If you were to design a custom amp...

OrkestrA

OrkestrA

New member
work has been slow recently, so I got to thinking and what with the tools on my PC at work; I started messing around...



I use a Powerball and love it, I recently customized my cab by swapping out two V60's in the bottom with two Vintage 30 speakers. It sounds so amazing.
My Powerball got me thinking, would it not be great to have a clean 'channel' which had only one control which tailored the sound? The channel was purest clean, with two modes one for brighter, fendery tones and the other for warmer vox style British tones.
The dirty channel would have two modes, one cold (ala 5150, Savage etc) and one warm (ala Invader, Powerball, Boogie mkIV's etc)...
Also I love the switchable mids on my Powerball, its fantastic to cut through but also when I'm recording it's like I've got two different, amazing amps!!!
One thing regarding that though is that I prefer my mids focused, but when I switch to the clean or crunch channels I prefer the contour to be disengaged - what I would propose is that this was set by the head and then automatically observed by the footswitch, thus: when you switch from channel 1 (contour off) to channel 3 (contour on) it footswitch does this for you!

Also, extra tube would add an extra flavor to the tone although perhaps needless, it sounds cool!


What would you design?
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

I would take a stock jcm 800. The footswitchable gain stages via extra preamp tubes. The switch would have 2 switches. One for each extra preamp tube. Each tube would have a control for gain and a tone knob. I would have a hot plate installed.
I do not know if this would sound good or not but someone else copuld tweak it. If I was to build an amp that is what I would want. I do not like my clean to be real clean. The extra tubes would give a lot of gain when needed. With separate knobs you can control how high gain each channel is
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

-tube (probably 6L6s), switchable from 5 to 120 watts (I'm not sure if that's possible tho)
-built in speaker sim for optional direct recording (and an option that would enable direct recording without having to have speakers hooked up)
-built in reamp circuit for optional reamping
-spring reverb, analog delay circuits
-three channels, clean to max gain available on all 3
-back up solid state power section that kicks in when the tubes die; or to prolong tube life when you are just goofing around.
 
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Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

Mine would be an old school vintage type amp of moderate wattage. It would be all tube, of course, including the rectifier. No master volume. An amp that places emphasis on pushed power tubes instead of preamp distortions.

I like these type of amps, but I don't like to rely on putting pedals in front of them either.

Some kind of a switchable, built in boost, replacing the typical overdrive pedal would be nice, but not anything high gain or requiring a master volume.
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

2 6L6
12AY7 in V1, tube rectifier, tremolo, reverb

2x12

Controls:
Reverb
Trem Speed and Depth
Tone
Volume
Volume

Four inputs

Tweed.
 
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Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

Rushfan2112 said:
2 6L6
12AY7 in V1, tube rectifier, tremolo, reverb

2x12

Controls:
Reverb
Trem Speed and Depth
Tone
Volume
Volume

Four inputs

Tweed.
Click to expand...

Nice...

I would just love an amp that combined a Road King and a Trem-o-verb... the only thing that would make it better is something like the H&K Switchblade... but put a TC 2290 or G Force in it... hmmmmm...

OH yeah... and also a tube tape echoplex and Thomas Organ wah w/ an Ampeg Tube tremolo from the Reverb-o-rocket... and a good control board... hahahaha
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

Something basic, a non-master volume, two-channels. But two channels in the sense of a Marshall Plexi, where you don't have a footswitch to change them or seperate EQs and whatnots. 4 EL34 power tubes with a half-power switch in the back, the normal 3 preamp tubes, maybe a tube rectifier. A Fender-ish tube reverb unit inside the amp would be a nice addition, though not needed. The big part of this amp is the following design involving the two-channels.

Each channel has a seperate preamp section that runs into the master EQ which is based on the normal '59 Bassman/Marshall Plexi EQ tonestack. The first channel is Fender Twin based and designed for the maximum amount of headroom. All four power tubes will be active on this channel, unless the half power switch is on. The preamp will be tweaked to have the most Fender-ish sound one can get out of an EL34 amp. Kind of like the clean sound Mark Knopfler gets out of his EL34-equipped Komet amps.

The second channel is a normal Marshall Plexi preamp-type thing, but in this channel, only TWO of the four power tubes are active (unless the half-power switch is on, in which case only one ran in class A will work, like on the new Peavey Windsor studio amp). All four can be used if a switch on the back is turned on, just in case ;) . The sound this channel is based around is that classic Marshall sound a la Free, Cream, Thin Lizzy, Van Halen, etc.

The get the usage of both channels, a simple A/B box before the amp is needed. It allows for a lot of experimentation with certain effects going into one channels, some into the other, and other fun little ideas. The idea is to be able to get a nice, high headroom clean tone and a classic Marshall sound that is mildly controllable in the same box. Hmm...not really simple like I said it was above :D .

Probably not possible, but it would be cool if it was. If not, I'll just take the next best thing, 50 watt Marshall style amp, one channel is Fender Twin like with the most possible headroom, and the other is a Marshall Plexi style tonestack. I think STRATDELUXER when changing his old Marshall from a PCB to a point-to-point board did something like this, I don't remember exactly though.
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

Mine would be a boutique, vintage oriented version of the road king concept. Only I'd want completely separate signal pats from pre to transformer. yes, separate transformers and four power stages with 6V6, EL84, EL34 and 5881/6l6.

channel1: tweed deluxe
channel2: blonde vibrolux
channel3: Vox AC15, ala 65 London
Channel4: JTM45, with on the fly switchable EL34/5881 power section and ss/valve rectification

I'd add a loop to add a Victoria Reverberato unit IF it didn't mess with the tone.
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

I would make a 3 channel amp....1st would Be nice Fender "glassy" cleans..second would be a Marshall "dirty" clean....and the 3rd...a Bogner Shiva Dirt!!

~Mitc h~
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

Mine'd be 3 channels to be perfect, I'd say.

Mark IV lead channel
5150 lead channel
Powerball lead channel

I'd have a switching system to setup to switch between the head for distortion and a PODxt Pro for clean tones/effects.

In all reality... I'll probably end up just getting one of each head.
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

I'm not the most well versed in wiring and technical specs of amps, so I'll mostly go along the features and sounds I'd want an amp head with:

2 channels with a mode switch on each
2 pre-amp sides: one with 12AT7s and one with 12AX7s.(Not sure how many tubes)
2 Power amp sides: one with 4x6L6 and one 4xEL34
3 5U4 rectifier tubes
Tube spring reverb circuit a la Fender Reverb.

The AT7s would feed into the 6L6s for the clean channel, giving a Fender/Mesa smooth clean tone. The AT7s would prevent breakup from occurring at higher volumes. Flicking one mode switch would send the AT7s into the EL34 giving a clean Marshall/Vox sound.

The AX7s would be the preamp tubes for the distortion channel, which would run into the EL34s for a big Marshall sound. Flicking the mode switch on this channel would send the AX7s into the 6L6s for a nice Mesa rectifier tone (assisted by the 5U4 rectifier tubes).

A 100W/10W switch (to go from Reading Festival to basement levels!).
2 input jacks per channels
4 Speaker outputs (2 per channel, IF POSSIBLE)
4, 8, and 16 ohm selector switch (or maybe 2x4 and 2x8ohms speaker outs)

Separate controls for each channel:
Clean: Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, Presence
Distortion: Gain, Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, Presence
Master Volume
Solo Boost volume (up to +25db)
Reverb speed and intensity knobs

I'm guessing having the different preamp sides would require an A/B box, so the footswitch would have:
Solo boost on/off
Reverb on/off

This would be one hell of a beast of an amp head. I might ask Scott to build it for me one day if I ever have $5,000!!! :D
 
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Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

I had the concept for my dream amp in my head for years....Twin/Plexi/800/modded Marshall/superheavy. Then one day Reinhold Bogner nailed it on the head with the Ecstasy.

To date, it's the best sounding and most versatile amp I've ever owned or plugged into, but there's one major thing I'd change. I want the same exact amp with 2 EL-34's and 2 6L6's. Each channel would be able to be assigned to it's own power section, and the amp would be rated at 60/30...instead of 120/60. That way, I could turn all the volumes up to 6-7, and assign the clean to the 6L6's, with the blue and red channels going to EL-34's.

I know Mesa has gone down that road, but I want that option from an Ecstasy.......my true dream amp....the Ecstasy II 60W.
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

I would like a single channel amp with a Boogie MK.1 front end, a dumble style EQ, a 15 watt EL84 power section like a VOX, and a open backed 2x10 cab with celestion blue frame alnicos.
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

Scott and I went back and forth for a few weeks or so putting some ideas together.

Eventually I think we ended up with essentially a BluesBreaker in a 1 x 12 cabinet.

God help me....that's the amp I dream about when I crash out at night.
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

Gearjoneser said:
I had the concept for my dream amp in my head for years....Twin/Plexi/800/modded Marshall/superheavy. Then one day Reinhold Bogner nailed it on the head with the Ecstasy.

To date, it's the best sounding and most versatile amp I've ever owned or plugged into, but there's one major thing I'd change. I want the same exact amp with 2 EL-34's and 2 6L6's. Each channel would be able to be assigned to it's own power section, and the amp would be rated at 60/30...instead of 120/60. That way, I could turn all the volumes up to 6-7, and assign the clean to the 6L6's, with the blue and red channels going to EL-34's.

I know Mesa has gone down that road, but I want that option from an Ecstasy.......my true dream amp....the Ecstasy II 60W.
Click to expand...

Never mind what I said...I want that instead!
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

Gearjoneser said:
I had the concept for my dream amp in my head for years....Twin/Plexi/800/modded Marshall/superheavy. Then one day Reinhold Bogner nailed it on the head with the Ecstasy.

To date, it's the best sounding and most versatile amp I've ever owned or plugged into, but there's one major thing I'd change. I want the same exact amp with 2 EL-34's and 2 6L6's. Each channel would be able to be assigned to it's own power section, and the amp would be rated at 60/30...instead of 120/60. That way, I could turn all the volumes up to 6-7, and assign the clean to the 6L6's, with the blue and red channels going to EL-34's.

I know Mesa has gone down that road, but I want that option from an Ecstasy.......my true dream amp....the Ecstasy II 60W.
Click to expand...

:beerchug:
 
Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

If my Mesa Quad Pre had a channel that did a convincing Marshall Plexi sound then it would probably have almost everything that I would ever want. The rhythm mode of Channel II (Mark III circuit) can do it pretty well but the mids are too smooth.
 
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Re: If you were to design a custom amp...

Gearjoneser said:
I had the concept for my dream amp in my head for years....Twin/Plexi/800/modded Marshall/superheavy. Then one day Reinhold Bogner nailed it on the head with the Ecstasy.

To date, it's the best sounding and most versatile amp I've ever owned or plugged into, but there's one major thing I'd change. I want the same exact amp with 2 EL-34's and 2 6L6's. Each channel would be able to be assigned to it's own power section, and the amp would be rated at 60/30...instead of 120/60. That way, I could turn all the volumes up to 6-7, and assign the clean to the 6L6's, with the blue and red channels going to EL-34's.

I know Mesa has gone down that road, but I want that option from an Ecstasy.......my true dream amp....the Ecstasy II 60W.
Click to expand...


GJ has a winner here! That's exactly what I was thinking! Thanks for typing all that out for me bro :beerchug::beerchug:
 
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