Choosing power transformer.

[Danelectron]

jazbo8, Thanks for the response. I just downloaded the Duncan program and will mess with it when I can find time. I forgot all about this thread. It's been a while. I did purchase Merlins power supply design book a while back. I've been busy with other projects and haven't done anything with this transformer yet. I just had a buddy call me with an issue his son has. It seems he bought an eight string guitar and his amp can't keep up with the low end. He has an Orange model of some type. He said the higher strings sound great, but the lowest string doesn't come through with any dynamics. We are going to get into it when his son comes home for Christmas some time in January. That transformer may be just the thing to design an amp around for him. Your response timing couldn't have been better, bringing that transformer back to my attention. It is a monster.

[Chuck H]

One of the major hurdles I forsee with an eight string guitar (assuming that the other two strings are both below the low E) is that guitar speakers simply arent up to the task!!! Changing to or adding a woofer of some kind might help. Many woofers have only a little less top end response than guitar speakers. So that may work. The amps, in general, will be up to the task. The exceptions being those that clip the power tubes hard. Like the Orange Tiny Terror. A pair of clipping el84's into a smallish OT isn't a good idea for death metal or screamo (cookie monster rock). The modern metal, huge low end sound relies on a highly clipping preamp into the EQ and then into a clean power amp. After that a good 4X12 cabinet or two is the minimum requirement if you use a seven string. This eight string business just seems silly considering the limitations of guitar speakers. And playing such a guitar into a fifteen watt amp that's clipping the power tubes is a lost cause that no amount of iron is going to solve. JM2C

[jazbo8]

It seems he bought an eight string guitar and his amp can't keep up with the low end.

Could it be the speaker as well? How low does his 8-string go?

Jaz

[Danelectron]

Chuck, I'm considering using the transformer to build something with 2 6L6s, possibly 4. I was considering 15 inch bass type speakers. I've never built a bass amp, but think that may be the direction to go for this. He has a seven string guitar also, but recently got this 8 string. I've never heard him play, but his father says he pretty good. He's a shredder. But then, his father thinks I can play guitar so I'm a bit sceptical. I know talent has nothing to do with the capability of the equipment so I digress. I've built some amps with .1 coupling caps that were pretty bassy, but then they were pretty muddy. I'll keep in mind what you said about keeping the power section clean. I have a 100w rated marshall OT that I may team up with the PT. This will be a one off and I have the iron so it will be an experiment.

"And playing such a guitar into a fifteen watt amp that's clipping the power tubes is a lost cause that no amount of iron is going to solve. JM2C "

Is this because the low power won't reproduce the lower frequencies adequately? How 'bout 40 watts (or so)? I don't know the circumstances that he plays under, so that will be what the pow wow is about. I may have him try a couple of my amps. I have a couple of Marshall type 45/50 watters and the TSL100. I also have a bass cabinet with a 15 inch speaker that we can try to see if that makes a difference. I'm only speculating at this point without hearing his guitar. I don't know what his Orange amp output is. Actually, I started a fender twin (6G8) project a while back that is still on the bench. I started having second thoughts about finishing it after getting plenty of volumn out of a 45 watter. It's almost complete, just have to wire up the tube sockets. That PT is a bit less than 2/3s the physical size of my unknown PT. Thanks for your 2CW. Dan

[Danelectron]

Could it be the speaker as well? How low does his 8-string go?

Jaz

jazbo8, No idea, I'm assuming low G following standard tuning.