rockabilly69 Posted December 26, 2013 Posted December 26, 2013 Miss my Vibra-Trem 20! My next amp will be another Top Hat.... Rob I always see used TopHats going for reasonable prices. My favorite, with out a doubt, is the Club Royal which I prefer over my current Club Deluxe. I slightly prefer EL84's to 6v6's in these circuits. If I see a deal on one I will let you know:)
smurph1 Posted December 30, 2013 Posted December 30, 2013 Spend your money on the product that makes you happy" Amen! When I bought my 68 Custom Princeton, I had no idea it was PCB, No Idea it was Made in Mexico,.. I just thought the tone was awesome!! That should really be the reason we buy anything!! That and a dollar will get you a coffee at Mickey D's!!
Vanschoyck Posted December 30, 2013 Author Posted December 30, 2013 Spend your money on the product that makes you happy" Amen! When I bought my 68 Custom Princeton, I had no idea it was PCB, No Idea it was Made in Mexico,.. I just thought the tone was awesome!! That should really be the reason we buy anything!! That and a dollar will get you a coffee at Mickey D's!! I've had a 65 DRRI around the house for years and it never occurred to me particularly what was inside of it. Would you say the "mojo" factor is important? I find that what's happening in my head is what matters. If you believe voodoo works, it will work on you.
RJLII Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 I've had a 65 DRRI around the house for years and it never occurred to me particularly what was inside of it. Would you say the "mojo" factor is important? I find that what's happening in my head is what matters. If you believe voodoo works, it will work on you. +1 on the DRRI. I had one of the original reissues for 10 years. It was a good amp. In a past life I manufactured commodity electronics products. From an efficiency standpoint, PCB was the only viable alternative. I get why the "mass market" amp builders use it. That said, all my current amps (Carr Rambler, Victoria Ivy League, ThroBak 18w Classic Combo) are PTP/Eyelet Board/Turret Board construction. I prefer the more traditional construction methods from a service and repair perspective. Plus they emit the delicate aroma of cork when they get warmed up
RJLII Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 Carr slant 6vimage.jpgimage.jpg Yup. True PTP can look like a real rat's nest.
HANGAR18 Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 PRS has just come out with a new amp model they call ARCHON (100W tube head) which seems to be a combination of both hand wired and printed circuit board. I'm at the point in my research path where I am seriously considering getting one.
HANGAR18 Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 See this link for detailed explanation. http://www.prsguitars.com/archon/
Trouble Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 Some of you may remember years ago that there were TV ads about how to get training in a trade that would lead to a good job. Two of these training programs were TV repair and VCR repair. These two devices have mostly became disposable due to technology advances. But I wonder, has anyone seen marketing for a better home theater system because it has point to point hand soldering? I haven't. If it's so good, then why doesn't it spill over to the AV market where there is stiff competition among the high end products? It makes sense to have amps where the boards can be easily replaced. In fact I can imagine having an amp where the boards can very easily be slid in and out for different sounds and options. In a few days I will have another PTP amp, one I know well individually. It's worth it to me not because it's PTP but because of the final sound and features. I'm profoundly skeptical that a human hand doing the solder advances the tone. And I'd rather have a 2014 robot-built GM than a 1972 hand made one. This is progress, and progress isn't all good. I get it. But it is better for at least some. The one loop hole in this logic is the possibility of magic. Can it be that something intangible is transferred from the hands of the craftsman into the amp? I'd like to believe that's true. It happened every night with my mother's cooking. Randall amplifiers have something like you are talking about, you can replace a module and change the character of the amp. As far as an opinion on PCB vs. PTP, I don't have the amp experience that some have, but I have worked on electronics and some amplifiers and I've learned a lot in the last couple years. The article does have some merit, a well built and designed PCB is fine, allows for consistency and should be as durable as PTP wiring, as long as the jacks, tubes and pots aren't board mounted it should work and last as long as a tag or turret board, maybe even longer if your talking about the old style boards builders used to use. He's right they do warp and deteriorate. The problem comes in when you start placing parts that receive a lot of wear and tear and movement on the PCB, this makes common repairs difficult and sometimes more costly. Micro components also make it nearly impossible to make any repairs without replacing the board. I recently replaced the power caps in an old Marshall SS 100W head, the amp was at least 15 years old and still working, the board was pretty well made and laid out. Capacitors do fail, and in this amp it was quite easy to replace them without any problems. Quite honestly, I think a lot of the things we buy into as musicians is BS, there is no reason a paper in oil capacitor should sound any different in a guitar than any other quality capacitor of the same value, maybe they look cooler, but should sound the same. One last point, as a rule point to point is much easier to repair, but if something is really well made and never needs repair, who cares.
Trouble Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 The old stop shopping and start playing concept of guitar playing. Seems like a relatively untested idea. Let us know how it works out. Wow I think you just stepped on some toes!
JeffB Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 Wow I think you just stepped on some toes! I hope not. I was making fun of myself. I hope no one took it the wrong way.
H Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 I hope not. I was making fun of myself. I hope no one took it the wrong way. I did. I cried myself to sleep last night.
Vanschoyck Posted January 2, 2014 Author Posted January 2, 2014 I did. I cried myself to sleep last night. Be brave.
DetroitBlues Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 PGS just posted this about the subject... If memory serves, Mike Soldano understood what PGS is talking about and is why his Jet City partnership makes well built amps.... http://proguitarshop.com/andyscorner/pcb-vs-handwired
Guest HRB853370 Posted January 6, 2014 Posted January 6, 2014 Good article from Randall Smith on why PCB amps being rated inferior to PTP amps is mythological. http://www.mesaboogie.com/US/Smith/point-to-point.html
111518 Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 Good article from Randall Smith on why PCB amps being rated inferior to PTP amps is mythological. http://www.mesaboogie.com/US/Smith/point-to-point.html It's Groundhog Day.
yoslate Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 From the Department of Redundancy Department....
Kuz Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 The American Pot Stirring Association of America......
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