I have a BB reissue and want to upgrade to PTP. Has anyone tried the Metro BBRI PTP kit? Did the tone of the amp change at all?
Thanks
Larry
BB Reissue PTP Board Kit
Moderator: VelvetGeorge
-
McGoogle McDougal
- Senior Member
- Posts: 176
- Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 1:50 pm
- Location: Seattle
Hi Larry,
I put a Metro BBRI PTP kit in my Bluesbreaker reissue along with the Metro Heyboer JTM45 output transformer. I have to state to begin with that I do think that with decent tubes and biased properly, these are already good sounding amps. That said, I think the kit is definitely an improvement and I enjoyed installing it. I think I might have been the first person to buy the kit.
To the casual listener, it might not seem like much more difference than putting new strings on your guitar after they go dead, but there are things they might not realize initially like the treble no longer being ice-picky and the overall sound being more detailed. My amp also sounded more 3-D after the change and just generally felt better while playing. It is not all easy to quantify stuff. It did get better the more I played it too - caps breaking in, etc? I also swapped my speakers for Celestion G12H30s instead of the G12M25's. Similar sound, but the 30's (NOT the so-called "vintage 30" model) have more bass and hold together better at volume. Both things important in an open back cabinet.
Be aware that this kit does not come with step-by-step instructions (but does have a cd of photos from George's build), so make sure you can read a schematic.
Eamon
I put a Metro BBRI PTP kit in my Bluesbreaker reissue along with the Metro Heyboer JTM45 output transformer. I have to state to begin with that I do think that with decent tubes and biased properly, these are already good sounding amps. That said, I think the kit is definitely an improvement and I enjoyed installing it. I think I might have been the first person to buy the kit.
To the casual listener, it might not seem like much more difference than putting new strings on your guitar after they go dead, but there are things they might not realize initially like the treble no longer being ice-picky and the overall sound being more detailed. My amp also sounded more 3-D after the change and just generally felt better while playing. It is not all easy to quantify stuff. It did get better the more I played it too - caps breaking in, etc? I also swapped my speakers for Celestion G12H30s instead of the G12M25's. Similar sound, but the 30's (NOT the so-called "vintage 30" model) have more bass and hold together better at volume. Both things important in an open back cabinet.
Be aware that this kit does not come with step-by-step instructions (but does have a cd of photos from George's build), so make sure you can read a schematic.
Eamon
-
Wicksy
- Senior Member
- Posts: 972
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 9:42 am
- Location: Halstead, Essex, UK
Well, in theory, if you were to take the components out of your BB's PCB and put them on a turret board, i would think there would be no change in tone. My take on it is that a turret board is pleasing to the eye and makes maintenance and modification simpler.
What you are getting with George's board kit is superior caps and resistors to those used in your reissue. I'm going to be purchasing a board kit for my '77 superlead suffering from wierd bias problems. I'm going to keep the old PCB so i can determine the problem and fix it incase i wish to sell it on at a later date.
What you are getting with George's board kit is superior caps and resistors to those used in your reissue. I'm going to be purchasing a board kit for my '77 superlead suffering from wierd bias problems. I'm going to keep the old PCB so i can determine the problem and fix it incase i wish to sell it on at a later date.
Simon
-
Tybone
- Senior Member
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:00 pm
Thanks for the responses. I appreciate your input. I have already made some changes to the existing circuit (board) but the changes will be easier to manage with the tag board for sure. (didn't think about that actually). The coupling caps were changed to sozo's, Mastran 103 OT added, updated filter caps nos tubeage, changed the speakers to alnicos, reversed speaker phase and tweaked some values here and there. As stated it is a fine fine amp for the lower gain Marshall tones. Great cleans too. I have not changed the mix resistors or the shared cathode bypass circuit on v1.
I will definitely pay attention to the wire routing to make sure floor noise as low as possible once the board goes in.
I will definitely pay attention to the wire routing to make sure floor noise as low as possible once the board goes in.
-
Tybone
- Senior Member
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:00 pm
I Taken The Plunge
Well, the kit I ordered came today. Thanks to Curt and George et al. I have gathered up the images and instructions (from the JTM 45 kit build) that I will need for guidance.
Tonight I will count parts and start populating the board. I am going to try and reuse the existing wire in the amp.
Tonight I will count parts and start populating the board. I am going to try and reuse the existing wire in the amp.
-
Tybone
- Senior Member
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:00 pm
I got her up and running last night. No tremolo yet but everything else seems to be working. I found out that it was kind of important to ground the preamp section. The amp got a little louder when I did that. 
The amp sounds a bit darker, with more bass and lower mids than with the old PCB. In fact there is almost too much bass at times. The is especially true when overdriven. This might have to do with the .022uf coupling caps. It has .01uf in there before.
Generally the amp is more detailed and touch sensitive than before. I don't know if that is the sozo's or what. It's also VERY quite compared to the PCB version. I like had to move 2 wires and what little buzz was there was pretty much gone. I've got a little oscillation going on when the presence pot is cranked and/or when I am new are the amp with single coils. I will tweak that out later with and update to the lead dress.
Right now I have Mullard 12ax7's in the first 3 spots with NOS kt66's. For speakers I am using a pair of tone tubby alnicos. They sound great.
I will record a wee clip tonight after dinner.
Larry
PS I did a search and ended up changing one of the .02uf caps of the midrange control to .01. That sure did it. Things are a lot brighter than before.
LB
The amp sounds a bit darker, with more bass and lower mids than with the old PCB. In fact there is almost too much bass at times. The is especially true when overdriven. This might have to do with the .022uf coupling caps. It has .01uf in there before.
Generally the amp is more detailed and touch sensitive than before. I don't know if that is the sozo's or what. It's also VERY quite compared to the PCB version. I like had to move 2 wires and what little buzz was there was pretty much gone. I've got a little oscillation going on when the presence pot is cranked and/or when I am new are the amp with single coils. I will tweak that out later with and update to the lead dress.
Right now I have Mullard 12ax7's in the first 3 spots with NOS kt66's. For speakers I am using a pair of tone tubby alnicos. They sound great.
I will record a wee clip tonight after dinner.
Larry
PS I did a search and ended up changing one of the .02uf caps of the midrange control to .01. That sure did it. Things are a lot brighter than before.
LB