Hi
I'm fixing a Pignose 7-100 for a friend. The problem with the amp was batteries leaking and corroding the battery cases and wiring.
I initially liked this amp and compared it to my Champ clone, unfortunately it just doesn't hold a candle to the Champ. At the moment the more I play it the less I like it.
The clean tones are dreadful (the bass frequencies are very buzzy) and the distortion is so-so.
Initially, I thought of replacing the 50K volume knob which has to excessively load the guitars pickups. Though it also occurred to me that it was chosen to reduce hum (much the same as the 220K resistor after the first gain stage in a Boogie Mk 1).
I think more gain can be had from the first stage, though less gain and better tone might be a better option as nearly everyone has a decent fuzz that could be used prior to the Pignose.
As far as my bias goes, I don't have any particular loyalty to transistors and valves. If I record something, I'm likely to use Guitar Rig as it sounds pretty damned good.
Look forward to your opinions and advice.
Mark
Not clear about what you are asking.
If it is "Mods to improve it" just don't.
There's no room for anything else, it is a very simple design, already stripped to the bones.
And there is no "first stage", it's a *very* simple (think transistor radio from the 60's) power amp.
Thanks for the reply, but I beg to differ, I think a FET on the first stage is an obvious mod as it would increase the input impedance of the Pignose. Just thought of it then too. Thanks for the inspiration.
Mark
Circuit.
http://music-electronics-forum.com/attachments/2913d1218923726-pignose-model-7-100.gif (http://music-electronics-forum.com/attachments/2913d1218923726-pignose-model-7-100.gif)
Thanks again to music-electronics-forum.com
If you are going to do anything with it I'd be inclined just to add a FET source follower ahead of that 10k volume pot. Greatly increasing the input impedance for passive guitar will make more improvement than converting the first stage to FET unless you change everything in front of that as well. While that 10k pot and bias network remain it doesn't matter what device is in the first stage.
Hi Roly
Thanks for your reply. I have included the correct circuit diagram. The actual component values are in brackets.
I agree the value of the volume control and bias circuitry is a problem. I have read posts where people have used a buffer to improve the tone of the guitar.
My initial thoughts were to increase the volume control value to 1 Meg, and use a FET(naturally the 120K resistor to the supply would go.)
Mark
It is utterly crude, the output stage alone is distortion waiting to happen. But projects are projects, and if it is fun, go ahead and mod away.
You can hang all sorts of extra circuits on it, I imagine a motivated soul could wedge an FX loop in there if he tried, or a reverb.
I used to follow formula one racing, decades ago, and every now and then they changed the rules on the engines. Displacement for example. I recall at the time some discussion about what could be gotten from a single cylinder motor. They discussed increasing the compression, adding turbocharging, changing the cam, and other stuf that I don't recall. Seems to me they managed to get about 250 horsepower out of one cylinder, at least on paper. Forward to something we see today - lawnmower races. Guys hot rod their lawn tractors and race them. SOmehow this Pignose upgrade stikes me the same way. I don't mean that in a snotty way. They made a whole Star Trek movie based on the same premise. The first movie, where the simple space probe Voyager came back all modded up as "V-ger."
{There has to be a gag in here somewhere about turning a pignose into a silk purse, but it just plumb evades me ATM. ;) }
I had a friend who was an aeronautical engineer who was fond of saying that "you can even make a brick s**thouse fly if you bolt on a big enough engine".
If you have a look at my work on pickups and input impedance here (http://www.ozvalveamps.org/pickups.htm) you will see that even 50k Zin is, well, pathetic, and your suggestion of 1Meg is more realistic, but again I say that simply adding a FET buffer/follower ahead of the existing volume control looks to me like your best option to get some "tonality" out of it. The elemental NFB would make me loath to fiddle with the first stage.
Otherwise I'm inclined to agree with Enzo that this is a bit like lawnmower racing.
Have a go at FET-ising that first stage by all means, but I think you will find that the effort/reward ratio of adding a simple MPF102 or 2N3819 source-follower front end impedance buffer will be better. JMO.
Quote from: mark on April 10, 2013, 05:55:59 AM
Thanks for the reply, but I beg to differ, I think a FET on the first stage is an obvious mod as it would increase the input impedance of the Pignose. Just thought of it then too. Thanks for the inspiration.
Mark
Sorry but you don't have a "first stage" there.
That 2SB172A is part of the power amp itself, look at the speaker out feedback being brought to its emitter .
And simply you can't slam a FET there, it won't work.
Now, you can add a Fet/op amp/transistor buffer
before the volume control, but that's something else.
EDIT: just saw the Hemmo version you attached.
Sorry but for one, it has errors.
He writes what he measured ... but he forgot to lift one resistor end "in the air" to measure properly.
In some the difference was so amazing (as in 47 ohms instead of 68K) that he wrote both, just in case.
In others where he found it "normal", he wrot only the measured value (in circuit, which is wrong).
Sometimes he apparently can't read the color code, as in the output transistors emitter resistor.
He measured 3 ohms (probably forgot to discount multimeter cable resistance), but he quotes 2K7 which is ridiculous, reasonable value would be 0.27 ohms .
He probably read 27K or something on the resistor body, but in that case, "K" (or "J") refers to temperature coefficient, not "K" ohms.
He also misread a *printed* label.
Everybody who wants to build his own Pignose goes on a wild chase for "TIP410" which unfortunately, and to confuse things, do exist, just they are a very different transistor.
The one he has was TIP41C, which he misread as TIP410
As of the presumed "C9014", same thing as before, you can't just slam a FET there.
Leave that power amp as-is and add whatever you want before that volume control, you'll get better results.
Good luck :)
It occurred to me to use a Boss pedal has a buffer as they aren't true bypass but buffered.
There was a tonal difference with the higher frequencies being more apparent, there might have even been a bit more "drive" from the guitar due to the signal not being loaded down.
I was looking for an improvement in the bass and mids, in short it just didn't happen. I'll have a look at it with the CRO to see where the distortion is coming from, but I'm coming around to the idea that there isn't much to be done to improve this amp. It's a poor design that persist due to marketing. :loco
Mark
It was never intended as a serious amp. It was a nifty little portable gadget, good for a gritty sound on a street corner. I don't think marketing portrays it as competing with Fender for tone. It was always quick and dirty. I want one for the knob, The pig knob is worth the price of the amp.
Quote from: EnzoI want one for the knob, The pig knob is worth the price of the amp.
:lmao:
Quote from: Enzo on April 13, 2013, 02:05:13 AM
I want one for the knob, The pig knob is worth the price of the amp.
I remember when reading the "Jaws" novel (yes, I actually read it, the film was not enough) the young "hero" wants to "blend in" better with the presumed "high class" people on holiday there, so he asks his mother to buy him a fashionable "Chemise Lacoste" French T Shirt .... to what she answers:
"forget it, it's just a $5 T Shirt with a $50 crocodile sewn to it". :lmao:
Remember those were 1972 Dollars, multiply by 5 or 10 to get today's value :(
AH yes, the Izod crocodile shirts were THE item back when. I used to have a similar shirt with a little crocodile holding a golf club embroidered on it.
I bet the golf club added an *extra* $50 to the price. :lmao:
I just wonder how he got past the membership committee...
Quote from: Enzo on April 13, 2013, 03:32:22 PM
I just wonder how he got past the membership committee...
Oh !! That one is *EASY* ;)
He just stood before the Committee and did what Enzo always suggests .... he SMILED.
(http://i.istockimg.com/file_thumbview_approve/5616345/2/stock-photo-5616345-crocodile-smile.jpg)
The Pignose is such a piece of junk, the pcb should be on the same side as the volume knob as this would mean shorter cable runs, the output cable is co-ax to prevent it being a source of positive feedback when turning the pcb around would have cured this problem.
There are good recordings of these amps on You Tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4f76ng49wA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4f76ng49wA)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NnP-7ynCAY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NnP-7ynCAY)
Mark
Hey, don't be so hard with it, it can work very well within its limits.
And when it appeared, it was revolutionary.
A lot of good Musicians used them .... musicians whose "other amp" was a Fender Twin or a classic Marshall, yet they even recorded with a Pignose.
Another proof that "sound is more in the fingers than in the hardware".
The first video you linked to shows a very cool clean sound.
Let's not speak about the Distortion, though ;)
I don't think I'm being too hard on it at all. It is a mediocre bit of kit that has seen it's day and that should be recognised.
Surely if something like the ZT Lunchbox JR is a better option and we should recognise that?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNhjAhz6FZ0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNhjAhz6FZ0)
Mark
You are comparing a 2010 AC powered design to the first battery powered guitar amplifier, designed in the late 60's.
Why not compare an F16 fighter to a WW1 Sopwith Camel, now that we are at it?
(http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20121116/esmaeeli20121116174208180.jpg)
(http://www.foundation3d.com/uploads/studio/2009/11/-22-9037301.jpg)
What are you trying to "prove"?
I think he wants someone to agree with him that it is a crude design.
OK, it is a crude design.
I think when you start to talk better options, they need to fall within the same category of goods. A slab of prime rib and a baked potato is a better option than a McDonalds burger and fries, but when you are driving down the interstate, there are not many prime rib drive-throughs.
Oh, that?
Yes, of course, it *is* a really crude design.
:tu:
The problem is in the output stage, I have to have a good look at how to effectively fix it. If that is possible of course.
Mark
Of course it is possible. You can rebuild most anything into something else. A good first step would be to design in some bias to eliminate crossover distortion. On the other hand, doing so would remove the grit that is part of the signature sound.
Agreed there is precious little bias on the transistors. I did a rough and ready increase to the bias and the amp sounded much better, and I think the distortion will sound more pleasing too. The trouble will be not to exceed the specs of the TIP41's and not to effect the battery life too adversely. The clamping diode for the bias supply seems a bit crazy to me too.
I'm still having a bit of a think about how to do this. This amp is quite similar to the Deacy amp so there are a few choices available from the Deacy amp. I'm not worried about the amp without a signal, it is with a signal that will be the problem. I'll have to find out what wattage the TIP41's can endure without a heatsink.
Thanks again for your replies.
Mark
When under-biased this sort of stage operates in Class-B. This means more crossover distortion, but it also means that the output stage idles at a very low current. Increase the bias to Class-AB and you reduce the distortion but increase the idle current being drawn from the battery.
The point of the diode is that it provides temperature compensated bias voltage.
On the transistor data sheet there will be a maximum rated chip temperature, a thermal resistance (in degrees per watt) from chip to case and from case to ambient. This is basically a series resistor circuit with temperature instead of voltage. Germanium transistors should feel no more than warm to the touch, silicon transistors shouldn't boil water.
Thanks for the reply Roly.
QuoteWhen under-biased this sort of stage operates in Class-B. This means more crossover distortion, but it also means that the output stage idles at a very low current. Increase the bias to Class-AB and you reduce the distortion but increase the idle current being drawn from the battery.
This was a given, and I do expect this.
QuoteThe point of the diode is that it provides temperature compensated bias voltage.
I don't understand the point of the resistor in parallel with the diode as the voltage across the diode will be it's forward voltage (0.6VDC roughly). Agreed the forward voltage may increase or decrease depending on the operating temperature.
Mind you I still don't think it is a good idea as the transistors are pulling 5uV across the 2.2ohm resistor.
QuoteOn the transistor data sheet there will be a maximum rated chip temperature, a thermal resistance (in degrees per watt) from chip to case and from case to ambient. This is basically a series resistor circuit with temperature instead of voltage.
Not sure about this. I'll include the datasheet in an edit. :dbtu:
Mark
And the battery is the one part never to forget.
The common TIP41 is a 6 amp part with 65 watt dissipation at 25 degrees C. But are we really planning to push 65 watts with this battery? I think the least of our concerns is the power rating of the TIP41. COntext matters.
The parallel diode doesn;t set the voltage across the resistor, it limits it to 0.6 or whatever. If the voltage across the resistor is less than the junction drop of the diode, the diode doesn;t conduct.
Thanks for the reply Enzo.
QuoteThe parallel diode doesn't set the voltage across the resistor, it limits it to 0.6 or whatever. If the voltage across the resistor is less than the junction drop of the diode, the diode doesn't conduct.
Agreed, but if the voltage across the resistor is less than 0.6VDC then it can be regarded as almost non-existant as it ceases to bias the output stage on. Thus it serves no purpose.
QuoteThe common TIP41 is a 6 amp part with 65 watt dissipation at 25 degrees C. But are we really planning to push 65 watts with this battery?
Without the necessary heasink, these transistors won't get anywhere near 65 watts, in fact the datasheet rates it at 2 watts in free air at 25 degrees. The maximum rating appears to be 2.4 watts.
Mark
Quote from: markbut if the voltage across the resistor is less than 0.6VDC then it can be regarded as almost non-existant as it ceases to bias the output stage on. Thus it serves no purpose.
The bias divider is shown as 1k and 220 ohms in parallel with the forward biased diode, the supply is 9V nominal.
9V * 220/(220+1000) = 1.62295082 ...oh gee, 1.6 volts, so the diode certainly is in forward conduction and provides a thermally compensated bias to the output pair. The parallel 220 ohms works in conjunction with the
dynamic resistance of the diode to shape the thermal characteristic.
Thanks for the reply Roly.
QuoteThe parallel 220 ohms works in conjunction with the dynamic resistance of the diode to shape the thermal characteristic.
Please explain how?
The effective resistance would seem to be 81 ohms including the 220 ohm resistor. It doesn't really seem to perform much of a purpose to me. The current draw is about 7mA which is well within their specification.
It would seem to me the purpose of the diode is to turn off the output pair. I'd imagine the output pair conduct and then a voltage becomes present across the 2.2 ohm resistor, as that becomes large enough to exceed 0.6VDC the output pair switch off.
Mark
*Very* simplified answer (01:42 AM here, very sleepy, going straight to bed):
1) Assuming a diode has a "fixed" 0.7 or 0.6V drop is a convention; actual diode drop depends on current .... and also has a temperature coefficient.
Diode drop varies *a lot* :o if current varies also a lot.
From, say, 0.5V or less to more than 1V :o :loco
Download and look at the V/I curve of a 1N400x.
2) since a transistor has huge gain, a "small" base current will produce a big collector current.
3) please accept this rough explanation, don't want to fill the page with formulas, just concentrate on the basic concept:
a) suppose the "diode" diode and the TIP41 BE diode are exact twin brothers.
b) if so, idle current (say, 5 mA) through the bias string will produce , say, 0.62 V across the diode (values totally made up) ;)
c) since they are twin brothers *and* in parallel, said 0.62V diode bias voltage applied to the TIP41 will make 5 mA go through it. Fine.
But that's not "any" diode, it's a BE junction in a transistor ... which has current gain ... lots of it.
Say: Hfe 40X (also made up).
Then that collector will pass (*idle*) 5mA x 40= 200 mA :o
Too much (unnecessary by the way) , will eat the battery and overheat the transistor.
I would need to add a trimmer somewhere , or get a programmable diode (yes, they do exist) or .... lower the current passing *through* the diode.
Advantages?
I have a "less than 0.6V" diode .... but I keep the thermal coefficient.
Sounds crude (ok, it *is* crude ;) ) but it works and is a very popular solution.
Peavey and Fender use a resistor in parallel with 1 diode in the string to get "less than" 3 or 4 full diodes which are needed in theory.
You have to waste some minutes *once* selecting empirically the proper resistor and then churn out 1000000 amps without trimmer pots nor need to adjust them .
Savings add up.
Of course, *the other* solution is to use a transistor connected as an "amplified diode" which lets you easily get "3.5 diodes" , or whatever you need.
Decided to get the CRO onto this thing. I inputted 1Khz and the output with a 7.5 ohm load and a 12VDC supply was roughly 2 watts before distorting. I guess it comes as no surprise the touted spec of 5 watts is no where near the mark.
Prior to distorting the waveform looked smooth without any crossover distortion. I suppose this should come as no surprise as the issue I have is with bass frequencies.
I think I'll need to stop using RG Keen's quick and dirty oscillator and use one that can input lower frequencies. I'm expecting to see the output to drop off with the lower frequencies.
Mark
Hifi guys, and others like to state that output power MUST be measured before distortion. And with that bit of reasoning they decide some 50 watt amp is really only a 20 watt amp. But what if an amp produces distortion at all levels? Isn't designed to bhe distortion free at all? Do we claim it has zero watts output, even though it is screaming loud? Not in my world.
I see guitar amp specs as a measure of how loud they are - how much power they can put into a load. They are not, and are not designed to be, hifi, or even particularly clean. So the question becomes: how much power can the amp put into its speaker - damn the distortion and full volume ahead.
In hifi, your rule makes some sense, since hifi amps are not supposed to distort anything. SO when you turn up a "50 watt" hifi amp, but it sounds like crap over 20 watts, sure, call it a 20 watt amp and scold the maker. But guitar amps are not compared on the basis of clean, they are compared on the basis of loud.
As JM indicated, you can't understand a thermal compensation diode using a simplistic first-order model. The diode has two resistances, a bulk resistance which is generally assumed to be fixed, and a dynamic resistance that changes radically around V-gamma, the cut in voltage.
For large signals we use a bodgy value for V-gamma of around 0.65V, but it is not a switching function, and when you look closely enough you see that the diode goes progressively from non-conduction to conduction over a range of voltage. Moreover V-gamma has a significant temperature coefficient generally taken as -2mV/°C (at 1mA), which also depends on the forward current. I actually use this in my Thermo-Fan (http://www.ozvalveamps.org/techsite/thermofan/thermofan.htm) design.
The traditional way of rating guitar amp output power is sinewave into a dummy load at the onset of clipping, and is known by the (inaccurate) name of "watts RMS". "Watts RMS" are identical to watts thermal and can be measured calorimetrically (mass/time/T-rise). While this may not satisfy Hyper-Fi and mathematical purists it provides guitarists with a dependable yardstick that became necessary when marketeers started with all sorts of misleading power ratings such as "music power", "peak music power", "peak-to-peak music power", and latterly PMPO - "Peak Music Power Output" where one watt ("RMS") computer speakers are rated at "400 watts PMPO".
Hi-Fi amps are generally rated by power at a given distortion level, say 0.1% THD, and at 1kHz. With guitar amps the onset of clipping will be more like 5 or 10% THD, and more usefully at 440Hz for a tenor amp, and perhaps 100Hz for a bass amp.
Yes, 2W just before visibly clipping, (without actual % indication) is reasonable and about what I measured some 40 years ago on the original, germanium powered one.
By the way, 2W is a lot for a bedroom amp.
1W even better.
1 , 2 or 5W are not enough to practice with a drummer anyway, and the higher the power, the shorter the battery duration.
Thanks for the replies.
The watts angle should be approached conservatively, this Total Guitar review of the Lunchbox Juniour is a good reason why; http://www.musicradar.com/gear/guitars/amplification/instrument-amps/guitar-combo-amps/lunchbox-junior-571263 (http://www.musicradar.com/gear/guitars/amplification/instrument-amps/guitar-combo-amps/lunchbox-junior-571263)
Quote"You've got a good 35 watts to play with, but solid-state power is a very different thing to valve power, and this combo won't fill a room like the 15-watt Eagletone Raging 15R we looked at a few months back, or even a five-watt valve combo, for that matter."
I dare say the whole development of the notion of SS watts and valves watts is another thread in itself. It did giving the guitarists the notion that SS amps are inferior to valve amps, noting down classic SS amps such as the Roland JC-120 again is another thread in itself.
The question I am now asking myself is why does the bass response improve with more bias current?
Mark
That review is biased, big way.
35 WRMS are *MUCH* more than 5 W RMS , even if tube.
The notion that you can play a Club or similar job with 5W RMS, even if tube , is ridiculous.
To put names on it: a Peavey Envoy 110 , 35W RMS with a generic (Eminence made?) 10" speaker is louder than any AX84 or similar 5W single EL84 amp.
The big handicap the Lunchbox has is that it uses a ... lunchbox sized cabinet and to get *some* lows, they are forced to use a 6" acoustic suspension speaker, which by design is low eficiency.
But that's another problem. ;)
Ouch!
The Lunchbox review hits a number of painful nerves, not least that to my everlasting shame I used to actually write such breathless "reviews" - first hyperventilate until you got the room spins, then rave (but never under my real name). "Sausage journalism" I call it - you write a long and glowing blurb and the editor cuts off as much as they need to fill the space - and satisfy the advertiser. What you don't write is that the first two sent for review smoked before you could plug a guitar in, the one that actually worked sounded like shite, and everyone who heard the claim of "35 watts" collapsed on the floor laughing.
"Reviews" like this are a kind of down market wannabe advert copywriting and have about as much substance as a cloud of steam.
Slightly more seriously, size matters. When I hear "small", "tiny" or similar I know that what follows is likely to be some shade of horsefeathers. "Fantastic bass in a shoebox" is simply attempting to rewrite the laws of physics, and in Days of Yore it used to be said of loudspeaker systems that "There is no substitute for cubic feet". After fifty or more years of the march of technology, guess what, there is still "no substitute for cubic feet".
A while back I saw the release of a bass rig with eight 10's in small boxes being simply thrashed by 650 watts. It appears to have sunk without trace, because the physical reality is that it doesn't matter how many watts you sink into an isotropic radiator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotropic_radiator), it's isn't going to make any sound, much less reproduce bass.
Now we try the opposite. Many years ago I worked for a company making small rockerbox AM radios that would fit in your hand. These had a two inch speaker in a plastic case that was about 3x4x1 and full of holes. If you jammed it against your ear you got tolerable reproduction and battery life, but otherwise they sounded 'orrible. I took an 8-inch speaker and glued it into the top of a large coffee can. The difference was amazing. I had a "party trick" where I would take one of these, tune it to a local rock station where it sounded like an Aardvark with a bad does of the flu, then connect it to my 2x12 guitar cab and enjoy the astonished expressions.
There was nothing wrong with the electronics, in fact they were rather hi-fi, but when it came to the speaker and baffling it all fell apart.
Take a 12-inch speaker, box it in 50-60 litres, and it doesn't matter what you drive it with - it will sound okay even if it lacks the "legs" to keep up with a drummer.
A great deal of stuff is sold on the unstated premise that you can beat the physics. Well you can't.
Valve and transistor amps behave differently in overload, but up to the point of clipping valve watts equals transistor watts equals (bottom line) heating watts ("watts RMS").
Here's practical proof:
1) the crummiest amp out there, the Smokey, with even *less* parts than datasheet recommended "minimum" configuration.
Just an LM386 (which is a "crippled" amp for simplicity) + 2 47uF caps ..... and nothing else, not even a Zobel.
Mind you, one of those 47uF caps is in series with the speaker !!!
So it kills everything below 400 Hz.
Ouch!!, tinny as h*ll, isn't it?
And ... SS of course!
Let's hear it onto it original 2" plastic speaker mounted inside a paper cigarette box :duh and then into a real guitar box:
http://youtu.be/RLm0-kPvRlM
2) a Tube icon, now in an SS version, the Tiny Terror:
first into a *tiny* cabinet with an 8" speaker, then into a real 4x12"
http://youtu.be/XzDohmkXeJs
To add insult to injury, it's powered from .... a wall wart :loco
Speaking of memorable SS amps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1SEDuWLtd4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1SEDuWLtd4)
The great unknown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPpmzLoPwAM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPpmzLoPwAM)
Mark
The outcome of the Pignose was that it was fixed and returned to my friend. I decided to replace the TIP41 transistors in the output stage with TIP41C transistors.
This helped the overall tone of the amp though it didn't have as much gain, I found the trade off was it was much more touch sensitivity which was a great trade off. I can't explain why changing the transistors helped so much, my friend was very happy with the amp.
Here is a link to the various Pignose circuits I found during the repair process.
http://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?topic=2985.0 (http://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?topic=2985.0)
Mark
The difference between the TIP41, 41A, 41B, and TIP41C is the Collector-Emitter breakdown voltage, being 40, 60, 80, and 100 volt respectively. In all other parameters they share the same data sheet, so it's hard to understand why there would be any difference between them when operating on lower voltages.
Oh come on, The TIP41C will better handle the 100v transients than the TIP41. Improves the stereo soundstaging.
Enzo, you are assuming the TIP41 transistors were working correctly, and I certainly don't think you can make that assumption. The difference in response was not subtle the most noticeable was the difference in distortion, the TIP41's were like a 60's fuzzbox while the TIP41C's were probably like a 50 watt Fender on "5".
Actually I remember the distortion increased in my RAT pedal prior to it blowing and I had to replace the IC.
Getting back to the Pignose, that's just how it happened.
Mark
Mark, I was not assuming anything, I was making a joke based upon Roly's post just above mine. Perhaps you overlooked the soundstaging reference, clearly satirical, since the Pignose is not a stereo amplifier.
But if you want to be serious, then if you replace defective TIP41s with good TIP41s, then sure it will sound better. The way your post was written made it appear you were attributing the sound improvement to the TIP41C versus TIP41, as opposed to attribtuing it to a good versus bad transistor.
And THAT was what Roly and I were responding to.
Hi Enzo
That is the trouble with pasting on sites such as this one, if people don't know you well enough they will take things the wrong way.
It's not the first time nor will it be the last time.
Getting back to the thread I wasn't implying a mojo with the TIP41C transistors, in the past the transistor was either dead or alive, in this case it wasn't feeling well. It's all very tube like. :duh
Mark