Advantages of a self lead OPT
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PlexiMan
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Advantages of a self lead OPT
I have searched on this topic and found a few hits but none that i found really answered to what the advantages of a self lead OPT are (if any). We'll use george's C1998 Dagnall clone as an exmple. To me the signal goes to plain ol speaker wire right after the output jack so not sure what the advantage is. Maybe i am over simplifying and there is more science to it but......
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thelastleroy
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Re: Advantages of a self lead OPT
In my opinion, a self lead transformer is not likely to have an impact on tone, but it may have an impact on reliability. Don't tell me you can "hear" the type of WIRE over a 6" run from trans to speaker jacks etc, (sniff...sniff...) but a single wire home-run directly from transformer winding to its termination is ideal over one or more joints. A splice in the wiring is another place for possible failure, no matter the manufacturing process.
It's also going to be an issue of obsessive period-correctness. Maybe the "ultimate" amplifier built 40-something years ago used this lead type. If it ain't broke...don't fix it, you'll just mess with the voodoo magic. Seriously though, why do you think some of these incredible old amplifiers are still ticking? Quality manufacturing and parts.
Self-lead might cost more these days, as I'm sure the cores for the wire-lead are mass produced on the most popular transformers, with the lead length/color being variable to the customer (not you and me, but the amp companies). When Marshall set out to spec some transformers back in the middle sixties, they probably specified a certain length on the leads and they were supplied with self-lead transformers to their specification. Then they dropped these unassuming little transformers into some of the finest and most influential guitar amplifiers ever designed. It's not the lead type you hear
Ultimately, I would buy the self-lead, simply because it's one less solder joint to go bad. When I build my next amp (plexi clone) I think I will.
Just my $0.02
It's also going to be an issue of obsessive period-correctness. Maybe the "ultimate" amplifier built 40-something years ago used this lead type. If it ain't broke...don't fix it, you'll just mess with the voodoo magic. Seriously though, why do you think some of these incredible old amplifiers are still ticking? Quality manufacturing and parts.
Self-lead might cost more these days, as I'm sure the cores for the wire-lead are mass produced on the most popular transformers, with the lead length/color being variable to the customer (not you and me, but the amp companies). When Marshall set out to spec some transformers back in the middle sixties, they probably specified a certain length on the leads and they were supplied with self-lead transformers to their specification. Then they dropped these unassuming little transformers into some of the finest and most influential guitar amplifiers ever designed. It's not the lead type you hear
Ultimately, I would buy the self-lead, simply because it's one less solder joint to go bad. When I build my next amp (plexi clone) I think I will.
Just my $0.02