Amp and Preamp emulators

[Chuck D. Bones]

Me, I'm partial to the spring reverbs, they sound so natural and organic. It's probably because that's what I'm used to hearing. There's not much to mod on those little tube amps. You can swap tubes, but if the ones you have are working then it might not make any sonic difference. Lotta people like to change out speakers, but it's really a matter of taste and you can end up spending more on a speaker than you did on the amp. That amp has an external speaker jack, so you can test drive speakers before installing them. Or just play thru an external speaker. It will sound completely different thru a 12" or 15."

 

[zgrav]

I have a small Elektar tube amp I bought about 18 years ago or so. At the time it had gotten a lot of interest as a nice amp that folks were modding. I swapped the speaker on it and made some suggested changes to the parts based on a lot of forum discussions, like removing a negative feedback loop to open up the sound. I replaced the filter caps on it this summer and restored most of the circuit back to its stock configuration to see if I liked it better, or at least liked it enough to leave it that way. Chuck's suggestion to plug different speakers into the amp will do more to change the sound than tweaking the circuit, especially if you are going into bigger speakers.

 

[TomShadow]

Even though I have never tried a spring reverb in person, I can tell it does sound more natural from youtube videos, sounds very springy
The ultimate mod would be to put a spring reverb into it ?

Some of the mods suggested are simple and might help me understand the schematic better like adding bright caps across the gain and volume pots and stuff like adding a boost switch or a 3-way negative feedback loop.
There are so many mods suggested here, I think it's a simple enough platform to experiment and understand some of these concepts.
Right now it lacks that deep bass and chime of fender amps (partly it's my guitar) but maybe adding a fender style tone stack might help? who knows buts its fun and exciting ?

I bet a bigger speaker will sound awesome, but I live in a small apartment and neighbours are right next to the bedroom. There is an 8in speaker by Jensen C8r relatively inexpensive at $35, which apparently makes a big difference.

That's a good idea to test it out with some external speakers. Maybe ill just walk into a Guitar center with it

 

[zgrav]

Another mostly-easy thing to do. If the amp is open back, you could try closing the back and see if you like the sound better.

 

[TomShadow]

Another mostly-easy thing to do. If the amp is open back, you could try closing the back and see if you like the sound better.

That's a good idea, ill try it out.

 

[Gordo]

Interesting perspective on the spring reverb. Hated it when I was a kid (back when they invented fire) and it's carried over since. I've fiddled with some stand alone units that were cool but in the end I've always preferred digital. I use Amplitube as my song learning weapon of choice and the spring emulation makes me nuts. My first amp was a Traynor Guitar Mate (which I'd kill to have now) and never loved the reverb. Heresy, I know.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

There is only so much you can do to improve the bass response. On those little amps, the frequency response, particularly the low end, is limited by the output transformer. A bigger speaker definitely helps. I suggest that you're better off loving that amp for what it is. If you want more bass, you need an amp with a push-pull power section (2 output tubes) and a 12" speaker.

 

[mywmyw]

Interesting perspective on the spring reverb. Hated it when I was a kid (back when they invented fire) and it's carried over since. I've fiddled with some stand alone units that were cool but in the end I've always preferred digital. I use Amplitube as my song learning weapon of choice and the spring emulation makes me nuts. My first amp was a Traynor Guitar Mate (which I'd kill to have now) and never loved the reverb. Heresy, I know.

often the lesser brands used cheap pans and the circuits didnt seem to get the best out of them. ive heard a lot of vintage spring reverbs that sounded like butt.

 

[TomShadow]

There is only so much you can do to improve the bass response. On those little amps, the frequency response, particularly the low end, is limited by the output transformer. A bigger speaker definitely helps. I suggest that you're better off loving that amp for what it is. If you want more bass, you need an amp with a push-pull power section (2 output tubes) and a 12" speaker.

That's good to know Chuck. I do love it ?