Solid state clipping SUCKS!

[CA$H FLOW]

So after a crappy first time experience with a tube amp I decided to purchase a Tech 21 Trademark 60 amp.
Now the TM60 does sound great, but once I got her really cranked up today I got my first tast of solid state clipping. Wow does it ever sound like crap. Is there anyway around this other than turning down ?
Every now and then I like to play some really heavy music but this solid state clipping just ruins the experience.

[jcv]

So.... you don't like solid state amps OR tube amps? ever think about taking up harmonica?

[CA$H FLOW]

So.... you don't like solid state amps OR tube amps? ever think about taking up harmonica?

Hahahaha; I was actually thinking maybe the auto-harp would be a good choice for me!

[Tone_Terrific]

SS pedals are often better than ss amps. Why is that?
So, turn it up until it pushes some air, then stop before it sounds bad, and flick on a pedal for Od. Done!

[LJOHNS]

I use this amp often. You don't notice it in a band setting. I use OD pedals for my drive tones and it is not an issue. I just put a Wizard speaker in my TM60 and it also improved it a lot.

[semi-hollowbody]

What crappy tube amp did you use?

[Brian Johnston]

You don't get that problem with a Pritchard.

[Nickstrtcstr]

The more fragile harmonics can survive in a vacuum tube where they seem to be eliminated or squashed in a solid state crystal lattice.

[solitaire]

Remember that all silicon (and by all means Germanium) semiconductors are not made equal. For instance J-FETs are your friends and I kind of like the MOS-FETs and Germaniums too.

I'm also bewildered by that valve failed you, but possibly the valve or the gear in which the valve was used were under par or not to your liking in the first place.

[solitaire]

The more fragile harmonics can survive in a vacuum tube where they seem to be eliminated or squashed in a solid state crystal lattice.
Bah, go build some overpriced amps for those who can actually play the electric guitar! :P :D

[ekp]

The more fragile harmonics can survive in a vacuum tube where they seem to be eliminated or squashed in a solid state crystal lattice.

The notion that electrons stripped from the electron cloud around the cathode, avoiding the grid wires, squished by the grid's electric field, and accelerated to the plate makes for better sound than electrons bopping along from atom to atom from emitter to collector while minding the base electric fields, is not inherently anti-musical. Indeed, it is quite possible to produce the essential nature of tubes with solid state, although not easily.

A mark of triodes is the relationship between the fundamental, second, and third harmonics. At some input, they will be aligned with the second harmonic 30 db below the fundamental and the third 50 db below the fundamental (Radiotron Designer's Handbook, 1957). My triode emulators do this.

Another mark of triodes is the increasing plate resistance with lowering plate currents, which produces a soft clip. My triode emulators do this too.

Pentodes, usually found in push-pull, present substantially greater complexity. The gain of the tube is controlled by two grids, the control grid and the screen grid. With the screen grid tied to the power supply, it modulates the signal with power supply ripple and produces compression as the power supply sags. The push-pull power pentode characteristics produce a unique character, but that character can be reproduced or exaggerated by specialized solid state circuitry.

The advantages of tube rectifiers can be recreated and even exaggerated in power power supply design.

Not only is it quite possible, it has been done and been available for years providing great tone while making gigging less burdensome with lighter and more reliable amps.

Have a great day, Eric

[harpinon]

Try golf. Not much tone involved.

[dave12]

The notion that electrons stripped from the electron cloud around the cathode, avoiding the grid wires, squished by the grid's electric field, and accelerated to the plate makes for better sound than electrons bopping along from atom to atom from emitter to collector while minding the base electric fields, is not inherently anti-musical. Indeed, it is quite possible to produce the essential nature of tubes with solid state, although not easily.

A mark of triodes is the relationship between the fundamental, second, and third harmonics. At some input, they will be aligned with the second harmonic 30 db below the fundamental and the third 50 db below the fundamental (Radiotron Designer's Handbook, 1957). My triode emulators do this.

Another mark of triodes is the increasing plate resistance with lowering plate currents, which produces a soft clip. My triode emulators do this too.

Pentodes, usually found in push-pull, present substantially greater complexity. The gain of the tube is controlled by two grids, the control grid and the screen grid. With the screen grid tied to the power supply, it modulates the signal with power supply ripple and produces compression as the power supply sags. The push-pull power pentode characteristics produce a unique character, but that character can be reproduced or exaggerated by specialized solid state circuitry.

The advantages of tube rectifiers can be recreated and even exaggerated in power power supply design.

Not only is it quite possible, it has been done and been available for years providing great tone while making gigging less burdensome with lighter and more reliable amps.

Have a great day, Eric

You're not allowed to use science to defend your point! Not fair! :waiting

We will only accept responses, such as:

"I can feel the difference"
"Tubes are more organic"
"There's stuff going on that can't be measured by tools"
"My ears must be better than yours"

etc. etc. :bonk

[TRS1]

The more fragile harmonics can survive in a vacuum tube where they seem to be eliminated or squashed in a solid state crystal lattice.

veteran post.:roll

[LJOHNS]

Well said Mr. Pritchard!

[rob2001]

I have a few old SS amps around. I used to think they all crapped out when cranked until I used a Tubeworks MosValve MV 962. I don't know what the circuitry is but it doesn't crap out when cranked, even sounds better cranked, like a tube power section. Note I said "like" a tube power section. I don't mean it is, or it emulates pushed tubes. It has it's own thing happening and can sound great.

[MVrider]

Bah, go build some overpriced amps for those who can actually play the electric guitar! :P :D

Only one problem... Guys who can actually play the electric guitar certainly don't need overpriced amps! :D

[ekp]

You're not allowed to use science to defend your point! Not fair! :waiting

We will only accept responses, such as:

"I can feel the difference"
"Tubes are more organic"
"There's stuff going on that can't be measured by tools"
"My ears must be better than yours"

etc. etc. :bonk

Science only gets you so far. The ultimate test is, as you claim, "I can feel the difference" and by ear. Indeed, in the development of Pritchard amps, science pointed the way, but ears said it is here. During the development, I would conjecture a concept and then with a great help of a great pair of ears, namely those of Phil Zuckerman, would tweak the impact of that concept in hearing and feel.

I disagree that "There's stuff going on that can't be measured by tools." The stuff that is going on may not be measurable by standard tools, but then I developed tests to measure the unmeasurable. But then that gets back to the conjecture and how that effect can be isolated....

I also agree that tubes are more organic, but then I compensated for solid state not having the tube character naturally by adding lots of circuitry. For example, a triode stage has a grid resistor, a cathode resistor, a cathode bypass capacitor, a plate resistor, and a coupling capacitor. But then my preamp stage has the "grid" resistor, a grid conduction sub circuit, an op amp stage, possibly a "cathode resistor" and "cathode bypass capacitor," a plate characteristic circuit, a "plate resistor," and a coupling capacitor.

Why do all of that? Reliability, Shock Resistance, and weight. The typical solid state circuit has a life characterized by infant mortality for a few months, followed by about 25 years of very low failure rates, and finally a rising end-of-life failure rate.

The shock resistance can be noted by a recent UPS attempt to destroy one of my amps. The amp was hit so hard on one end that it bent the chassis and sheared off a couple of LED indicators and a push-button switch. So UPS bought the completely insured amp and sold it. It was purchased on EBAY and eventually made it back to me to fix. So I replaced the sheared parts and the amp worked fine.... I doubt that tube amps would have taken such a chassis-bending shock as well.

There is also reliability in tone. Since the circuitry runs with much lower resistances and much higher capacitance values, it is virtually not affected by humidity, etc.

And then there is the beer test. During a jam, a player knocked over a beer on my amp. The beer flowed as it could, but did not get to circuitry or the speaker. It just kept on playing... That would happen if that cold beer hit a hot tube. It would be instant tube death.

Weight is an issue as well. Pritchard amps do not have output transformers or power supply chokes or reverb drive transformers and the power transformer is substantially smaller. For example, my 4-10 with alnico speakers weighs 25 pounds less than a Super at a mere 42 pounds. A 4-12 prototype combo is about the same size and weight as a 4-12 cab.

Finally, by having extra independent circuitry to produce the tone and feel effects, I can tweak those effects independently of amplifying. For example, some jazz players like a tone with less harmonic structure because the creation of those harmonics also inherently produce ghost notes. They would like less. So I change a couple of resistors and it is less. On the other hand, it could be more for those who like more distortion. The feel is also adjustable. When a player complained that the amp was too slow (quite the opposite of typical solid state amps), I changed a capacitor value.

Although no player has taken up this idea, but a Pritchard can be tweaked to a player's desires. In effect, he can have "tubes" that don't exist.

Have a great day, Eric

[Tone_Terrific]

When a player complained that the amp was too slow (quite the opposite of typical solid state amps), I changed a capacitor value.

Have a great day, Eric
I'd like to know what 'slow' actually means and how it is measured.
Is that actually a latency of response from input to output or a failure to produce crisp transient response?

[MVrider]

Granted that even though it's over an internet connection the clips do sound good. Very "tubey" to me although I've got to admit the point of creating a $2500 solid-state amp that sounds like a $700 tube amp is lost on me.

[fiftynine]

If I've read this thread correctly, it is possible to simulate precisely the tone and characteristics of a tube amp with solid state.

Can someone tell me where to find one of said devices?

[dave12]

Science only gets you so far. The ultimate test is, as you claim, "I can feel the difference" and by ear. Indeed, in the development of Pritchard amps, science pointed the way, but ears said it is here. During the development, I would conjecture a concept and then with a great help of a great pair of ears, namely those of Phil Zuckerman, would tweak the impact of that concept in hearing and feel.

I disagree that "There's stuff going on that can't be measured by tools." The stuff that is going on may not be measurable by standard tools, but then I developed tests to measure the unmeasurable. But then that gets back to the conjecture and how that effect can be isolated....

I also agree that tubes are more organic, but then I compensated for solid state not having the tube character naturally by adding lots of circuitry. For example, a triode stage has a grid resistor, a cathode resistor, a cathode bypass capacitor, a plate resistor, and a coupling capacitor. But then my preamp stage has the "grid" resistor, a grid conduction sub circuit, an op amp stage, possibly a "cathode resistor" and "cathode bypass capacitor," a plate characteristic circuit, a "plate resistor," and a coupling capacitor.

Why do all of that? Reliability, Shock Resistance, and weight. The typical solid state circuit has a life characterized by infant mortality for a few months, followed by about 25 years of very low failure rates, and finally a rising end-of-life failure rate.

The shock resistance can be noted by a recent UPS attempt to destroy one of my amps. The amp was hit so hard on one end that it bent the chassis and sheared off a couple of LED indicators and a push-button switch. So UPS bought the completely insured amp and sold it. It was purchased on EBAY and eventually made it back to me to fix. So I replaced the sheared parts and the amp worked fine.... I doubt that tube amps would have taken such a chassis-bending shock as well.

There is also reliability in tone. Since the circuitry runs with much lower resistances and much higher capacitance values, it is virtually not affected by humidity, etc.

And then there is the beer test. During a jam, a player knocked over a beer on my amp. The beer flowed as it could, but did not get to circuitry or the speaker. It just kept on playing... That would happen if that cold beer hit a hot tube. It would be instant tube death.

Weight is an issue as well. Pritchard amps do not have output transformers or power supply chokes or reverb drive transformers and the power transformer is substantially smaller. For example, my 4-10 with alnico speakers weighs 25 pounds less than a Super at a mere 42 pounds. A 4-12 prototype combo is about the same size and weight as a 4-12 cab.

Finally, by having extra independent circuitry to produce the tone and feel effects, I can tweak those effects independently of amplifying. For example, some jazz players like a tone with less harmonic structure because the creation of those harmonics also inherently produce ghost notes. They would like less. So I change a couple of resistors and it is less. On the other hand, it could be more for those who like more distortion. The feel is also adjustable. When a player complained that the amp was too slow (quite the opposite of typical solid state amps), I changed a capacitor value.

Although no player has taken up this idea, but a Pritchard can be tweaked to a player's desires. In effect, he can have "tubes" that don't exist.

Have a great day, Eric

All tongue in cheek, my friend. ::beer

[bettset]

when pritchard's patents expire, solid state will change for the better. his amps are outstanding :munch

[GT100]

I'd like to know what 'slow' actually means and how it is measured.
Is that actually a latency of response from input to output or a failure to produce crisp transient response?

It has to do with power supply regulation.
In other words tight regulation means little sag and a "fast response".
Loose regulation means lots of sag and a "slow response".

Lloyd

[Standard 64]

buy the mm red cord,problem solved

[SteveO]

If I've read this thread correctly, it is possible to simulate precisely the tone and characteristics of a tube amp with solid state.

Can someone tell me where to find one of said devices?

I don't know about "precisely", but I gigged for a long time through a TubeWorks MosValve power amp, and that thing sounded great even when I had it running flat out. I still have that amp, too, and it's still going strong 20 years down the road.

[harpinon]

So EKP,

This makes sense to the depth I can understand it, but I have a question:

Let's assume your amps produce remarkable tone in a ss format.
(Online clips won't do it for me, and I have never even seen a prichard)
Is the circuitry extremely complex with very expensive parts or is it just expected that it will cost so much because of the exemplary sound?

[bettset]

eric has many patents that make his amps unbelievable. he should be along shortly to explain. when these patents expire, ss amps will benefit. he was the creator of the first prs amps.....the harmonic generator. not a bad amp either, and he learned from it. he also designed several things for prs years back.......like the trem system i think & tuners. he also built several computer carving machines for prs. electronics is his thing. he doesn't play as far as i know, but has had many players give him the feedback he needed. people just have a bad taste for ss amps. check his site & read up on the number of patents he has.......not an easy feat. it's how the electricity flows......his patents i think expire in about 5-8 years. ss amps will have to wait till then to benefit :munch

[smolder]

So after a crappy first time experience with a tube amp I decided to purchase a Tech 21 Trademark 60 amp.
Now the TM60 does sound great, but once I got her really cranked up today I got my first tast of solid state clipping. Wow does it ever sound like crap. Is there anyway around this other than turning down ?
Every now and then I like to play some really heavy music but this solid state clipping just ruins the experience.

Taking a total stab in the dark here... Are you shopping at guitar center for a gig wattage amp to be played at home?

[ekp]

I'd like to know what 'slow' actually means and how it is measured.
Is that actually a latency of response from input to output or a failure to produce crisp transient response?

The circuit that I adjusted controls the compression of the output stage. That capacitor controls both the attack and decay of the compression.

There is not a lot of compression and it is not nearly as fast as the typical compressor works.

Have a great day, Eric

[ekp]

Granted that even though it's over an internet connection the clips do sound good. Very "tubey" to me although I've got to admit the point of creating a $2500 solid-state amp that sounds like a $700 tube amp is lost on me.

Clips have been the bane of my amp experience. Are they supposed to be strictly advertising or truly informative? I am not happy with them, but on the other hand, I am at a loss.

I have heard that the clips don't do the amps justice.

Have a great day, Eric

[ekp]

If I've read this thread correctly, it is possible to simulate precisely the tone and characteristics of a tube amp with solid state.

Can someone tell me where to find one of said devices?

I sell amps directly to players. I usually chat with buyers to help them find the amp and speaker/cabinet that will suit them the best.

The web site is www.pritchardamps.com

The toll free is 1-877-SO-COOOL

Thanks for asking, Have a great day, Eric

[Nickstrtcstr]

The notion that electrons stripped from the electron cloud around the cathode, avoiding the grid wires, squished by the grid's electric field, and accelerated to the plate makes for better sound than electrons bopping along from atom to atom from emitter to collector while minding the base electric fields, is not inherently anti-musical. Indeed, it is quite possible to produce the essential nature of tubes with solid state, although not easily.

A mark of triodes is the relationship between the fundamental, second, and third harmonics. At some input, they will be aligned with the second harmonic 30 db below the fundamental and the third 50 db below the fundamental (Radiotron Designer's Handbook, 1957). My triode emulators do this.

Another mark of triodes is the increasing plate resistance with lowering plate currents, which produces a soft clip. My triode emulators do this too.

Pentodes, usually found in push-pull, present substantially greater complexity. The gain of the tube is controlled by two grids, the control grid and the screen grid. With the screen grid tied to the power supply, it modulates the signal with power supply ripple and produces compression as the power supply sags. The push-pull power pentode characteristics produce a unique character, but that character can be reproduced or exaggerated by specialized solid state circuitry.

The advantages of tube rectifiers can be recreated and even exaggerated in power power supply design.

Not only is it quite possible, it has been done and been available for years providing great tone while making gigging less burdensome with lighter and more reliable amps.

Have a great day, Eric

I wasn't slamming SS amps. I was just quoting H. Alexander Dumble in that YouTube video. I found that thing so hilarious. You have to watch both videos to get how really funny the whole thing is. I also am not saying that Dumble amps sound horrible either. They just seem to in the hands of Henry Kaiser.

nr8EcKe4p0w

l1qCczGgSxw

[bettset]

youtube doesn't really help anybody when it comes to "does it really sound like this". clips rarely do either. until you are in a room with a pritchard, you don't know. i wish i had clips to post, but then again.....it's in the ear of the beholder. i've had mine for 7 years now......it is that cool of an amp. when ss amps do improve years from now.......thank eric :munch

[ekp]

So EKP,

This makes sense to the depth I can understand it, but I have a question:

Let's assume your amps produce remarkable tone in a ss format.
(Online clips won't do it for me, and I have never even seen a prichard)
Is the circuitry extremely complex with very expensive parts or is it just expected that it will cost so much because of the exemplary sound?

Pritchard Amps are expensive because there are a lot of parts and because they are hand assembled. A Sword of Satori or Gold Estoc has about 700 parts, a few more for the Estoc. All those parts are hand assembled and hand soldered into printed circuit boards. The chassis is made on a CNC, bent in a brake, welded by hand, and cleanup by hand. The assembled boards are wired together in a wiring jig and tested in a test jig that provides the needed heat sinking to allow full power testing and needed clearance to make any repairs found in the four hour test routine. Then the chassis is wired for the AC power, checked for voltage breakdown, and the boards installed and finally wired. Finally, the chassis goes back to the test bench where it is subjected to the UL heat stress test for a day or so while the UL ground current test is run too.

Similarly, the cabinets are rough cut on a panel saw, fine cut with a duplicating router (the one I built for PRS Guitars and used in the Virginia Avenue factory), and then box joint cut on a special saw (made from the neck carver used by PRS for many years). After test fitting the cabinet parts, they are glued together and clamped in a cabinet clamp to keep them square and straight. Then the excess glue is cleaned up and the corners rounded. Then the wood chip-outs are filled and sanded smooth. Then the cabinets are spray painted black inside and out, two coats. Then the tolex is applied with special hot melt glue that won't crack even in really cold weather. Then the tolex is spray painted with clear coat to amplify the character of the grain. Then the hardware is put on, the reverb installed, the speaker(s) installed, and finally, the amp is installed.

Then the combo gets one last test or two, by playing a guitar through it, checking the knob functions again, and testing the UL ground current for player safety again. Then it is shipped.

There is a lot of work in these amps, that is done by hand. There is a lot of care in these amps.

Further, I provide excellent customer care, even to players who have purchased my amps second hand. I am available to chat with customers or potential buyers.

So while $2,500 is a lot of money, it is near the bottom of the boutique amp prices and has better tone with more easier-to-use versatility. My amps have retired many tube amps and many boutique amps. My amps are spread far around the world so that "the sun never sets on them"....

Believe me, I am not making lots of money on these amps because they take so much time to build.

Have a great day, Eric

[Nickstrtcstr]

youtube doesn't really help anybody when it comes to "does it really sound like this". clips rarely do either. until you are in a room with a pritchard, you don't know. i wish i had clips to post, but then again.....it's in the ear of the beholder. i've had mine for 7 years now......it is that cool of an amp. when ss amps do improve years from now.......thank eric :munch

Couldn't be a truer statement ever made. Check out the second video I posted above and then ask yourself if you would ever pay 50k and up for something that sounded like that.

[ekp]

It has to do with power supply regulation.
In other words tight regulation means little sag and a "fast response".
Loose regulation means lots of sag and a "slow response".

Lloyd

My amps have absolutely lousy power supply regulation. But then sag is great. The sag of my amps is so great that the dirty attack is at an estimated 180 watts (Peak Distorted Power, PDP) and the clean attack is about 90 watts. After the attack, the dirty settles down to about 90 watts and the clean down to about 60 watts.

The power supply is seemingly more regulated with lighter loads if the Watts Knob is up and that seems to produce a more saturated sound. However, if the Watts Knob is down some, the Watts Circuit supplies its own sag, at least in the dirty tone.

One issue with solid state amps is the relationship between the power supply capacitance and the the speaker impedance. That time constant is quite often far too short because more filtering is not needed because of the higher output resistance of transistors when compared with power pentodes, 6L6s and El34s, etc. The sag then occurs so fast you can't appreciate it.

Pritchard amps preserve the power supply / speaker relationship of classic tube amps.

Have a great day, Eric

[ekp]

I wasn't slamming SS amps. I was just quoting H. Alexander Dumble in that YouTube video. I found that thing so hilarious. You have to watch both videos to get how really funny the whole thing is. I also am not saying that Dumble amps sound horrible either. They just seem to in the hands of Henry Kaiser.

nr8EcKe4p0w

l1qCczGgSxw

I spent about 15 years researching the tube sound by analyzing circuits, conjecturing solutions, building prototypes, and getting them tested. I have heard many different critiques. Some are good at least later with greater understanding.

Carlos Santana, checked out my very first attempt when I was working with PRS on an amp. He said that it was like white wine. He wanted an amp like red wine. Since I am not a fan of wine, that did not mean much, but later I gathered that red wine has more body. Indeed, my amps have circuitry that give the amps more body. He also said that it was like glass, not flesh. That stumped me for a long time too until he was talking of resilience and warmth.

Al Di Meola, thought my third prototype was dead. He wanted life. Now the amps have sag and compression. They live.

One player found the amps to be 2D and wanted 3D. That too seemed to be strange, but since the language of music is not well defined I eventually learned that sonic impressions are often translated to other senses.

Another version of sag was suggested by Paul Reed Smith in his description of amps trying and falling back, trying again and falling back.

Then there are the descriptions of amplifier speed. Tubes are slow and transistors are fast. Well, I have an 80 Mhz tube scope. Its response time is 3.5 billionths of a second. In audio terms, that is blindingly fast. So just what did that mean? I learned later.

The Grove Tube manual claimed that the difference between tube amps and solid state amps is organic. Indeed, the parts are different, the biasing is different, and the organization is different. In retrospect, my amps are organized in some overall sense like tube amps with solid state stages interconnected as if they were tube stages and the output stage including numerous extra circuits to make it behave like an AB biased push-pull tube stage, harmonics and all.

There is the routine claim of hand-wired is superior. Along the way, I learned that one can screw up a printed circuit board just as easily as a hand-wired layout. Further investigation of that found that the circuit analysis that I learned in college does not account for distant fields, electric and magnetic. Once those fields are recognized, then circuit layout (PCB or hand-wired) makes more sense.

Another claim is oxygen free wire for wiring tube amps. It reduces the resistance of the wire from the substantially high output impedance of a tube's plate to the higher yet input impedance of the next tube's grid. A change of a fraction of an ohm is not going to make a difference. Now, in pickups that is a different story because they have such high resistances to begin with.

A super high-end tube hifi amp ran a single output tube class A into a huge transformer (to take the necessary DC bias current) that used silver wire. The coupling capacitor used silver foil. Again, the resistances in the rest of the circuit did not warrant the extra expense. The coupling capacitor by itself was $1,000 back when gas prices were under a buck.

There is a lot if "information" about capacitors, mylar, polystyrene, etc. I checked a bunch of them with a spectrum analyzer to find any harmonics that they might produce. Ceramics do produce harmonics and the harmonic content changes with bias. Zero bias, produces odds. Non-zero produces evens as well. But paper, polyethylene, aluminum electrolytic capacitors did not produce any harmonics. Tantalum capacitors also produced harmonics.

What makes that You Tube quote have even less voracity is my paper in dB Magazine on tube emulators. I ran a flat plate Telefunken against my tube emulator and had the scope waveforms coincide from clean to well into dirty. The overdrive of my tube emulator microphone preamp had the same sort of harmonic structure as Russell Hamm's data for a two-stage triode microphone preamp. The major difference was less high-order harmonic intensities - nominally a good thing.

Another bit that bugs me is the power ratings advertised for some Class A amplifiers. Theoretically, the maximum power out from a Class A amplifier is half of the total power ratings of all of the output tubes combined. For a twin 6L6 class A output stage that is something less than 19 watts, not more.

Well, I am sure that we could start a thread on the meanings or the lack of meanings of amplifier critiques.

Have a great day, Eric

[megatonic]

Kaiser Shreds!

[megatonic]

I had a Marshall AVT50 some yeas ago, that sounded pretty decent.

[MVrider]

Clips have been the bane of my amp experience. Are they supposed to be strictly advertising or truly informative? I am not happy with them, but on the other hand, I am at a loss.

I have heard that the clips don't do the amps justice.

Have a great day, Eric

Clips. Yeah. Can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em. Not that kind of clips, you can't. ;)

I'm astounded at the legions of guys who would put any credence in clips whatsoever. Cheapest mic ever made, lousy recorder (and to be clear I'm not speaking of YOUR clips here) compressed into who-knows-what kind of file, sent over the net, uncompressed and converted into analog with a REALLY cheap D/A converter then played back through a generic sound card into rotten speakers. IT DON'T MATTER. Somebody's gonna get all juiced up over CLIPS!!! Ahh... the music business.

Love to hear one of your amps in person some day. Let me know if you ever come up with a version of the Gibson EH-150 field-coil speaker amp. LOVE to hear that one! ;) All the best.

[bettset]

i know kaiser's vids sound like cats playing chainsaws thru flangers while tripping on acid, but that's his style. dumble is a recluse of sorts......he won't share any of his electronic ideas. eric on the other hand.......doesn't play up his own genius. he readily has the info, and explains it in the best terms he can........remember, electronics is pretty deep with it's abilities. it just takes the right person to recognize what can be done with it :munch

[ekp]

Clips. Yeah. Can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em. Not that kind of clips, you can't. ;)

I'm astounded at the legions of guys who would put any credence in clips whatsoever. Cheapest mic ever made, lousy recorder (and to be clear I'm not speaking of YOUR clips here) compressed into who-knows-what kind of file, sent over the net, uncompressed and converted into analog with a REALLY cheap D/A converter then played back through a generic sound card into rotten speakers. IT DON'T MATTER. Somebody's gonna get all juiced up over CLIPS!!! Ahh... the music business.

Love to hear one of your amps in person some day. Let me know if you ever come up with a version of the Gibson EH-150 field-coil speaker amp. LOVE to hear that one! ;) All the best.

I looked up the Gibson EH-150 schematic. There are two of them. One uses 6N6 triodes and the other 6L6 pentodes. The speaker field in the 6N6 amp is after the output stage, so the current would be fairly constant since it only passes the preamp and interstage driver transformer. So then the field would not have a lot of effect aside from modulating the output with some ripple.

The newer schematic uses the speaker field to filter the output current as well. This implies that the output character will get louder as the amp is driven harder, i.e., more odd harmoncs. I believe that the character of this later output stage can be had with some component value changes.

However, the preamp structure is a good bit different with a tone control that brings up the bass. That probably could be emulated with some changes in the tone stack and appropriate use of the tone controls.

All in all, replicating the newer EH-150 may be able to be done with the existing boards.

Have a great day, Eric

[MVrider]

Eric, I've managed to find data on four different EH-150s but the schematics for only two.

Supposedly the earliest of them used 6F6's for power tubes, a later version used 6N6's and finally, there were two versions with 6L6's but different preamp tube complements, said variations most easily differentiated by the presence of an external speaker jack or lack thereof. Supposedly DC and AC/DC versions were offered as well! DC amps. Ah, the simple days of yesteryear.

Take care.

[Nickstrtcstr]

i know kaiser's vids sound like cats playing chainsaws thru flangers while tripping on acid, but that's his style. dumble is a recluse of sorts......he won't share any of his electronic ideas. eric on the other hand.......doesn't play up his own genius. he readily has the info, and explains it in the best terms he can........remember, electronics is pretty deep with it's abilities. it just takes the right person to recognize what can be done with it :munch
I like Eric's input on this stuff. It is pretty cool that he is building SS amps that react like a tube amp. I can't wait to hear one.

I'll bet Eric's amps sound great. If he let's Kaiser play through them then maybe not so much.

[saf_1]

Try golf. Not much tone involved.

HA - I do both, and believe me, golf is even harder than playing guitar!

[Ben Furman]

Granted that even though it's over an internet connection the clips do sound good. Very "tubey" to me although I've got to admit the point of creating a $2500 solid-state amp that sounds like a $700 tube amp is lost on me.

Check out Paul Riario's GW review and philz's YouTube clips as well, if you haven't.

How about a $2500 amp that replaces three or four $700 tube amps and performs equally well at almost any volume without an attenuator? Makes sense to me.

The versatility bit is a sort of damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't problem. Too much versatility and people compare the product with modelers mimicking dozens of amps. Not enough versatility and people question why not just carry tubes.

I think it would be a game changer if Eric could repackage his amps into a floorboard-style product, thereby eliminating the costs of cabinet construction....

[GT100]

HA - I do both, and believe me, golf is even harder than playing guitar!

That depends on who you are.
For example I once went with a friend to the driving range.
It was the first time for both of us -meaning I had used a few irons once or twice as a kid and he didn't even have that much experience.

Once my friend got the hang of it that first day -with the driver he was soon getting very close to the net/ fence.

Lloyd

[Tone_Terrific]

Once my friend got the hang of it that first day -with the driver he was soon getting very close to the net/ fence.

Lloyd
Try getting to the pro level on a golf course.

EVERYTHING is hard if excellence is the goal.