Unique SE amp... 12AY7/6V6 job

[5F6-A]

I have a pretty unique amp; it's called the Sweet Hope. It's been hand built for me by the lad who builds the amazing Carl Martin amps;
Amplifiers

it was probably one of the last custom jobs he took and I'm really glad he did.

I'm going to post some vids soon but here are the specs:

- Fender blackface type preamp
- Fender tweed type poweramp
- PTP wired, naturally
- No negative feedback loop for ultimate wild amp experience
- preamp: GE 12AY7 + Siemens ECC83
- Power amp: Mullard 6V6
- Rect: RCA 5V4
- Paralell fx loop
- 15" alnico speaker w/ Weber beam blocker ( not shown in the pic )
- Jupiter and Sozo capacitors
- MM trannies
- Allen Bradley resistors in specific locations
- Tweedrange control




The amp is fairly bright but tame down the treble pot and you retain that "Dark Sparkle" that some old-fashioned amps used to exhibit ( vintage Gibson amps spring to mind ).

6V6s are pretty raw valves and we are talking pure single-ended A-class amp so this is how I set it.

I plug the guitar in and set it for 4 or 5 ( vol pot at the amp ) with my guitar turned down the voulme a couple of notches. Then I adjust the EQ so I can get the best stock clean sound. I have to be cereful with the treble and "tweedrange" controls as they should be tweaked together; crank one up and lower the other to avoid too much "grain" in the highs.
Then I set the amp to 5 or 6; Then I have the oportunity to control the gain with the vol pot of my guitar. Cool. Brilliant blues tone.

BTW, this amp -if dimed- it gives you a very loud 5 watts or ridiculous hairy, fuzzy, creamy, wild overdrive and makes you look for shelter while stilll grinning. Amazing 60's tones.

I've tried it with a Mazda 6V6 and a Mullard 6V6. The Mazda had a looser low end that was too flubbery in this amp. The 50's Mullard was a different story. Still raw, organic and brute but with a more pleasant low end and a richer midrange. A keeper.

I have a RCA too but I haven't had the chance to tried it yet.

All in all a pretty unique amp that sounds very inspiring.

Any comments are very welcome.

[Iceman0124]

We need clips !!!!!

[st.bede]

yes clips!

[5F6-A]

in due time!

[jo07]

soundclips,BTW it look awesome!

[Splattle101]

VERY nice. We wants it, we doessssss!

[5F6-A]

This little clip was recorded using a portable mp3 recorder with its built-in microphone so don't expect incredible quality. Also I needed to lay the recorder on a surface quite far away from the amp to avoid digital clipping.

Anyway, I went for a Townshend/Hiwatt vibe. The guitar is a Heritage budget LP lookalike with stock electronics and Fralin humbuckers. Flat out vol and tone knobs.

The amp was set like this:

Volume; 6.5 / 10
Bass; 7 / 10
Tweedrange; 1 / 10
Treble; 6 / 10

[5F6-A]

here it is:
http://rapidshare.com/files/254637530/BR_033.MP3.html

if you have any trouble just let me know

[Splattle101]

Nice sound. How big was the room you were in??!!

[Iceman0124]

sounds huge!

[st.bede]

sounded great

[5F6-A]

Originally Posted by splattle101

nice sound. How big was the room you were in??!!

thanks 3 x 5 metres

[5F6-A]

some people has asked me how the Sweet Hope compares to a tweed Champ.

Let me see....

preamp;
the tweed Champ features a much simpler preamp design. Mine goes after the blackface era Fenders which allows ( up to a point ) a cleaner, clearer signal after the preamp.

poweramp;
in my case the signal is very "tweedy" alowing the 6V6 show all its warm flab, rich lowmidrange, hollow midhighs and nervous top end.
Either love it or hate, it but it's all down to the 6V6 design.
Also I'm not using any NFL at all. Due to this the signal "jumps" at you very easily and it's extremelly responsive to the playing. Almost as if it was looking for its self annihilation if you wack those strings hard enough with your guitar controls flat out. Nice.
In a nutshell, the Sweet Hope poweramp is similar but somehow wilder than a tweed Champ. Much louder too.

transformers:
THe transformers make a difference. Especially the OT. In my case the massive OT makes the amp louder, safer and wider range. The poor old tranny used by Fender in Champs was pushed so hard it often sounded heavily compressed. In my case the bigger OT does a good job and has a lesser effect on the final tone.

speaker:
I use a 15" alnico speaker with straight paper cone. Much bigger, louder and sturdier than what was used in champs. Still the 15" is modelled after the old Jensens of the 50s so it sounds very lush in the midrange with a modest yet dreamy low end. Very vintagey.

Hope this helps.

[Splattle101]

Oh man, you have some nice gear...and some nice valves floating around. Mazdas, Mullards, GEs...mmmmmmmm.

Sounds like a beauty. I can't wait to get started on my project. Jealous.!

[5F6-A]

[jo07]

wow that sounded good

[Fracture]

Funny, it sounded great, I have some small Logitechs hooked up to my
notebook.
It defaulted to I-tunes and the artwork right next to it was The Who.

[5F6-A]

great stuff!!

I can't wait to hear it with my WB 57 Habanero p/u. It's going to rock!

[Iceman0124]

Its a beaut, I love the look of it too, clean and simple.

[5F6-A]

some update!

I've swapped the V2 valve. I took out the Siemens ECC83 for a Mullard ECC81. Even nicer tone and more clean headroom. See if I can do a clip with the new valve.

Another good thing id that the amp has got two inputs: Lo and Hi.

Lo sounds cleaner and softer.
Hi sounds grainier and wilder.

For blues and jazz I use Lo. For raunchy rock I plug into the Hi.

The Mullard ECC81 does sound good!!

[5F6-A]

bumping for people