Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

D

doveman

New member
Haven't been around that much lately ... but this recent project turned out really well ... thought I'd share on a few boards.

I've been working this project since early this year when I was on the hunt for a 5E3. I picked up a Richter Supra-Luxe head used at TGP. Made a few adjustments to it. I'm so tickled with it, I just want to tell everyone about it. A story of great products and great service.

First ... this is what makes the Richter Supra-Luxe special to begin with:

  • Authentic 5E3 preamp with a 12AT7
  • 6L6s with bigger GZ34 rectifier with bigger output and power transformers - about 30w to 35w
  • Did not change the split load phase inverter - a big concern for me since a really big part of the tweed sound
  • Cathode based power section and bigger 20w cathode resistor
    You can find Richter Amps here http://www.richteramplification.com/

Now what's different about mine:

  • Head and cab - only 6 Richter heads are out there right now.
  • I have run 12AT7, 5751 and 12AX7 ... they all sound good just increasing dirt as you move up.
  • I swapped the .1uf/600v coupling caps ... .022uf on the V1 and .047uf on the V2. Just takes a little edge off the bass which is a common mod for 5E3s. Fits me now.
  • I added Dana's VVR (Variable Voltage Reduction) mod that is designed for the cathode based 5E3. http://www.hallamplification.com/main.html?src=/ That mod allows me to run the amp wide open and dial it down to whisper quiet or anywhere in between. (see the details of that installation at the following link) http://richteramplification.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=34
  • Lastly, Sara Richter put me in touch with Bruce @ http://www.memphis-amps.com/ to make a matching cab. Since this was a one-off, she put me in touch with Bruce and he worked out the details. I received it today and popped in a pair of Emi 105-16 Legends that I already had ... very Super Reverb-ish speakers to my ears. Since the head did not have a shellac finish, I sent it to Bruce to shellac at the same time.
  • BTW ... shout out to Sara ... even though I've never been a customer, she has helped me with the CAPs, the VVR, and the CAB. She's aces in my book. She even sent tweed and grill samples to the Bruce to boot. Maybe not just for me ... but it turned out perfect I think.

So here it is ...
DSCN1153.jpg
Back-Complete.jpg


Note:

  • Bruce puts Strat jacks on the amp cabs ... not seen that ... kind of neat.
  • The chicken head knob is the VVR - one knob takes the whole amp down to nothing while it's still wailing.

Very happy where I ended up with this beautiful amp. Sounds great too. What do you think? Hats off to Sara, Bruce and Dana for the killer amp and great service.

So to give it a bit of scale here is the amp with one of my guitars and my Brown Note D'Lite 22/33. Two really sweet amps of vastly different flavors.

DSCN1156.jpg


:1:
 
Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

I'm pretty sure that's the most beautiful tweed amp I've ever laid eyes on! Everything from the design of the head cab, the laquered tweed, and the ultra cool strat jack on the cab.

:eyecrazy:

I hate asking how much, but a ballpark idea would suffice. :14:
 
Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

I have about $1k in it ... I bought the head used for ~$700 (only a few months old and completely stock) over at TGP ... got about $260 in the cab (including the shellac on the head). I did the VVR work myself for about ~$45. I changed the coupling caps myself but Sara will let you order the caps you want. I already had the two 10 inch speakers ... so I'm not really counting them ... so add speakers ... the pair is ~$90 new I think.

The VVR regulates the preamp and the power amp with one knob ... which is incredible ... but if you turn it up the two 6L6s can easily do the live thing. I sent the head to the guy making the cab ... and he matched it all perfectly. I got to tell you ... I think it's pretty too ... took my breath away when I saw it complete. Sara Richter said she just didn't see a lot of demand when she made the heads and only made six heads. She and I worked out the specifics on the VVR together. My thinking is that if she offered this amp ... looking like this ... with the VVR ... it would kill. She already has a business relationship with the cab maker.

So it's a used head but it's really a brand new amp. I'm glad you like it too. :D
 
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Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

That is one beautiful amp. It would be great to hear some clips of it, if you have the ability to record and post.
 
Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

Jeff_H said:
That is one beautiful amp. It would be great to hear some clips of it, if you have the ability to record and post.
Click to expand...

I used to do recording and posting but I killed my soundclick site and stopped posting on the boards a while back. Too much trouble to set up for a one off. But the cleans sound really good (I like them a bit better than blackface). If you run on the edge of distortion you can take it into nice OD with attack or a little more volume. It takes pedals well too ... I like it with the 12AT7 with pedals. The 5751 or 12AX7 and you don't even need a pedal. Got a bit more headroom than the 6V6 5E3 with the 6L6s.

Sorry ... just not set up to post clips anymore.
 
Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

If you had to compare two commonly known amps to the two you have, what are they closest to?
 
Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

Gearjoneser said:
If you had to compare two commonly known amps to the two you have, what are they closest to?
Click to expand...

The Richter is just a "beefed up" 5E3 Deluxe design with the 2 6L6s. While I've never owned another tweed amp, this thing matches up with everything I've read about a 5E3 including being a bit too bassy but without the head room issues. The coupling cap change I made is pretty common to lighten up the bass.

The Brown Note D'Lite 22/33 is a bit more complex. It's sort of a dumblish cascading pre-amp thing (but not quite) using 6V6s with Vibrolux iron at 22 watts. I personally like it with 6L6s at 33w since the output transformer is switchable. It has a little more headroom and can do the live thing with a 1x12 EVM12L or 2x12 Celestions. Dumbles get the OD from the preamp and have a lot of headroom in the power amp. The D'Lite seems to get a little less from the preamp ... but gets some from the power amp that is pushing a bit too. But it's still a bit softer than the bigger iron black face Fenders. The cleans aren't quite as good as the Richter or some really good Fenders but I hate to try to adjust it and lose the magic with the OD - which is about perfect for me now.

Both amps do well it you set them right on the edge of break up and work everything from the guitar. The D'Lite is a bit brighter ... the Richter has a richer bass to it with a lot of shimmer. I have been experimenting with a Radial Headbone that let's me run either head through both speaker cabs and it's a pretty damn flexible dual rig sitting just like it is in the picture above. A benefit is that one mic is all you need for the PA ... still experimenting though. Probably keep it simple ... I can just take either one or both and run them as separate stand alone rigs. Both really light and portable which my back likes.

Proabably more than you wanted to know.

:)
 
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Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

nice, watching now ...
 
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Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

PVFan said:
so, what does the VVR attenuate?
Click to expand...

Rather than some scaling and VVR options that scale only the Power Amp, or the Phase Inverter, this one takes advantage of this amp being cathode biased ...

So ... it takes the whole amp down with one pot ... both the pre-amp and the power-amp. It has an advantage of being simple and it's also the cheapest VVR version.
 
Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

do you get a kick out of saying a girl built yer amp? I would. ha ha, a girl. pff, girls.
 
Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

doveman said:
Rather than some scaling and VVR options that scale only the Power Amp, or the Phase Inverter, this one takes advantage of this amp being cathode biased ...

So ... it takes the whole amp down with one pot ... both the pre-amp and the power-amp. It has an advantage of being simple and it's also the cheapest VVR version.
Click to expand...

thanks, I edited my question because I saw the link in the 1st post, but then I saw how much I had to read and absorb, so I didn't. Sounds neat, don't quite get it yet.
 
Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

PVFan said:
do you get a kick out of saying a girl built yer amp? I would. ha ha, a girl. pff, girls.
Click to expand...

I've always been supportive of girls handling my equipment. :14:

Seriously, she builds a nice amp ... gut shots of the amp are pretty nice.
 
Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

a few moments ago I was assailed by 5e3 fever for a few weeks -- after discovering them and tweeds in general, and Fender amps in general, recently. Within the maelstrom that followed of clips and youtubes of 5e3 amps getting played, Sara's amps numbered significantly and sounded as good as anything.
 
Re: Special Richter Supra-Luxe (30w 5E3)

I think it's kinda cool ... Richter has built another one of these amps like mine ... so now there's a couple of these on the planet. I have no affiliation with Sara ... in fact I've never really bought anything from her. But she really helped me when I was researching this modification on my amp. Just helping a player find his tone ... whether a customer or not. Here's a link to her forum where you can see a picture of the new combo version of the amp with this control on the front panel. I'd like to think inspired a bit by my amp. I gave her permission to use my youtube clips ... the least I could do for all the help she gave me.

http://www.richteramplification.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=6&p=298#p298

:burnout:
 
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