Long time reader of this forum, first time poster.
On Friday I received my Tiny Terror back from amp guru Jeff Snider, who performed the Mercury Magnetics Holy Terror transformer upgrade for me. Results: DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT!
Initial Impressions using a ’95 Les Paul Standard into my Avatar/Celestion Custom Stack:
• MUCH higher gain
• Louder and quieter - less humm
• Fuller tone at lower volumes
• Better low end response ~ CH-CHUNK
• Flatter frequency response
• Tone control is more effective
• Gain shifted more into the midrange
• More tonal versatility - power tube distortion
• Improved touch sensitivity to pick attack
• Improved responsiveness to guitar volume
I never disliked the way my Tiny Terror sounded. It’s a kick-ass little amp. Although it is kinda a one trick pony - high gain British CRUNCH! I always thought it sounded slightly restrained or veiled compared to the openness and responsiveness of my other guitar amps.
Some have asked: Why would you spend nearly as much to upgrade a Tiny Terror to a Holly Terror as you did on the amp itself? If you already like the sound of the Tiny Terror, why upgrade it all?
Answer: First, I liked the sound of the Tiny Terror, but I didn’t LOVE it. It was very, very close to what I was looking for to round out my collection of amps that I use in my small recording studio (Emery Sound Micobaby, Fender ’57 Deluxe hand-wired) neither of which do the British CRUNCH thing. But it fell just shy even with NOS tube upgrades and the right speaker cabinets. I gambled that is was so close to what I wanted, that a Mercury Magnetics transformer upgrade might just do the trick and I’d be more satisfied. Second, What other low wattage amps out there deliver Orange tone? While I’d love nothing more than to acquire more amps, I’d end up losing half of them in the divorce along with half of my guitars and everything else.
My studio is only 11’ x 7.5’. Anything over 15 watts is too ‘effin loud! I can’t play or record with my Dual Rectifier or my ’66 Bassman in my studio without robbing them of tone with an attenuator. Third, as a gear junkie always seeking better tone, I was also hoping for more musicality at lower volumes. This was achieved with the Mercury transformer upgrades.
The original Tiny Terror sounded best to me two ways (note: dial positions relative to a clock face):
1. Gain cranked to around 3 o’clock and volume between 10 and 2.
2. Volume cranked to between 3 and 4, gain between 11 and 12 o’clock.
After the upgrade, with high gain NOS RFT 12AX7’s and a matched pair of NOS GE EL84/6BQ5’s in place, I start getting good Orange crunchy tone with the gain around 10 o’clock and volume anywhere between 9 and 12. Cranking the gain higher yields an insane, all out squashed fuzz tone. Due to the extremely high gain and proximity to the transformer, the amp now <i>requires</i> the use of the pre-amp tube shields to prevent it from howling like a wounded dog.
In general, the overdrive distortion has more of a singing quality. Whereas previously it was as if the distortion was more prominent in the lower mid to bass frequencies, the gain has better balance throughout the frequency range of the amp. The overall frequency response seems less scooped with the tone control straight up. Fooling around with just the three knobs on the amp, I was able to coax many different high gain sounds from classic Orange crush and compressed fuzz to ch-chunky metal and rock reminiscent of my Dual Rectifier half stack.
Backing off the gain to 3 or slightly lower and cranking up the volume to 3 or 4 o’clock drove the amp into a more musical power tube distortion than the original. The tone here was LOUD and surprisingly similar to my 1966 Fender Bassman with its matching 2x12 piggyback cabinet. Touch sensitivity is at its best on this setting. Backing off the guitar’s volume control cleaned up the tone with a soft strum or soft single note playing while a more aggressive pick attack injects just the right amount of dirt.
I think the sweet spot for this amp is in Pentode mode, pushing 7 or 15 watts with all three knobs pointing straight up. There is far less difference in tone now when switching to 7 watts. It’s just quieter. However, switching to triode mode resulted is a dark, muted sound that would have a hard time cutting through a mix, but could be useful for adding depth to a rhythm track.
