Carol Ann Amps MK XI

[B-Squared]

Thanks for the compliments on my playing--those clips weren't showcasing my best, that's for sure. LOL

Update:

Took the amps over to a friends to record a bit. When I got the Triptik this week it was making some funny noises, and popped a 5amp fuse. I immediately called Alan, and he suggested that it might have gotten jostled during shipment (thank you UPS) and the tube could be getting ready to blow. (I know from experience his amps normally run "hear a mouse fart in church" quiet--LOL)

I replaced the fuse and it worked ok...I also changed power sources, and changed guitar lead as well.

So--at my friends, flip the standby switch to on, and 'poof'...another blown fuse. Hmmmppff. I replaced the fuse, let the amp sit a bit in standby, then flipped it on...ZZZZZzzzzZZZZZZtttTTTT!!!!!!!!! (came through the speaker)

I reached over to flip the amp to standby, and saw an amazing blue light show inside one of the tubes. Kinda like that little static globe you touch and it sends cool beams of light all over, except it was in the tube. Yikes....my first EVER blown tube.

Alan was right...it was ready to let go. We packed it in and didn't get any recording done. I'll be ordering some tubes tonight, and hopefully by the end of the week they'll be here.

I also left my bag at my friends, so my Zoom recorder is there as well (dang the bad luck today!). Once I get it back I'll certainly record the OD3, and use the exact same settings I used on the Triptik.

Just from around an hour of playing, I'd say the OD3 is very focused, with a midrange voicing similar to Joe B's style. The Triptik has a wider range; the classic voicing can do JTM45 to modded Marshall tones with no problem. Alan is right; the modern setting (as he said) could have been labeled "Lead" as (to my ears) you get more of everything...kind of like when you have an OD2 maxxed out, then hit a tube screamer...more of the 'good stuff'...perfect for the times you leave chord playing and start playing single notes.

To my ear the 'Modern' setting was almost too much for the rhythm style I play. At first I tried playing chords, and there was (as my wife says) 'too much going on.' Thinking of it as a LEAD voicing totally changes the way I'm thinking of it. Thicker, a little more compressed, with TONS of cool musical overtones.

I didn't even mention the cleans, but previous posts highlighted that. They blew me away...never thought an EL34 amp could sound like that.

My opinion?

Going after the Joe Bonamassa tone? OD3 or OD3r.

Playing in a cover band and want to cover a LOT of ground? Triptik, baby.

Easy single channel amp, and you mainly use guitar controls? Revo.

More vids as soon as I get my Zoom back.

BB

[MCK]

Is it a coincidence I don't know but my Triptik had a failed tube when it came to me. I bought used from a third-party, not new from Alan and the guy I bought from says it was all fine when he packed and shipped to me. Perhaps the batch of Valve Art EL34s Alan has don't travel all too well who knows. Anyways, I put in some SED Winged Cs in there and I'm happy. Watch out for EL34s that don't take high voltages well. Alan had commented about this earlier on.

[B-Squared]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I heard from Alan today; I'm replacing these with JJs (pre burned in) from the Tube Depot.

BB

[J.T. Guitar]

What kind of tube blew out?

[jimpridx]

Originally Posted by MCK

Perhaps the batch of Valve Art EL34s Alan has don't travel all too well who knows.

Well, FWIW, when I received my OD3 upgrade, one of my Valve Art EL34s was shot, too. All was fine with a new set.

[B-Squared]

Originally Posted by J.T. Guitar

What kind of tube blew out?

Valve Art EL34...the usual suspect, so it seems...



BB

[Carol-AnnAmps]

Originally Posted by B-Squared

Valve Art EL34...the usual suspect, so it seems...



BB

Yes.....they have become a problem recently. Was talking to Trace from Voodoo and he has experienced the same issues. Not cool.

The Valve Art is the same tube as the Ruby EL34BSTR and also the TAD. ALL OF THEM have become more unreliable recently.....whach tells me that it's a Manufacturing problem rather than a selection and matching problem...as all of these three brands are EXACTLY the same tube from Shungung (sp?) in china.
I do however have good news on two fronts, firstly my initial revisiting of the JJ E34L for the Triptik is looking good. sounds great in that amp and as long as you buy them from a source that has done a minimum of 24 hour burn in, then they are fine and sound great too. The only issues in the past with JJ's is that we found a number that would fail withing the first few mins. Buying them burned in ensures this problem is no longer. I've used a 100W Triptik for 2 gigs and it's very very stable with the JJ's. Looks quite promising. I'm all ears from anyone with recent EL34 experiences, good or bad. It's very clearly the tubes as nearly all the amps affected were ones just in for a service that had been running out in the field for a long time with EL34's with no issues. Though our high HT voltage is always going to weed out weak ones. Saying that one of the failed ones was an upgraded low voltage (420V) OD2-OD3 upgrade....so who knows......

Secondly, I have also been experimenting with alternative preamp tubes in the Triptik this last week. Had great results with a JJ ECC83S in the first position. Again important you buy from a source where they select the low noise tubes and only buy those. All other 12AX7's are still the 12AX7B.

I will also be looking at other EL34's in this quest. Before anyone suggests SED or Winged C. I recently tried them and found them internally very rattly and microphonic, which is a nightmare waiting to happen in shipping. However, I would like to hear from others because maybe just maybe my box of tubes got used as a football on it's way here.
In the past these tubes were bomb proof and I loved them.

Power tubes are the weakest link in any high power tube amp.

I will keep you guys informed of what I'm finding to be the best tubes for the amps at any given time. Please bear in mind that this is a moving target because one brand can be good for a while and then take a dive bomb (as can be seen here) and another that was dreadful can become the best. I think QC is some of these factories is severly lacking, but I also think that the journey from china or Russia may take out or severly distress a number during their shipment.

Also bear in mind this is nothing new and was the reason Marshall changed to 6550's in the US once the old Mullard stockpile was depleted. So many EL34's were dying in shipping. That said, you would have thought the tube manufacturers would have their crap together by now. All I can do is rely on the tube suplliers and rebranders to ensure they are actually doing their job and not just selling us snake oil. When I buy a matched pair and they're 10mA apart.....it makes you wonder.
I've started returning failed power tubes, even if it's just one. If we don't do that then the suppliers will never know and they have the most power to change things.

Bias points for EL34's in a Triptik is 28-30mA. It uses a high HT voltage transformer. Please avoid people who insist on using only the oscilloscope method. while I know some will profess to know more than me, please respectfully remind them that I designed the amp and if they want to use that method, then feel free to use it on their own designs.....lol...yeah, it's been a hot topic for me recently......I've had my share of patronising techs recently. THey remind me of the people that follow your band around and try to tell you what you should be doing. Even though it is a viable method, it will often notoriously end with the amp idling much hotter than it should be. While there are some good guys that can use this method very effectively, a highly accurate oscilloscope is essential and thats where many fall down. For those who didn't know, I'm originally a Control and Instrumentation Engineer so I speak with a bit of authority. It's very difficult to 'see' the difference between OK and way too hot with a low accuracy oscilloscope and because of the cost of a good scope, they are the type most people own. In fact some of the really cheap and really old scopes it's bloody hard to see what accounts to a 10mA difference, but unless you are monitoring the idle current as well, you will be unaware of this and could end up with an EL34 amp idling at over 40mA.

[jimpridx]

Well, in the end I found a very nice pair of NOS Mullard EL34s, so all is good! I also have a pair of SED Winged Cs that worked fine before I got the Mullards, so in the event the Mullards ever go down, I have a decent backup set. I just assumed all along that the Valve Art issue was a manufacturing problem.

BTW, Alan, I've decided to run my 2x12 cab with Scumbacks - a J75 and an M75. Jim's latest versions really seem to be a nice notch above his previous builds. I know these particular models are considered to be a little dark-sounding with some folks here, but I'm going on the assumption that my OD3 may just be a little brighter in nature than most CAs - it's definitely brighter than my OD2 - and with these speakers I'm practically able to run my tone controls nearly flat at relatively loud volumes. In other words, they just seem to give me the kind of EQ headroom that I need for most playing situations. I have yet to try them in a band context, but we'll see how that goes. All in all, though, it has immensely helped to cut out that high-end bite I've been whining about......LOL. So far I'm diggin' the tone!

[rick13]

yeah, Jim at Scumback just recommended a quad of M65's for my front loaded 4x12. I was considering mixing in two EVM12L's instead of going with four. Any opinions? Going to be using this with my OD3,Revo,Triptik and my '71 Super Trem.
Rick

[flcmcya]

Jim ..that J will compliment that M perfectly...I have that mix in a 4x...

He had a 4x with Blackbacks that were brighter than Ms and raunchy as hell!

New paper cone stuff was nice but i think was lower powered.

Pc Alnicos were sweet.

Those Ev's might be a bit louder Rick ...but give us the feedback if u do it.

[rick13]

My concern was that the EV's would be noticeably louder. Maybe the M65's would add a bit of warmth? Since it's a very tight front loaded cab...had some concerns over the in your face punch/brightness. Don't know how the bass response is going to be in my new to me/used Ampeg V4 cab. Jim's paper cones sounded really good to my ears as well, but they are lower powered. Anybody tried the Hellatone 60's with their CarolAnn?
Rick

[amphog]

H 60's in a Marshall 1960a cried with my Tuc.

[Carol-AnnAmps]

Forgive me for I have sinned.....

I used a '68 Plexi last night at a gig. No CA. I picked up a 50W recently and just reunited it with a correct riginal power transformer and well as remove 43 years of 'not quite right' repairs. Totally stock now. Best '68 I've owned. It's a keeper.

It was fun to use something different for a change, even I like to do that. Proof I am a normal guitar player if nothing else. I am partial to Marshalls and need to 'go home' once in a while.

Definately a blast, but I did miss the versatility.

[rick13]

anybody had any cone cry with the Scumbacks?
thanks,
Rick

[Carol-AnnAmps]

Originally Posted by rick13

anybody had any cone cry with the Scumbacks?
thanks,
Rick

Yes in a 1x12. Myself and several other people. In all honesty they are not designed to be run on their own in amps like these. Jim is a friend of mine and he's aware of the compatibility issue and was talking about making a driver thats more heavily doped. I would say his higher power drivers would work in a 2x12 and definately in a 4x12.