Electrosonic Eclipse.

This has been a great week of gear for me. A few things that I ordered last year are finally done and came in the same week!! Something that I've been excited about was this Electrosonic head.

A while back, I spoke to Josh at Electrosonic about building a 60-100 watt head that was based on my old Ampeg B-15n. We exchanged a few emails and explored a ton of options. Here's what we came up with as far as specs:

-4x6L6 Cathode bias output
-6SL7 Preamp tubes
-6SL7 Phase inverter
-5U4 tube rectifier
-3 band tone control with 'Fat' switch
-Oversized output transformer
-Slave out with volume control
-Pine cabinet

There are a few key differences from the B15N, but it was more an 'inspired by' amp than a clone. I knew going into it that I wasn't going to get an exact tonal copy with more power. We kept the tube types similiar. The head is all hand wired.

I have been playing this head all day, but just put my son to bed, so I thought I'd share.

Here are some pics:









I didn't A/B the Eclipse with my B-15N, but from what I hear in my head, the Electrosonic is a bit brighter when set flat. This can be fixed by a simple touch of the treble knob though. The eq is very usable on any extreme and didn't break up when I pushed the bass knob all the way up. All three bands are voiced nicely and compliment the tone without being too overpowering.

The mid control is a feature that was missing from my B15. I am a 'mids are king' kind of guy, so I wanted a little more control. Even if I set it flat, at least I would have it if I needed it. And I still think the 3 band is still taking a less-is-more approach that I love in an amp.

I really like the way the mids are voiced in this head. It delivers a smooth fat growl without punching too hard. It feels like it 'breathes' nicely while still delivering fat, warm tube goodness. As if the tone blooms more than punches.

The 'Fat' switch is the only other added tone shaping feature. It is a subtle kick, but pretty sweet none the less. I probably could have lived without it, but I like how simple it is to engage a bit extra.

So, does it sound like my B-15? Well, first I have to say that it's a completely different head. There is an added power tube set, there are a bit more tonal options, I was playing it though a 2x12 cab, the tube rectifier is different.....

To be honest, I really don't care if it nails that tone or not since I am really impressed with this head. I had planned on doing an A/B test, but now I don't think I'm even going to do that anytime soon. The bottom line is that the head delivers everything that I was hoping. Without a direct comparision, and going off of what I remember, this head sits somewhere between a B15N and the Sadowsky SA200. Where exactly it falls is yet to be determined, but I'm still just getting to know this head

I am off this weekend, but I hope to have some rehearsal reports soon.

 

Thanks guys. I'm really happy with this head. I got into it more. One thing I should mention is that the rectifier is a tube/solid state hybrid. The SS section does alot of the work, and the tube section provides the classic sag and smoothing effects. It's way less strain on the rectifier, and allows a tube rectifier to be used on a higher power head.

Also, I played around with the 'Fat' switch and it changes the upper mid frequency of the treble knob. So it sort of smooths out the highs.

I tried this head through a few different cabs. I hooked it up to my B15N cab and with all three tone controls pushed counter clockwise a bit, it really came close to the portaflex tone. I wouldn't say it's an exact clone, but I think Josh did a great job of capturing that classic fliptop sound in a modern head. As close as I've heard in a higher powered head. The cab really gave a nice compression to the tone and muted the highs nicely.

I compared it to a 70's Ampeg V4 and the Eclipse is a bit cleaner. The mids are growlier but the highs are more pronounced. I liked the muted high end of the V4, but the mid range growl of the Electosonic was superb. I could compensate by simply cutting the highs a bit more on the ES. The low end was massive without being too overwhelming. Sometimes, I cannot push the low end on the V4 too far, but the Elclipse sounded full and rich throughout the entire range without breaking up or sounding too muddy.

 

Thanks guys. I need to get some better shots. There were just real quick pics to share on TB. The pics don't do it justice. And of course, when you plug in....

I'm talking to Josh about a matching cab. He is super quick with emails and is doing alot of research on finding the right speaker and specs. Again, we're going for the 'inspired by the B-15N' approach. Mine is a CTS square ceramic magnet with paper cone. We're looking to do something similiar. Maybe with an oversized magnet. We discussed a ton of options. Alnico is an option--to get a little compression.

The attention to detail and quick response, coupled with his knowledge and eager-to-dig-deeper attitude is super cool. This head was cheaper than a new SVT-CL and it's all hand wired. I'm impressed.

 

By the way, more into can be found here: http://www.electrosonicamplifiers.com/

 

You got me there. But, really, 1/3 the watts is all I need for my current projects - so I'm a happy piggy.

 

These show the color a little better:

 

There is a slave output on the back. It comes after the power tubes and can be used to drive an external power amp, or for going direct. The knob is a volume control for that output.

The plexiglass panel is pretty cool. Each output tube has a colored LED behind it, so it looks really cool in low light situations.

As to the finish, I went back and forth, but finally just said - go simple. I'm sure it would look great with any number of finishes, but this head is going to be behind a smooth jazz band. I think it would fit in nicely. I'm sure that if I end up using it extensively, it will need to be recovered at one point in time. I might just go with a dark tolex then.

 

Hey Jimmy. I will work on soundclips. I have a rehearsal on Sunday, so maybe I can get some 'in-the-mix' clips.

The speaker is going to be designed by Weber. He can do a cone that matches my CTS speaker, and we are going to have an oversized ceramic magnet to mimic the square mag. The cab will be sealed and about 3 inches longer and taller than the B-15. It will be about an inch shallower, so the box will have close to the original interior space. It has to be wider due to the size of the head. Most likely it will be finished the same as the head, and we are looking into 60's style Ampeg grill cloth. The cab will be a few months off.

I know you're a big Portaflex fan, so I'm glad you're digging the ideas. I'm pretty 'die-hard' about my B-15n, too, and I'm pretty impressed. The head comes in at around 65 watts, but, man, every one of those watts is maximized. The amount of volume from this head is amazing.