Choke input donors

[luthierwnc]

Hi;

There are a couple donor amps on EBay that look like they would have a lot of guitar amp potential. They both use choke input designs to knock 880VCT down to more useable voltages. In one case, there are two chokes between the rectifier tube and the rail. I did a couple hypotheticals on the Duncan PSUD2 and the numbers for the loads I have in mind were almost right on the schematics.

Outside of the weight, are there any sonic disadvantages of leaving the power supply as-is for our purposes?

Thanks, Skip

[tubeswell]

I think there's only advantages - smooth-as power supply (but you need a hefty choke - is that a disadvantage? - well maybe)

[luthierwnc]

The chokes are already there. In one case, the amp knocks 440-0-440 down to 295 on the plates with two series chokes and some dropping resistors among the caps. That is a lot of regulation! At those volts, and removing one of the chokes, you're in the 380 range which might be nice for some sort of Double Deluxe. Don't think there will be much sag, though.

Cheers, Skip