Weber Copper Cap Opinions

[spaceman_spiff]

Hey Y'all,

Anyone using Weber Copper Cap rectifiers? I just bought a NOS EZ81 rectifier for my Reinhardt 18, but I have a Maz Jr. NR and a Morgan AC20, both using a 5AR4/GZ34 and I'm using current production Sovteks. I'm thinking I might be a little cheap to buy two NOS 5AR4s -- they seem pretty pricey.

I'm a little paranoid about blowing a rectifier at a gig, but frankly, I am not pushing my tube amps very hard. Because of that I am likely not hearing/experiencing much "sag" in my tone, so, why not use a copper cap?

Can anyone speak to their purported better reliability? Or change in perceived tone?

As always, thanks for the info.

Cheers,
Carl

[paulg]

I've used them for years (non-gigging) and never had a problem.

[Mattbedrock]

I use the Weber copper caps when I'm building amps. My first startup on a new build is usually with them so if I screwed something up, I don't fry a $100 rectifier tube. I've always then switched them out to a nice rectifier tube. For me, it doesn't affect the sound that much. but it does affect the "feel". Tube rectifiers to me are like having a little bit of compression on your signal. They sag a bit when you mash a loud note and smooth out the overall sound. Copper caps are stiff like a solid state rectifier.

So using a copper cap is a little like making a Tremolux more like a Bandmaster or a Bassman more like a Showman. Maybe.

[Blue Strat]

Originally Posted by Mattbedrock

I use the Weber copper caps when I'm building amps. My first startup on a new build is usually with them so if I screwed something up, I don't fry a $100 rectifier tube. I've always then switched them out to a nice rectifier tube. For me, it doesn't affect the sound that much. but it does affect the "feel". Tube rectifiers to me are like having a little bit of compression on your signal. They sag a bit when you mash a loud note and smooth out the overall sound. Copper caps are stiff like a solid state rectifier.

So using a copper cap is a little like making a Tremolux more like a Bandmaster or a Bassman more like a Showman. Maybe.

They shouldn't be as stiff as a pure solid state rectifier because they have a series thermistor (?) which should add sag. The response won't be identical to a tube rectifier which is non linear, but closer than pure SS.