AD30HTC - 1076 - 9 - 02

[the riot tapes]

so nothing on the top, the tube side, can kill me?

No, they'll just burn you...

If I unscrew the feet it should just slide out?

I think so.

Project "Take Apart And Photograph the Inside of My Amp Without Dying Or Being Badly Burnt" was a success!

Pictures currently uploading, but I can say that the testing sticker didn't have a date and the board thing-y was dated 2000.

So, they made the board two years before they assembled the amp?

This is a real learning experience for me.

I think I'll also need to re-tube it at some point (soon?) as the tunes in it seem less than stellar... the ECC83s seem to be maybe Chinese (they have a dragon and say Golden - found this: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?p=6054" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

The EL84s say Made in Yugoslavia... which, from what I can tell, isn't necessarily a horrible thing... actually, it looks like GD also make EL84s... and in Yugoslavia, so I bet the whole thing is GDs... so yeah, looks like I'll try and scrape the $$ together for a re-tube before we go back into the studio...

Still, bound to happen at some point...

OK, the images are almost up... maybe you can have a look and see if anything stands out of interest... IT was def fun and the knowledge that I could die at any moment added to the thrill.



Pics in one minute...or so...

[the riot tapes]

The pics:

[Sooner]

OK, the images are almost up... maybe you can have a look and see if anything stands out of interest...

It's definitely not made in the Trace Factory. That's about all I can tell.

[the riot tapes]

OK, the images are almost up... maybe you can have a look and see if anything stands out of interest...

It's definitely not made in the Trace Factory. That's about all I can tell.

That's DEF good info!

[a.hun]

The EL84s say Made in Yugoslavia... which, from what I can tell, isn't necessarily a horrible thing... actually, it looks like GD also make EL84s... and in Yugoslavia, so I bet the whole thing is GDs... so yeah, looks like I'll try and scrape the $$ together for a re-tube before we go back into the studio...

Sorry but the Yugoslavian valves (AFAIK all made by the now defunct Ei) were basically pretty poor quality. If you got ones which worked and stayed working they didn't sound too bad at all, fairly warm and clear. But they were really unreliable with most raw untested batches having a 50% odd early failure rate, so those were actually the minority. If well tested and burned in (as were yours I'd guess) they could work well enough, but I'd really suggest finding something better when you revalve.

Plenty threads here on favoured valve types for these amps - a search will find you far more threads than available valve types since there are only a small handful of actual manufacturers worldwide! What you choose will largely depend on your own sonic tastes though.


Andy.

[the riot tapes]

The EL84s say Made in Yugoslavia... which, from what I can tell, isn't necessarily a horrible thing... actually, it looks like GD also make EL84s... and in Yugoslavia, so I bet the whole thing is GDs... so yeah, looks like I'll try and scrape the $$ together for a re-tube before we go back into the studio...

Sorry but the Yugoslavian valves (AFAIK all made by the now defunct Ei) were basically pretty poor quality. If you got ones which worked and stayed working they didn't sound too bad at all, fairly warm and clear. But they were really unreliable with most raw untested batches having a 50% odd early failure rate, so those were actually the minority. If well tested and burned in (as were yours I'd guess) they could work well enough, but I'd really suggest finding something better when you revalve.

Plenty threads here on favoured valve types for these amps - a search will find you far more threads than available valve types since there are only a small handful of actual manufacturers worldwide! What you choose will largely depend on your own sonic tastes though.


Andy.

Hey Andy,

Thanks for that info!

I'd kinda reached the same conclusion myself, re: the existing valves.

I'm gonna try and accentuate the headroom on channel one (something that doesn't break up quickly) and am still trying to figure exactly what to do with channel two...

I'm open to any suggestions btw.

So yeah, next step re-valving.

Though, I may record with it for a day and see what I think... who knows... if those tubes are really 8 years old (At least) and still in decent condition, they may sound ok.

(That's called optimism.)

[a.hun]

Well some people like what using a 12AT7 (=ECC81) can do for clean headroom and note definition. Tonally they tend to give a bit more bass / treble, a bit less midrange.
http://www.kcanostubes.com/content/prea ... lity-guide" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For the dirty channel I'd just buy a small selection of different brand 12AX7 (=ECC83) valves and swap them out one by one to see which you like best. Having had a quick read around first of course for ideas.


Andy.

[the riot tapes]

Well some people like what using a 12AT7 (=ECC81) can do for clean headroom and note definition. Tonally they tend to give a bit more bass / treble, a bit less midrange.
http://www.kcanostubes.com/content/prea ... lity-guide" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For the dirty channel I'd just buy a small selection of different brand 12AX7 (=ECC83) valves and swap them out one by one to see which you like best. Having had a quick read around first of course for ideas.


Andy.

thanks man, that's all great advice!

[the riot tapes]

Well some people like what using a 12AT7 (=ECC81) can do for clean headroom and note definition. Tonally they tend to give a bit more bass / treble, a bit less midrange.
http://www.kcanostubes.com/content/prea ... lity-guide" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For the dirty channel I'd just buy a small selection of different brand 12AX7 (=ECC83) valves and swap them out one by one to see which you like best. Having had a quick read around first of course for ideas.


Andy.

thanks man, that's all great advice!