All Aboard! - Trainwreck Express Build Thread

shaunf · 2012-09-21T10:28:00+00:00

So, after 5 months of research, collecting parts, cold sweats and a few nightmares, my final parts order is waiting for me at the post office to collect this afternoon. I was too excited to wait till later to start this thread, so here it is. First pics to come this evening, and the build will start over the course of this weekend. Stay tuned! 8)

bottledtone

A flippen brilliant, and well thought out build bro.
You put your heart/passion into this build and it shows.
I would type more, but on a phone, plus others would pick on my obsession about these things haha.

The grid resisters would help the treble taming too, not just the squeals..
Also try a voxy "cut" in place of the presence. Might find it more useful.

Midnight playing...... Now this must never be done by someone reading this please!!... I had a 15watt with a huge output transformer, and late at night I would pull out the speaker.... Yes... And play listening to the output valves vibrating/singing. You could hear it haha. That amp never blew up, cooked, whatever. In fact it still made some money in studio years later, and is working with original valves in.

shaunf

I'm tempted to try some grid resistors just for a giggle to see how it influences the tone, but at the moment, I'm just so happy with the way it sounds, I can't see myself actually pulling out the soldering iron and actually doing it anytime soon. I must admit to having the thought as to what my Marshall would sound like, or whether it would even work without the grid resistors though...

Man o man, I had to physically lift my jaw off the floor yesterday when playing with the amp dialled up, and just controlling it with the guitar volume. I'm sitting here at work and I can't stop thinking about it. My other amps clean up nicely with the guitar volume backed off, but not nearly as well as the Express does. It is sparkly clean, and then as you begin to roll on the guitar volume, it doesn't just get loud and dirty. The best way to describe it is it "swells". It's like the audio version of sitting out at backline on a surfboard, starting to paddle, and then all of a sudden the wave picks you up and you get catapulted forward in this rushing surge of power. It's like a large powerful animal, and the guitar volume is like a leash.

ezietsman

Don't mess with it now, it works ?

This thread is seriously skewing my next-amp-to-build choice ?

makepeace

wow. you really know how to make one want to build a trainwreck.

edit: haha ez, beat me to it.

shaunf

A silly little thing, and a little bit funny was that I remember at the time actually turning around and staring at the amp with my mouth hanging open and thinking "I can't believe THAT sound is coming out of there". The simplicity of the circuit and to an extent the cosmetic appearance of the amp defies its sound.

rikus

I've just scanned through all the pictures again. Inspiring stuff.

shaunf wrote A silly little thing, and a little bit funny was that I remember at the time actually turning around and staring at the amp with my mouth hanging open and thinking "I can't believe THAT sound is coming out of there". The simplicity of the circuit and to an extent the cosmetic appearance of the amp defies its sound.

We can all agree on the cosmetic bit, because we've seen the pictures, but we need to hear this beast dammit! >☹ Give a cellphone/point and shoot camera video to tide us over!! ?

deefstes

Rikus wrote We can all agree on the cosmetic bit, because we've seen the pictures, but we need to hear this beast dammit! >☹ Give a cellphone/point and shoot camera video to tide us over!! ?

Hell no! >☹ A cellphone video? Do you think any of us would be able to tell the difference in tone between this puppy and a Roland Cube Micro when listening to cellphone recordings?

rikus

deefstes wrote Hell no! >☹ A cellphone video? Do you think any of us would be able to tell the difference in tone between this puppy and a Roland Cube Micro when listening to cellphone recordings?

I understand and agree that a quality clip is needed to do the amp justice, but while we're waiting for that quality recording a cellphone clip would be better than no clip?

singemonkey

Rikus wrote
deefstes wrote Hell no! >☹ A cellphone video? Do you think any of us would be able to tell the difference in tone between this puppy and a Roland Cube Micro when listening to cellphone recordings?
I understand and agree that a quality clip is needed to do the amp justice, but while we're waiting for that quality recording a cellphone clip would be better than no clip?

No.

makepeace

+1 rikus! ?

anything will do at this stage :'(

ezietsman

Rikus wrote I've just scanned through all the pictures again. Inspiring stuff.

shaunf wrote A silly little thing, and a little bit funny was that I remember at the time actually turning around and staring at the amp with my mouth hanging open and thinking "I can't believe THAT sound is coming out of there". The simplicity of the circuit and to an extent the cosmetic appearance of the amp defies its sound.
We can all agree on the cosmetic bit, because we've seen the pictures, but we need to hear this beast dammit! >☹ Give a cellphone/point and shoot camera video to tide us over!! ?

Pay R200 and go straight to jail. You also forfeit all your guitars and amp and pedals, which will be evenly distributed on a first come first serve basis.

O_o

Edit: Makepeace, you too. Dibs on the 5E3!

rikus

LOL! Ok ok ok...

I submit... I confess the errors of my ways!

Mens wag vir goeie goed en al daai...

AlanRatcliffe

Awesome Shaun!

BTW - I think I know exactly what you mean by this:

It is sparkly clean, and then as you begin to roll on the guitar volume, it doesn't just get loud and dirty. The best way to describe it is it "swells". It's like the audio version of sitting out at backline on a surfboard, starting to paddle, and then all of a sudden the wave picks you up and you get catapulted forward in this rushing surge of power. It's like a large powerful animal, and the guitar volume is like a leash.

I had a similar experience with the Two Rock Jet 35 amp I reviewed. The power, compression and sustain similar to a cranked high gain amp, but still clean.

shaunf

Alan Ratcliffe wrote Awesome Shaun!

BTW - I think I know exactly what you mean by this:

It is sparkly clean, and then as you begin to roll on the guitar volume, it doesn't just get loud and dirty. The best way to describe it is it "swells". It's like the audio version of sitting out at backline on a surfboard, starting to paddle, and then all of a sudden the wave picks you up and you get catapulted forward in this rushing surge of power. It's like a large powerful animal, and the guitar volume is like a leash.
I had a similar experience with the Two Rock Jet 35 amp I reviewed. The power, compression and sustain similar to a cranked high gain amp, but still clean.

Thank you Alan!

It's interesting you mention Two Rock. I have a book at home called The Tube Amp Book by Dave Hunter. In this book is a large section on Trainwreck and some interviews with Ken Fischer. Now I don't want to talk out of turn, but I seem to recall him mentioning Two Rock, and if I'm not mistaken it was in the context of not being too happy with them for some or other reason. I'll dig it out tonight and if I find anything interesting or insightful, I'll post it here, but from memory there could very well be some of the Trainwreck DNA inside those Two Rock amps.

shaunf

To the rest of you nutters, I'm going to try to record a clip with what I have, this weekend. If it gives an reasonable idea of the way it sounds I'll post it. If not, you'll have to wait for someone helpful with a decent recording device and mic to help me out.

ezietsman

This is how you do a demo:

=

Maybe go easy on the delay and avoid the 3 minutes of feedback ?

makepeace

i vote no delay.

edit: and there has to be some JP lickage with that 59' LP ?

ActionArnie

i vote no tele. ?

ezietsman

ActionArnie wrote i vote no tele. ?

Go stand in the naughty corner! >☹

ActionArnie

ez wrote
ActionArnie wrote i vote no tele. ?

Go stand in the naughty corner! >☹

☹

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