Steel String Singer

[Smitty]

I'm looking to build an amp something like a Dumble Steel String Singer. I really know nothing about this amp except SRV used one and got a great tone. I think it had something to do with the the output circuitry. Just a guess. Some questions:

1) Anyone know anything about Steel String Singers?

2) Anyone know anyone who knows about them?

3) The output section is rumored to be like an SVT. Any truth to that?

I'm not fond of the SVT for guitar because its cathodyne => driver => buffer => output. Too many tubes.

I'd like to simplify the output and just run a cathode follower in between a Schmitt/LTP and the output tubes. I don't want to use the Super Twin topology because its got that honking big coupling cap killing the time constant.

Something in between an SVT and ST. 12AT7 PI => 12AU7 CF. Any elegant design ideas? I'm prepared to spec a transformer with multile taps for this one.

Thanks.

[malt]

You can ask here: http://ampgarage.com/forum/

You have to bee a member to reed the dumble forum

[Smitty]

I have

I find that board is very Overdrive Special Homebrew centric. I'm not optimistic.

[Ray Ivers]

Smitty,

1/2/3: I think I saw a picture of one of these once - maybe. From the front.

FWIW, Kevin O'Connor feels the same way you do about the SVT. IMO every one of those tube stages is there for a good reason, but YMMV. I love my V-9 for clean guitar sounds, but the preamp is different from the SVT's.

The Super Twin circuit I never really connected with; they took all that trouble to design a low-impedance bias supply w/DC balancing and CF drivers, then put those .22uF caps in there. If they had used an @ -200V bias supply they could have eliminated the .22 caps/33K CF Rk's and gone direct-coupled - it should have worked just fine.

Ray

[swt]

don't forget that srv also used a marshall major, and some of his tone came from there too. What he was after is just a really clean amp, and also loud. that's the reason for changing 12ax7 to 5751 in some of his amps. Some SSS has two Ef86, one as a triode and one as a pentode, and a power amp similar to the svt. Others has 12ax7s, and preamp similar to the clean ods. After building some dumbles clone amps, i can tell you that with the ods pre you can get the srv tone. Also i can hear that local feedfack in part of his tone, after carefully listening to my amps and what that specific circuit does. You can copy the major power amp, and try to stick a good pre to see if that satisfy you. Let me know when you decide what to do, and the final results. Good luck!

[Rick Erickson]

I really know nothing about this amp except SRV used one and got a great tone.

Stevie Ray could have played a Peavey Bandit and gotten a great tone. Eric Johnson plays a Fender Deluxe Reverb and gets a great tone. Nokie Edwards plugs straight into the PA and gets a great tone. What's my point? - no point, just rambling.

[famp69wv@yahoo.com]

...plugs straight into the PA and gets a great tone...

Saw Duke Robillard around 1990 in Charleston WV. He played through a Peavey PA Head (Small, maybe 4 or 6 input solid state) into a couple of wedges stood on end. His tone was fat, round & powerful! Quite a player too. Had that old Les Paul/Mary Ford thing going blended with the T-Bone Walker thing. Still does far as I can tell. & I'm sure he's using some boutique thing now that he's made a little money but I'll never forget that night.

I freely confess to being a tube snob but occasionally I even have to remind myself of that lesson for purposes of perspective.

[Smitty]

Ray, Let's Start A New Post

This post has sort of devolved into the logical argument against building amps with great tone. I really appreciate your support on this and think we may be onto something. I am starting a new post called "Designing for AB2" where I will limit the discussion to the narrow circuit definition that we have now.

[jaysg]

This post has sort of devolved into the logical argument against building amps with great tone. I really appreciate your support on this and think we may be onto something. I am starting a new post called "Designing for AB2" where I will limit the discussion to the narrow circuit definition that we have now.

Part of the problem is SRV, the other is the Dumble lore. The unwritten code of these boards is to try to calm down anyone looking for SRV tone, since it was an amalgam of several different amps and pedals. Once he made it big, he usually had a loud amp, just for clean. There aren't many SSS's in existence and while there's an interesting preamp distortion circuit on most of them, SRV's was apparently not built that way -- he just ran it as a 150W clean amp.

I'm sure if I missed anything, the SRV-ologists will pipe in.