NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

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Boy_Narf
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Re: NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

Post by Boy_Narf » Thu Jan 18, 2018 4:16 pm

But I like the V30 :(

I picked up a pair of 16 ohm on the cheap so if I start to detect the speaker is getting pushed too hard, I'll swap them out for 16 ohm and hope the wattage hit won't kill the headroom. If I do find a K100, or redback on the cheap locally I might have to check one of those guys out as well.

I'm also working on a stereo 212 so I can always swap to that cab if I need to and keep the PortCity in the original configuration.

In all honestly I think I'll be fine. IME most class D amps are over rated power wise. In perfect power conditions with max gain sure it might be pushing the 85 watts but I keep going back to the RV50MKii112 combo.

https://orangeamps.com/products/guitar- ... x12-combo/

I have no idea how a single V30 kept from exploding in that combo since we all know the RV series can really get pretty spicy watt wise at stage volumes. I checked the manual but didn't see any max power figures. I'll let ya know if I see any smoke!

I might actually save some cash for a while :)

Rlw59
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Re: NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

Post by Rlw59 » Thu Jan 18, 2018 5:37 pm

:D :wink:

From your preliminary testing, it's very likely you've found your dream rig. You said it only gets a little harsh when it's louder than you expect to play regularly.

But the point of the internet is to keep people dissatisfied and encourage them to keep buying stuff.

Les Paul Lover
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Re: NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

Post by Les Paul Lover » Thu Jan 18, 2018 9:47 pm

Rlw59 wrote:
Thu Jan 18, 2018 5:37 pm
and encourage them to keep buying stuff.
Like we need help for that...... :lol:
Boy_Narf wrote:
Thu Jan 18, 2018 4:16 pm
But I like the V30 :(

I picked up a pair of 16 ohm on the cheap so if I start to detect the speaker is getting pushed too hard, I'll swap them out for 16 ohm and hope the wattage hit won't kill the headroom. If I do find a K100, or redback on the cheap locally I might have to check one of those guys out as well.

I'm also working on a stereo 212 so I can always swap to that cab if I need to and keep the PortCity in the original configuration.

In all honestly I think I'll be fine. IME most class D amps are over rated power wise. In perfect power conditions with max gain sure it might be pushing the 85 watts but I keep going back to the RV50MKii112 combo.

https://orangeamps.com/products/guitar- ... x12-combo/

I have no idea how a single V30 kept from exploding in that combo since we all know the RV series can really get pretty spicy watt wise at stage volumes. I checked the manual but didn't see any max power figures. I'll let ya know if I see any smoke!

I might actually save some cash for a while :)

I know my RV50 is meant to be capable of 90w peak power........ 50w rms.
Ant

Orange Gear: RV50 MKI, R30, AD15, PPC212
And.... Genz Benz Black Pearl 30
Past Orange: AD30TC Combo, TT, AD5


Guitars: Gibson Les Paul Standard Faded, Vigier Expert Retro 54, Gibson SG 70s Tribute, Aria Pro II RS X80, G&L ASAT Special Tribute

Rlw59
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Re: NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

Post by Rlw59 » Fri Jan 19, 2018 12:35 pm

Most speaker manufacturers list the maximum power their speakers can withstand. That lets them give a numerically high, impressive power rating.

But that leaves it up to educated consumers to understand that tube amps' wattage is rated at low distortion levels and that cranked up distorted amps actually put out quite a bit more than their rated wattage.
-------------------------
Celestion don't play that. "15 watts" means it's safe with any 15 watt tube amp cranked all the way up. A V30 can handle any cranked 60 watt tube amp.

Fender did a run of the 20W Deluxe Reverb loaded with a 15W Alnico Blue. They wouldn't have done that if they were worried about warranty claims for expensive fried speakers.

Mesa often uses a single MC90 with 100W tube amps.
-------------------------------
On top of that, those other companies rate their speakers with a clean, steady-state, pure sine wave. No harmonics, no distortion. Celestion factors in how much harder a compressed complex signal works a speaker.

So we've been conditioned to not trust power rating. With most manufacturers, to handle a tube amp in the real world, you have to buy speakers rated higher than the amp.

But some companies like Celestion and ElectroVoice do conservative, "what you see is what you'll get" ratings.

Boy_Narf
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Re: NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

Post by Boy_Narf » Fri Oct 05, 2018 7:24 am

Oh yes, the saga continues. So I stumbled across this on Kijiji and messaged the guy for more info. Said a friend of his did the conversion and kept the original cab and speaker as payment or something fishy like that. I will say it's not the move beautiful cab but I have full intentions to either rebuild it with some nice figured wood, or cover this monstrosity in tolex. A design alteration may also be required as I know the tubes are much too close to the wood (paint starts to stink as the tubes heat up, also who spends time doing nice dove tails them paints over in black gloss? Horrifying).

ANYWAY...

It's a hotrod deluxe complete with the tank. This is almost exactly what I've been looking for tone wise. I'll never use the gain channel and it's a bit larger than I initially wanted, but not a huge deal.
Super light though. With the volume at 2, it's too loud for my office and crystal clear. Seriously a massive tone! Had to back the bass almost all the way off to get it matching the bass response of the TT. It simply sounds huge through the single 12 in my PC cab. Sorry PS170, you have been bumped off for now.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TxqdJpXtxBsVCN8u5

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GU3ZdTLVh2BbXwkH9

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NuTGkwuNnG1dRXfg7

Sounds cool, but man is it ugly haha. It's funny though, when I tried out the combos they had next to no headroom. This must be one of the older models built before they started introducing earlier breakup. It's not as sparkly as I remember them sounding back in the past but the guy says he has had it forever and never touched the tubes. It's got grooves in it, so some JJ's should really add a nice clarity and chime.

I'm happy for the moment. Thanks for listening.

jax510
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Re: NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

Post by jax510 » Sun Oct 07, 2018 5:19 pm

Have you ever tried a quilter amp for what you are looking for? Big sounding cleans, just curious as to your thoughts.

Boy_Narf
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Re: NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

Post by Boy_Narf » Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:36 pm

Well this will be my final post in the clean headroom saga.

I'm working on unloading a mountain of gear since moving into our new place. Been disgusted with myself and how much crap I've accumulated, not to mention the money I've wasted. If something hasn't sparked joy! It's outta here!

Anyway. I've been eyeballing new speakers to test out and for the first time, thought about how much money I would be wasting towards something so silly. I decided to bring the TT rig out into the main basement area (no the cats haven't ruined touched the grill cloth. Relieved. Still won't risk the Orange cab out in the open yet). This means I can finally use my L1 as the clean amp. Few hours of jamming later I was sold. In the event this project exits the basement my clean signal will into a DI then into the house system. Heck I might even use the Bose T1 mixer as a live preamp/DI. Nice to have everything in one spot.

Honestly if I could go back in time and do my gear all over again, I would have just bought an Axe FX :)

Please make sure to enjoy all of your gear before you become a jaded musician and realise you have wasted a mountain of money.

Have a joyful day.

:D

Jondog
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Re: NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

Post by Jondog » Sat Feb 02, 2019 3:49 am

I have one thing to add for you. Pedal Baby 100. It’s like Ade’s been reading this thread. Your wallet just cried a little, maybe tears of joy :lol:
Image

Boy_Narf
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Re: NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

Post by Boy_Narf » Sat Feb 02, 2019 3:54 am

Yea I was digging that for a few minutes for sure. My issue was never the amp it was the speakers. I quite prefer a tweeter on my clean tone. The new F12-X200 was going to be my speaker of choice but have no need now that I'm into the Bose.

Boy_Narf
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Re: NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

Post by Boy_Narf » Tue Jun 18, 2019 5:19 pm

Well I have returned with yet another update. While the Bose did the trick head room wise, the tweeter array could not handle volume spikes from some of my higher output pickups (crackle, crackle). I've been hunting for a spell and decided on a Princeton. The guitar player in my band has used a Blues Jr for the past 5 years at every single venue. With the amp set clean, he has been told to turn down on numerous occasions. 15 watts enough for cleans at gig volumes? Curious indeed. So I decided I would go for a low wattage beauty sound instead of a high wattage "I don't need a dang PA" sound.

The internet led me to the Princeton. Described as "syrupy", "pristine", "bell like", "glassy", "GLORIOUS", I knew this was the amp for me. I headed to the closest L&M and DEMANDED to TEST ALL OF THE CLEAN AMPS! They said "sure go for it". So I did.

In the room we had... 68 PRRI, 65 PRRI (GB), Blues Jr (CB), Blues Jr (Tweed), Traynor YGL1, Pro Junior IV.

68 PRRI: Immediately a no. Dark and no chime. We are joyful.

65 PRRI (GB): Has a harshness in the mids I couldn't dial out (no mid knob and I think it might have been the GB. One day I would like to try the regular model). Also felt weird paying that kind of money and never using the verb/trem. It was the most bassy/biggest sounding of the bunch however. We are joyful.

Blues Jr (CB): This was a contender but sounded dull/flat at the same volume in comparison to the others. It did have the most clean headroom. OD was awful, and the EQ was not very powerful. We are joyful.

Blues Jr (Tweed): Awful. Sounded very thin, like a full time radio effect was going on. Might have been broken. We are joyful.

Traynor YGL1: This is what I was planning to buy. Fender/Vox voice switch, three band EQ, GB, and cathode bias? What a great deal. Plugged in, immediate no. Very harsh sounding mid range, and the EQ was very weak. We are joyful.

Pro Junior IV: Well, what a surprise. I would have never tried it out if it weren't already sitting in the amp room. I figured hey what the heck I like Jr style guitars so let's plug it in. If you can believe it, it sounded the most "open" of all the amps. There was a clarity in the top end that only the Princeton had, but to me also had more "character" (Princeton was a bit more defined, but didn't have the same mojo). I stunk up the room for two hours straight and went back the next day pick it up.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3UrmRTX6si6UrKuh6

Luckily I was working a night shift yesterday so I had all morning to test it out. I ran all of my guitars through it and I don't think I've heard an amp that represents each one so well. The amp is extremely touch sensitive and interactive with the volume pot (even with my guitars that have lousy electronics). I had both knobs set to 3, and it was either clean or just on the edge depending on pickup output. The size, simplicity, and sound of this amp truly make me joyful. If I need more volume I'll just mic it through the Bose.

At this point I'm sick of wasting money and chasing the tone in my head. I'm going to stop shopping and start playing.

Remain Joyful.

Les Paul Lover
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Re: NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

Post by Les Paul Lover » Wed Jun 19, 2019 8:06 pm

Boy_Narf wrote:
Tue Jun 18, 2019 5:19 pm
Well I have returned with yet another update. While the Bose did the trick head room wise, the tweeter array could not handle volume spikes from some of my higher output pickups (crackle, crackle). I've been hunting for a spell and decided on a Princeton. The guitar player in my band has used a Blues Jr for the past 5 years at every single venue. With the amp set clean, he has been told to turn down on numerous occasions. 15 watts enough for cleans at gig volumes? Curious indeed. So I decided I would go for a low wattage beauty sound instead of a high wattage "I don't need a dang PA" sound.

The internet led me to the Princeton. Described as "syrupy", "pristine", "bell like", "glassy", "GLORIOUS", I knew this was the amp for me. I headed to the closest L&M and DEMANDED to TEST ALL OF THE CLEAN AMPS! They said "sure go for it". So I did.

In the room we had... 68 PRRI, 65 PRRI (GB), Blues Jr (CB), Blues Jr (Tweed), Traynor YGL1, Pro Junior IV.

68 PRRI: Immediately a no. Dark and no chime. We are joyful.

65 PRRI (GB): Has a harshness in the mids I couldn't dial out (no mid knob and I think it might have been the GB. One day I would like to try the regular model). Also felt weird paying that kind of money and never using the verb/trem. It was the most bassy/biggest sounding of the bunch however. We are joyful.

Blues Jr (CB): This was a contender but sounded dull/flat at the same volume in comparison to the others. It did have the most clean headroom. OD was awful, and the EQ was not very powerful. We are joyful.

Blues Jr (Tweed): Awful. Sounded very thin, like a full time radio effect was going on. Might have been broken. We are joyful.

Traynor YGL1: This is what I was planning to buy. Fender/Vox voice switch, three band EQ, GB, and cathode bias? What a great deal. Plugged in, immediate no. Very harsh sounding mid range, and the EQ was very weak. We are joyful.

Pro Junior IV: Well, what a surprise. I would have never tried it out if it weren't already sitting in the amp room. I figured hey what the heck I like Jr style guitars so let's plug it in. If you can believe it, it sounded the most "open" of all the amps. There was a clarity in the top end that only the Princeton had, but to me also had more "character" (Princeton was a bit more defined, but didn't have the same mojo). I stunk up the room for two hours straight and went back the next day pick it up.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3UrmRTX6si6UrKuh6

Luckily I was working a night shift yesterday so I had all morning to test it out. I ran all of my guitars through it and I don't think I've heard an amp that represents each one so well. The amp is extremely touch sensitive and interactive with the volume pot (even with my guitars that have lousy electronics). I had both knobs set to 3, and it was either clean or just on the edge depending on pickup output. The size, simplicity, and sound of this amp truly make me joyful. If I need more volume I'll just mic it through the Bose.

At this point I'm sick of wasting money and chasing the tone in my head. I'm going to stop shopping and start playing.

Remain Joyful.
I've had a blues junior 3 for a short while, and found it pretty nice. The pro junior has legions of followers too- solid good tone.

Hopefully you'll be set with that.

I'll confess, none of my amps satisfy me completely. But I have 5 in my collection, and between them all, I finally have it all covered. It's killed the GAS actually..... :shock:
Ant

Orange Gear: RV50 MKI, R30, AD15, PPC212
And.... Genz Benz Black Pearl 30
Past Orange: AD30TC Combo, TT, AD5


Guitars: Gibson Les Paul Standard Faded, Vigier Expert Retro 54, Gibson SG 70s Tribute, Aria Pro II RS X80, G&L ASAT Special Tribute

Boy_Narf
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Re: NAD: I THINK i FINALLY FOUND IT!!!

Post by Boy_Narf » Wed Jun 19, 2019 8:54 pm

Indeed the legions can't be wrong. I'm shocked I picked this over the Princeton TBH. Played for around 2 hours last night and it was glorious. Fired it up after midnight set around 1.5 and it still sounded great. This Jensen speaker is a bit magic I'm thinking. Seems to have an extended high end frequency response, as I'm hearing all sorts of twinkly bits from the Timeline/Bluesky I didn't hear through the legions of amps I tested prior.

I would love to give the 12's a try in my port city someday, but as I said. Stop buying! Start Playing!

And of course remain joyful.

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