If you have a dedicated amp to test your builds.. what is it?
I would love a small test amp.
Don't really want solid state but whatever works.
On the bench, for a quick pass/fail or to monitor while using the scope, I use one of those cute little 9V Fender Mini Twin toys. For tweaking or QC, I use separately a solid state 100W and a tube 20W with no other pedals and a long cable. To test flexibility I mix in some other pedals. There are some issues that will show up under one of these conditions (especially SS vs. tube) but not the others. If the build is for a customer, I then try to simulate their actual signal chain as closely as possible with what I have on hand.
Marshall MS2 but I hate that thing. I'm just waiting to see what wins out - my cheap nature not wanting to buy a better test amp or me booting this thing out a window.
I used to always use my Epiphone Valve Jr but then switched to my Boogie MKIV since it's the amp i use the most and very use to it's response and tone. At some point i had started to use the DripEdge Bassman but.... ....my neighbors didn't approve of the idea... ...kinda hard to keep at low volume lol.
For low output, the ValveJr is really decent, it takes pedals super well, has a minimum of controls so you're sure to keep your reference reliable and they sell for quite cheap on the used market.
Fender blues jr. It's small and lightweight.
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'76 Champ. Love that amp.
Monoprice 5w tube combo with a Jensen Mod swapped in, for my own stuff, because I don't get loud. My kiddo plays loud so I frequently carry a wired board, resembling a live lobster, to the garage for testing.
I'm convinced my house has bad grounding (even though it was built in 1990) so I use a little dinky pass/fail 386 based amp. One day I'll get the tube cricket working for that.
When the hum gets sorted:
Solid state I have an arguably just as dinky line6 spider
Valve/tube I've got a fender deluxe clone
Quote from: jessenator on December 03, 2023, 07:44:17 PM
I'm convinced my house has bad grounding (even though it was built in 1990) so I use a little dinky pass/fail 386 based amp. One day I'll get the tube cricket working for that.
When the hum gets sorted:
Solid state I have an arguably just as dinky line6 spider
Valve/tube I've got a fender deluxe clone
Have you tried a ground lift yet? My last place would register about 10-12 watts at night and about 7.5 during the day. Too much voltage does crazy things when you're trying to test pedals.
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Quote from: madbean on December 03, 2023, 05:58:33 PM
'76 Champ. Love that amp.
I almost bought a champ kit from tube depot, but the lead time was crazy, like 3 to 6 months. I ended up buying a blues deluxe for the same or less money. I'd still love to build one, though.
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I've had this little Harmony solid state amp forever that was a bit of a turd till I put in a decent speaker and it sounds REALLY good. Sounds great with a distortion box or booster and doesn't mask any circuit flaws or noises.
Quote from: jessenator on December 03, 2023, 09:41:43 PM
Quote from: jimilee on December 03, 2023, 08:14:12 PM
Have you tried a ground lift yet?
I have, sadly :/
Power conditioners does wonder, it solved most of the issues i had, Furman does excellent unit at decent price without the need to go in their Pro Audio/Rack Series.
Edit: I've rarely found ground lifting to be the right solutions as you might reduce your floor noise a bit but you open the door to other issues, on the other hand, ground isolating devices and/or wall outlets will solve the same issue a ground lift without compromising the stability of your AC supply. Like in hospitals for exemple, in each room you'll find at least one orange colored wall outlets, it's to identify the outlet as an isolated one, scopes and other precisions instruments will be plugged in those to eliminate AC noise and ensure the proper reading of the instruments.
Quote from: jessenator on December 03, 2023, 09:41:43 PM
Quote from: jimilee on December 03, 2023, 08:14:12 PM
Have you tried a ground lift yet?
I have, sadly :/
If you can, run a grounding wire from your equipment to a cold water pipe. Years ago I did that in an apartment and it was dead silent afterwards. PEX won’t work obviously. If you own the place drop a grounding spike into the ground. Your life is not settled until you are properly grounded. :-)
Quote from: blearyeyes on December 04, 2023, 01:50:55 AM
Quote from: jessenator on December 03, 2023, 09:41:43 PM
Quote from: jimilee on December 03, 2023, 08:14:12 PM
Have you tried a ground lift yet?
I have, sadly :/
If you can, run a wire grounding from your equipment to a cold water pipe. PEX won't work obviously.
Obviously
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Quote from: blearyeyes on December 04, 2023, 01:50:55 AM
Quote from: jessenator on December 03, 2023, 09:41:43 PM
Quote from: jimilee on December 03, 2023, 08:14:12 PM
Have you tried a ground lift yet?
I have, sadly :/
If you can, run a grounding wire from your equipment to a cold water pipe. Years ago I did that in an apartment and it was dead silent afterwards. PEX won't work obviously. If you own the place drop a grounding spike into the ground. Your life is not settled until you are properly grounded. :-)
MacGyverism at it's finest, i dig that!
Quote from: blearyeyes on December 04, 2023, 01:50:55 AM
Quote from: jessenator on December 03, 2023, 09:41:43 PM
Quote from: jimilee on December 03, 2023, 08:14:12 PM
Have you tried a ground lift yet?
I have, sadly :/
If you can, run a grounding wire from your equipment to a cold water pipe. Years ago I did that in an apartment and it was dead silent afterwards. PEX won't work obviously. If you own the place drop a grounding spike into the ground. Your life is not settled until you are properly grounded. :-)
I'll give'r a try this week! Thanks.
Quote from: jessenator on December 04, 2023, 04:46:45 AM
I'll give'r a try this week! Thanks.
If it works out, here's a more permanent solution
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lighting-and-electrical/boxes-fittings-and-conduit/ground-clamps/3179934?store=17483&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAjrarBhAWEiwA2qWdCCnbQnKkhv_ECIPG9waogQLIVbEAQAS2lWnYPrWEWqfa4BwP08rrJBoCe2YQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Quote from: jwin615 on December 04, 2023, 01:26:49 PM
If it works out, here's a more permanent solution
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lighting-and-electrical/boxes-fittings-and-conduit/ground-clamps/3179934?store=17483&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAjrarBhAWEiwA2qWdCCnbQnKkhv_ECIPG9waogQLIVbEAQAS2lWnYPrWEWqfa4BwP08rrJBoCe2YQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Thanks. Looks like my local Ace has it as well.
I use a Fender Excelsior with an Eminence Big Ben in it. It's not a very common setup...but it's the only amp I have. It's a pretty honest amp, though. If I can make it sound good through that, I can make it sounds good through anything else.
I've got a 5w Crate tube amp that I've modded to be a good clean amp for testing in the work room. When running it through the paces for actual performance, I use an old '59 Magnatone because I love those warm tweed sounds (and I don't have a low power tweed twin) as well as a 70's Gibson G105 because it sys clean forever.
Quote from: Aleph Null on December 04, 2023, 04:26:09 PM
I use a Fender Excelsior with an Eminence Big Ben in it. It's not a very common setup...but it's the only amp I have. It's a pretty honest amp, though. If I can make it sound good through that, I can make it sounds good through anything else.
I was just looking at one of those on Reverb. Pre-amp on top and power at the bottom? I think it had a 15" spkr in it. Pretty odd but interesting. Is that the one?
Anyone know about the Supro Delta King?
I wouldn't use the FET Pigtronix distortion, actually a minus for me...
I have no idea what they are like...
Quote from: blearyeyes on December 06, 2023, 03:31:23 AM
I was just looking at one of those on Reverb. Pre-amp on top and power at the bottom? I think it had a 15" spkr in it. Pretty odd but interesting. Is that the one?
That's the one! I've swapped the tone switch for a tone knob and added a tremolo depth toggle, as well as an input cap toggle on the "accordion" input.
The stock speaker is kinda honky (surprising for a 15"). Fender did offer a version with an Eminence Legend 1518 as well. Those ones have pastel tolex instead of brown. A 15" speaker in a open-back cabinet can really fill a room if you position it in a corner!
Quote from: madbean on December 03, 2023, 05:58:33 PM
'76 Champ. Love that amp.
to verify functionality and proof of life I use the JMK test rig on my bench, but for actually rocking before boxing I use an actual amp. my new squeeze is a 73 vibro champ that I bought a few months ago. I used to have a 77 champ but sold it and always regretted it. I recapped this one and put a 10" speaker in it.
I got a tweaker 15 head that uses 6V6. I actually like it quite a bit.
I also have a wee ruby headphone amp I built that is very useful for close listening when setting trimmers and such.
Tweaker's are really cool. Interesting idea using headphones for settings. I could use my DAW's Scarlett i/o for clean headphones. Food for thought. I have a Gallien Kruger RG400. It's a solid state 200Watt head. I bought it on the cheaps because I used one for many years live. I need to re-capp it, it's got a buzz and it's really old. It rocks with a 4x12...... slight overkill for bedroom use. :-))
I kind of regret selling my tweaker, it's very versatile.
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The tweaker sounds pretty sweet on its own & works well with pedals, so I'm happy with it. I've also had it for quite some time now and I can use it without thinking too hard about anything, lol. Not getting rid of it any time soon. Plenty of good amps out there though!
I've toyed with the idea of an Orange 120W solid state head in years past. These days I've been gassing for something from Quilter but I'll talk myself out of buying in the end. I don't have a lot of extra splash right now, and truth is I just don't need any new gear. One of these days though... :P
Quote from: Haberdasher on December 08, 2023, 04:27:19 AM
These days I've been gassing for something from Quilter but I'll talk myself out of buying in the end. I don't have a lot of extra splash right now, and truth is I just don't need any new gear. One of these days though... :P
Bought a Quilter from Pat Quilter 1970? Used it forever.
Quote
MacGyverism at it's finest, i dig that!
You do what ya gotta do. I was running an Atari 1040ST for MIDI Modded to One Megabyte of Ram! A Fostex 1/4" 8 trk and a little Yamaha recording mixer down to HIFI VHS deck and then cassette tape. State of the art! Installed a daughterboard so I could run an 80 Megabyte hard drive.. WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU NEED 80 MEGABYTES? Things have changed...