desk for a few months. Finally tore it apart, put in the new switch, and finally have an amp with no hum and usable volume controls. It gets surprisingly loud and stays clean up to ~6. Breaks up after that, but the speaker is farty so it doesn't sound that great. Time to add an external jack and hook it to a decent cab.
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Feb 19, 2020 03:17
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Even the student amp is entirely pentode-driven. That’s rad.
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Feb 19, 2020 05:24
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It's a nice little amp, and they're ridiculously affordable for a 60's Vox. And another project has been completed, this one probably not worth the effort.  Solid State Checkmate 10 amp. Oddly, these are usually branded as Teisco. More odd is where this one was made.  Made in USA, Teiscos were all Japanese. Also odd it's a Checkmate 10, when it only pulls 8 watts and puts out less than 3 since the speaker is marked 3W. Also not a 10" speaker. Had a horrible buzzsaw 120Hz hum. Replaced the old can capacitor with three new individual caps and it fires right up, quiet as can be. Still has the 2 prong plug, I'll get to that once I decide if I want to keep or sell.
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Feb 23, 2020 05:36
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Just got a new amp! My Bluesbreaker was always amazing, but I wanted something slightly smaller and with a few more tonal options, and this seemed to fit the bill. It's a Lonestar, so it is voiced to do more traditional valvy stuff rather than modern high gain, which is what I need - Basically a platform for pedals.   Got to say it's the nicest thing I've ever played through and is a keeper for sure, really happy with it
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Feb 23, 2020 17:09
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Having been a stickler to the Mark amps up until a few years ago (where I switched to a Dual Rectifier Rect-O-Verb head and an Express Plus 5:25 combo for like 99% of my local gigs) and have since tried a number of the different Mesa products, that's a loving badass amp you got there! I've been loving my Express combo and would probably have to start considering having a backup of sorts, tell me: Can it do Fender cleans fine? That's the one reason I've been sticking with the Express for the smaller venue gigs.
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Feb 23, 2020 17:27
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Wark Say posted:Having been a stickler to the Mark amps up until a few years ago (where I switched to a Dual Rectifier Rect-O-Verb head and an Express Plus 5:25 combo for like 99% of my local gigs) and have since tried a number of the different Mesa products, that's a loving badass amp you got there! I have a Fender Twin and a Bluiesbreaker as well so can compare them quite well I think. The Mesa does anything well, it's almost a little odd - It does cleans as well as my Twin, easily, and I never thought I'd say that as the Twin has such a (well deserved) reputation for being the king of clean. It's quite easy to just dial in that sound, but then you have options to enhance it as well, the EQ is super good and the reverb is astonishing. I've actually taken out a couple pedals from my chain as they are redundant now. This is the first amp I have ever owned where the guys in rehearsal stop and say something - 'loving hell' it was  I can't say enough good things, it takes all pedals like a champ too, even the 5 watt mode is decent and I am rarely convinced by stuff like that. I am delighted, a 335 direct into this is just incredible, I can go from the lushest, mellowest sounds to biting, stinging but fat lead sounds without touching anything but my guitar controls, and that's all I really want.
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Feb 23, 2020 17:38
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I know exactly what you mean, Petey. I have the same thing with my Express combo and my Larrivée RS-2. That's the amp life right there, buddy.  A'ight, I'll be on the lookout for one of these bad-boys, then!
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Feb 23, 2020 18:29
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9UAKaaJZ-M I love it. Tube amp by Randall with built-in (high voltage and tube?!) fuzz! Horrifyingly cringe graphics! Yessssss!!
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Feb 23, 2020 19:01
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Wark Say posted:Larrivée RS-2 Ooohhh this is pretty, love the look of this
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Feb 23, 2020 19:42
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Hey! How much effort is it to convert a combo amp into a stand alone head? Is it expensive? Is it worth it? Cheers!
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Feb 27, 2020 07:52
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