Thunderbird Club

[PillO]

excellent points, in a way I am glad the vacuum tube industry got kick started the way it did by the likes of Pittman and others and they were very creative in how the did it in recommissioning old plants in the east bloc among other things. my only gripe with these new generation tubes is their inconsistent QC which is inevitable at the lower quantities they currently produce. that said, the highly sought after sonic virtues of a top notch NOS power tube such as the MO KT-88 are kinda wasted on an instrument amp imo..

The trouble with making tubes in the west is the same problem with making semi-conductors. Because the processes use some very toxic elements, compliance with environmental regulations would be cost prohibitive.

Didn't Mike Matthews (EHX) buy the old Sovtek plant and start it operating again?

 

[fasterpussycat]

Actually, from an electrical point of view, valve is a more logical term. It describes function; using a small voltage to control a large voltage.

Vacuum tube might be descriptive of the glass envelope. But tells you nothing of function.

Precisely.

 

[PillO]

There's a lot of truth to it in guitar amps, or at least there used to be. Most tube amps rated at 100 watts will, if pushed harder, distort in a way that the ear (at worst) doesn't mind and (at best) thoroughly enjoys. The distortion tends to add in slowly as they are pushed harder. as well. Most (at least old school) solid state amps, when were pushed past their clean rating, went rapidly into a nasty distortion. I would hope that modern SS amps (especially modeling amps) have ways to avoid this. But when I switched to bass almost 8 years ago, I hadn't heard a SS guitar amp that I really liked other than the short-lived LAB series from Norlin. But even those could be pushed into ugly.

MOS FETs are more tube-like in their operating characteristics than junction transistors. But they are more delicate electrically.

 

[fasterpussycat]

Well let's not open that kettle of worms lest we discuss the mechanics of 1x12, 2x12, 4x12, open back, closed back, coupling of speakers to O/Ts, green backs, cream backs, etc.

2 x 4x12 please.

 

[StephnG]

Actually, from an electrical point of view, valve is a more logical term. It describes function; using a small voltage to control a large voltage.

Vacuum tube might be descriptive of the glass envelope. But tells you nothing of function.

I liked the description of "the interaction between the tubes & the drivers" as a "mechanical function" it truly is!!

 

[RedVee]

Been watching tv and playing ‘the YouTube’s ‘ tonight and had a bit of a thought / memory flash.

there used to be an Xbox (?) game RockSmith or something similar that had a special cable to allow you to plug your bass / guitar straight into the Xbox. So 1/4” inch at one end and an Xbox is basically a pc so I think a USB connection at the the other end.

if I could get such a cable, could it be used for home recording ? Would it be used straight bass to pc ? I sorta feel it maybe better use it out of my zoom to the pc so I have an amp emulation.
I have audacity on the pc now.

I’m thinking I must be missing something? Is there anything else needed in the chain ?
bass > zoom > ?? > pc

 

[dagrev]

No Thunderbird content, but Thundercat content. Some cool perspective.

Loved that song from day one.

 

[dagrev]

It was the last stop for the UPS guy today...

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Transformers appear to date to '68, with G8655 and G8656, and the pots code date to the 47th and 50th week of '68, so likely either a very late '68 or early '69. Looks like the only work that's been done on it is to add a power output jack on the back of the head, which seems to have resulted in unwinding the tidy stock wiring in part of the power supply, but the rest seem pretty much untouched. Per the ad by the pawn shop, the amp was tested by an amp tech recently who readjusted the bias, put in 4 new screen grid resistors and added a 3 prong, but the caps all appear to be original (or very old at least), so I'll probably take it into one of my local techs when I get the chance. Haven't had the chance to fire it up yet, but I am damn excited to!

Cool indeed! Congrats!

I believe there's some other guy around here who occasionally plays through about 43 of those heads.

 

[GonePlaid]

It was the last stop for the UPS guy today...

View attachment 3815658 View attachment 3815656 View attachment 3815655View attachment 3815659 View attachment 3815665 View attachment 3815668 View attachment 3815669 View attachment 3815670

Transformers appear to date to '68, with G8655 and G8656, and the pots code date to the 47th and 50th week of '68, so likely either a very late '68 or early '69. Looks like the only work that's been done on it is to add a power output jack on the back of the head, which seems to have resulted in unwinding the tidy stock wiring in part of the power supply, but the rest seem pretty much untouched. Per the ad by the pawn shop, the amp was tested by an amp tech recently who readjusted the bias, put in 4 new screen grid resistors and added a 3 prong, but the caps all appear to be original (or very old at least), so I'll probably take it into one of my local techs when I get the chance. Haven't had the chance to fire it up yet, but I am damn excited to!

Last stop of the day.....Yeah, he prolly spent the day deciding whether to 'lose' it.

 

[PillO]

Been watching tv and playing ‘the YouTube’s ‘ tonight and had a bit of a thought / memory flash.

there used to be an Xbox (?) game RockSmith or something similar that had a special cable to allow you to plug your bass / guitar straight into the Xbox. So 1/4” inch at one end and an Xbox is basically a pc so I think a USB connection at the the other end.

if I could get such a cable, could it be used for home recording ? Would it be used straight bass to pc ? I sorta feel it maybe better use it out of my zoom to the pc so I have an amp emulation.
I have audacity on the pc now.

I’m thinking I must be missing something? Is there anything else needed in the chain ?
bass > zoom > ?? > pc

I am suddenly reminded of:

The ?? you need is something to convert analog to digital.

Many types of interfaces available at various price points
Audio Interfaces | Sweetwater

 

[Miles_ONeal]

yeah, totally hear that, recently saw NOS Mullard 6CA7s online at 250 bucks a piece!! ridiculous...

Supply and demand. Very limited supply. Increased demand. Audiophile market probably not helping.

 

[Engle]

Although all the watts may be there, they may not be user accessible.

Or it’s only accessible by cranking the gain and the master close to 10.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

The trouble with making tubes in the west is the same problem with making semi-conductors. Because the processes use some very toxic elements, compliance with environmental regulations would be cost prohibitive.

Didn't Mike Matthews (EHX) buy the old Sovtek plant and start it operating again?

i think he ended up with multiple plants there. Things got weird, tricky, or ugly more than once.

 

[BklynKen]

Well let's not open that kettle of worms lest we discuss the mechanics of 1x12, 2x12, 4x12, open back, closed back, coupling of speakers to O/Ts, green backs, cream backs, etc.

Oh, ok. I'll talk about strings. For some reason I wasn't thrilled with SITs or Rotosounds on my BC Rich. Threw on a set of Ken Smith Rock Masters (first time trying them on anything) and they really opened up the sound like no other strings have so far. I still hate Ken Smith's longer-than-most winding length, but I'm impressed with how they sound with those Hi-A pickups. I'd still like to try the Dunlop Marcus Miller Super Brights, which I hated with my Thunderbird, but they may be fun on the BC Rich.

Also: 2x2 headstocks still screw me up.

 

[Engle]

excellent points, in a way I am glad the vacuum tube industry got kick started the way it did by the likes of Pittman and others and they were very creative in how the did it in recommissioning old plants in the east bloc among other things. my only gripe with these new generation tubes is their inconsistent QC which is inevitable at the lower quantities they currently produce. that said, the highly sought after sonic virtues of a top notch NOS power tube such as the MO KT-88 are kinda wasted on an instrument amp imo..

And then there’s the frequency response of the ears on the people that will buy those tubes.

 

[PillO]

Or it’s only accessible by cranking the gain and the master close to 10.

Even then, may not be fully available to the user...

 

[PillO]

No lights? Sounds like a fuse..

Opened up the amp this morning.
Fuse looks intact to me.
No scorch marks,
No swollen electrolytic caps.
No odors of smoke/burning.

I still suspect that the problem is in the power supply as it fails to power up. It could be something as stupid as a broken power switch for all I know.

 

[PillO]

And then there’s the frequency response of the ears on the people that will buy those tubes.

Is "frequency response of their ears" a euphemism for listening with their wallet?

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

With a THD spec. Whereas you can push a tube amp into overdrive (with results that are generally considered pleasing), you can access some more watts. Conversely, transistors are not "pleasing" when pushed to overdrive. And for Class D, I don't think that they can be overdriven...

And all this:




Well let's not open that kettle of worms lest we discuss the mechanics of 1x12, 2x12, 4x12, open back, closed back, coupling of speakers to O/Ts, green backs, cream backs, etc.

more power when in overdrive? how? where are those extra watts being accessed from? if anything, when in compression you'll get less power..
as far as cabs, don't think I've ever seen a closed back tube combo...

 

[LetItGrowTone]

Bassman 10, 4x10 closed.
The top of the closed part was angled down to make room for the transformers and tubes.