Introduction

[jon bondy]

I have played guitar for 55 years, and built my first [solid state] guitar amp when I was a teenager.  I am not a stranger to electronics or fabrication.

I have been living in the modeling world (Fractal Audio AX8, Mooer GE300, Headrush Core, Strymon Iridium), but heard a tube amp with stunning tone (Fyd), and am considering a tube amp.

What is stunning tone?  In my book, sustain, distortion, gain, but without fuzz, a liquid, pure tone.  It is easy to get fuzz tones.  Maybe a Santana sound?  Or David Gilmour.

I am used to modelers, where I can select from a variety of amps and/or amp setups with a foot switch.  So,  I want to head in this direction.  Not just a clean channel and a dirty channel, but 4 channels with different levels of dirt.

My thought was to find an amp with the sound I like, and then attempt to have four "presets", four different gain settings, which could be switched with a foot switch.  So, clean, crunchy, distorted, and insane.

I find tube amps to be too heavy, so I was also pondering using switching power supplies to eliminate the power transformer.

These ideas may be unappealing for the tube purist.  I get it.  But perhaps some of you more experienced folk will be able to comment, push me in the right direction, or explain why I am out of my mind.

Thanks!

Jon

[EL34]

Welcome to the Hoffman Amps forum

There are many different boards on this forum for different topics.

The Tube Amp Building - Tweaks - Repairs board is where you can post amp questions.

That board is listed here.
https://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?board=13.0

Thanks,
Doug Hoffman