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09-17-2023, 02:20 PM
Hi Guys
When doing mods, you already have the input from the player, so his intentions and expectations are known, although you till have to discuss things as thoroughly as you deem necessary to make sure he will be satisfied.
If you are contemplating building amps ahead of orders, then your wonderment of what will be most useful may make you entirely confused. The fact is multi fold: whatever you build will be useful to someone; whatever you build will have benefits that you may not think are there. You have to describe each product in the glowing terms it deserves. I don't believe you can go wro9ng with your choice here, except that one model may sit on the shelf longer than another.
In my experience building amps and preamps, and from storied I've heard from other builders, it is usually the most subtle things that customers respond to most. For example, The first version of the SUSTAINOR preamp that I offered as a product ( described in TUT6 Ch.6, has cascaded triode stages at the input separated by an attenuator. The attenuator cancels all the gain of the first triode. So why do it? A switch allows the player to access the output of either stage, adding the veil of character of the second stage or not, per his choosing.
When you have a 2-stage preamp, as Sherlok Ohms described, the player may not be pushing either stage very hard - in fact, the first stage may be working at a higher plate signal level than the second stage - but each adds character. The order of effects and tube stages within the amp may sound broadly the same when the orders are changed, but the subtleties are still there for players to notice or not. Ultimately it is the daily user of the amp who will mine out and enjoy the nuances of tone.
Reverb is the most expensive effect to add to an amp, but to me, it is the most beneficial. If I had to choose between having only an excellent distortion or an excellent reverb with clean, I would choose the latter. If you want distinct echoes as a delay can produce, and wish to be able to control them in a natural way, then a mixing loop is the best solution assuming correct control of the loop. Whether this is pre/post tube preamp depends on how you perceive the overalll tone. Obviously, pre-preamp makes less sense than post-preamp except for the controllability option you might add.
Tremolo is a nice effect, but far less widely appealing than reverb or overdrive or chorus.
Have fun
When doing mods, you already have the input from the player, so his intentions and expectations are known, although you till have to discuss things as thoroughly as you deem necessary to make sure he will be satisfied.
If you are contemplating building amps ahead of orders, then your wonderment of what will be most useful may make you entirely confused. The fact is multi fold: whatever you build will be useful to someone; whatever you build will have benefits that you may not think are there. You have to describe each product in the glowing terms it deserves. I don't believe you can go wro9ng with your choice here, except that one model may sit on the shelf longer than another.
In my experience building amps and preamps, and from storied I've heard from other builders, it is usually the most subtle things that customers respond to most. For example, The first version of the SUSTAINOR preamp that I offered as a product ( described in TUT6 Ch.6, has cascaded triode stages at the input separated by an attenuator. The attenuator cancels all the gain of the first triode. So why do it? A switch allows the player to access the output of either stage, adding the veil of character of the second stage or not, per his choosing.
When you have a 2-stage preamp, as Sherlok Ohms described, the player may not be pushing either stage very hard - in fact, the first stage may be working at a higher plate signal level than the second stage - but each adds character. The order of effects and tube stages within the amp may sound broadly the same when the orders are changed, but the subtleties are still there for players to notice or not. Ultimately it is the daily user of the amp who will mine out and enjoy the nuances of tone.
Reverb is the most expensive effect to add to an amp, but to me, it is the most beneficial. If I had to choose between having only an excellent distortion or an excellent reverb with clean, I would choose the latter. If you want distinct echoes as a delay can produce, and wish to be able to control them in a natural way, then a mixing loop is the best solution assuming correct control of the loop. Whether this is pre/post tube preamp depends on how you perceive the overalll tone. Obviously, pre-preamp makes less sense than post-preamp except for the controllability option you might add.
Tremolo is a nice effect, but far less widely appealing than reverb or overdrive or chorus.
Have fun
