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Quote from: RookieRecurve on June 25, 2024, 12:54:31 AMHopefully this isn't a zombie post.  You said you burnt up components using a laptop charger.  Was it too much voltage, or was it an issue with current?

Regarding the excess gain from the 1-8 jumper, what cap did you use?  I might dabble with this option once I get my kit, and put it together.

Most laptop chargers are 19v or 20v, either is way too much for this kit.  Max voltage is 16v.  Recommended voltages depend on what the speaker load is.

4 ohm : 6-9v DC
8 ohm : 6-12v DC
16 ohm : 6-16v DC


This yields this power output:

4 ohms = Max 0.35w (clean 0.25w) @ 6v supply, Min 0.35w @ 6v
8 ohms = Max 0.85w (clean 0.5w) @ 12v supply, Min 0.3w @ 6v
16 ohms = Max 1.6w (clean 1.2w) @ 16v supply, Min 0.2w @ 6v

Last month Boss released the new Gen 3 version of the ever-popular Katana amp series.  Consisting of general model updates, this seems like a decent amp still but nothing to toss your old Gen 2 model out for.

https://www.gearnews.com/boss-katana-gen-3-amp-series-enhanced-tube-logic-tone/

Quote from: Miyagi_83 on June 12, 2024, 04:57:39 AMI added another gain stage and tweaked it again. Here's how it sounds now

https://m.soundcloud.com/user-996907905/joe_davisson_preamp_modded_bc3

EDIT: Again, I'd like to apologize for the sloppy playing.

Sounds great!  Thanks for sharing!

Without hearing it, I'm going to say that it is most likely normal for this to happen.  Channel switching can certainly cause noises on certain amps.

For those looking for the link to the schematic: https://www.diystompboxes.com/analogalchemy/sch/vulcan.html

I'm curious what the diodes are for between the stages though.  Not sure I've seen that before.

Looks interesting. I'd love to hear some clips!

Quote from: saturated on May 05, 2024, 11:10:45 PMAnyhow I found that if you are playing a song off YouTube on your phone like trying to learn it while you play...if you hold it up to your pickups it will play through your amp

     

I might need to try this...

Quote from: saturated on April 09, 2024, 05:20:43 AMThank you sir I am glad I did not have to touch any power tubes...in the back of my mind I had heard about tube biasing and was dreading having to do something like that.  But I looked it up and evidently preamp tubes are just plug and play...?

The two 12ax7 I switched positions were in there really tight.  To avoid broken glass and blood I put on a leather work glove.

I really appreciate everyone's help with this idk what we did but it's sounding really crazy nice it still has a little hum at low volume but I ain't touching it right now.

A little hum at low volume may well be normal for this amp.  It certainly is for others.

I recommend making sure that the input jack is clean and connected well to both line and ground.  If not, it could be only letting some signal through causing these issues.

Boss has expanded it's famous Katana line of amps to include a new headphone amp that fits easily into your pants pocket, enter the Katana:Go.  This is an interesting take on the headphone amp market and something that stands along with Fender's Mustang Micro amplifier in that it is a digital amplifier with multiple models, effects, and features.  One of the neat features with the Katana:Go is the app that you can use in Android or iOS to modify settings and saved presets.  You can also use this little guy as a USB C recording interface.

MSRP is $119 USD and they are available now.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/boss-katana-go-amp

Quote from: monte on March 20, 2024, 09:12:51 AMThanks for the input!

I understand it likely not being best practice. I slowly I want to upgrade to a more 'grown-up' and proper set up, but for now I thought this could be cool for some experimentation. As long as I am not blowing anything up.

I say go for it!

Quote from: JonnyDeth on March 20, 2024, 08:56:50 AMThe problem with this perspective is ultimately useable volume and wattage when you do a more thorough test of 100 Hz, 1 Khz, and 10 Khz with a sine wave. 1-watt @1 meter is using a 1 Khz sine wave, so it's dB rating isn't always the most reliable in terms of overall performance and projection.

Relative to this is the hardware distorting within a certain pitch range, as well as the speaker. You have to be prepared for potential crossover distortion, and many amps greatly lose efficiency in the lower frequencies at any volume. I agree that the speaker is one of the most important components regarding performance all across the board, and changing speakers may give you better performance and with a few more dB of useable volume, and that's a lot.

You must also take into realization that RMS/Peak wattage isn't telling you a whole lot in again, relationship to 100 Hz, 1 Khz and 10 Khz. Once you incorporate a speaker as the load on the circuit, you aren't dealing with watts, but the VAR of a resonant circuit. This is the precise point at which current and voltage meet in phase, and you get the most power transfer.
I've seen the most efficient systems built by using 100 Hz instead of 1 Khz exclusively to rate a speaker as well as the amp, and the VAR in equivalent effective wattage might be 10 watts compared to a 1 Khz sine wave resonating at 100 VAR(watts), or it might still be 100 VAR(watts) when using a 100 Hz sine wave, and that's phenomenal.

This is the final attribute where you also start to realize efficiency is overrated. I would rather have 100 effective watts of Class-A @ 100 Hz than Class-A/B or worse yet, Class-D. A really well-designed Class-A amp focused on VAR for 100 Hz resonance just as much as 1 Khz will be an animal not much can compete with. It's why some of these really old tube amps that weigh 150lbs will be just 30 or 40 watts, but they can compete with a modern Class-A/B or D that's full blast and rated 200.

Thanks for bringing up these points - all of them very valid and interesting!  While I am an advocate for solid state gear, I am by no means an expert and I love reading the in depth stuff some of our users here bring.  Thanks for joining the forum!

Quote from: monte on March 20, 2024, 08:40:04 AMHi all,

I am quite new to amplifiers, I get the basics but have a little technical question. I just got an Orange Micro Dark hybrid (tube preamp/ SS power amp) that I am plugging into a 2x12 cab and that's quite nice for practicing at home. The Orange MD has an effects loop and I had an idea of splitting the loop signal into wet/dry and sending the wet (mostly for delay) into another practice amp I have, a Roland Cube 20 (an 80s, orange version one) and dry into the Orange power amp (as usual). The thing is, the Roland doesn't have an effects loop, so I would have to send the wet into the amps line in. Is this at all doable? I figure I'd ask before I blow up my Roland, which I like quite a lot.

And in general, is it ok to plug an effects loop out into the line in of another amp (tube or solid state)? From what I understand, the preamp stage of an amp functions in a similar way than an OD/Preamp pedal, so that should be fine?

Any thoughts/concerns/ideas are welcome!

Thank you so much!

While some may not consider it best practice, in reality it shouldn't be a problem at all.  I would do this without hesitation.  The only thing to not do is to hook up the speaker output to the guitar input on another amplifier...that is a very bad idea.

Rock on!  I remember looking at Crate amps when I was a beginning guitarist almost 25 years ago.  I always thought they looked cool.  Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but they sure do get loud!