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previous: Benjamin Fargen Trace, Do you have any... -- 8/19/1999 5:02 AM

Re: Marshall details ???

8/19/1999 5:52 PM
SpeedRacer	Re: Marshall details ??? fwiw I like lower plate voltages and I think Tracae does as well. My old 50W head runs at ~430V, and I bias for 35mA generally. (nice balance between high current sustain and low current punch. I'm using an old pair of Telsa EL34's btw). I've measured a couple of Trace's heads and his were running even lower B+. The early 70's models (pre-MV) seem to have been running around 390-400V which is really very nice sounding. Nice and "brown". I would speculate as well that it's good for the EVH tone, as if you guestimate his older 100W head at say 460V, running a Variac @ 90V (per legend) would drop the B+ to about 375 (assuming the PT is wound for 110V) so you're in the ballpark. Then again, there are tons of stories about those 500V+ older amps that sound great so who really knows! It all depends what you want/expect from the amp. Old AC/DC, you need big B+ and KT88's.. Lot's of nuances in the 'Marshall tone'. For me personally, you can't beat an old 1986/87. Handwired (easy to work on, mod), great sound, excellent build quality, and they'll hold their value going forward (if not appreciate). Oh yeah, and they sound like heaven.. Best bet on a Budget is to buy a beater 800 series & drop in a board from Hoffman or equiv. and some killer tubes. For <$500 you're golden. I've seen beater 800's sell in the $300 range (usually with a fan cut in them or something..) Worth looking out for IMHO. Angela Inst has also (from time to time) had empty cabs/chassis for sale..

8/19/1999 5:52 PM

SpeedRacer

Re: Marshall details ???

fwiw I like lower plate voltages and I think Tracae does as well. My old 50W head runs at ~430V, and I bias for 35mA generally. (nice balance between high current sustain and low current punch. I'm using an old pair of Telsa EL34's btw). I've measured a couple of Trace's heads and his were running even lower B+. The early 70's models (pre-MV) seem to have been running around 390-400V which is really very nice sounding. Nice and "brown". I would speculate as well that it's good for the EVH tone, as if you guestimate his older 100W head at say 460V, running a Variac @ 90V (per legend) would drop the B+ to about 375 (assuming the PT is wound for 110V) so you're in the ballpark. Then again, there are tons of stories about those 500V+ older amps that sound great so who really knows! :-)

It all depends what you want/expect from the amp. Old AC/DC, you need big B+ and KT88's.. Lot's of nuances in the 'Marshall tone'. For me personally, you can't beat an old 1986/87. Handwired (easy to work on, mod), great sound, excellent build quality, and they'll hold their value going forward (if not appreciate). Oh yeah, and they sound like heaven.. Best bet on a Budget is to buy a beater 800 series & drop in a board from Hoffman or equiv. and some killer tubes. For <$500 you're golden. I've seen beater 800's sell in the $300 range (usually with a fan cut in them or something..) Worth looking out for IMHO. Angela Inst has also (from time to time) had empty cabs/chassis for sale..

Replies:

Doc Speed:For old AC/DC, did yo... -- 8/20/1999 4:23 PM
Trace Hey all;q{fwiw I li... -- 8/21/1999 2:37 PM