RL> I don't trust Torres.
       I'm starting to wonder myself. :)
       All I know is that the Super Midrange kit for my Strat that I got from 
Torres works wonderfully. Somehow gives a midboost even with it being 
passive. :)
 RL> Honestly, I've never biased an amp.  I checked the bias on Tom's Traynor
 RL> before and after I worked on it and it was unchanged and matched the
 RL> schematic.
       Really. :)
       Well, I now have the amp. Apparently it's biased PERFECTLY. :) WOW is 
all I can say. After playing through it for a while, I seriously had to go to 
the bathroom and drench myself in cold water. :)
 RL> CBS didn't do anything bad from a design standpoint... at the time, 
ubes
 RL> were readily available and nearly all tubes on the market could easily
 RL> withstand the voltages they used.  CBS's idea was to bump the wattage
 RL> up... back in the 70s, everyone had to have a 100 watt amp, because
 RL> that's the largest that was commonly available.  CBS started tweaking 
he
 RL> voltages, and in the late 70s, began rating the Twin Reverb at 120 
tts.
       Well, maybe from an electrical design standpoint... They do work. But 
from an audible standpoint... Ouch... I really haven't found a Silverface 
that I like. They tend to have a shrill sound and no umph. I think I found 
something extremely sweet with a Blackface Dual Showman. :) 85 watts of 
really warm Fender tone.
       I currently have it running through the 4ohm Special Design speaker in 
my Deluxe 112+ (I disconnected one lead from the Deluxe and unplugged it for 
safety). Wow... With that, I actually could get it up loud enough that there 
was breakup. WOW!!! I also used the preamp of my processor in bypass mode to 
put an extra boost into the input and pushed it into a nice overdrive. This 
is the first amp I've ever played through that sounded GREAT without reverb!
       Apparently, the preamp tubes are all original (from 1963) except for 
one. It was retubed in the power section with Sovteks. I like. :)
       Also, I tried the thing out with several different cabs before I left 
the store. I've decided to go with the Peavey Sheffield loaded 4x12. The 
Marshall 2x12 (diagnally mounted in what looked like a mini 4x12) sounded 
like mush and this Crate 4x12 sounded like... ahem... feces. :) The Peavey 
has this sweet treble rolloff and a real thud in the bass department. It's 
really tight and authoratative sounding. Can't wait 'til I purchase it. :)
 RL> Major retooling.  You want to spend $100/tube for a special like that?
       YEAH!!! I HAVE G.A.S.!!! MONEY IS NO OBJECT!!! :)
       But... I don't really have to worry. I'm running 6L6GCs. Plenty of 
voltage headroom in them, if I remember what you told me correctly. :)
 RL> Even your BF Showman is a touch high on the screen voltage.
       Dunno... Don't feel like taking it apart... Yet. :) I'll have to get a 
multimeter and check it out if I do. :)
 RL> This is oversimplified, but I'm not getting into crossover distortion or
 RL> slew rates: The gain of the tube is basically fixed (depending
 RL> on how it's biased). Hypothetically, say the tube has a gain of
 RL> 10:1.  With a 1v input signal,  it will dump 10v from the plate to
 RL> ground (remember, a tube's output is  the inverse of the input).
 RL> At 10v, it will dump 100v to ground.  If  you're running a 350v
 RL> plate level, the tube will begin to produce  distortion at an input
 RL> level beyond 35v.   Above that, there is no more  voltage to dump
 RL> to ground, so the peak of the wave clips, producing  distortion.
 RL> If you push the plate voltage to 700v (the EL34 can handle  up to
 RL> 800), the tube will now not start distorting until the input
 RL> exceeds 70v.  This also doubles the output wattage.
       Ahhh... Gotcha... That 700Vs on an EL34 would explain why that 
Marshall I played through that time was so damned clean!!!
       I think that the voltage on the plate of the 6L6s is something like
460... I must be hitting it with at least 46V by the time I hit 6 on the 
volume, then. :)
 RL> I don't trust Pittman either.  I retubed the Carvin with GT 12AX7s and
 RL> one was michrophonic.  Pittman claims that he buys cases of cheapo
 RL> Chinese tubes and tests every single one of them, keeping only the 
best"
 RL> and those with the "hardest vaccuume".  He supposedly sells the rest to
 RL> suppliers like Ruby and Peavey.   Pittman tests the tubes to be good 
hen
 RL> they're new... the complaints I've heard about Chinese tubes is they
 RL> simply don't last.
       Hmmm.... If GTs die like that, what would you suggest as a good tube 
brand? I remember you saying something about liking the Rubies, but if Rubies 
are Chinese, I wouldn't like them dying on me... Hell, I think I have RCA 
7025s in the preamp section of the DS. They're 35 years old and still sound 
great!!!
       How are Svetlanas, Teslas, or EI's?
 RL> Ya... go ahead and email it to me at rlockyer@linkline.com
       It's on the way. I'm sure you'll find it interesting. :)
...This copy of ProBoard has been unregistered for 904 days!
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