I always thought the super drive series had the same preamps but different power. 18, 30, or 80. You might contact budda and ask them.
They all have the same pre............. it's just the more aggressive nature of the 80 with the big bottle tubes and the shear volume it delivers that will make people say it is the highest gain budda........but in fact it has the same pre as the low wattage sd series Budda is Gooooooooooooooooood Ricker
It will gain out alot more than a JCM800..........a bit more than a bogner shiva.........so I guess between a jcm and a VHT ..........but I've never heard the vht so I'm guessing. Rick
I used to think they were the same pre, but they're not. And Jeff Bober confirmed this for me, saying the 80's is voiced most aggressively. And having owned the 18 and still owning the 80, I know for sure that there are different components in the two preamps sections. BUT, having said all that, in terms of the amount of gain, they are all very, very, VERY similar.
While we are on Budda's Supedrives, they all have three 12AX7's in the preamp. I'm guessing V3 is the phase inverter. Can any of you SD owners tell me how many halves of V1 and V2 are used for the Normal channel? the Drive channel? I'm just trying to get a feel for how they compare to the earlier non-MV models (had a TM, own a DS30), which used half of V1 for the Normal channel and both halves for what they call the High Gain side. I heard an SD30 a few years back, and played it mostly through the Drive channel. I remember the Drive side was thicker, more fluid, and sustained longer than their older amps, but I don't remember the Normal side at all. I'm wondering how close the Normal side of an SD18 or SD30 can get to either input on the TM, and was thinking the number of tube stages may have a large bearing on that answer. Anyone own/owned both and had a chance to compare apples to apples here?
The superdrive 80 also has a solid-state rectifier, unlike the 18 & 30, which gives it a bit of a different feel / sound. That said, the 18 I had got plenty of gain going. Metal and beyond.
I don't know enough to speak to the technical side of things, but to my ears, the rhythm channel is VERY much like the NMV amps - the high input of the TM, in particular. The rhythm channel has the unmistakable Budda characteristic, moreso than the lead channel. I currently own an SD80 and Stringmaster, and previously owned a Twinmaster and SD18, FWIW. When you drive the rhythm channel of the SD for a gainier sound, it has that slight rattiness/looseness and bark to it that sets it apart from the lead channel of an SD and is very reminiscent of the older amps. The rhythm channel, with the gain at 2 or 3 o'clock, at a healthy volume, with an LP, is a beautiful, beautiful thing. Like Warren Haynes if he had some meat to his tone.
Great sonic description, gents! Forgot the smaller ones had a tube rectifier, which will surely help in achieving the older Budda tones. Sounds like an SD18's rhythm channel would work well for me. The Drive channel surely had enough gain for me thickness and sustain wise in the mid-gain region. I'd love to revisit this, or try the 18, but our local dealer doesn't normally keep much around unless someone wants one specifically. So thanks for your assessments.
When I was contemplating the purchase of a new Budda, I consulted with Scot Sier who had said that the Twinmaster/Verbmaster 18 watters had more dynamics than the Superdrives due to the power tube distortion having more natural dynamics and responsiveness than the preamp distortion of the Supers and also because the circuit had "less preamp to go through." I ended up selecting a VM because I wanted maximum "bone tone" and enjoy it very much to this day, but I'm curious about what the Superdrives sound and feel like in comparison. I played a friend's TM and it had a tad more gain than the VM; perhaps the series reverb circuit saps a bit of gain. Both the TM and VM have a lot of gain compared to typical non-MV amps (when plugged into the 2-gain-stage high gain input).
I owned a SD80 for a while (should have never sold it), and currently own a SD30. If you're just talking the amount of gain I'd say there it's much difference if any at all between the 18, 30 and 80. The overall voicing is a bit different though,....on the drive side the 80 has more top and bottom where the 30 is darker and smoother with a healthy amount of midrange. The rhythm channel of the 80 has more headroom and a Fender-ish vibe going on, while the 30 breaks up much quicker and has a bit of AC30 chime when cleaner and grind when pushed. The Budda SD's are very cool amps that have their own "thang" going on.
It's worth a lot to me, since you get to compare both their non-MV and MV amps and I can't. I would have guessed the SD's use two gain stages for the Rhythm channel, and four stages for the Drive channel. This would then make sense that your SD more resembled your High Gain input on your TM. I could live with that sound on the Rhythm side of the SD18. It sounds like this could be considered a TM going through the High Gain input with MV, which is what I'm trying to find. Thanks for filling me in on how the Rhythm side sounds relative to a TM. I remember running through the Drive channel when I tested an SD30 out a few years back, and the thing I remember most was that even though I had the master set really low, it felt like you were playing an amp turned way up high. Does this apply to the Rhythm channel, too? That's what I liked about the TM I had for seven years! I'm just hoping to find a very similar sound in the SD18 at lower volumes. I even thought about getting a TM 1x12 (had a 2x12 w/ Hotplate, and it was still louder than I needed), to move less air, but I figure the SD18 (or 30) may be the way to go with their MV. Works for me! All the Buddas I've encountered had their own recognizable vibe and sonic stamp, as did the Phatman I owned.
