Variac a Super Lead instead of attenuating

[rgalpin]

https://soundcloud.com/pasian4life/feb_03_2015-020-edit

Is that clip brown? Is it cranked plexi, 2203, pedals, or something else? Curious what other ppl think.

two things that make it hard to tell what you have there is the verb which is kind of flooding out the nuances of the tone - and the other thing is the technique you are using is just not aggressive enough to hear if the amp will respond the way an ed type browned tone would do.

[JimiJames]

Pasian4life

Stop with the " cut 'n paste" and undermining members of this amp builders forum with rhetoric.

Please.

Thank You.

[Pasian4life]

Sorry, for whatever undermining rhetoric means. I have 2 metro amp builds. That article was not free and I was just sharing. Good point about aggressive right hand tech. That's one of the issues I find with 9-40 stings. It's easier to strike them sharp/flat whichever it is... Just another amazing find with Ed... He was agressive with both hands but not all the time.

Basically I am sharing my experiences and opinions. Helping others and getting their opinion on the sound I'm getting.

[rgalpin]

P4Life - it's all just a little out of context. In order to establish a context for your audience here at Metro, I would spend some time reading posts and seeing where we are at and how we got here. It's been a really long involved trip. And it's all documented here. Just wanting to explain the reaction that you might run into with that kind of a copy-paste post. Hope you hear that as intended - not meant to bust balls.

[rgalpin]

one little disclaimer... i actually did not read much of what was copy and pasted because as soon as i realized that it read like a magazine article, i lost interest. my snap judgment on the whole thing - but anyway - let's just get these amps opened up and start playing around and see what we can get! that's why i'm here - please forgive the editorial sideshow on my part. BACK TO BIDNESS!!

[Tone Slinger]

Hey Rob, what brand of transformers are in your amp for the clip ? Is it the '74 Super Lead you got and put the Metro board in with the stock Dagnalls ?

[rgalpin]

Hey Rob, what brand of transformers are in your amp for the clip ? Is it the '74 Super Lead you got and put the Metro board in with the stock Dagnalls ?

Yes. Those are original transformers from the '74. And here is the current state of the board.

[Tone Slinger]

Sweetness

[mightymike]

Also, in the early days he was trying to get that sound at lower volumes (smaller venue) when they hit the large venues he is trying to get more volume. One thing that did not change was his amazing skills.

[rockgod212]

hey all, some question's about using a variac.

1. do I need to rebias the amp the target voltage, say dropping wall voltage from 125 to say 115 or 110v?
2. can I set the variac and run a power strip to run multiple amps off the variac?

I ask, because I really want to get a variac, im tired of these insane wall voltage fluctuations.

[Strat78]

hey all, some question's about using a variac.

1. do I need to rebias the amp the target voltage, say dropping wall voltage from 125 to say 115 or 110v?
2. can I set the variac and run a power strip to run multiple amps off the variac?

I ask, because I really want to get a variac, im tired of these insane wall voltage fluctuations.

You should just get a variac and get your plate voltages in the 410v range and bias from there. If the wall fluctuates from there your amp should be safe. Even bias around 5 to 10% higher than the target just to fill out the tone a bit especially if you are variacing the plates down to 380 or so.
Each amp has it's sweet spot, so I would run each amp with it's own variac nothing else, inserting a power bar sounds like trouble.

[rockgod212]

ok thanx for the advice, I will find one and give it a shot. any particular brand to get or stay away from? I see a lot of used ones on ebay, kinda looking at one that's in a box case. looks good, just not sure about brand, what about amp rating should i look for with a variac?

hey all, some question's about using a variac.

1. do I need to rebias the amp the target voltage, say dropping wall voltage from 125 to say 115 or 110v?
2. can I set the variac and run a power strip to run multiple amps off the variac?

I ask, because I really want to get a variac, im tired of these insane wall voltage fluctuations.

You should just get a variac and get your plate voltages in the 410v range and bias from there. If the wall fluctuates from there your amp should be safe. Even bias around 5 to 10% higher than the target just to fill out the tone a bit especially if you are variacing the plates down to 380 or so.
Each amp has it's sweet spot, so I would run each amp with it's own variac nothing else, inserting a power bar sounds like trouble.

[rockgod212]

well I took the plunge and bought a used power stat 0-132v@3 amp variac off ebay $90.00 total- not a bad price, looks nice as its already in a box type case. I cant wait to try it out with my new 50watt el34 plexi build. should be exactly what I was looking for.

[rgalpin]

well I took the plunge and bought a used power stat 0-132v@3 amp variac off ebay $90.00 total- not a bad price, looks nice as its already in a box type case. I cant wait to try it out with my new 50watt el34 plexi build. should be exactly what I was looking for.

I'd be curious to see the box type case. Carrying the variac around without proper casing has always kind of bothered me. Do you have a link or a pic of it?

[Strat78]

Here is the exact one Edward used and it looks mint. All things considered, the price is a steel!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ohmite-Cat-No-V ... 4ae15c27c0
Oh, I just found this old clip with a variac dialed way down with the bias calculated for a plate voltage of 380v. I remember not liking the nasally tone, but now I kind of dig it. Also, this was George's 68 kit right off the bench pretty much, what a life changer those kits were for allot of us!
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=9665912