JacksonAmpworks said:
Oh! Man I was WAY off!!
Okay, here is what I have as of now.
01.) 6SL7 front end Channel 1
Channel 1 Controls
Volume
Treble
Bass
Ultra-Lo and Ultra-Hi Switches
Tone Stack Bypass
02.) 12AX7 front end Channel 2
Channel 2 Controls
Volume
Treble
Bass
Ultra-Lo and Ultra-Hi Switches
Tone Stack Bypass
Master
03.) 6550/KT88 power tubes (6x @ 300W)
04.) Resonance and Presence controls (Global)
05.) Direct Out (XLR) - Selectable PREAMP (post FX Loop) or SPEAKER Tap
06.) Tube Buffered FX Loop
07.) Fixed Biased with Bias Meter
08.) 2-4-8 Ohm Selector Switch
09.) Speakon Connectors (1/4" and Speakon)
10.) 100W/200W/300W Switch
11.) Cathode Disconnect Standby (silent recording!)
12.) Footswitchable FX Loop
13.) Channel Blending (still in development)
14.) Footswitchable Mute
15.) Tuner Out
16.) Level/Gain Boost
This does sound killer!!
My SWR SM-900 is almost the perfect amp for me. I love the tube pre-amp stage and the dual Parametric EQ's that are footswitch selectable and the built in compressor. What it lacks, is a speaker on/off switch and headphone jack that almost all other SWR amps have.
I like having a switchable direct out/line out. and a seperate buffered Tuner out. IC buffered is fine as it is just going to a tuner.
What is the point of the output power power switch??? why would you want to tap your amp down??? that to me seems like a very expensive and unneeded item.
Definitly should have a switching power supply to keep weight down.
are you planning on using the 6 power tubes in a conventional push-pull output stage??? why not configure them into a bridged output stage for more power from less tubes??? 300 watts is enough power.
the speakon and 1/4" output connectors are a must. a 1/4" jack is absolutly the worst speaker jack ever devised with the exception of using an XLR jack ala vintage Ampeg for speakers!
the footswitch mute is great.
I would like to have a built in compressor, if you can do a comp that sounds good. most built in comps dont sound very good.
a taller, less deep case is A+++. what good is a 2ru case if its 20" long??
how about a LED power meter? I would love to have a Dourroughs type meter with real RMS and Peak reading indication of output power. make it switchable to monitor input and FX send levels as well. in any case it should have at least an output clip indicator.
Input and master volume is a must have.
I like the idea of it coming mounted in its own tolex rack case.
and as a repair tech, a word about construction. after opening many guitar and bass amps, i can honestly say there is nothing built quite like an Ampeg! these suckers are built like TANKS!
My suggestions for construction.
1- Non PCB mounted Pots, Pots mounted on PCB's always have issues with cracked solder joints over time. Pots with wired leads almost never do.
2- Non PCB Mounted any sort of jack period! Wired connections are costly and time consuming but the product is better overall.
3- HIGH quality Input and FX jacks. not those crappy weak plastic things everybody uses these days. how about some REAL switchcraft stuff, solid and heavy duty!
4- any large caps, resistors, transistors etc on the PCB board should be solidly reinforced and damped with some sort of glue or silcone. toss an amp in the bed of your pickup truck and drive down some dirt roads for a few days and inspect the insides afterwards. anything that wasnt solidly mounted you will know! the vibration and shock amps go through on the road and in planes is killer. and Most people dont have shock cases for there gear.
5- screws, all screws should have removable loctite applied to them.
6- Rack ears. MOST BE SOLID. for some dumb reason many people hang there rack gear with one lower and one upper screw on either side, causing the chassis to twist in the rack. expect this, plan on it and build for it. AND what happens to your rack ears when the rack is dropped. cheesy bolt on rack ears just isnt going to cut it.
7- Fuses, make ALL the fuses easily accesable, trying to crack open an amp in front of 50,000 screaming fans to replace a fuse that has aged just doesnt cut it. (ok 50K is an exaggeration but you get the point).
8- Soft start, Sudden power on lessons tube life. a nice soft start for filiment and HV would be very cool.
9- Power irregularities. Plan on the amp being used in places with less then great power. what happens to your amp if say the power is low 90 or 100 volts??? or high 130 volts? is your amp stable?? or will it act oddly and cause problems. what happens if the voltage varies?? everytime the PA thumps the voltage sags 20 volts??
10- Pots, cheesy pots arent going to cut it. some ultra long life sealed pots are the answer!
11- Internal Load resistor. It is inevitable that someone will run a tube amp without a speaker attached. i would have some sort if minimal internal load so that if this happens, your not going to smoke the output transformer. (if you have one, OTL would be way cooler)
12- Headphone jack!
Ok i have rambled on enough, i could continue on much longer....
Zero Cool
Overkill audio inc.
