Hello From Serious Old School

[enorbet2]

Greetz
I'm not sure why I'm writing this since I think it is rare that anybody ever reads them but here goes just in case.  I'm really old.. possibly the oldest member here.  In High School I had two periods of electronics shop twice a week so far back we were taught tubes and the then newish transistor theory and application.  It seems I am a strange mix of scientist, engineer and artist which is likely reflected in my degree in Arts& Sciences, that I was literally the only student wearing both sandals and long hair and a slide rule on my belt.  That later evolved into a lifetime in The Biz in the studio, onstage, at the Desk, and at my workbench spanning over 50 years.

I've worked for some serious Greats, one of whom gave me a sweet mention in Guitar Player magazine. Many techs will likely find me blasphemous because while I profoundly respect Vintage, I've studied and worked in design and manufacture enough that I won't hesitate to build new or modify old for myself, and for clients if they desire once they know the tradeoffs.  You might get the feeling I don't like Collectors and you would be spot on.  Gear was made to make Music not to hang on a wall as a conversation item or bragging rights.

My main performing amp for decades has been a Princeton sized box with an amp totally designed by me but borrowing heavily from Tweed design but updated for gain switching and a buffered FX Loop and sporting 2 x Gold Lion EL34s in self-biased Class A with local NF a la Leslie 147 design and also the fabulous 0C3 regulated screen grids.  It also was oputfitted with Fender Tilt Back Legs and I prefer it angled in front of me right next to my stage monitor, so regardless of venue I hear essentially the same sound everywhere and FOH is mostly PA so I can crank ~30 watts 1 x 12 (rare cast frame Celestion 12) for mostly power amp dynamic overdrive.  My main guitar for many years was a so-called 54 Reissue Les Paul of which around 300 were made in 1972.  It wasn't accurate in that 54s didn't have a sunburst finish but I adore the stopped tailpiece and thick body.  It faded into the background when my most recent from-scratch guitar was finished in 1998.

Well that oughta be enough for now.  I'll only add more if it seems useful to someone.

[EL34]

Welcome to the forum

[shooter]

a strange mix of scientist, engineer and artist

I resemble that remark, LOTS of class-time without pedigree 

[Ritchie200]

My horseshoer of 30 some years has over 50 yrs of experience.  Most down in Texas doing ranch horse strings (days at one location with one horse after another, break only for water and lunch, sunup to sundown).  Then bareback bronc riding on the weekends.  He will forget more than most of the new shoers will ever learn.  BUT, they did gradjiate from some fancy farrier school or another and they haul around a big silly trailer with a roll out forge.  Their business cards have all sorts of alphabet soup after their names for certifications only the schools are aware of.  My guy has a card with his name followed by "Horseshoer", and his phone number.  At the bottom it says, "Certified I.R.A.H.S.G."

I aRe A High School Graduate.  Never at a loss for a joke - some only he thinks are funny, but his knowledge about horse anatomy and the mechanics of movement is staggering.  The veterinarians keep him hopping with hoof and leg problems that they cant figure out.  Albert supposedly said, "Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted." 

I had Electronics I my Jr year and Electronics II my Sr year in High School.  We learned about tubes and high voltage safety in Electronics II.  Why?  So we could fix the seemingly endless stacks of TV's and tube stereos my teacher had for repair....that he would make money on!  We had a huge tube caddy that I'm sure the school paid for.  Our teacher would constantly red plate tubes to "rejuvenate" them.  It seemed to work so what the heck....  Had a lot of fun and learned a lot.  When not doing his work we would reverse the polarity on the electrolytic caps on the breadboards of the "lower class" E I students and wait for the fireworks.  I also seem to remember someone charging caps and tossing them to an unsuspecting newbie.  Ah the good ol days before safety glasses and precious snowflakes....

Welcome enorbet2, you are in good company!  Looking forward to your input and expertise!

Jim

[Ritchie200]

By the way, purdy guitar you got there!  What kind of music do you listen to/play?

Jim

[DummyLoad]

By the way, purdy guitar you got there!  What kind of music do you listen to/play?

Jim

it's not a strat or a tele  ... why do you care?

j/k jim. 

it is a beautiful axe.

--pete

[shooter]

farrier

met our local Farrier when he stopped and asked if I could help him to lean to sail.  Sold him my boat n trailer for what I paid 5yrs earlier, gave him the here's how NOT to drown lesson, couple books, and he left a happy man.  Bumped into him about 5yrs latter, (I don't have farm animals :) he sold the boat n trailer for exactly what he paid, loved the experience 

[enorbet2]

By the way, purdy guitar you got there!  What kind of music do you listen to/play?

Jim

I didn't mean to single you out, Jim, other than I plan to answer your question and also post a pic and Quick Reply doesn't offer that option AFAIK.... anyway....

 Hello again guys and thanks for all the welcoming responses.  My musical tastes are quite wide but what I love most and prefer to play is rather typical I suppose - Blues-Based Roots Rock 'n Roll heavily steeped in Stones and Hendrix.  I don't sound much like Hendrix (more like Mike Bloomfield and Peter Green) but that's because what I learned most from Jimi is to have the courage to get out of my own way and let my muscle memory muse and the Music take me wherever it will go.  The oddball shape of my guitar came from learning about resonance from Jimmy D'Aquisto combined with owning an old Amp-in-the-case Silvertone and loving the fact that it couldn't roll off the stand like my Les Paul often threatened to do.

Here's my modded Silvertone



and the ol' reliable LP

[enorbet2]

I probably should also mention what brought me here.  I  L O V E  EL34s... love 'em.  Not only did I immediately mod what was at first a pristine Blackface Princeton Reverb to run EL34s which has been my go to amp for gigging at ~30 Watts Class A, cathode biased, but on the low end and for lower volume use my Silvertone Champ derived combo was absolutely gutted, punched for two additional 12AX7s for a Direct Coupled Cathode Follower Tweed style design but totally absent any EQ controls, just 3 Volume(gain) controls for an adjustable, buffered effects loop and FX Return level all into a single ended EL34 with zero negative feedback.

On the opposite pole, I once bought a used Tweed Twin that a retired pedal steel player was using as an ersatz PA system in a mom-pop gas station in Colorado to call his wife out to help on the pumps when he got busy until he blew both transformers.  Since it would no longer be vintage stock I decided to "go whole hawg" and got a Triad PT  that delivered 540VDC to the plates of 4xEL34s with substantially reduced negative feedback.  That beast was a fire-breathing monster!  I'd still have it but a good friend of mine wheedled and cajoled me relentlessly for months and I had always turned him away with "You know I love your playing and your tone, but you go through amps like runners go through water, so I don't want to feed your habit" but he finally convinced me he had serious plans.  He wanted to install a Fender Bassman Reissue PT for tube rectifier and drop the power down to a far more reasonable ~70 watts still retaining the 4xEL34s and hefty filter caps.  I couldn't help it.  I really wanted to hear how that would turn out.  It turned out awesome... so awesome in fact I was torn about having sold it to him but he still plays it today some 20+ years later,so I figure it's OK, all worked out for the good..

[Ritchie200]

Ahhh!  Great stories!  If you hang out here long enough, I may turn you to the dark side of KT88's!  You know... there is nothing more powerful than the dark side!

Jim

[enorbet2]

Ahhh!  Great stories!  If you hang out here long enough, I may turn you to the dark side of KT88's!  You know... there is nothing more powerful than the dark side!

Jim

That is not going to happen at least for guitar.  I've owned actual Genalex KT88s as well as 6550s and experimented with 8417s for higher power (not that 8417 is anything like a KT88 other than higher power) and I don't like the "tubby" tone KT88 style tubes produce.  I prefer a very tight bottom (don't most guys? ;)  ) with an "angels singing" top end and 88s don't deliver.  I have lots of tube amps and my Top 3 all run EL34s though my Main uses the coolest version, Gold Lion KT77s.  I did once mod a Blues Harp playing client's Tweed Champ to run 6550 because there the tubbiness I don't like in guitar really fattens up that quacky saxophone quality of Green Bullet Mics.

The smallest, weakest  EL34 amp I have started out as an ancient Sears Silvertone combo (probably made by Supro) that was essentially a Champ design in a larger cab with a 10 inch speaker instead of the 8. I gutted it, punched out for 2 new 12AX7 sockets (gotta have that direct-coupled cathode follower!) and created a design that has some moderate tone shaping but no variable EQ at all, 2 compensated Volume controls are the only pots, the final one to accommodate the buffered FX Loop, zero negative feedback,  and a single ended EL34.  It's crowded in there even though modern filter caps are a lot smaller than their vintage ancestors because every stage has it's own decoupling leg.  This is a real fire breathing monster that tames up rather nicely for recording work.  Some guys imagine such low power amps can be used in a band context but I'm not one of those guys.  I've never played with a drummer, even Jazz drummers, who couldn't humiliate any amp under 20-30 watts and I don't care how distorted one is willing to play.  Clean? Bwahahahah!  Yeah, right.  To compete with most drummers 30 watts is just about bare minimum for me.

My middle go to amp is (and I'm waiting for the gasps and flames) is a heavily modded Blackface Deluxe Reverb.  The preamp has been altered to essentially a Tweed Bassman style with the Low Z output of the DCCF driving an FX Loop (yeah I like delay effects further down the gain staging path) driving 2xEL34s with minimal negative feedback into 2x10s.  The speakers are currently from a Silverface Bassman 10, but I am seriously considering going alnico.

My Main Squeeze is built in a Princeton sized cab and is quite simple.  It's a Tweed front end with (yup, you guessed it) an FX Loop with recovery stage Master, and drives the KT77s in a configuration derived from the Leslie 147 design, complete with OC3 regulator but the PS is hefty with all stages having their own unique filter cap and  DC heaters.

I do still sometimes miss that old Tweed Twin but I haven't played anywhere but home I could open 'er up in ages.   

[enorbet2]

Ooops!  Already mentioned My Main Squeeze in 1st post.  Forgive me. Can't help it.  I'm in love :)