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Vintage threads from the first ten years

Re: metal film resistors over carbon comp ?

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2/9/2000 3:24 PM
Whit	Re: metal film resistors over carbon comp ? Guys, He did say "Allen Bradley", and some folks are willing to pay that much for the (alleged) cream of the carbon crop. Another choice in the carbon camp is Riken, available at Angela's. "Only" about $1.50 per 1/2 watt and $2.50 for 1 watt. I've always liked 'em, and they look nice in circuits too. ... Whit

2/9/2000 6:41 PM
carl	I have used the Riken ohm resistors from Angela when I rebuild Fender amps. They are quieter and retain the sound of the original carbon comp. Carl

2/10/2000 12:24 AM
Rebel420	What about carbon film? (uh-oh, he opens yet another can of worms)? Dirt cheap, but what about the tone vs. noise vs. reliability. IF they are a happy medium, they woudl be the best choice.they are like $0.22 each from mouser in quantities up to 100, and $0.014/each in quantities over 100 (you can get them in lots of 100 less than a 2 pack from RatShack).

2/10/2000 2:10 AM
John S.	I won't go there....Ha,Ha,Ha! Trouble Maker...lol Oh no not again....another dispute in the making with this!

2/10/2000 12:59 PM

I'm gonna go there and stir up the s**t !!!

I can't begin to tell you how much heat i'm going to take for this post.

I think 90 % of the resistor tone argument is BS. You put in a brand new set of tubes as well as a perfectly blueprinted BF circuit and inside of a year every component will have drifted miles out of spec. If you're lucky they'll have drifted in a direction to make the amp sound nice. If they went the wrong way the amp is going to sound like garbage. There was a post here not too long ago about a 5F6a time capsule Bassman that was in mint condition that sounded just horrible. As a builder, designer and tech I don't like wild cards!

As for the rat shack parts I don't mind them all that much. I've used those resistor parts a LOT when I was first starting out with amp building and repair. Thinking back on it they're probably factory seconds but if you measure them to make sure they're in spec you'll be fine. I never had one fail on me. They've got some killer rectifier diodes there too. Wish I could remeber the number but they're something like 2Kv @ 3 amps. Somebody correct me if i'm wrong here. Used them in my first amp project. Never had a failure there either. Also had perfect results with there E-caps in cathode bypass apps too. Even Mr. Dumble uses their parts! I would NOT recommend using is their component cleaners or their hookup wire. The cleaners are bad and the wire is a joke!

Flame Away Folks!!!

Regards;
Carl Z

2/10/2000 5:02 PM
Troy	Thanks Carl for the assessment. I totally agree about using Radio Shack hookup wire for the innerds. Yet I've used the 18ga stranded for speaker wire and I think it sounds fine. What are you guys using for speaker wire? Troy

2/10/2000 5:41 PM

quote:
"I can't begin to tell you how much heat i'm going to take for this post. "

Not from me. If there is a difference in tone, it's very sutle. What seems to be undisputed is the extra noise and the drifting in value the carbon comps have and I'm like you, if the amp has a bit too much highs, I can compensate in a way that is more stable and predictable.

As far as hook up wire, once you have used Beldon Teflon insulated, silver coated #83007 20 gauge, nothing else comes close. It holds a bend just like solid and has tremendous breakage resistance because each strand is so small. And you can tell your audio wanker friends your amp is handwired with silver coated wire! All say ooooooh! at once..... The problem is it's 25 bucks a 100' roll so it takes a while to get a roll of each color. But about once a month when I'm ordering from Mouser or Allied, I throw a roll in the order and it's not too hard on the pocket book.

..Joe L

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