makepeace wrote:
Sounds AWESOME. So, I guess the question is begged: in your opinion Shaun, did you get it right? Is this a Trainwreck Express?
Also, whats the unwanted noise like; hiss, hum, oscillations etc. All gone?
My opinion?
Well, before I started this build, I amassed a significant amount of reference material. Original recordings of albums that were recorded with Trainwreck amps, advice, opinions and descriptions of characteristics and behaviour from original 'wreck owners, etc. Based on this, I have a pretty good idea what one is supposed to sound and behave like. Based on all of that, I'd say that my amp ticks all the boxes of a typical Trainwreck Express amp.
I was also fortunate in that most of the important electronic parts in the amp that are likely to influence the tone I was able to source as original NOS parts, like the Mallory Orange Drop caps, and the Siemens power tubes. The Heyboer transformers I have were made to the same spec as Ken originally had them made in later years when he switched from Pacific trannys to Heyboer. I would have to say that these parts contributed hugely to to the way in which my amp sounds.
What you would have heard in the recordings I posted, particularly in the Les Paul one, was the "Clean to mean" ability using just the guitar volume. This amp produces lovely cleans with the volume rolled back on either the bridge or neck pickup. In that recording, Seb was switching between the two pickups, and rolling the volume pots up and down the whole way through. With the volume up, I love the dirty tone produces with the bridge pickup, for lead as well as rhythm type playing. The neck pickup produces the sweetest singing lead tones I have ever heard, but I didn't like the way some of the more chord based playing sounded on the neck pickup in that recording. It was a bit flubby, even boomy sounding, but I suspect that this has a fair bit to do with the way I had the amp EQ'd as well as the cab that we were playing through that is fitted with Celestion G12T75's, known for having a big bottom end, and we were running the 4x12 cab with only 2 speakers in operation. Interestingly in discussions with some original wreck owners on cab/speaker choice, all indicated that the vintage cab I have that has vintage G12H 30 watt Greenbacks would sound way too bright, and indeed it does. According to all of them, the consensus is that the best sounding speaker to use with this sort of amp is the G12M 25 watt Greenback. I absolutely love the sound of the "Strat" recorded, and in fact was really surprised by the recorded sound, because I wasn't too wild about the live sound. All that said, I've still got a lot of experimenting to do, particularly when it comes to EQing the amp, as well as with the 2 bright cap options, and I'm going to be on the lookout for some G12M greenbacks for my one cab to replace the G12T75's.
As far as unwanted noise, stability etc is concerned, my amp is very stable and well behaved. It doesn't hum at all. It hisses a bit, but no more than my JMP when it is cranked. I also found that the hiss is very much tube dependent. I rolled nearly 30 NOS preamp tubes through this amp, and I had some which had almost no hiss at all, however of all the tubes I've tried in it, I really enjoy the tone of the Mazda branded one I have in V1, and it does unfortunately hiss a bit, but not so bad that I can't live with it.
I have one remaining noise issue that only occurs when the amp is at lower power levels on the VVR. In the recordings I made, you might hear some scratchiness when the guitar pots are manipulated. This is due to the fact that at low power levels, there can be some voltage leaking on the grids. I originally had a blocking cap installed on the input to block this from the guitar, but the cap was faulty, so I ended up taking it out, and never replaced it. This scratchy pot issue only really occurs when the VVR is set below 1/3 power, so it's not a major issue, but if and when I open the amp again, I'll probably try and install another blocking cap.
That's about it. I'm very satisfied with the way it turned out. So, what are you lot going to talk me out of building next ? ?
Kidding! Next year I've decided I'm getting a guitar built, so if I do build any other amps in the interim, they would need to be for someone else!
PS: for you other builders out there, I've collected a rather impressive array of parts over the last 11 months or so, so if you're looking for anything, drop me a PM and I may be able to assist you if there's something you need.
