Wow - really like this amp. Single coil man myself so this is of great interest. Would you talk a little about your custom phase inverter ... what tube are you using?? Would also love to know more about your tone control and cut circuit. Which OT are you using?? What is the plate voltage on the EL-84's?? They sound just great. Really fine job!!
NOTE: This G&L guitar is a VERY bright guitar - in most amps its got an extended upper range that needs to be reduced, and I'm using the bridge in brighter single coil mode. So I think this amp definately works better for single coils or other bright guitars. I don't think it sounds nearly as good with LP or other humbucker guitars.
I built a couple of 18 watt lite type amps with the 6sj7 pentode. Not quite as much gain as a ef86, but a rich tone none the less. I tried the squish control in it and pretty much leave it almost out of the circuit barely on most of the time.
I'm really liking the squish effect.Not sure how much of that is the camcorder compressing but it sounds similar to the compressed effect I get when I push the power section in my amp(cathode biased/tube rectified) except you get it on your clean settings.Nice,much better sounding than a compression pedal,much.
@bootlegapples Not at this time, I just do it for fun. The amp is very compressed, but not sure how much that is the squish control really - again, its mostly used as a way to tame the EF86, they just have SO much gain and IMHO massively overdriving any 1 stage, esp the Phase Inverter, gives a fairly nasty type of distortion so I kept experimenting on ways to lower the gain on the EF86 to give more clean headroom - other than just cruedly dumping signal or using Triode mode. Thanks.
I love the compressed sound of this little amp! It reminds me a bit of the Mesa Boogie Lone Star Special. What do you think it's the main factor for that sound? I have a VOX AC30H2 and would love to get a more compressed sound out of it, much like yours. What kind of mod would you suggest doing to it?
Did you use an optical resistor for the "squish" control? Sure sounds like a bulb of some sort to my ears. Like an amp with a built in black fingers compressor, only minus the 4 solid state gain stages in the black fingers! Great amp, sounds VERY similar to one of mine which began it's life as a Hammond AO-44 (reverb amp from M100 organ, got it FREE) and now drives a pine 4x10 with THD Vintage-10s. Sweet sound for reggae. Put the cab at the top of the stairs and mic it at the bottom!
You have the best clean sound I've ever heard, period. I love Fender amp clarity but this is the creme de la creme. Can't stop listening to it. Well done! Covet covet...
It seems you're a fan of amp compression...you can get that compression,not to be confused with the pedal compressor variety,from the following-cathode biased tube rectified amps( when pushed near break up),alnico magnets in your pickups and speakers,flat grain wood bodies(as opposed to quarter sawn),resonant speaker cabinets(pine is great).
Youtube this-Vox Ac15cc with WGS Black and Blue..it's a good example of amp and speaker compression.
I've done the same with the screen resistor. It works great to add squish and dynamics. As the 18 watt can be a bit stiff. Unfortunatly I find It does tend to lower the output and headroom.
mind me asking how you did the squish mod? i'd guess it means that you made it blendable between a triode and pentode? if you have a schematic please share :]
A lot of people keep asking me about the 'squish' control, so here's what I said earlier comment....
"...its simply a pot wired as a variable res. between the screen grid .1 cap and ground. I love EF86 tubes but they have so much gain it was hard to take adv of the clean tone. It tames the gain so you can use the volume control w/o ovrdrv the PI so bad. But I also believe part of the tone comes from min filtering on the EF86 too. 10 or 16uf at most.... :)
Thanks! I've added your squish control and it does exactly what it says on the tin!I'm so glad I included an EF86 channel as well as ECC83 (ECC83 PI + 2x EF84 output) I'll post a video of the amp in action soon!
Have just built an amp and am intending to put in a switchable EF86 I'll tell you how I get on with taming it! Your squish control sounds like the answer to me! No doubt it'll end up on youtube!
Yep - thats a common problem with the EF86 tubes, they are known for being microphonic and thats where you hear that ringing from but all the tubes in there are cheap/crappy, so maybe it could sound better? I know there are ways to better shield them - I've got 'O rings' on the EF86 now and it still rings a bit so I'm not sure if this amp would ever do well in a loud band environment. Thanks!
@ajmultimedia I generally use heads because of the microphonic problem with 12AX7s, nevermind ef86s. However, in the one combo I had with an EF86 pre, I actually put a separation board right in to the cab (a piece of NON-hardwood ply) right up to the baffle, about 1/2" over the speaker, with a layer of foam on the underside facing the speaker. It didn't dampen the response of the cab overall, but it did isolate the tubes from vibration inside the cabinet. Generally, EF86s go best in heads.
Of course I got the 1 meg stereo pot after the PI. I changed the ECC83 PI tube to a ECC81 today. Better headroom and more Fender sound. Got inspired and installed the squish control but have to wait until tomorrow to hear the difference as junior is sleeping. I´m a little suprised to hear that it is a V30in there, I had a picture in my head of som Weber alnico or something like that. It really sounds god and it really nice to watch to well recorded and very well played video!
I have built a few SE amps using the 6sj7 and 6u8 nos pentodes that sound great too, and am in the process of starting a 18 watt lite build with a 6sj7.
Nice sound! I made an amp with ef86 front 12AX7 PI an 6V6GT:s and I have had the same problem with to much gain in the EF86. I will try the squish control for shure even if i have a 1 meg stereo pot after the EF86 to be able to reduce the gain.
Looks like a 5E3 cab, what speaker do you use in there? Sonds really good to me!
Thks - Think it was a V30 at this time - bought this combo as a 18watt build that someone had tried to hotrod. Had a celestion century neodymium, which was VERY light and VERY effecient (loud) but I never really liked the sound. I really love the EF86 when run clean - the tubes in this are really CRAPPY too, might sound really good with some nice NOS, but who can afford them these days :(
Thanks, I'd love to hear it. Usually good really higain tones come from overdriving multiple tube stages a little bit. EF86's will overdrive the crap out of tube stages following but can be mushy/blocking dist.
Those are some killer cleans. Is the squish control varying the bias resistor on the ef86 or something else? Any chance you'd be willing to share your schematic?
I don't have schematic but what I call a squish is actually simply a pot wired as a variable res. between the screen grids .1 cap and ground. I love EF86 tubes but they have so much gain it was hard to take adv of the clean tone. It tames the gain so you can use the volume control w/o ovrdrv the PI so bad. Also, I believe my favorite part of the SQUISHY tone comes from min filtering on the EF86 too. 10 or 16uf at most.... :)
Jenny, I got your number. I'm gonna make you mine.
bedofrazorsqwerty 2 months ago
PLease elaborate on the squish control. WHat is it doing electronically. or better yet, point me to a schematic.
sliberty 5 months ago
i am awestruck! any chance of a schematic?
fullwood13 6 months ago
Dude, I wish I could play like you...I just got me a Cave Valley amps 18W EF86...SWEET!
grawgydawg 7 months ago
Should have also asked you what speaker is in this sweet little beast -- thx.
moonbirdmusic 8 months ago
Wow - really like this amp. Single coil man myself so this is of great interest. Would you talk a little about your custom phase inverter ... what tube are you using?? Would also love to know more about your tone control and cut circuit. Which OT are you using?? What is the plate voltage on the EL-84's?? They sound just great. Really fine job!!
moonbirdmusic 8 months ago
Great sounding amp. Do you have the schematics for it? I'd love to try and build it myself. I like it better than the Matchless DC-30.
richbrutus 10 months ago
NOTE: This G&L guitar is a VERY bright guitar - in most amps its got an extended upper range that needs to be reduced, and I'm using the bridge in brighter single coil mode. So I think this amp definately works better for single coils or other bright guitars. I don't think it sounds nearly as good with LP or other humbucker guitars.
ajmultimedia 11 months ago
You sir are a phenom on the guitar
WinterMadness05 11 months ago
What a fantastic sounding amp.
LonelyRavenProductio 11 months ago
Are you using the EZ81 rectifier tube? Your amp just sings.
hotmustardseed 1 year ago
Sounds absolutely fab!!! I have a bunch of fantastic amps already but this puts ideas into my head...
smutsharry 1 year ago
I built a couple of 18 watt lite type amps with the 6sj7 pentode. Not quite as much gain as a ef86, but a rich tone none the less. I tried the squish control in it and pretty much leave it almost out of the circuit barely on most of the time.
psymetal 1 year ago
@psymetal Ya, I use that control mainly to 'tame' the output of the EF86 so probably wouldn't need it on a 6sj7 at all.
ajmultimedia 11 months ago
@ajmultimedia
Hi, May I ask do you build amps commercially?
I'm really liking the squish effect.Not sure how much of that is the camcorder compressing but it sounds similar to the compressed effect I get when I push the power section in my amp(cathode biased/tube rectified) except you get it on your clean settings.Nice,much better sounding than a compression pedal,much.
thanks.
bootlegapples 10 months ago
@bootlegapples Not at this time, I just do it for fun. The amp is very compressed, but not sure how much that is the squish control really - again, its mostly used as a way to tame the EF86, they just have SO much gain and IMHO massively overdriving any 1 stage, esp the Phase Inverter, gives a fairly nasty type of distortion so I kept experimenting on ways to lower the gain on the EF86 to give more clean headroom - other than just cruedly dumping signal or using Triode mode. Thanks.
ajmultimedia 10 months ago
I love the compressed sound of this little amp! It reminds me a bit of the Mesa Boogie Lone Star Special. What do you think it's the main factor for that sound? I have a VOX AC30H2 and would love to get a more compressed sound out of it, much like yours. What kind of mod would you suggest doing to it?
mgalbu 1 year ago
so how does some one get the identical amp you have ?
hq72hotmale 1 year ago
Did you use an optical resistor for the "squish" control? Sure sounds like a bulb of some sort to my ears. Like an amp with a built in black fingers compressor, only minus the 4 solid state gain stages in the black fingers! Great amp, sounds VERY similar to one of mine which began it's life as a Hammond AO-44 (reverb amp from M100 organ, got it FREE) and now drives a pine 4x10 with THD Vintage-10s. Sweet sound for reggae. Put the cab at the top of the stairs and mic it at the bottom!
punkeratheart 1 year ago
Hello. This is realy best ckean sound ever. Could u post layout of this awesome amp? I wanna try to made it
lplyr 1 year ago
You have the best clean sound I've ever heard, period. I love Fender amp clarity but this is the creme de la creme. Can't stop listening to it. Well done! Covet covet...
SuperTwangster 1 year ago
@SuperTwangster
It seems you're a fan of amp compression...you can get that compression,not to be confused with the pedal compressor variety,from the following-cathode biased tube rectified amps( when pushed near break up),alnico magnets in your pickups and speakers,flat grain wood bodies(as opposed to quarter sawn),resonant speaker cabinets(pine is great).
Youtube this-Vox Ac15cc with WGS Black and Blue..it's a good example of amp and speaker compression.
bootlegapples 1 year ago
WOW - thanks a lot!! Esp nice coming from a guy named SuperTwangster! :)
ajmultimedia 1 year ago
I've done the same with the screen resistor. It works great to add squish and dynamics. As the 18 watt can be a bit stiff. Unfortunatly I find It does tend to lower the output and headroom.
ampaholics 1 year ago
mind me asking how you did the squish mod? i'd guess it means that you made it blendable between a triode and pentode? if you have a schematic please share :]
x3vanG21x 1 year ago
sounds great!
777jordan 1 year ago
A lot of people keep asking me about the 'squish' control, so here's what I said earlier comment....
"...its simply a pot wired as a variable res. between the screen grid .1 cap and ground. I love EF86 tubes but they have so much gain it was hard to take adv of the clean tone. It tames the gain so you can use the volume control w/o ovrdrv the PI so bad. But I also believe part of the tone comes from min filtering on the EF86 too. 10 or 16uf at most.... :)
ajmultimedia 2 years ago
Thanks! I've added your squish control and it does exactly what it says on the tin!I'm so glad I included an EF86 channel as well as ECC83 (ECC83 PI + 2x EF84 output) I'll post a video of the amp in action soon!
I'm busy making the cabinet at the moment!
Andystonemusic 2 years ago
Great - I'd like to hear it! Thanks.
ajmultimedia 2 years ago
Have just built an amp and am intending to put in a switchable EF86 I'll tell you how I get on with taming it! Your squish control sounds like the answer to me! No doubt it'll end up on youtube!
Andystonemusic 2 years ago
I like what you like,a squashed tone..nice job.
It sounds like you have a semi microphonic tube in there...I hear rattling.
I like the sound of ef86 amps but worry about their (supposed) non robust nature,have you had any issues with it?Thanks.
spentonmediocrity 2 years ago
Yep - thats a common problem with the EF86 tubes, they are known for being microphonic and thats where you hear that ringing from but all the tubes in there are cheap/crappy, so maybe it could sound better? I know there are ways to better shield them - I've got 'O rings' on the EF86 now and it still rings a bit so I'm not sure if this amp would ever do well in a loud band environment. Thanks!
ajmultimedia 1 year ago
@ajmultimedia I generally use heads because of the microphonic problem with 12AX7s, nevermind ef86s. However, in the one combo I had with an EF86 pre, I actually put a separation board right in to the cab (a piece of NON-hardwood ply) right up to the baffle, about 1/2" over the speaker, with a layer of foam on the underside facing the speaker. It didn't dampen the response of the cab overall, but it did isolate the tubes from vibration inside the cabinet. Generally, EF86s go best in heads.
punkeratheart 1 year ago
Wow that sounds good! What do you mean by "1960" Vox? AC 15? I need to build one!!! Thanks for the cool video. JB
jazznerd4 2 years ago
Hey man, congrats!
The real tone of a guitar player is in the hands, but a good amp always help.
Would love to be able to make my amps sound like that one......
ratebeic 2 years ago
Beautiful Tone!!
EV
Evens1 2 years ago
hi do you build these to sell it sounds great
Robin8207 2 years ago
Of course I got the 1 meg stereo pot after the PI. I changed the ECC83 PI tube to a ECC81 today. Better headroom and more Fender sound. Got inspired and installed the squish control but have to wait until tomorrow to hear the difference as junior is sleeping. I´m a little suprised to hear that it is a V30in there, I had a picture in my head of som Weber alnico or something like that. It really sounds god and it really nice to watch to well recorded and very well played video!
Regards
Bo
kardanaxelbrott 2 years ago
Sounds great ! Got to love those pentodes :)
I have built a few SE amps using the 6sj7 and 6u8 nos pentodes that sound great too, and am in the process of starting a 18 watt lite build with a 6sj7.
psymetal 2 years ago
Hello!
Nice sound! I made an amp with ef86 front 12AX7 PI an 6V6GT:s and I have had the same problem with to much gain in the EF86. I will try the squish control for shure even if i have a 1 meg stereo pot after the EF86 to be able to reduce the gain.
Looks like a 5E3 cab, what speaker do you use in there? Sonds really good to me!
Regards
Bo
kardanaxelbrott 2 years ago
Thks - Think it was a V30 at this time - bought this combo as a 18watt build that someone had tried to hotrod. Had a celestion century neodymium, which was VERY light and VERY effecient (loud) but I never really liked the sound. I really love the EF86 when run clean - the tubes in this are really CRAPPY too, might sound really good with some nice NOS, but who can afford them these days :(
ajmultimedia 2 years ago
Thanks, I'd love to hear it. Usually good really higain tones come from overdriving multiple tube stages a little bit. EF86's will overdrive the crap out of tube stages following but can be mushy/blocking dist.
ajmultimedia 2 years ago
so many people try to tame the gain from ef86's.
im in the process of building a hot rodded ef86 amp :]
i'll post it as a video response so people can see the real jakyll/hyde personality of the ef86
x3vanG21x 2 years ago
Those are some killer cleans. Is the squish control varying the bias resistor on the ef86 or something else? Any chance you'd be willing to share your schematic?
krettere 2 years ago
I don't have schematic but what I call a squish is actually simply a pot wired as a variable res. between the screen grids .1 cap and ground. I love EF86 tubes but they have so much gain it was hard to take adv of the clean tone. It tames the gain so you can use the volume control w/o ovrdrv the PI so bad. Also, I believe my favorite part of the SQUISHY tone comes from min filtering on the EF86 too. 10 or 16uf at most.... :)
ajmultimedia 2 years ago
that thing sounds killer!
byusnowboarder 2 years ago
thanks, dude! :)
ajmultimedia 2 years ago