Pyscho,
I do know that you don't like Hoffman layouts. I have no problem with that as we all have things we love, like, can take a pass on and dislike. More power to you my friend. And you are my friend Keith. We go pretty far back buddy. Such is the diversity of the tube community and why when we all put our heads together we accomplish more than a single cranium can. Never stop stepping up to the plate with your opinion. I truly value it. You are a confidant, not a buzzing fly or contrarian. I know you speak from the heart. It's too bad all of us on this forum don't all live on the same block. Boy we could kick ass in the amp market! My contribution would be somewhat small but I'd do the layouts and fill the gurus' beer mugs.
I happen to love Doug's layouts. Granted his layout "drawings" are not newbie friendly (cause a guru like him doesn't need pictures like the rest of us) but the layouts themselves produce one hell of a nice amp. This is why I re-did the Hoffman 5E3 layout so newbies could see a more photo like rendition of it and build it more easily. And, an AB763 with a bias vary tremolo is freakin' awesome in my book. I know you've also seen me post that Leo Fender is my idol. I am always amazed at how wonderful his amps are when they are in full working order. Dead quiet and great tone. The man was amazing in my book. Being on the left coast I get my hands in a lot of his work. I wish Leo had been my dad instead of that drunken navy fellow mom married.
One thing I don't like about both Fender and Hoffman layouts (and many others) is underboard wires. I've had so many problems with those little buggers that I now will not build an amp with anything under the board period. Turret underboard wires are of course more problematic than eyelet underboard wires since you can't see the wire tip on a turret. Flying wires don't bother me as long as they don't cause noise. I mean if PTP amps with flying components can last 60 years then flying wires aren't a problem as far as I can tell. My first Hoffman layout amps that went to customers were built back in 1998. Not one has been returned for repair under the lifetime warranty. That's 14 years and counting.
Adhering to any holy grail layout is not something I am a slave to though as I believe we should learn from the successes and mistakes of the past. You'll never hear me say that an amp with a different layout but the same circuit is not an "X" amp until I play through it and can say it sounds nothing like the original.
When it is all said and done, if the tone is right I have no problem changing things since frankly I don't want to have to work really hard on an amp build, tweak or repair. Sliding a chassis out to work on components or hop on one foot, rub my belly and pat my head while soldering is too much work. I want to pull the back panel and have access to everything right there in front of me. Even the Marshall head layout is a bit much for me since one has to pull the chassis from the cabinet. Modern amp layouts.....Don't even get me started. But if easy access ruins the tone, I'll throw away my naive ideas and go back to the original layout. I've made changes to amps that stroked my logic bone that sounded like crap and returned to the original layout after the lesson. So bottom line....I'm open with no restrictions whatsoever.
On a philosophical note, I once had a friend who was always telling how great his VW beetle was. He told me he could pull the whole engine himself with out any help and completely rebuild it on his patio. In fact, he'd done it three times. My response to him was "Well, I prefer my Buick Centurion 455. It has over 130k miles on it and I've never had to pull the engine. You tinker on your patio, I'm going to the bars where the chicks are.
Love ya man.
