Can the output make this much difference?

[daz]

I've tried 4 of them. 2 heyboers, one a smaller 30 watter the other a 50, both 4k. The one i built it with, a Hammond 1750N marshall replacement, and the magnetic components one i just got for the new build. Each has it's own sound, but the inherent voice of the amp didn't change at all with any of them. I also tried the magnetic components PT i bought for the new build and that made more difference, and to the good. Probably because of the higher plate voltage. Anyways, i think i can attribute it to the layout or lead dress, something thats not changeable by chopsticking. I'll know when the new amp is done because the layout will be considerably different. The amp's circuit will be identical tho, so it will almost certainly reveal the truth.

[loudthud]

OK, one last thing. I've seen amps that were right on the verge of oscillation. Often, they don't oscillate unless a signal is applied. Even when driven by a signal generator you don't see an oscillation unless the frequency and amplitude are just right and then only on part of the waveform. This is certainly something that lead dress can affect.

Do you have an oscilloscope? Have you looked at the output while playing guitar through the amp?

[daz]

I doubt it, as a friend has the first one i built just like mine and i update his every time i find improvements. His sounds very close to mine and nothing like my small amp, and his is layed out differently with wiring totally different. I just rewired mine with solid core (maybe you saw the other thread about solid core vs stranded) and will try it tonite when i'm able to plug it in at home. If theres no difference then it's definitely not lead dress because it's all different now.

[loudthud]

I saw the other thread but posted here because the question was about your amp.

So, you don't have a scope and I don't think the guy on MetroAmp does either.

My boss at a Semiconductor company was going on a recruiting trip to hire fresh college grads and ask me how he could sort out the stars from the duds. I told him to hire any grad that had his own oscilloscope. He didn't like hearing that because he didn't own one.

[Steve Conner]

Haha, that's good advice! You can always hide the scope when you have visitors coming. The guys who don't own one are better suited to management.

I got given the nickname "Scopeboy" by the first company I worked for after graduating. They'd only just opened their R&D lab and had spent about $1M on Agilent communications test gear, but they'd forgotten to buy a plain ordinary oscilloscope, so I lent them one of mine.

Of course people (usually the ones without an oscilloscope stashed in the kitchen cupboard) argue that a real designer of musical instrument amps should use his ears rather than relying on measurements, but sometimes that scope comes in really useful! I bet in the labs at Marshall, Peavey or wherever, they have them and know how to use them.

[Dave H]

scopeboy

But what would you call a guy who designed and built his own scope? How sad is that? It’s no wonder I had to join a band in an attempt to get girls. I think the scope is somewhere in the garden shed. I’ll have to dig it out to see if it still works.

Dave H.

[Steve Conner]

But what would you call a guy who designed and built his own scope?

Wow... That would be "The Scopemeister" or something.

[guitician]

It's alive and rich and intense, and thats in large part a product of top end.

Top end is usually regarded as the treble region, and is the "Bright" or "Brilliance" of the tone. The upper mid range around 2khz is were the "Presence" is and adds "liveliness" to tone . And it's no surprise that guitar speaker responses have it "built-in".

I converted a P-P EL84 amp into a 6V6 once, and it too has that very harmonically rich tone that is very elusive to get by just throwing together an amp, I know, I've tried. It's like all the parts just fit perfectly together as a guitar amp as chance would have it.

I think it would be much easier to make A sound like B, but who would want that?