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Reiner Amplification Megathread

#442
monkeyfinger said:
I noticed you have no DI output pad. Why?
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It isn't needed. Level's are set and hit right around 0 dB on my Mackie at unity gain. The post side will vary a bit depending on gain and EQ (almost identical to the pre EQ signal with gain and EQ at noon [flat] ), but still falls pretty much in the sweet spot regardless of how things are set.

It's the same DI setup as my preamps, and folks have had no issues (and great results!) over the past few years, both live and in the studio. The DI is fully balanced, uses a Jensen transformer, has ground/lift, and is also optimized to drive long cables without any sonic degradation.
 
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#443
JGR .. sounds like #1 will be going out the door soon? Or may have already? I hope its new owner will post a review? I'm sure the rest of us Studio-1200-Owners-In-Waiting look forward to that.

Sliderbass, is that you? Hoping you'll post a thorough 1.6 HP review?
 
#444
kd5uwl said:
JGR .. sounds like #1 will be going out the door soon? Or may have already? I hope its new owner will post a review? I'm sure the rest of us Studio-1200-Owners-In-Waiting look forward to that.

Sliderbass, is that you? Hoping you'll post a thorough 1.6 HP review?
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Just got #1 up and running!
 
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#449
Ukiah Bass said:
Hi JGR: can you explain a bit more how tubes are working in your preamp? I'm playing around with a Sonic Farm 2di4 used as a preamp to a Tecamp Puma 900's ICE power section and am particularly interested to learn about similarities / differences between your preamp and the SF's triode and pentode modes. Thanks.
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I think I missed this earlier. In my preamp, there are two 12au7's and one 12ax7, and a lot of the gain stages are configured uniquely from what you would typically see in a MI amp. They are being fed high voltage (well over 300 VDC) which allows for very large p-p signal swings which translates into a very large dynamic range - so you don't get a lot of compression on the signal peaks if you dig in when the gain is set lower - it just gets louder. That's where having the big power section to handle it really comes into play. As you crank the gain up higher (~ as you start to go past noon depending on the output of your bass), you get that thicker vintage tube sound with more compression, but still clean. The first 12au7 is the input stage, next is the 12ax7 which drives the EQ, then the last 12au7 which drives the output and feeds the Jensen transformer input to the power amp.

The SF uses a different tube so it's triode/pentode operation is unique to that. I didn't get a lot of time to play with those modes at Reading with Mike's unit, but I thought it was a great sounding piece of gear and felt right at home with it going from my Box -O- Tone, and the Studio's preamp has a similar vibe to that, though a slightly different character with the 12au7 rather than the 6SL7.

No doubt you are liking the SF with your new PLX3602 - much better than running into another amp's power section. I was recently playing around with the preamp out of the 1200 into my PLX3602 versus the built in power section, and I dare say that I actually like the integrated unit a bit better - power is there on both, but the Jensen seems to sweeten the pot a bit. Good thing because having one, let alone two Jensens in an amp really drives costs!
 
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#454
kd5uwl said:
JGR, do you have any updates you care to share on progress? I know you can't say here if we don't ask, so I'm asking. And don't feel bad if you have nothing new to share.
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Frank is coming to pick up #1 next week which is exciting! I picked up some NOS RCA 12au7's so I'm going to see how they sound and put them in the first run if they work out. Current tube compliment (JJ gold 12au7 and Tung Sol 12ax7) are great but I figured I might as well check it out. I'm also changing the post EQ DI signal to be directly fed from the same point in the signal chain as the poweramp in/preamp out, which means its level will be affected to a degree by the master volume setting, but it will sound even better, shouldn't provide any issues live, and will give more flexibility in a recording situation.
 
#456
silky smoove said:
When the DI is set to pre, is it a "wire with gain" type of thing (ie what goes in is what comes out), or is the signal impacted outside of the EQ for the pre-DI signal? I assume the latter, and probably for the better, but it's worth asking.
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The pre EQ DI signal goes through the tube input circuitry but is pre gain and EQ so you get a pure signal with tubey goodness that isn't affected by any of the controls.
 
#458
Looking at a couple of posts back. Could you put an external pre to the power amp in as a doubling rig. No doubt that this will work great for a fender, but may want something cleaner for upright, with different eq. I prefer not to mess with eq between songs. I guess this would need some kind of switch.
 
#459
JAKBOUND said:
Looking at a couple of posts back. Could you put an external pre to the power amp in as a doubling rig. No doubt that this will work great for a fender, but may want something cleaner for upright, with different eq. I prefer not to mess with eq between songs. I guess this would need some kind of switch.
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There isn't a power amp in, only preamp out. This pre is certainly clean enough for doubling, but EQ is always the big question - I know a lot of guys would prefer sweepable bands to dial in on trouble frequencies. I have one guy using my 6SL7 pre solely for upright, and I would imagine this one would be even better suited given its cleaner nature and additional band of EQ, but that's not its intended design purpose so it's hard to say.
 

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