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Re: Bob Clear's Electar 10 mods!!! and Electar 30 info.

6/2/2000 12:29 PM
Doug	Re: Bob Clear's Electar 10 mods!!! and Electar 30 info. >Yeah, the el 34 fits right in the socket...I couldn't believe it either... I will email Bob and get the details of how to hook that up. That part of the mods site is a little hazy to me. Sounds good! I'm gonna order an EL34 too! I suspect that adds more highs, true? >I have tried the 12ax7wb which is a really hot an bright tube..adds like 7% more gain...partsexpress.com has them and others. This is the only one I have tried yet...kind've overkill...simply makes it so you use less pedal gain...a nice change though. Thanks for the tip. I have a 12AU7 laying around from a preamp project I did years ago. I'm going to try that for a mellower tone and see how it sounds. >The JAN 12ax7 that it comes with is a really clean good tube...helps to "round-out" the sound IMO. I think it sounds good too, no complaints here... >The speaker just rocks...no "speaker fart" at all... That sounds encouraging. I'm losing some high-end definition on some of the wound strings sometimes-I was thinking it might be the speaker. >Could you explain how your interstage coupling cap mods changed the tone? I'm just referring to C2. When I started this, I went with Mike's (the mod site guy) mods, and he suggested subbing a .033 for the stock .47 (!-I can't believe it was that high!). Then when I started migrating to Bob's mods and modded the tone stack, I subbed a .022 for C2. It sounded too thick, otherwise. Using a smaller cap just adds more definition. With the big caps in the tone stack I get plenty of lows, so that coupling cap doesn't need to be that big. My mods have pretty much settled down. I'm going with Bob's tone stack and leaving off the feedback loop. I'm not worried about the abundance of mids-I found when I backed my guitar volume down for clean and semi-clean tones, that problem went away... Doug

6/2/2000 12:29 PM

Doug

Re: Bob Clear's Electar 10 mods!!! and Electar 30 info.

>Yeah, the el 34 fits right in the socket...I couldn't believe it either...

I will email Bob and get the details of how to hook that up. That part of the mods site is a little hazy to me. Sounds good! I'm gonna order an EL34 too! I suspect that adds more highs, true?

>I have tried the 12ax7wb which is a really hot an bright tube..adds like 7% more gain...partsexpress.com has them and others. This is the only one I have tried yet...kind've overkill...simply makes it so you use less pedal gain...a nice change though.

Thanks for the tip. I have a 12AU7 laying around from a preamp project I did years ago. I'm going to try that for a mellower tone and see how it sounds.

>The JAN 12ax7 that it comes with is a really clean good tube...helps to "round-out" the sound IMO.

I think it sounds good too, no complaints here...

>The speaker just rocks...no "speaker fart" at all...

That sounds encouraging. I'm losing some high-end definition on some of the wound strings sometimes-I was thinking it might be the speaker.

>Could you explain how your interstage coupling cap mods changed the tone?

I'm just referring to C2. When I started this, I went with Mike's (the mod site guy) mods, and he suggested subbing a .033 for the stock .47 (!-I can't believe it was that high!). Then when I started migrating to Bob's mods and modded the tone stack, I subbed a .022 for C2. It sounded too thick, otherwise. Using a smaller cap just adds more definition. With the big caps in the tone stack I get plenty of lows, so that coupling cap doesn't need to be that big.

My mods have pretty much settled down. I'm going with Bob's tone stack and leaving off the feedback loop. I'm not worried about the abundance of mids-I found when I backed my guitar volume down for clean and semi-clean tones, that problem went away...

Doug

6/2/2000 6:59 PM
Clark	I don't think the el34 adds any brightness...think Marshall "arrrgh" they may even cut it. Sweeter tone in general. IMO 6l6's are very bright and kind've metallic. Perfect for some stuff. 5881's are more compressed with a little less high end than the 6l6.Concerning high end, my treble pot is so subtle...is yours? I may have bent it while taking the pcb out...it seems to work backwards too. Totally weird. Any ideas. I have already checked my soldering. Did you place a jumper where it said "removed"? I did not...????I guess I need a theory lesson on interstage coupling...any suggestions. I still don't understand the purpose of this. Does it simply feed the signal to the other gain stage of the tetrode 12ax7? It is good that this is a beginners forum! I feel kindv'e duh!Rock On!Clark

6/2/2000 6:59 PM

Clark

I don't think the el34 adds any brightness...think Marshall "arrrgh" they may even cut it. Sweeter tone in general. IMO 6l6's are very bright and kind've metallic. Perfect for some stuff. 5881's are more compressed with a little less high end than the 6l6.Concerning high end, my treble pot is so subtle...is yours? I may have bent it while taking the pcb out...it seems to work backwards too. Totally weird. Any ideas. I have already checked my soldering. Did you place a jumper where it said "removed"? I did not...????I guess I need a theory lesson on interstage coupling...any suggestions. I still don't understand the purpose of this. Does it simply feed the signal to the other gain stage of the tetrode 12ax7? It is good that this is a beginners forum! I feel kindv'e duh!Rock On!Clark

6/2/2000 8:12 PM
Doug	>IMO 6l6's are very bright and kind've metallic. Perfect for some stuff. 5881's are more compressed with a little less high end than the 6l6. Good info, thanks! >Concerning high end, my treble pot is so subtle...is yours? My treble pot works pretty well, it thinned it out too much before I did his tone stack mod. >I may have bent it while taking the pcb out...it seems to work backwards too. Maybe one of the pot lugs is disconnected, check for continuity with a meter. >Did you place a jumper where it said "removed"? Nope. >I guess I need a theory lesson on interstage coupling...any suggestions. I still don't understand the purpose of this. Does it simply feed the signal to the other gain stage of the tetrode 12ax7? It does 2 things: It feeds the AC signal from one stage to the next. It also blocks the DC used to bias the tube coming from the power supply. The thing is, a cap in series like that serves as a high pass filter. If it's too big, it passes too many lows. If it's too small, it thins the tone out. So a coupling cap is always a good place to start tuning and tweaking at. Before and after a gain stage it's like pre and post eq. I removed/jumpered the .1 between the 2nd stage and the tone stack and I think it sounds a little fuller. It's not needed, the tone stack caps provide DC coupling. Well, I ordered my EL34, power resistors, and some spragues for the tone stack mods and treble leak caps. I'm using ceramics now while in "experimentation mode". Weber's office is closed until the 8th (must be on vacation) so I'll get my speaker ordered then. I'm starting to drool... Doug

6/2/2000 8:12 PM

Doug

>IMO 6l6's are very bright and kind've metallic. Perfect for some stuff. 5881's are more compressed with a little less high end than the 6l6.

Good info, thanks!

>Concerning high end, my treble pot is so subtle...is yours?

My treble pot works pretty well, it thinned it out too much before I did his tone stack mod.

>I may have bent it while taking the pcb out...it seems to work backwards too.

Maybe one of the pot lugs is disconnected, check for continuity with a meter.

>Did you place a jumper where it said "removed"?

Nope.

>I guess I need a theory lesson on interstage coupling...any suggestions. I still don't understand the purpose of this. Does it simply feed the signal to the other gain stage of the tetrode 12ax7?

It does 2 things: It feeds the AC signal from one stage to the next. It also blocks the DC used to bias the tube coming from the power supply. The thing is, a cap in series like that serves as a high pass filter. If it's too big, it passes too many lows. If it's too small, it thins the tone out. So a coupling cap is always a good place to start tuning and tweaking at. Before and after a gain stage it's like pre and post eq. I removed/jumpered the .1 between the 2nd stage and the tone stack and I think it sounds a little fuller. It's not needed, the tone stack caps provide DC coupling.

Well, I ordered my EL34, power resistors, and some spragues for the tone stack mods and treble leak caps. I'm using ceramics now while in "experimentation mode". Weber's office is closed until the 8th (must be on vacation) so I'll get my speaker ordered then. I'm starting to drool...

Doug

6/1/2000 11:15 AM
Magnus Dahrén	Hi there! I just got my Electar 10 from musicyo, but I'm in Sweden so I bought it from their EU-site. I've never been tweaking with any amplifier before, and I've heard you should take care with large caps and all. Now, is there any good "beginners guide" to start messing around with tubeamps, dealing with the risks and stuff? And, what mod-page for the Electar 10 are you talking about? I really want to make this one to a "little sweet thing", if you know what I mean... but I feel I should be careful, since I don't have much more than a little stompbox-experience at hand. Any help or suggestions appreciated, Magnus

6/1/2000 11:15 AM

Magnus Dahrén

Hi there!

I just got my Electar 10 from musicyo, but I'm in Sweden so I bought it from their EU-site.

I've never been tweaking with any amplifier before, and I've heard you should take care with large caps and all. Now, is there any good "beginners guide" to start messing around with tubeamps, dealing with the risks and stuff? And, what mod-page for the Electar 10 are you talking about?

I really want to make this one to a "little sweet thing", if you know what I mean... but I feel I should be careful, since I don't have much more than a little stompbox-experience at hand.

Any help or suggestions appreciated,

Magnus

6/1/2000 12:40 PM
Doug	>I just got my Electar 10 from musicyo, but I'm in Sweden so I bought it from their EU-site. Cool! I hope you enjoy modding it as much as I have mine. It gets pretty addictive after a few weeks... >I've never been tweaking with any amplifier before, and I've heard you should take care with large caps and all. Now, is there any good "beginners guide" to start messing around with tubeamps, dealing with the risks and stuff? R.G. has a good tube amp FAQ here: http://www.geofex.com/tubeampfaq/taffram.htm This is a good place to start-BUT it doesn't substitute for experience. If you're not confident, get someone to show you how. Discharging the filter caps is not "rocket science", but at the same time, if you are not sure, it's a good idea to get someone with some electronics experience to help you the first time. >And, what mod-page for the Electar 10 are you talking about? Right here: http://members.home.net/mtatro/Electar10Mods.htm Have fun! (And let us know what you did.) Doug

6/1/2000 12:40 PM

Doug

>I just got my Electar 10 from musicyo, but I'm in Sweden so I bought it from their EU-site.

Cool! I hope you enjoy modding it as much as I have mine. It gets pretty addictive after a few weeks...

>I've never been tweaking with any amplifier before, and I've heard you should take care with large caps and all. Now, is there any good "beginners guide" to start messing around with tubeamps, dealing with the risks and stuff?

R.G. has a good tube amp FAQ here:

http://www.geofex.com/tubeampfaq/taffram.htm

This is a good place to start-BUT it doesn't substitute for experience. If you're not confident, get someone to show you how. Discharging the filter caps is not "rocket science", but at the same time, if you are not sure, it's a good idea to get someone with some electronics experience to help you the first time.

>And, what mod-page for the Electar 10 are you talking about?

Right here:

http://members.home.net/mtatro/Electar10Mods.htm

Have fun! (And let us know what you did.)

Doug

6/4/2000 9:39 AM
Magnus Dahrén	Hi there again... I just opened up my Electar 10 and removed the NFL, and Hey! the sound went some giant leaps forward towards the "ultimate tone"... Now I'm gonna order some parts to mod it even more, and maybe the recomended speaker too.. By the way, what wattage are the resistors supposed to be? And what voltage are the caps supposed to be? I can't wait till I get these parts... Has this thing a promising sound...? Yes! /Magnus

6/4/2000 9:39 AM

Magnus Dahrén

Hi there again...

I just opened up my Electar 10 and removed the NFL, and Hey! the sound went some giant leaps forward towards the "ultimate tone"... Now I'm gonna order some parts to mod it even more, and maybe the recomended speaker too..

By the way, what wattage are the resistors supposed to be? And what voltage are the caps supposed to be?

I can't wait till I get these parts... Has this thing a promising sound...? Yes!

/Magnus

6/4/2000 10:10 AM
peter	Please tell me if this is a stupid question, but eliminating the feedback loop is that the same as just janking it out...or does it need to be bridged ? And is this mod lethal ? I mean, will I get electrocuted ? Oh boy, you can't get any wetter behind the ears than that can you Peter.

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