Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: tweed style front end + Princeton power section ?????

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    254

    tweed style front end + Princeton power section ?????

    Hi,

    I would like to start a project that I've had in the back of my head for a long time ... a "tweedish" amp with bias trem and reverb so I can get rid of my two stomp boxes.

    So first thing that came to mind was to merge two existing and known good designs. My all time favorite tweed sound is coming out of the 5F4/5E7 style amps. The blackface amp I like most, especially for it's reverb and trem is the princeton, which has a similar power section design as the tweed super/Bandmaster. So what about combining these two? I know, this would not be like slapping both circuits together and you have a perfect amp but I wonder if this would be something that should work as a starting point ... then i can take it from there and tweak it ...

    ok, here goes:
    this is the schematic of the princeton reverb:
    http://www.mudcats.at/amps/princeton.jpg

    I would replace the marked section with this:
    http://www.mudcats.at/amps/5f4.jpg

    As far as I understand it, the point where I cut them is in both cases the decoupled signal coming from the preamp, going to the PI (with the reverb in between on the princeton). I don't know if the gain would be in a useable range or at least if I can get it there. Any thoughts?

    Many thanks in advance!!!!!

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    158
    I think the cathode bias on the first stage of the PR section should make up for some of the loss due to the reverb mixing resistor. I see no reason not to do it.

  3. #3
    Supporting Member txstrat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    1,229
    Quote Originally Posted by Bluefinger View Post
    I don't know if the gain would be in a useable range or at least if I can get it there. Any thoughts?
    I think there'll be enough gain from the preamp. If you compare your PR schematic to a Champ II (http://www.webphix.com/schematic%20h...s/champ_II.pdf) you can see the Champ II's preamp gain is good enough to use a master volume. The difference of the second stage in your build being a cathode follower is negligible IMHO. Actually the Champ II can sound from chimey fendery clean up to classic rock a la AC/DC when the mid boost switch is engaged. You could add a switch like that to bypass your 250pF treble coupling cap for more gain.

    Just my 2 cents

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    254
    Quote Originally Posted by txstrat View Post
    You could add a switch like that to bypass your 250pF treble coupling cap for more gain.Just my 2 cents
    But if I bypass it, I would have the full plate voltage at the treble pot ... or I'm I getting something wrong here?

  5. #5
    Supporting Member tubeswell's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Wellington NZ
    Posts
    3,775
    Blog Entries
    1
    I did something similar (tweed bassman front end with reverb and bias vary trem - albeit with a LTP and 6L6s a couple of years ago - works really well). It took me a good 12 months of farting around with various reverb circuits, but this is what I ended up with. As far as keeping the tweed front end goes, I found this to be the most optimum reverb circuit. Uses a lot of real-estate and pre-amp tubes tho'. But it does sound really nice. I don't have this amp any more - I'll see if I've got some soundbytes tho.
    Attached Files Attached Files
    Building a better world (one tube amp at a time)

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    254
    Quote Originally Posted by tubeswell View Post
    I did something similar (tweed bassman front end with reverb and bias vary trem - albeit with a LTP and 6L6s a couple of years ago - works really well). It took me a good 12 months of farting around with various reverb circuits, but this is what I ended up with. As far as keeping the tweed front end goes, I found this to be the most optimum reverb circuit. Uses a lot of real-estate and pre-amp tubes tho'. But it does sound really nice. I don't have this amp any more - I'll see if I've got some soundbytes tho.
    Sounds very interesting, thanks! That Bassman preamp is a bit cleaner than the 5F4 I guess but I'd be very interested in some soundbites anyway. A tweed amp with reverb seems to me like the most obvious thing in the world ...

  7. #7
    Supporting Member tubeswell's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Wellington NZ
    Posts
    3,775
    Blog Entries
    1
    Yeah sounds interesting, but not easy to implement well. The amp I did in the schematic utilises the Allen Old Flame reverb circuit, and it works supremely well. Here is a clip - Me accompanying myself on strat, recorded dry-mic'd with an SM57 through my desk into garbageband on my Mac - trem sample at the end. Amp has 2 x G12M (25W) greenbacks
    Attached Files Attached Files
    Building a better world (one tube amp at a time)

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    254
    Sounds great ... I like the mellow tweedish response in combination with a real tube reverb.

  9. #9
    Supporting Member txstrat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    1,229
    Quote Originally Posted by Bluefinger View Post
    But if I bypass it, I would have the full plate voltage at the treble pot ... or I'm I getting something wrong here?
    No you don't get it wrong. Look at the Champ II schematic. The switch is after a 2n2 coupling cap. No plate voltage after the cap (usually).

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Frankenstein 5F6 preamp section to AA1164 power section
    By ron vogel in forum Build Your Amp
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 03-06-2012, 07:49 PM
  2. Magnavox 5f1 tweed style tweed low watt style transformer issues
    By hack in forum Maintenance, Troubleshooting & Repair
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 02-07-2011, 10:44 PM
  3. Taming Princeton '65 Reissue High end???
    By TwangGuru in forum Mods & Tweeks
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 03-19-2010, 06:52 PM
  4. the front angle of a Princeton Reverb Cabinet
    By PRNDL in forum Cabinetry
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 05-30-2009, 10:02 PM
  5. 65 Deluxe Reverb front end EF86 mod.
    By weeping6 in forum Mods & Tweeks
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 03-25-2009, 12:58 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •