Variac a Super Lead instead of attenuating

[JimiJames]

...coming from the wall (X?v)
I'm trying to understand with how insane the wall voltage fluctuates in the studio we're at;
how Eddie knew precisely there was a (his favorite) sweetspot ? Could there have been a voltage regulator/conditioner in use ?
Then the source would always be the same - results.
...hmmph, would he do sumptin' like that ? ...shit, I would... $700-$800 later, maybe.
(I need one anyways with up to 135v crippling my last build)

[Strat78]

Yeah. MXR 6 band has its place in some of the old VH tone.

Yeah, like On Fire, Automic Punk, Eruption and ITO.

[Strat78]

...coming from the wall (X?v)
I'm trying to understand with how insane the wall voltage fluctuates in the studio we're at;
how Eddie knew precisely there was a (his favorite) sweetspot ? Could there have been a voltage regulator/conditioner in use ?
Then the source would always be the same - results.
...hmmph, would he do sumptin' like that ? ...shit, I would... $700-$800 later, maybe.
(I need one anyways with up to 135v crippling my last build)

Maybe that is what that box is on top of his amp at Farm Aid. Still, It is safe to always plug into a calibrated variac and keep it down around 100v so you can adjust from there.

[JimiJames]

What would be a calibrated one ?
See... I don't understand the design. Does it see wall voltage and continually adjust the current to X?v
115v in - 90v Att. is given. Wall rises. Does the 90v stay static?

[rmroza]

rgalpin

First, the tone is SPOT-ON and sounds killer...CONGRATULATIONS!

I have a few questions...soo this is just a stock Superlead with 2-tubes pulled. Since the idea load is halved, you'd plug a 16 ohm cab into the 8 ohm output. What impedence is your cab and what did you set the amp to?

Since you dropped the output of the variac at 60VAC on a 120V input tap...can you let us know what the voltage was to the PI and also heater voltage??

Your info suggests you had a 6-band EQ on it. Was this is series or in a loop? I also hear a delay or room reverb going on, but you don't mention using this unless I missed something.

[jnew]

Yeah. MXR 6 band has its place in some of the old VH tone.

Yeah, like On Fire, Automic Punk, Eruption and ITO.

Yes, exactly. And I'm on the fence with ATBL. Pretty hairy. RWTD could also be.

[rgorke]

Yeah. MXR 6 band has its place in some of the old VH tone.

Yeah, like On Fire, Automic Punk, Eruption and ITO.

If you listen to the iso tracks, especially Eruption, there is a ton of hiss.

Listen at 0:46-0:50.

[Strat78]

That vid doesn't work Roger. Check out the drum track here, Ed's raw guitar tone is bleeding through the drum mic. You can hear the guitar and amp in all it's glory. Wouldn't you know, it's the same tone as on the album, no studio EQ trickery at all!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMDHwYTeZd0

[jnew]

That is a good catch there strat.

[mr.twistyneck]

Had band practice and used this setup:

Guitar > 6 band EQ > SL@8ohms > 1x12 cab with 8 ohm greenback. SL @ 70 volts.

I would say that for 95% of the stuff I was doing, that straight into the amp - no EQ - was just peachy keen - after about 15-20 minutes of things warming up. Really cleaned up great by rolling back the volume.

Kicking in the 6 band was icing on the cake.

[mapat]

That vid doesn't work Roger. Check out the drum track here, Ed's raw guitar tone is bleeding through the drum mic. You can hear the guitar and amp in all it's glory. Wouldn't you know, it's the same tone as on the album, no studio EQ trickery at all!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMDHwYTeZd0

Whoa.

That's ingenious... I never would have thought of listening to the drum iso track to hear the unadulterated raw tone
coming from the amp.

Awesome find, Strat78!

[MrBeasty]

Darn, I step away from the EVH stuff for 5 minutes and look what happens!! I missed all the fun (16 pages into the thread).

I stopped doing the Variac thing a couple years ago. I switched to a 50watt EVH 5153 for convenience.
That said, before that I used a Mojave Scorpion with Mod5 (still have it) and a Variac. While you loose power (and dBs) by lowering the Variac, there is a sweet spot. You gain sag and a certain cool vibe ( ) as the voltage goes down, but after a bit (~75v for me) you start loosing the body and thickness of the sound. So I tended to stay around 85/90v and use the MV to fine tune things. The MXR 6band has body to itself, so maybe that would be the ticket, mine is so noisy I rarely use it ... I may have to give this another go!

--Johnny ComeLately

by Tazin » Tue Jan 13, 2015 5:12 pm
Hey Twisty, did you rebias the amp after turning the variac down to 60Vac?

Heavens no. I used a multimeter to dial in the 60volts on the Variac, then plugged everything in and let 'er rip. Amp technicians love me.

You dime the bias pot, and lower the input voltage at will ...

[rgorke]

That vid doesn't work Roger. Check out the drum track here, Ed's raw guitar tone is bleeding through the drum mic. You can hear the guitar and amp in all it's glory. Wouldn't you know, it's the same tone as on the album, no studio EQ trickery at all!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMDHwYTeZd0

here try this..@0:46=0:50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFFUDFn ... e=youtu.be

[Tone Slinger]

It appears that there is a pretty decent amount of sound/varience with this approach. Obviously 1959/1987 spec amps are whats to be used, but even then, it seems VERY amp specific,in regards to which INDIVIDUAL ones can 'hold togather' running at these very low voltages. Trannies (Ot) seem to be integral. rgalpin's amp holds togather well,DC's does too (what trannies do Mojave use ?) Mr.Twisty Necks amp is 'there' as long as he reamps. I'mof the opinion that an amp with a Classic Tone OT would 'Fall apart' and be woofy/mushy as hell ran in this way ?

Seems that a combination of Variac and attenuator (or load/reamp) is overall best, in regards to getting most ANY 1959/1987 in EVH territory. Ed's #1 top, more and more, DOESNT seem to be a 'average' 1959. It seemed to be a AMAZING 1959 Not every amp or clone is gonna be 'there' all on its own with just a variac. Jnew has it DOWN. One hell of a good set up. He got Jeremy's Metro 12xxx 'there' as well which lends to reason that the right combination of core amp, load/attenuator/reamp, etc is key when dialing any 4 holer 'IN' to early Ed-tone.

[rgorke]

I'mof the opinion that an amp with a Classic Tone OT would 'Fall apart' and be woofy/mushy as hell ran in this way ?.

Why? Because they are less expensive ? I have been very very pleased with a CT trannies, both OT and PT. I have also run my amps this way with out them "falling apart."