THD hotplate/Marshall power break?
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Posted on Aug 12, 2007 05:16 am
colonel_sanders
edit0r
Member Since: Aug 17, 2004
Has anyone had any experience with these sort of products? I'm going to make one for my fender 212 but I've heard nasty stories about blown output tubes and output transformers. And how do they sound?
Cheers,
C_S
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TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Aug 12, 2007 12:44 pm I have a 4-ohm THD HotPlate that I use for my Traynor YCV80 2x12. I absolutely love it. I think that anybody that owns a tube amp should have an attenuator.
The only reason people say theres a risk of a blown output transformer is because now you're playing your amp at or near full-blast all the time. There's no more danger than if you were to simply turn your amp up loud all the time.
I did lots of research about the different attenuators before I bought mine. I chose the THD attenuator because it got reviews about the sound quality that were head and shoulders above the rest. The Weber Mass and Mini-Mass got good reviews as well, but the HotPlate has some features that the others dont. The Marshall got pretty poor marks as far as sound quality.
I don't regret my choice one bit, and I'd buy another in a heartbeat. The only downside is the cost. $300 is pretty steep, but its worth every penny.
Aug 12, 2007 08:05 pm Cool, thanks for clearing that up tad!
Now to find the schematic......
BTW, you wouldn't hae any recomendation for a replacement 6L6 power tube for my fender would you? I'm thinking about the phillips 6L6WGB. Seem reasonably priced and is getting good reviews.
Thanks,
C_S
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Aug 13, 2007 12:44 am My amp uses 6L6 tubes as well. I went with JJ Tubes from www.Eurotubes.com. Bob there will really engage you about what you want with your tubes. A full retube for my Traynor there was about $75, which is a steal for 3 preamp tubes and 4 power tubes. Eurotubes is an American distributor, but his international shipping is cheap enough that you could buy from him cheaper than finding JJ Tubes elsewhere for the most part. I think $17 is all it costs for international orders there. But you're way the hell over there on the other side of the world so I dunno :)
But Im sure that you wouldn't be disappointed with a phillips either. Just be sure to understand what kind of biasing (if any) your amp will require with new tubes. Ask a tech, or even the place where you end up buying.
Aug 13, 2007 03:27 am Yeah, I understand the concept behind solid state biasing now so hopefully it'll serve me well when I fit new tubes and have a poke round :-).
Did your amp sound any different with the JJ's installed? What tubes did you have previosly? Cheers, I might give Bob an email lol.
Aug 13, 2007 03:27 am Deleted By colonel_sanders
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Aug 13, 2007 10:36 am I had Sovtek 6L6 in the power section and Sovtek 12AX7 in the preamp section. They didn't sound too bad, a little stiff in the power section and the preamp was a little fizzy. Actually the Sovtek power tubes were OK for harder rock, but not nearly as smooth when it comes to lower-gain sounds.
The JJs are buttery smooth. I went with the blues package for my amp, which features a lower-gain preamp section. They sound just awesome I think. I can tell the difference in the overall smoothness and there's some indefinable characteristic to the JJs...they just sing somehow. I notice it the most when I play notes around the 3rd-7th fret on my high E string...something about those notes just sing out with the new tubes.
Actually, for a pretty even comparison, you can listen to the Sovtek tubes on the heavy guitar part to "The Morning Dose" and the JJ Tubes on all of the electric guitars on "Missus C" on my Myspace player (all my other hosted music died recently):
www.myspace.com/cdprewett
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Aug 13, 2007 10:53 am I put some of those in a 65 Vibrolux Rev (the WGB) that sounded great.
I have those JJ tubes (from bob) in my 67 super, and they are very nice. I got the whole set from him. I also put in a copper cap, as I'm tired of playing around with rectifiers. I had some older mismatch tubes in there before, and the new set work very well. (minus my own boo-boos).
Aug 13, 2007 11:02 pm No need to go to myspace tad, they're all on my iPod! haha. I can definitely hear a difference. I have old sovteks in my fender as well, don't think they've ever been replaced (bought it second hand).
Ok, bought Phillips 6L6's and high gain tung-sol 12ax7's, but I'm might try a pair of JJ 6L6's for my bassman when I get home in a couple of months.
PJK, I've heard about those copper caps. What are they?
