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Messages - JayFett

#1
Schematics and Layouts / Re: Digital JFET Test Rig
December 21, 2012, 08:17:16 PM
Darn... I was hoping there was a new JFET guitar (pre)amp about to be released by some company.

Sounds like you are taking the homemade electronics to a new level with EZ-bake jfets!  8)
#2
Schematics and Layouts / Re: Digital JFET Test Rig
December 18, 2012, 10:14:09 PM
So.. I have to ask... rowdy_r, are you involved with any company that needs a lot of super-sorted JFETS for use in amplifiers?
#3
Well... there you have it. Thank you for explaining it so well. I was just beginning to suspect that preamp tone shaping is where to put the effort, and you have confirmed it.  :tu:

#4
Thanks for the answers.
So... if the power supply caps are intentionally "under-sized", will the amp then exhibit voltage sag, and mimic the 'note bloom' that certain tube amps have when played at higher volume? Or will it just show up as weak bass in the chip guitar amp? Or just noise?
#5
How does one determine how much power-supply-filter capacitance is required for a chip-amp based guitar amp? Is it as simple as using the chip-amp data sheet demo circuit values?
#6
I stumbled across this new little hybrid today... $150

http://www.orangeamps.com/micro-terror/
The youtube demos sound very good.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzDohmkXeJs
I eagerly await schematics to appear on the interweb!

Anyone seen one yet?
#7
Quote from: phatt on May 20, 2011, 09:05:18 AM
Quote from: JayFett on May 19, 2011, 02:28:21 PM
Quote from: joecool85 on May 19, 2011, 06:25:45 AM
Quote from: JayFett on May 18, 2011, 09:11:02 PM
Regarding the Fender 65R, did it sound and behave like a tube amp? (I have not heard one)
.

I wouldn't say they sounded like a tube amp, but they were a cheap and reliable solid state amp with excellent clean section and a real spring reverb.  65w RMS with a 12" speaker.  Some people liked the OD channel others didn't, but regardless you could always use just the clean section and run the pedals in front of it.

That's what I suspected. Fender has shifted it's SS amp focus to all DSP driven (Mustang series, G-DEC) chip amps to approximate the tube amp sound. Fender has even put DSP into real tube amps (Vintage Modified Amp series) to try and make them sound like different tube amps. I don't know if these amps actually inspire anyone other than amateurs (vs. professionals). But it is a huge market, and it makes money.

To me, DSP SS amps are like online sex... something is missing. I think it's the 'feel'.

Very good :tu: Thanks I needed a good laugh ;D

This may have been said already,,,but heck what is a good tube amp supposed to sound like anyway????
Some folks ideas on great sound has little to do with tone. :o
Phil.

Exactly...! What is 'tone'?  Using words to describe tone, is like using dance to describe architecture. Something is lost in the translation.
#8
Quote from: joecool85 on May 19, 2011, 06:25:45 AM
Quote from: JayFett on May 18, 2011, 09:11:02 PM
Regarding the Fender 65R, did it sound and behave like a tube amp? (I have not heard one)
.

I wouldn't say they sounded like a tube amp, but they were a cheap and reliable solid state amp with excellent clean section and a real spring reverb.  65w RMS with a 12" speaker.  Some people liked the OD channel others didn't, but regardless you could always use just the clean section and run the pedals in front of it.

That's what I suspected. Fender has shifted it's SS amp focus to all DSP driven (Mustang series, G-DEC) chip amps to approximate the tube amp sound. Fender has even put DSP into real tube amps (Vintage Modified Amp series) to try and make them sound like different tube amps. I don't know if these amps actually inspire anyone other than amateurs (vs. professionals). But it is a huge market, and it makes money.

To me, DSP SS amps are like online sex... something is missing. I think it's the 'feel'.
#9
Quote from: joecool85 on May 18, 2011, 04:21:15 PM
Quote from: J M Fahey on May 18, 2011, 06:02:52 AM
Yes, that's the way to do it.
Marshall fell from the sky when they started offering cheap amps, including 10W "free with your first guitar" types and "2W" 9V battery powered ones, Mesa Boogie never will.

Yeah, it's no longer an elusive/exclusive club to own a Marshall - anyone can afford them now.  Also, their solid state offerings don't seem to have much in the way of quality or tone in my experience.  Better to just get a Fender if you are in that price range.  I still think Fender cancelling the Frontman 65R was a dumb move btw.

Regarding the Fender 65R, did it sound and behave like a tube amp? (I have not heard one)
.
#10
Just use two 8-ohm speakers in parallel... the best of both worlds... LOUDER, bigger sound stage.
I don't recall seeing any of my favorite guitar speakers (Celestion or Eminence) offered in 4-ohm.
It is usually only 8-ohm, and occasionally 16-ohm.

If you are designing a boutique SS amp to sell, then including an 'accepted' speaker(s) is almost
part of the requirement.
#11
Quote from: J M Fahey on May 16, 2011, 04:57:08 AM
*Maybe*, why not?, although I guess the 2/3 price would not be the deciding factor.
Boutique amps are not sold on price but on perceived quality, exclusivity, snobishness, you name it.
I find lower price a problem, not an asset (in this particular case).


Yes... there is always that 'product pricing' problem... how much to charge for the item... finding the optimal price point.

Retro Channel is charging $975 for a RR1 (100W head) though a dealer. It sounds like a tube amp, it behaves like a tube amp, with improvements. I think they are doing it right. They have some room to move the price lower to adjust to demand and supply fluctuations.

#12
*
Thanks teemuk... all interesting observations.

There are some decent-sounding under-20-watt mass produced SS amps out there.
I can't say any of them sound 'killer', though.

If you can develop a simple SS amp that "sounds just like a tube amp", and put it in a nice cabinet with a nice speaker and sell it for two-thirds of the price of a similarly configured tube amp, then I suspect that one might be able to do a decent boutique business.
#13
*
teemuk, or anyone, what do you think about the Retro Channel RR1, and the ZT Lunchbox, amps?

They seem to be doing well as a 'new breed' of boutique high powered SS guitar amps.
It sure looks like a developing market there.
#14
the soon to be released Retro Wreck...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaZByEsgMgE&feature=player_embedded

Now that's a great amp!
#15
Amplifier Discussion / Re: Amp using TDA2030
July 30, 2010, 05:29:17 PM
The Vox Pathfinder 15 and 15R use the TDA2030 chip, and the amp always gets mentioned as one of the favorite good-sounding solid state guitar amplifiers on various forums. Here is a link to a schematic of the non-reverb '15' version...

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/attachments/musical-instruments/153152d1262970400-vox-pathfinder-15-r-schematics-wanted-vox-pathfinder-15.pdf

I guess the op-amp based preamp must work quite well for this amplifier to get as much respect as it does. Folks say the clean setting sounds very tube-like. Check out various reviews.