What's your favorite circuit type?

[PRNDL]

I thought it might be interesting to see what type of circuit people desire in a tube amp.

- True point-to-point does not use a circuit board. The components are soldered directly to the tube sockets or terminal strips. This was common in very old amps (circa 1950).

- Turret boards are those black circuit boards found in older amps, such as Fenders.

- Tag boards similar to turret boards, but yellow and made from garrolite. They are common in Marshall amps.

- Circuit boards are found in most modern amps.


(The distinction between a turret and tag board is a distinction made for this poll. Some use those terms for both.)

 

[mark norwine]

I adore true point-to-point but only if it's conceived & executed neatly...

 

[Timbre Wolf]

Drat!!

I thought this was going to be a thread about circuit design types (e.g. tone stack differences, cathode-bias vs. fixed-bias power, PI options, etc.) - that is a truly exciting question to me, because it strips away the brand name voodoo.

Honestly, I don't mind either way, if it is a well-executed circuit board (on a board that lasts) or p-t-p.

- Thom

 

[phsyconoodler]

True point to point can look cool but it's a headache to troubleshoot.A tag board is the best for mods,building and repairs.
A turret board is not good for mods or repairs and can be just as hard as a PC board.Turrets do not contain components as nicely as a tag board.Anything that has to 'wrap' around a post is not as secure as into an eyelet IMHO.
There are going to be arguments but the bottom line is eyelets are easy to work with and look just as nice as turrets.
I look at any board that has to be removed from an amp for troubleshooting and repair as a step backwards.If components are attached from the top through eyelets those problems are moot.

 

[NitroLiq]

I was a little confused by the description of turret vs. tagboard because I've seen the terms used synonymously (example, image description..."This is a tagboard from an old Marshall" yet the Marshall has turrets in the pic). I'm guessing you're talking about eyelet boards vs. turrets? When I think early Fender, I think eyelets...when I think Vox, I think traditional tagboard (kind of like eyelets with tabs sticking out...eyelets for the components/tabs for the wire hook-ups), and when I think Marshall/Hiwatt, I think turretboards.

 

[John Phillips]

I thought it might be interesting to see what type of circuit people desire in a tube amp.

- True point-to-point does not use a circuit board. The components are soldered directly to the tube sockets or terminal strips. This was common in very old amps (circa 1950).

- Turret boards are those black circuit boards found in older amps, such as Fenders.

- Tag boards similar to turret boards, but yellow and made from garrolite. They are common in Marshall amps.

- Circuit boards are found in most modern amps.


(The distinction between a turret and tag board is a distinction made for this poll. Some use those terms for both.)

You have your descriptions wrong. If you're going to be snobbish about construction method, you need to at least start by knowing what the various types mean :

Turret boards are the ones with turrets (metal posts), used in vintage Marshalls and Hiwatts. (Many of them are brown too, not yellow.)

Eyelet boards are used in vintage Fenders.

Tag boards are used in vintage Voxes.

All these are circuit boards. What you mean by that regarding modern amps is printed circuit boards.

FWIW, you need to differentiate between single-sided and through-plated printed circuit boards, and between paxolin and glass-epoxy PCBs, for a full range of options.

Then there is terminal strip (not listed) which is like one side of a tag board. What does that count as?


Sorry, no offense intended, but this is one of the myths that just won't die. You can make a good amp using any of these methods if you want... or a bad amp using the same ones.



I voted for PCBs BTW, but only because my two favorite amps happen to use them - the type of construction is actually irrelevant.

 

[cameron]

Also the title of the post is wrong.

Any circuit could be implemented using any of the construction methods you describe (and mis-describe, as per John's post above). Construction method and "circuit type" have nothing to do with one another.