AlanRatcliffe
We need a valve guru around here. I've toyed with getting into it, but don't have time and I also have this annoying habit of shocking myself on whatever voltage is nearby, so probably not a good idea for me to be poking around inside the high voltages shuttling around inside an amp's chassis.
I've been toying with getting myself a low powered but quality practice amp like a Cornford Harlequin or Carrera for practice and recording, but they tend to be very expensive, difficult to find locally and extremely expensive to ship from other countries. Unless you get a chance to try before you buy, there's also no real guarantee you'll get what you want. So I figure I should find someone who loves tinkering with the things enough for a little back-and-forth discussion and who also has a high probability of surviving a build. ?
Guy-Onraet
Alan, check out the Laney Lionheart range. i got the 20watt head, but they do a 5watt 1x12 combo too. I love my amp, and the combo has been getting some rave reviews as well. Imagine a classic british amp with more gain on tap and a crazy active tone control going from fat to top-boost, that's Lionheart. not quite point to point like the cornfords though.
Spyke
Alan Ratcliffe wrote
I also have this annoying habit of shocking myself on whatever voltage is nearby,
Coffee -> nose -> keyboard... ?
LOL!
AlanRatcliffe
Checking out details now...
I like the tones from a lot of the Laney amps, it's just they have a bit of a rep as difficult to get repaired properly if something goes wrong. I played through a 30W combo (Voxy thing) a while back and tonally it blew me away, but it was rattling like it was going to fall apart, which wasn't very confidence inspiring.
cain
The laney lionhearts are lank expensive, bout 20k for one.
Epihpone valve junior :
http://epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=254&CollectionID=13
This might help :
http://dobermanamps.com/?pg=kits
When in doubt, build your own ?
cain
AlanRatcliffe
Thanks guys! If I were going to build a kit, I'd probably go for [url=http://]Ceriatone[/url], who have a nice range and good prices. Buy a Blackface Champ kit and build a 1X12 cab. It's an ida I've revisited many times...
The Laneys are expensive - surprisingly so.
The small amps like the Zvex and the Gilmore Jr. (0.5W) rarely have much clean headroom.
Guy-Onraet
i picked up the Lionheart head for R5250 at the last Bothners sale, and i use a marshall 1x12 cab from an old JTM. no rattling. but i didn't like the VC30 that i tries the other day.
arjunmenon
And Gareth gave me a 1972 Marshall Super Lead 100w head for R 100. Its been modded quite a bit and it doesn't work..yet. I managed to find a chap named Mark gradidge in Bothasig who fixes amps and builds cabs etc depending on your specs and what you request. However, if things get too complicated for him, he usually gets a guy named Rudy Gillison to fix the issue. and from what i hear, this guy Rudy (he's close to 70) is THE amp guy to go to. As for the cab, i managed to get a second hand marshall 1960A from a guy up in Joburg for 3250.
Guy's Lionheart is still an awesome amp, and its capable of a vast range of sounds. ?
Cheers.
cain
I agree on the lionheart, it really is an amazing sounding amp, tho i think you VERY lucky in getting such a good price. They must have sold it at import cost price or something.
Alan, im sure building an amp from a kit would be your best bet. You should enjoy doing that, especially since you prolly have most of the required equipment such as a drill press etc allready ?
AlanRatcliffe
Yeah. I think that's the way to go. I can get a Champ kit and chassis, with preassembled turretboard for $200 +$94 shipping. Then it's just valves, cab and speaker. I would really have liked to build a Champ with an EF86 frontend, but no-one seems to offer a kit.
cain
Thats like just buying the amp without breakable and big parts ? lol how much that go for ?
AlanRatcliffe
About R2700 with VAT. Add R1,000 for a speaker, say R500 for valves (1 X12AX7, 1 X 5Y3, 1 X 6V6). and parts to build a cab and the whole thing should be around R5K.
Mr-M
Hey Alan, I thought you were after a Peavey Windsor Studio or have you changed your mind since?
AlanRatcliffe
If I can try one out sometime (i.e. if I can persuade Bothner's they need to get one...) I may still. It's the quicker solution and I like the fact that it has a power soak.
Still, there's a lot to be said for the simple circuitry of a Champ. Speaking simple, I nearly went for a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia last year, but 18W is too much for a practice/studio amp. Stunning sound though, from all the clips I have heard.
A friend is waiting for his Orange Tiny Terror to arrive and I'm looking forward to giving that a whirl.
I suppose it'll end up being whatever I get around to first when I have some spare cash (although with petrol prices going up repeatedly, that's looking unlikely).
Manfred-Klose
i found a website for Valve amp schematics for those that like fiddle with amps:
http://www.schematicheaven.com
cain
Alan, will you be putting in a reverb tank as well ?
Mr-M
Alan Ratcliffe wrote
A friend is waiting for his Orange Tiny Terror to arrive and I'm looking forward to giving that a whirl.
One of my friends tried one in the UK and was very complimentry about it's tone. Might be a good option if it's not too much $. He did say it was a bit noisier than he would have liked though, but he's a very picky studio engineer so it's probably nitpicking.
AlanRatcliffe
Francis Viviers wrote
Alan, will you be putting in a reverb tank as well ?
Probably not. I've never really been a fan of springs. Plate reverbs I like, but they're not very practical to cart around ? Anyway, I'm just looking for a low powered practice amp that I don't have to boot up and shut down. Preferably something with a really good tone at low volume - good enough to record occasionally and add reverb and stuff after the fact.
Mr M wrote
One of my friends tried one in the UK and was very complimentry about it's tone. Might be a good option if it's not too much $. He did say it was a bit noisier than he would have liked though, but he's a very picky studio engineer so it's probably nitpicking.
I think they are a bit too geared towards rockier stuff, but the clips I have heard they have a bit more of a Vox tone to them than the usual Marshally tone Oranges normally have.
Mr-M
I think they are a bit too geared towards rockier stuff, but the clips I have heard they have a bit more of a Vox tone to them than the usual Marshally tone Oranges normally have.
He did say it was a bit Voxey in tone, now that you mention it.
