USAPatriot
New member
Coming Monday! -Rod-
GO-NAD!
- Thread starter USAPatriot
- Start date
misterwhizzy
Well-known member
Re: GO-NAD!
USAPatriot
New member
Re: GO-NAD!
It appears my stuff was delayed by weather. SOME of it has arrived in Texas, SOME is apparently still in Memphis, if Fedex's tracking is to be trusted that is. I've never had 3 boxes from one order get separated. At any rate, NOW Fedex is saying that delivery is tomorrow.
My GoNADs are aching for this gear! -Rod-
It appears my stuff was delayed by weather. SOME of it has arrived in Texas, SOME is apparently still in Memphis, if Fedex's tracking is to be trusted that is. I've never had 3 boxes from one order get separated. At any rate, NOW Fedex is saying that delivery is tomorrow.
My GoNADs are aching for this gear! -Rod-
USAPatriot
New member
Re: GO-NAD!
My new Jet City JCA20h set up, the Gibson and the Epi Del Rey. Lovin it!
My Blackstar HT-40 and BOSS GT-10
My new Jet City JCA20h set up, the Gibson and the Epi Del Rey. Lovin it!
My Blackstar HT-40 and BOSS GT-10
TwilightOdyssey
Darkness on the edge of Tone
Re: GO-NAD!
Looks LOUD.
Enjoy!
Looks LOUD.
Enjoy!
USAPatriot
New member
Re: GO-NAD!
It's great and I haven't EVEN turned it up yet. It's has a much better clean than I expected but there's also a microphonics problem. Once I got the gain up past 6, I started hearing AC/DC through the stack. Angus and all, yeah, not me. And since today is two-fer tuesday on almost every rock station in the US, I got to listen to TWO AC/DC songs. It wasn't real loud but it was sure obvious. Bummer, huh? Have contacted both JCA and AMS and awaiting replies. I am NOT sending this amp back unless they absolutely 100% insist there's no other way. This amp sounds great, AC/DC and all.
If I start hearing Barry Manilow, I'm ditching it. : private: -Rod-
It's great and I haven't EVEN turned it up yet. It's has a much better clean than I expected but there's also a microphonics problem. Once I got the gain up past 6, I started hearing AC/DC through the stack. Angus and all, yeah, not me. And since today is two-fer tuesday on almost every rock station in the US, I got to listen to TWO AC/DC songs. It wasn't real loud but it was sure obvious. Bummer, huh? Have contacted both JCA and AMS and awaiting replies. I am NOT sending this amp back unless they absolutely 100% insist there's no other way. This amp sounds great, AC/DC and all.
If I start hearing Barry Manilow, I'm ditching it. : private: -Rod-
Last edited:
misterwhizzy
Well-known member
Re: GO-NAD!
Here's the second best thing you can do for that amp.
The best thing is, as Kam said, go for a full tube swap, and use a 12AU7 as a PI. Trust me.
Here's the second best thing you can do for that amp.
The best thing is, as Kam said, go for a full tube swap, and use a 12AU7 as a PI. Trust me.
TheLivingDead
Dawn Of The Shred
Re: GO-NAD!
Very nice!
Very nice!
drpietrzak
New member
Re: GO-NAD!
I picked up the JCA2112RC recently. It is a great amp, which is also inexpensive. I was very surprised and have been loving it.
I picked up the JCA2112RC recently. It is a great amp, which is also inexpensive. I was very surprised and have been loving it.
USAPatriot
New member
Re: GO-NAD!
Thanks guys
I thought about getting the combo and would have if the controls hadn't been on top. The reverb would have been nice and it was cheaper too. A little more money and I probably would have gotten the 22 but I'll probably do the ZL loop mod on this one. We'll see. How's the reverb on that combo? -Rod-
Thanks guys
I thought about getting the combo and would have if the controls hadn't been on top. The reverb would have been nice and it was cheaper too. A little more money and I probably would have gotten the 22 but I'll probably do the ZL loop mod on this one. We'll see. How's the reverb on that combo? -Rod-
Kam
Shaftologist
misterwhizzy
Well-known member
Re: GO-NAD!
What is the ZL loop mod? Is it an effects loop? Do you have any more info on it?
What is the ZL loop mod? Is it an effects loop? Do you have any more info on it?
USAPatriot
New member
Re: GO-NAD!
It IS an effects loop yes and it's supposed to have zero loss as well. It's been around since about 2006 as far as I can tell and is under $100. It reportedly works on the JCA20H. Here's a link to a thread. It's 21 pages long but a very good read. I only come in at the last 3 posts. This loop was originally designed to go into DIY amp kits. Let me know what you think about it. I'm seriously considering it. -Rod-
Starting on page 12 here:
http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&p=302096
And this is a link to the device itself:
http://metroamp.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78&products_id=499
It IS an effects loop yes and it's supposed to have zero loss as well. It's been around since about 2006 as far as I can tell and is under $100. It reportedly works on the JCA20H. Here's a link to a thread. It's 21 pages long but a very good read. I only come in at the last 3 posts. This loop was originally designed to go into DIY amp kits. Let me know what you think about it. I'm seriously considering it. -Rod-
Starting on page 12 here:
http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&p=302096
And this is a link to the device itself:
http://metroamp.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78&products_id=499
Reload in 5
Just Ultimate Slacker
Re: GO-NAD!
mine was horrible with gain due to a single bad preamp tube. now it has new powersmp tubes (swapped first) lower gain pi, lower gain v1, and stock on the rest. Sounds great. V1 was the bad one.
mine was horrible with gain due to a single bad preamp tube. now it has new powersmp tubes (swapped first) lower gain pi, lower gain v1, and stock on the rest. Sounds great. V1 was the bad one.
USAPatriot
New member
Re: GO-NAD!
Yeah I think I have at least one bad preamp tube. This amp sounds way cleaner than people have said it is yet with the gain at 6 it's really not breaking up that much. I don't play a lot of gain, would never really have it at 6, but if something is wrong then something is wrong. I plugged my GT-10 into the front end so I'd have some reverb and with the GT-10's preamp on it sounded great...using the MS1959I preamp. When I flipped the preamp off there was just nothing coming from the amp. I had to push the master volume to halfway to hear much of anything. Bad juju. AMS has noted the problem and we're both waiting on Jet City's reply. Tomorrow I may pull the chassis out and wiggle/push the tubes just to make sure nothing worked loose in shipping, make sure they all have power, etc. It's eerie how close the amp, with just my guitar plugged into it, sounds like my #1 patch mentioned above. -Rod-
Yeah I think I have at least one bad preamp tube. This amp sounds way cleaner than people have said it is yet with the gain at 6 it's really not breaking up that much. I don't play a lot of gain, would never really have it at 6, but if something is wrong then something is wrong. I plugged my GT-10 into the front end so I'd have some reverb and with the GT-10's preamp on it sounded great...using the MS1959I preamp. When I flipped the preamp off there was just nothing coming from the amp. I had to push the master volume to halfway to hear much of anything. Bad juju. AMS has noted the problem and we're both waiting on Jet City's reply. Tomorrow I may pull the chassis out and wiggle/push the tubes just to make sure nothing worked loose in shipping, make sure they all have power, etc. It's eerie how close the amp, with just my guitar plugged into it, sounds like my #1 patch mentioned above. -Rod-
USAPatriot
New member
Re: GO-NAD!
Oh I AM doing that alright...which is why I'm writing again. I opened it up this afternoon, wanted to see if al the tubes were actually working (they are) and check the microphonics. It's a warzone in there. 4 out of 5 tubes are speaking to me with a really light tap with a tootsie roll pop stick, which is really lightweight. Oddly, the EL-84's are really wobbly in the sockets and the preamp tubes aren't much better. They're all making contact but I've never felt sockets so loose before. It takes some work to get the tubes out of my HT-40, so this is just wierd. This afternoon I was listening to Billy Idol doing "Midnight Hour", which is cool, but not through my amp. The amp has a bad buzz and hum. The hum goes away when I grab the jack, so no biggy, but the buzz is so bad I can't play over it. No squeals. One guitar cable I tried gave me whooshing sounds so I chucked it.
Anyhow, suggestions for the tube swap in THIS amp? At the moment, this is one of the cleanest amps I've ever had. It's weird, even with the gain way up. I like Tungsols and JJ's for the power and preamp in the HT-40 but this isn't the HT-40. Any thoughts from anyone would be appreciated! Contacted Jet City BTW and I'm hoping they'll either send new ones (which'll be junk, I'm sure) or maybe reimburse. Regardless of their printed warranty, their webpage says 30 days on the tubes, so I'm going for it. Thanks! -Rod-
Oh I AM doing that alright...which is why I'm writing again. I opened it up this afternoon, wanted to see if al the tubes were actually working (they are) and check the microphonics. It's a warzone in there. 4 out of 5 tubes are speaking to me with a really light tap with a tootsie roll pop stick, which is really lightweight. Oddly, the EL-84's are really wobbly in the sockets and the preamp tubes aren't much better. They're all making contact but I've never felt sockets so loose before. It takes some work to get the tubes out of my HT-40, so this is just wierd. This afternoon I was listening to Billy Idol doing "Midnight Hour", which is cool, but not through my amp. The amp has a bad buzz and hum. The hum goes away when I grab the jack, so no biggy, but the buzz is so bad I can't play over it. No squeals. One guitar cable I tried gave me whooshing sounds so I chucked it.
Anyhow, suggestions for the tube swap in THIS amp? At the moment, this is one of the cleanest amps I've ever had. It's weird, even with the gain way up. I like Tungsols and JJ's for the power and preamp in the HT-40 but this isn't the HT-40. Any thoughts from anyone would be appreciated! Contacted Jet City BTW and I'm hoping they'll either send new ones (which'll be junk, I'm sure) or maybe reimburse. Regardless of their printed warranty, their webpage says 30 days on the tubes, so I'm going for it. Thanks! -Rod-
misterwhizzy
Well-known member
Re: GO-NAD!
I've done quite a bit of tube rolling with this amp, and I found that your best bet is a Tung-Sol in V1 (of course tested for high gain and low noise), a Ruby 12AX7AC5 HG+ in V2, which I requested to be tested the same way. I find that the clarity of Tung-Sols in V1 make a world of difference, and nothing else really matches it. For the record, I went through JJs, a Mullard RI, a couple EHX, a couple Sovteks, and several Tung-Sols.
For a while, I thought Tung-Sol in both V1 and V2, but I found that V2 needs to roll off just a bit of high end to tame the amp. It's pretty bright all in all, and you can get some sizzle back with the presence knob. If you don't want to dole out for the Chinese or if you don't like Chinese tubes (and I could see why you wouldn't after the garbage that comes stock in that amp), then give the JJ ECC803S a shot. It's the long-plate design, and it sounds much, much better to my ears than the ECC83.
The PI deserves its own paragraph. A lot of people say to use a Sovtek LPS in the PI slot. I tried that, and it works fine, but the amp was a bit compressed, and unpleasantly so. I tried the Mullard RI there too, and it smoothed things out too much, and you could really tell the power section was being driven hard. Finally, glassman recommended I put a 12AU7 in that spot, and it was like magic. The amp opened up, the clarity returned, the preamp crunch was still there, and all was right with the world.
As far as power tubes go, I just bought a pair of JJs, biased them up properly around 70% of plate dissipation, and called it a day. I messed a little bit with the bias, cooling it off, heating it up, etc., and it's been so long since I did it, I couldn't give you the milliamp reading, but I do remember that it came right back to my 70% calculation.
I could talk all day about the tubes I've put in this amp and the results I've had, but my bottom line recommendation is Tung-Sol -> Ruby 12AX7AC5 HG+ -> 12AU7 (cheap JJ works fine, select it for low noise) -> pair of JJ EL84s. Good luck, and feel free to ask me any questions. I'd be glad to help and do my best to answer.
I've done quite a bit of tube rolling with this amp, and I found that your best bet is a Tung-Sol in V1 (of course tested for high gain and low noise), a Ruby 12AX7AC5 HG+ in V2, which I requested to be tested the same way. I find that the clarity of Tung-Sols in V1 make a world of difference, and nothing else really matches it. For the record, I went through JJs, a Mullard RI, a couple EHX, a couple Sovteks, and several Tung-Sols.
For a while, I thought Tung-Sol in both V1 and V2, but I found that V2 needs to roll off just a bit of high end to tame the amp. It's pretty bright all in all, and you can get some sizzle back with the presence knob. If you don't want to dole out for the Chinese or if you don't like Chinese tubes (and I could see why you wouldn't after the garbage that comes stock in that amp), then give the JJ ECC803S a shot. It's the long-plate design, and it sounds much, much better to my ears than the ECC83.
The PI deserves its own paragraph. A lot of people say to use a Sovtek LPS in the PI slot. I tried that, and it works fine, but the amp was a bit compressed, and unpleasantly so. I tried the Mullard RI there too, and it smoothed things out too much, and you could really tell the power section was being driven hard. Finally, glassman recommended I put a 12AU7 in that spot, and it was like magic. The amp opened up, the clarity returned, the preamp crunch was still there, and all was right with the world.
As far as power tubes go, I just bought a pair of JJs, biased them up properly around 70% of plate dissipation, and called it a day. I messed a little bit with the bias, cooling it off, heating it up, etc., and it's been so long since I did it, I couldn't give you the milliamp reading, but I do remember that it came right back to my 70% calculation.
I could talk all day about the tubes I've put in this amp and the results I've had, but my bottom line recommendation is Tung-Sol -> Ruby 12AX7AC5 HG+ -> 12AU7 (cheap JJ works fine, select it for low noise) -> pair of JJ EL84s. Good luck, and feel free to ask me any questions. I'd be glad to help and do my best to answer.
USAPatriot
New member
Re: GO-NAD!
That actually will work for me I think. I'm using the 83s in the HT-40 and am really happy with them but for 5 bucks more I can try the 803s's. I didn't take the chassis out today so didn't eyeball the phase inverter's label but my understanding when I bought the amp was that there's an AU7 in there anyway so I'd pretty much mentally decided to go there, so that works too. The guy at Jet City emailed and said I wouldn't need to bias but I don't put a lot of stock in such statements. Not that he's necessarily wrong, mind you, but if I don't actually look, I don't really know what my amp is doing. Somewhere along the line I saw a photo of the board and saw two points on the far left hand side that simply said "bias" next to them. Is that where you measured? I'm assuming so but always like to get from those that were there before me. The little info I've seen on it, and I haven't actually looked, just seen info here and there, seems to say between 18 and 20mA. Sound right? If I have to pay for this I need to keep it economical...have a wife...otherwise I'd be springing for way too money chasing my tail. Does the plate voltage in the power stage (possibly) need balancing as in the HT-40? Is there anything else I should be checking while I'm in there? Thanks a bunch. -Rod-
That actually will work for me I think. I'm using the 83s in the HT-40 and am really happy with them but for 5 bucks more I can try the 803s's. I didn't take the chassis out today so didn't eyeball the phase inverter's label but my understanding when I bought the amp was that there's an AU7 in there anyway so I'd pretty much mentally decided to go there, so that works too. The guy at Jet City emailed and said I wouldn't need to bias but I don't put a lot of stock in such statements. Not that he's necessarily wrong, mind you, but if I don't actually look, I don't really know what my amp is doing. Somewhere along the line I saw a photo of the board and saw two points on the far left hand side that simply said "bias" next to them. Is that where you measured? I'm assuming so but always like to get from those that were there before me. The little info I've seen on it, and I haven't actually looked, just seen info here and there, seems to say between 18 and 20mA. Sound right? If I have to pay for this I need to keep it economical...have a wife...otherwise I'd be springing for way too money chasing my tail. Does the plate voltage in the power stage (possibly) need balancing as in the HT-40? Is there anything else I should be checking while I'm in there? Thanks a bunch. -Rod-
USAPatriot
New member
Re: GO-NAD!
What exactly is this mod doing? I've seen the video before and liked it, along with a few others...I may do the ZL loop if at all possible (has to be space for the board and jacks!) and if it's compatible...but hadn't really given it a lot of thought until I gave it another listen. Right now the amp won't come anywhere near this in the gain department, which hopefully the tube swap will fix. Gain all the way at 9 is like my Blackstar at about 3. Nobody's home. Maybe if JCA says they won't cover the cost of tubes I'll just send it back to AMS for a new one. I'd like JCA to be reasonable about this. We'll see
-Rod-
What exactly is this mod doing? I've seen the video before and liked it, along with a few others...I may do the ZL loop if at all possible (has to be space for the board and jacks!) and if it's compatible...but hadn't really given it a lot of thought until I gave it another listen. Right now the amp won't come anywhere near this in the gain department, which hopefully the tube swap will fix. Gain all the way at 9 is like my Blackstar at about 3. Nobody's home. Maybe if JCA says they won't cover the cost of tubes I'll just send it back to AMS for a new one. I'd like JCA to be reasonable about this. We'll see
-Rod-