My Soultone Revolution 45 is Coming!!!

[muddy]

in approx. 2 weeks or so. here are some pix:

http://www.soultoneamps.com/builds/R45001front.jpg
http://www.soultoneamps.com/builds/R45001back.jpg
http://www.soultoneamps.com/builds/R45001open.jpg
http://www.soultoneamps.com/builds/R45001hs.jpg

it's the 1st proto, so there will be further tweaking; she DOES looks sweet, though, doesn't she? but... it's what she can DO that'll bring out the pavlovian dog in ya! hehehe...


ml

[electronpirate]

It does look pretty cool.

What sort of options can she do? Footswitchable boost, etc?

[mountain blues]

Cool amp, Michael — the power scaling feature sounds great, and the price is excellent. Look forward to a review!

[Chrissy]

Muddy,

That is not only a nice LOOKING rig but has some features that are well thought out. I'm eager to hear how the power scaling works in a real-world situation, so report back soon! Also, specifically, how the low-end tightness is on that amp.

Cool choice!
Chris

[muddy]

the footswitchable stuff is getting fleshed out even as we speak. mick had to design his own chassis to accomodate all the kool features that wouldn't fit into a stock one. i know he WANTS to have a footswitchable boost, but there's a chance that won't happen until the 2nd unit, after i've finished testing the 1st one and we know where we stand. what's exciting is the ability to reconfigure the preamp, via cascading (internal!!!), from vintage to a modern plexi, to a 2203/jcm 800 style gain. which means you'll be able to order this amp with the corresponding trannie for any of the above as well, if you want. the mod for this is VERY clever. so "tight bass" is more than a poss ;) i'll try to get mick to pipe in & correct whatever i've gotten wrong (i usually do...), but all up, this is gonna be one smart amp, in AND out.


ml

[Mickey_C]

Thanks for the kind words! I haven't made an official release yet, but I can share a bit on this one. I sent those unofficial pictures to Michael because he has waited ultra-patiently for sometime.

The biggest issue that called for total ground up redesign was the powerscaling. That cage in there is protecting some high-power MOSFETs, that unfortunately carry the full B+ on their outside case. They're isolated from the chassis, but the heat sinks are live. That metal shroud obviously is not live! I have a pair of them in there that can be used for the normal PS and the footswitched PS, or cascaded (as in this first one). In any case moving this all topside has definitely improved the cooling options.

Here's a drawing that shows this better than the picture: http://www.soultoneamps.com/Revolution45/MOSFETS.jpg

There will be an appropriate warning label on there.

There's a front panel push/pull for the bright/blues option, which will alleviate some flubbiness as well. The one-wire-mod is switchable via push/pull as well, so you can also go from JTM45 to a non-cascaded plexi style configuration, just short of full 2203 glory. The prototype did an astonishing VH1 sound, and maintained it through most of the power scaling (while getting hot as a toaster overn). At very low levels, I have to admit, it begins to fall apart. Dynamics really suffer, and of course you're not driving the speakers at all. *It's sad but true, but what do you expect at ~.5 watts?*

The footswitch is a minor nightmare, and still needs tweaking. Ideally I would like to have control of the level from the pedal, rather than a simple boost. Still working on it. It will happen (to some degree) just not at first. Still the amp does enough in this incarnation that I think it'd be good to get it out there.

I have not addressed a tube/ss rectifier, and am not sure if I legally can. I am considering options, but of course I don't want to tangle with Mesa's patent lawyers. I will offer a special weber copper cap, with the proper voltage drop inside.

What else? If I can incorporate a rotary instead of the toggles in future versions we may be able to have changing the drive compensation control to a PPIV master.

Looks wise it should be noted that there's a much nicer stamped metal rear grill that just hasn't been delivered from the plating company yet. It is designed to keep the 12:1 convection that was recommended for the right heat dissipation. I'd like to keep this passive cooling if possible.

I'll get some chassis shots up when we're at completion.

Thanks again,

Mickey

[da-boogieman]

Bump. I'm really interested in hearing more about this. It should have arrived and been test driven by now???:drool

[muddy]

hehehe... ;)


ml

[Trout]

I have personally seen inside of the soultone londoner, If The Rev 45 is anything even close to that workmanship, BUY 2, You will never find a better deal or workmanhip! From Every component to every last screw and washer it screams high quality!
I concider Mike to be one of the finest amp builder currently in the game.
Trout :AOK

PS, I wish I owned one he built, This is not a paid endorsement lol

[muddy]

unfortunately, the monikor is no more; seems someone already was using "revolution" for their amps. any comparisons totally end there, as THIS beast really IS ptp/hand-wired! i heard it over the phone tonite, & it is a MONSTER!!! and there are so many ingenius things happening that really work as advertised! it really is a jtm/45 on steroids (you're NOT gonna believe how stoopitly simple biasing is; say goodbye to matched toobs for good!)! anyway, it won't be long now...


ml

[muddy]

alright, here we go! the FINAL proto "revo 45" is coming to me this week (ships weds) with the emphatic directive to "play the bejesus out of it, and give as much feedback on likes/dislikes as possible!" a run of production chassis have been ordered, and out of that will be my "newly renamed" soultone jtm/45-inspired, symmetric/asymmetrically configurable head, with power scaling, switchable feedback loop contour, channel cascading, and plexi/jtm tone modeling!!! WHEW! i can't divulge the name as of yet, not until mick tells me he's cleared it for ownership. but it's all happenin'! and no more buying matched sets of toobs! biasing is incredibly simple (no removing toobs, it takes minutes!), and can be done whenever, and however many times you like! it's gonna be a monster!


ml

[Rusty G.]

O.K. Muddy. . .how about a review. . .or better yet, clips!
:JAM
Thanks,

[muddy]

;)

http://soultoneamps.com/v-web/gallery/albums/HIAW45/HW45backpanel.jpg

http://soultoneamps.com/v-web/gallery/HIAW45

be patient, it's on it's way. you have NO idea what mick has gone through to pull this off, but it is SO gonna be worth it! and i've said too much... but go & have a look at the pics, she's purty!


ml

[muddy]

CORREKSHUN!!! it'll be here TOMORROW!!


ML

[Phil Harmoneeek]

Hi ya Muddy ... so what ever happened to this ...