Metropoulos Forum

So, there hasn't been a great deal of discussion recently on how you guys got to or where you ended up for your VH tone. What are you satisfied with? What needs more? I suppose the recent issue of the forum going down and the banter on RigTalk got me thinking....I will start, I have had this set up for close to a year and barely had the chassis open and soldering iron in the amp. Here is where am:

Amp: 12xxx spec: V1b 2.7k/0.68 (chicklet), V1B bypass cap 0.0022, V2A 820/0.068 (Chicklet), PI couplers 0.022, NFB 27k on 16 ohm. Variac set at about 80v, but will check again tonight. Might be lower. (one big thing I have noticed is that the amp sounds much better having it 'warm up' for 15-20 mins prior to playing. It seems that with the lower voltage the longer the amp is on, the better it sounds. Purely a subjective point of view.)

Tubes, V1- 3 Sylvania 12AX7WA, Sylvania short grey, Sylvania long black, V4-7 Sylvania Big Bottle 6CA7

Cabinet with 3-Stan Spec Weber's and 1 Scumblack

I am using an attenuator.

Guitars: Mostly Ash with a MM 1300, MM1400, Duncan Custom, Duncan 59.

Sometimes a MXR 6 band or a GE7 with an Echoplex.

That's about it....

Interesting about warming the amp, I always leave my rig set up for a good 15/20mins before playing, but I'm starting to get disillusioned with my own ears If I play my amp for a good couple of hours and come back to it the next day, same settings, I find myself not liking a few things, start tweaking then bam I'm all over the place with my settings and getting more frustrated by the second . What's worse I come here and find strat78 playing through a pod!!! think I'll take up the bass

My rig is a 12000 metro and a mod 5 50watter, and I've always believed in trying to get the stuff Ed used (cost permitting), old greenbacks, blackbacks, jbld120's, script 90, echoplex ep3, blue 6 band, ge10, non led microamp, script dynacomp. Pups Dsd's, mm1300, 1400, 78 SD, old paf. Using a northern ash and maple neck (floyd, no standard trem yet).
Tubes, sylvania 12ax7wa's and jj34's in one and eh6ca7's. The only thing I haven't tried yet is the variac.
(I use attenuation due to playing from home unfortunately, PB and an Aracom).

Still to try slaving, using an hhv200, Urei graphic and a tcm3000.

I have to say for me I have a lot of respect for what Ralle squeezed out of just an amp, two pb attenuators and a cab of GB's, .....I've come to the conclusion that some people just have a skill or ability to just hear things and dial in to perfection, Mark A had this in spades, I've heard lots of mod 5 clips on YT etc. but none sound like his.

Do any of you guys struggle to get what you have in the room to tape? my present venture so far hasn't even gone into recording! think I need time out for a couple of months

1978 SL Marshall -Stock 12xxx spec, no fat cap etc... original mustards, resistors are Iskra and Piher (stock 12xxx values)
V1b cathode is 2k7/ .68uf , 2n2 coupler (stock)
I like the secret part and only one more little tweak - the PI input cap is 44nf (actually two 22nf caps paralleled)
The filtering: 50uf mains, 32 screens, 32 pre, 100 PI.
Northern Ash KnE - SH-5, DSD, 59 - I'm only messing with the pickups these days ... the biggest new discovery is 500k volume/ 500k tone pot, 22nf cap (standard 50's wiring)

Cab: Marshall 425B 100w

Tubes: JJ ecc83s gold Mullard EL34 reissue

jape88 wrote: Do any of you guys struggle to get what you have in the room to tape? my present venture so far hasn't even gone into recording! think I need time out for a couple of months

All the time....

Most of you know my gear but here goes:

Guitar = 30 year old one piece Swamp Ash w/a Zebrawood neck, brass nut, old original 6 hole Fender trem and a Duncan Custom angled like EVH.

Pedals = early 70's Ibanez Phase Tone (PT-900), MXR Micro Amp, a loop for a 79 MXR 6 band, (either only used for a few select VH 1 songs but never both together, ) homemade EP-3 pre-amp (always on) and an Akai Analog Delay (only for some songs)

Amp = Rebuilt JTM-45 using mostly 68, 100 specs w/some small changes for personal preferences. V1 = Sylvannia 12AX7. WIMA .68/1.5K on the Lead channel (.0022 coupler) and 330uF/820 on the Normal channel (.022 coupler). V2 = RCA 12AX7 with Lemco 560/33K tone stack and a 330uF (fat cap) bypass on the 820 ohm. Mixer resistor bypass cap is also a Lemco 560. V3 = RCA 12AX7. Input has two .022's in parallel and the NFB loop has 100K on the 8 ohm tap. Power Transformer = stock JTM-45 RI from the 90's and the OPT Transformer = Mercury Magnetics Radios Spares JTM-45 clone with those unique laminate patterns that the original Radio Spares had. Don't really recall what lead me this direction but, Amp on 8 ohm setting into either a 16 ohm cab or a 20 load for slaving. Variac set at 85VAC and a GZ-34 tube rectifier instead of diodes. (just for more tube fun) Plate voltages w/variac and stock JTM transformer are real low. Like 275 so bias resistor changed out to get get the mA's up to like 72 or so.

Cab = Marshall 1960B w/Scummback 20 watt, pre-rola Paper Voice Coils. (easiest part of the whole chain)

[quote="rgorke"]So, there hasn't been a great deal of discussion recently on how you guys got to or where you ended up for your VH tone. What are you satisfied with? What needs more? I suppose the recent issue of the forum going down and the banter on RigTalk got me thinking....I will start, I have had this set up for close to a year and barely had the chassis open and soldering iron in the amp. Here is where am:

Amp: 12xxx spec: V1b 2.7k/0.68 (chicklet), V1B bypass cap 0.0022, V2A 820/0.068 (Chicklet), PI couplers 0.022, NFB 27k on 16 ohm. Variac set at about 80v, but will check again tonight. Might be lower. (one big thing I have noticed is that the amp sounds much better having it 'warm up' for 15-20 mins prior to playing. It seems that with the lower voltage the longer the amp is on, the better it sounds. Purely a subjective point of view.)

Tubes, V1- 3 Sylvania 12AX7WA, Sylvania short grey, Sylva

I am using an attenuator.
Nice setup! Do you still run your variac at 80 volts?

Jeremy1283 wrote:

rgorke wrote:So, there hasn't been a great deal of discussion recently on how you guys got to or where you ended up for your VH tone. What are you satisfied with? What needs more? I suppose the recent issue of the forum going down and the banter on RigTalk got me thinking....I will start, I have had this set up for close to a year and barely had the chassis open and soldering iron in the amp. Here is where am:

Amp: 12xxx spec: V1b 2.7k/0.68 (chicklet), V1B bypass cap 0.0022, V2A 820/0.068 (Chicklet), PI couplers 0.022, NFB 27k on 16 ohm. Variac set at about 80v, but will check again tonight. Might be lower. (one big thing I have noticed is that the amp sounds much better having it 'warm up' for 15-20 mins prior to playing. It seems that with the lower voltage the longer the amp is on, the better it sounds. Purely a subjective point of view.)

Tubes, V1- 3 Sylvania 12AX7WA, Sylvania short grey, Sylva

I am using an attenuator.
Nice setup! Do you still run your variac at 80 volts?

Yes, between 80 and 90 volts. It really makes a volume difference as well.

'71 570B+ SL, stock but tweeked, two pulled, dimed (all of it) variac 100 to 110
original 03 and RIC cones , 1777 for VHI
old marshall 4x12, two speakers. no attenuator
whatever tubes vibed with that amp ,probably a siemens, old tesla,amperex and a sylvaina for VH1. various power tubes. EHel34 for women and children
parts guitar, original paf, wrap tail
cheap cable
balls and heart

source reference
1960 lenco idler turntable
lcr lounge phono
shurev15III cart
grado HF2 headphones