Video of new production Trainwrecks

[M Fowler]

Thanks for the retirement note.

Most of the new TW amp cabs and faceplates look terrible to me but there was one a Rocket with dark wood I did like. But mostly after looking at some I think it is poor photography.

[2tone]

I think the new cabs are great looking, high quality, and the lettering looks fine,certainly professional quality. Not all of Ken's cabs had lettering under the pots etc. Some had no logo by request. The new cabs I've seen are just as nice as the old ones. There were several suppliers of the original cabs. As for Ken's soldering being sloppy, I totally disagree. If you have seen the inside of an original, I'll bet someone else may have replaced a component etc. Ken was a stickler for proper soldering technique. I've been inside of 10 original trainwrecks, and original Airbrakes. The soldering was top notch, better than most any soldering you see today. I saw NO amp with sloppy soldering. Also one thing that annoys me is the sizeable number of amp builders and techs that have stated they have been inside/serviced "lots" of original trainqrecks. I just don't believe there were that many originals going to other techs. Most people would send them to Ken to get it done right and usually free. I can't believe that there were hunderds of Trainwrecks that were serviced by other techs. The one amp ken called "sloppy" himself was the very first Express made, because he did lots of substitutions etc. Even this amp looks impeccable in the soldering. I don't believe that many original amps had problems. After playing originals for 21 years i have had to replace two screen resistors. I think JM's new amps have his own little appointments that are quality touches, and there is no way anyone could pass off one of the new amps for a KF built amp, because they are too different. There are cloners that make closer appointed amps than JM, but these aren't being sold as originals..Too easy to spot. I don't think Jm charges 7.5K for the new amps either...

Slowing down, retiring 1-31-2012 so I can take care of my health

Congratulations on your retirement! Health is most important so I applaud you for your decision. Best of luck!!!

As for going back to regular programming... This is a comment not on the tone but the visuals of the new amps.

Am I the only one not digging the new cabs and the lettering? To me the new cabs look like an Ikea bought piece of furniture item. As un-exiting as that. No offense Ikea. We all love you but your place is not our beloved amps... Especially when they cost $7.5K!!!

And then whats with the horrid Gothic lettering? What is the connection to the TW psyhe? None that I can tell... Was it too much trouble for JM to arrange wood burning? I recall a kind TAG member recently had glorious ones made for a very reasonable sum... I really would expect to see better than some silly LetraSet lettering on a $7.5K amp... Boy did I say $7.5K two times???

Oh well. Rant over.

[selloutrr]

obvisiously the wink went unnoticed. I've been inside a half dozen. More to look then do any tech repairs. KF made a great amp. His soldering was proper, however a bit heavy on the solder in relation to what would have worked, I can see a noticeable difference between KF and others who have build for him and the service work performed. Keep in mind Ken's death stopped tech repair work at TW for a few years.

I'm on the boat of just not that impressed with CNC work. Mostly because it's not personal. It's fully functional but the TW name was built on how personal the amps were, not the mass production vibe.
The $7,500 is referrencing Elizabeth a 2010/11 JM build on TGP she cost around $5,500 new.

I'd love to know more about the TW you own and ones you have been inside. I'm currently brokering deals for 2 KF TW's to put in the studio.

[2tone]

If the cab lettering and work is CNC it doesn't bother me. the new amps aren't CNC and are just as personal in build as Ken's. I never saw a single solder joint of Ken's I thought was too large or a "big glop ". Anyway it's not my agenda to argue this stuff. It's about how they sound in the end.

obvisiously the wink went unnoticed. I've been inside a half dozen. More to look then do any tech repairs. KF made a great amp. His soldering was proper, however a bit heavy on the solder in relation to what would have worked, I can see a noticeable difference between KF and others who have build for him and the service work performed. Keep in mind Ken's death stopped tech repair work at TW for a few years.

I'm on the boat of just not that impressed with CNC work. Mostly because it's not personal. It's fully functional but the TW name was built on how personal the amps were, not the mass production vibe.
The $7,500 is referrencing Elizabeth a 2010/11 JM build on TGP she cost around $5,500 new.

I'd love to know more about the TW you own and ones you have been inside. I'm currently brokering deals for 2 KF TW's to put in the studio.

[Cliff Schecht]

Well as the say, "the bigger the blob, the better the job".

I've been getting bitched at a lot lately for using what others say is too much solder. I've been teaching a soldering tutorial for over three years and have much more than soldering experience than most of the complainers. In the lab I tend to work with parts as small as SMT 0402s without a microscope because I can clearly see the joint strength without one. I can't drive well at night without my glasses but I'll be damned if I can't see closeup work as clear as daylight. If my soldering joints don't work then I adjust my technique accordingly because I understand the mechanics of the process. I know how to do rework without ruining traces and my working methods allow for quicker turnaround times which to me means finishing up testing quicker and going home earlier. If I'm working on a board that is going to be sold or presented to someone, then I'll take my time and make everything purdy, otherwise it just needs to work.

/rant

When I'm building or working on amps I also tend to use more than what is considered adequate for a reason. While I don't like to rely on solder to hold parts together, using a bit more can help guarantee that a part or wire is completely immobilized. I like to fill turrents and eyelets up completely, especially turrets with wires wrapped around the outside (this helps with continuity and sturdiness). Too much solder is when the bottom of the turret or eyelet has a turd sticking out or an afro on top (more for turrets, and this is indicative of not heating up the work properly). It really just takes experience and a bit of knowledge of how soldering works to do good work. I've seen people with little to no formal training do beautiful work and people with years of experience produce crap. It takes some practice and a lot of doing to get consistently great joints.

Ken obviously took a lot of pride in his work and it shows in the track record of his amps in terms of reliability. I build almost all of my amps in a KF style that I have found to consistently produce reliable amps. Unless I'm building an Express I do have my own ideas about what proper grounding should look like but I can't say that Ken is doing it wrong either, he just controls his ground return currents and manages ground loops different than I do. But the solid core alpha wire, high quality Cinch sockets (or if I'm out I'll use Belden), high quality and overrated transformers, flat to the chassis heater wiring, 2W AB/Clarostat pots and high quality R's and C's are found throughout most all of my builds. Some of Ken's ideas (wire polarity, teflon vs. regular wire, non-irradiated PVC wire, etc..) are still very questionable at best but there is still a LOT that he got right which came from a mix of an amazing ear, many years of experience and a good technical knowledge. I've spent quite some time trying to figure out why Ken did things the way he did and I have my theories for most, but if anything his work inspired me to take more pride in the work that I produce regardless of what I'm building. In my mind that would make Ken smile infinitely more than just being able to crank out TW clones that sound good.

[martin manning]

...but if anything his work inspired me to take more pride in the work that I produce regardless of what I'm building. In my mind that would make Ken smile infinitely more than just being able to crank out TW clones that sound good.

A good thought that bears repeating, Cliff. There's a lot that you can't control in this world, but inside the chassis you're working on it's all you. One of the very few places where you get to do things exactly as you see fit.

[selloutrr]

Ok now that you have ranted tell us about your kf built trainwreck.

Cliff you got what I was saying. Thank you. It was an insult just an observation.

Really? The English script is not CNC? They are all exactly the same.

Anyway it's about tone not cosmetics maybe one of these days we will get a good side by side but IMHO from what I have heard I'm more comfortable spending $$$ on a kf then $ on a jm

If the cab lettering and work is CNC it doesn't bother me. the new amps aren't CNC and are just as personal in build as Ken's. I never saw a single solder joint of Ken's I thought was too large or a "big glop ". Anyway it's not my agenda to argue this stuff. It's about how they sound in the end.

obvisiously the wink went unnoticed. I've been inside a half dozen. More to look then do any tech repairs. KF made a great amp. His soldering was proper, however a bit heavy on the solder in relation to what would have worked, I can see a noticeable difference between KF and others who have build for him and the service work performed. Keep in mind Ken's death stopped tech repair work at TW for a few years.

I'm on the boat of just not that impressed with CNC work. Mostly because it's not personal. It's fully functional but the TW name was built on how personal the amps were, not the mass production vibe.
The $7,500 is referrencing Elizabeth a 2010/11 JM build on TGP she cost around $5,500 new.

I'd love to know more about the TW you own and ones you have been inside. I'm currently brokering deals for 2 KF TW's to put in the studio.

[MCK]

Really? The English script is not CNC? They are all exactly the same.

I think its worse than CNC actually. To me they look like peel-off LetraSet lettering... Checkout : http://www.letraset.com/products/102-Old-English/

[selloutrr]

Really? The English script is not CNC? They are all exactly the same.

I think its worse than CNC actually. To me they look like peel-off LetraSet lettering... Checkout : http://www.letraset.com/products/102-Old-English/

God save the queen

[jtaylor996]

Ron,

I have no doubt that your amp sounds great.

What have you been building lately bro!

Mark

I second that. If someone offered me $large sums$ for Ron's rocket, I doubt I'd take it. It's like a parasite growing into my brain...

[img:200:199]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zvniaTOzDsg/T ... n-slug.jpg[/img]




The guys over at MusicDFW had a meet up for amp comparisons (with a strict limitation that if you can buy it at guitar center, it isn't allowed). There was an Express there as well, but I believe it was a clone now. That's the clone that I believe I fell in love with, as well.

That said, I'm hoping they do another meet up and I'm bringing Ron's rocket.

BTW, the TW clone didn't win the shootout. By most accounts the X50 won. bummer.

EDIT: Here's the URL to that meet up (can't get links to work for some reason):

http://musicdfw.com/showthread.php?1675 ... trainwreck

[MGW]

Chris' TW is a clone. I talked to him about it last year at the guitar show.