It's all about the tone... Franklin pics...

Scott_F

Scott_F

Flushologist
Staff member
Okay, here goes. The amp is completely done and producing tone.

Take away the fancy pants wood cabinet, take away any preconceptions about how an EL84 amp is *supposed* to sound, then figure out what the *right* speaker is for the amp, the *best* tubes, big ass iron and well... it's all about the tone.

I'm kinda stoked, no not kinda, but completely stoked. I got the new cabinet completed, greenback Mojo speaker installed and I played it with a Tele and a Les Paul and the amp is MAGIC!

Mojo speakers kick major ass. The depth of the chassis is such that the amp is about 10.5 inches deep. It sounds HUGE!

I honestly could not care if I ever sell a Franklin. Because, at the end of the day, *this* amp kills.

I will try not to gush any further about this thing.... sorry to bore you guys! :)

That's a guitar pic on top in the first pic, not a finish flaw.

franklinfinal1.jpg


franklinfinal2.jpg
 
Re: It's all about the tone...

Re: It's all about the tone...

i dont care about little yellow letters on a big red thingy describing how this sounds
i wanna hear how it sounds
got clips?
 
Re: It's all about the tone...

Re: It's all about the tone...

Scott...thats great man, and it's not a bore!

Im really happy for you, and I hope oyu (or somebody from the forum) enjoys that amp for a long time!
 
Re: It's all about the tone... Franklin pics...

It will be making a west coast tour at some point, so I'll plan on bringing it down to San Diego.
 
Re: It's all about the tone... Franklin pics...

How did you paint the "Franklin" logo on?
 
Re: It's all about the tone... Franklin pics...

That is the most awesome freakin thing I've ever seen. I'm really really really gassing for one now...sheesh, if only I could afford it...dangit...maybe I'll sell something :) get me a 2x10 version of something you build
 
Re: It's all about the tone... Franklin pics...

Scott_F said:
It will be making a west coast tour at some point, so I'll plan on bringing it down to San Diego.
Click to expand...
gimme a shout .. I might take a vacation 8/20-27.
 
Re: It's all about the tone... Franklin pics...

how does it sound compared to an Ac30, or Ac15 for that matter?......i love the AC30 tone, but i'd rather stick with something that is less expensive and less tempermental

i cant wait for the 30 watter!
 
Re: It's all about the tone... Franklin pics...

Let's be totally frank. It's based on the Matchless Lightning 15. I've changed out a few caps to tweak its bass response. The Lightning itself is based on a 15 watt version of an AC30, as their DC30 is based on an AC30. So, I think it has a lot of that Bad Cat/Matchless tone to it.

The guy that is making my transformers made them for Matchless before they went under (and is probably still making them for Matchless now, but he couldn't comment on *all* his current customers). It's a dad and his two sons. Dad's been making trannies for guitar amps since the 50's. They're located in So. Cal. Take it from there. I just got a set of their 30 watt "matchless" trannies and good heavens, the damn things are HUGE!

The Mojo Greenback speaker is much more efficient than the Texas Heat I was using before. I love the speaker a lot. I had ordered the G12H30 version Mojo, but they shipped me a V30 instead. I'm going to have to send it back and get the G12H30.

I have a black tolexed head, white piping, heading my way in the next week or two. I'll probably order a 1x12 combo soon. I have promised some fellas to send it towards the east coast for some beta testing, clips??? hopefully (I suck at making clips). But, I'm going to wait until the head enclosure gets here as it will look a lot more polished that way.

In lieu of reviews or clips, I'm offering a 48 hour no questions asked return policy. We'll see if anyone takes me up on it.

It's not got a ton of clean headroom, distorts beautifully. Lots of tones in there. Crank up the bass and treble and you'll get a lot less mids (duh!), keep the bass and treble down around the 8-10:00 range and it gets a lot more middy.
 
Re: It's all about the tone... Franklin pics...

Scott that is one cool looking amp!!! Well done. Love the white piping around the grill cloth.
 
Re: It's all about the tone... Franklin pics...

The piping was Jeff Swanson's idea. On any customer units that want stained wood, Jeff will most likely be doing the staining. I don't mind screwing around with my personal unit, but I do not think it was a flawless enough job to sell to another.

Jeff can use any wood someone wants. It'll end up costing more if someone wants something exotic, but using the poplar was a rather cost effective wood, even though it was still pretty damn expensive (and I had to do the stain!) (and the grll cloth is something exclusive to Swanson. Looks like cane weave, but it's really cloth, beautiful stuff)

Tolex covered pine or poplar isn't much less expensive, but if that's what someone wants, that's what we'll build. Time will tell.
 
Re: It's all about the tone... Franklin pics...

So that's the satin finish? It still has a nice gloss to it. Very fine looking amp.
 
Re: It's all about the tone... Franklin pics...

OH yeah, dammit, forgot to put that on there. I was thinking lower left corner of grill cloth.

My wife thinks I should put it on top between the handle and the front edge of the top.

I'm not sure. But I have some badges with holes and screws and I've got some that have no holes and should be glued.
 
Re: It's all about the tone... Franklin pics...

I really like it in the front center like in the first picture....you're making me want one more and more Scott....*thinking of selling his first born*
 
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