Hey folks,
Just thought I'd let you know that my Express is up and running! I went through the build since my last post and reflowed some solder joints and trimmed some leads etc. Call it beginners luck but it came right up and ran. All I have to say is HOLY SHIT! this thing is a monster. It is also pretty damn quiet too. I haven't dimed all the controls or anything but with everything set to 12:00 it sings like crazy. I have been pretty busy the last couple days, but as free time permits, I will take some time and assess the amp for tweaking and such! This is definately the most Badass amp I have ever plugged into. I can't say enough good things about rj. He is a great guy to deal with. I always felt like he took a genuine interest in me as a customer and enjoyed watching my build go together. Now to focus my attention on getting some Cherry for a head cab! Thanks to all that offered a helping hand. Jim
Congratulations dude! What kind of music and/or style are you playing through your new Express? Also what kind of cabinet(s) and speaker(s) are you using? Thanks!
Thanks Colossal,
I have kind of a Classic rock style of playing. Lots of bends, definately not a shredder. Think a lousy version of Dave Gilmore meets Warren Haynes. (my two favorite players.) Right now I'm in the "getting to know" phase with this amp. I have a Marshall 1960A cab with the 75 watt celestions everyone hates. Honestly the amp sounds pretty good through this cab. Eventually, I plan to order some of Jim's scumbacks for it. Thanks for the reply. The best way to describe this amp would be to say its like a lower wattage Marshall plexi with LOTS more gain and a really bad attitude. And...a surprisingly beautiful clean tone when you roll the volume down on your guitar.
Jim
Thanks for the detailed description Jim, that is very helpful. I have read with great earnest all of the Trainwreck threads and feel that I know the amp as well as I can without actually building one. I have played a low wattage version which I felt did an excellent job of sounding its bigger brother however have not played a "real" clone (let alone a real real one! LOL). So I am still trying to decide if its a good fit for my tastes. Glen's sound clips as well as others here are certainly excellent and quite convincing that it does the classic rock thing very, very well.
I have read other accounts similar to yours where it describes the Express as a Marshall on steroids or with the bad attitude. I play a lot of Rush and heavier "prog" type rock with a leaning towards Tool and I gravitate towards the Marshall side of things (but not the JCM2000 type of sound, more the Plexi and modded JCM800 with an extra gain stage but tweaked for low end tightness). I like a good bit of mids and lows in the sound spectrum. The low wattage Express I played, while sounding good was way too much for me on the high mid to top end as it was going through a Celestion Gold. I didn't think that speaker was a good fit for the amp and had an overwhelming "bell-like" overtone that just wouldn't go away.
That said, I have been amassing the appropriate parts (original Mallory PVC orange drops, etc) for the Express and seriously consider building one, perhaps when I get through my other projects. I think the best description of the sound I'm after is very "progressive" and heavy. Think of Rush's Moving Pictures album. The guitars on Camera Eye are among my most favorite ever. I really dig Adam Jones' (Tool) live and recorded sounds. He uses a Diezel VH4 (channel 3), a 100W Superbass, and either a Dual Rectifier or another VH4 all at the same time. The grind he gets is very throaty but you can hear the note separation in every chord perfectly. I really like multi-amp setups as I believe that amps with slightly different characteristics can be used to compliment one another so the sum of the parts is killer. Joe Bonamassa, Adam Jones, Lifeson, and others do this.
Yeh man, all the tones you described are great. I'm a Joe fan as well. The Express does have a lot of treble available, but in a good kind of way to my ear. I lean toward darker guitars with mohogany bodies and humbuckers (Mccarty, Firebirds, Lesters etc). I'm fairly new to this forum, but I'll tell you I am hooked on building amps. I've done three now, and all have been a good experience for me. I will tell you this. The express is going to the head of the class in my collection. Just a friggin blast to play. My JTM45 is a '65 Mustang. This amp is a F-16 fighter plane.
Jim
Hey Charlie,
I wondered when you would pop in. I threw in some NOS Sylvania's in V1-3, and I am using some tried and true Svetlana EL34 for the start up process. Once she's proven herself a little while I'll drop in some better power tubes. I don't have anything against Svetlana, these tubes are just kinda old (and tough, they've been in like 4 different amps). Since my last post I've had a chance to tinker a little. If I crank up the presence and the volume all the way, I get a little feedback. I also have some hiss present but I expect that is fairly normal. Having said that, I have never been one to dime the presence or the volume at the same time. I dont like a lot of presence. I will do some further investigation however. I am REALLY digging whats coming out of this amp. The cleans are fantastic. It also has more headroom than I expected (by guitar knob). It sounds like you are getting your amp squared away as well. You sure are racking up the replies my man! I ordered some Cherry wood today, Its time to play carpenter now.
Jim
Yes sir these things are damn loud. I live in kind of a roomy neighborhood. You can see people a long ways down the road coming outside to see whats up. I cant tell at that distance whether they are giving me the thumbs up or the finger! I hope you are having as much fun with yours as I am with mine. I ordered the lumber for the head cab today. Are you going to name your Wreck? I have a name in mind for mine.
Jim
Big Jim wrote:Yes sir these things are damn loud. I live in kind of a roomy neighborhood. You can see people a long ways down the road coming outside to see whats up. I cant tell at that distance whether they are giving me the thumbs up or the finger! I hope you are having as much fun with yours as I am with mine. I ordered the lumber for the head cab today. Are you going to name your Wreck? I have a name in mind for mine.
Jim
I think I'll call her Gianna as long as there's no objection.
As far as a cab goes, I think that I'll try a Woodcraft drawer to start...
It's wonderful ain't it Jim! The way every note just grabs on and sings almost effortlessly is absolutely breath taking. I can achieve harmonic feedback five different ways on a single note.
If I didn't have so many problems and questions I wouldn't have so many replies. I'll get some quality tubes in this thing and then I'll be able to make some educated decisions.
Hey Jim,Congrads,You are a great guy!And Im happy you nailed it,Thanks for helping me,Im moving slowly,the new job is sucking my nervous system dry and I miss being home playing with the amp build and talking to ya.I will be home for 2 weeks in june and plan to finish my build,Anyway,Have a great time with the new amp Mikey
Mikey, Charlie, and Gary,
Yeh guys its good to have this thing up and running. I borrowed one of those Weber bias rite gizmos from my son (he told me to keep it at my house because thats where all the work goes down) cool! Anyway it made the bias job a breeze. No resistor soldering or anything. I just can't get over the tone of this amp. Channel switching? I don't need no stinkin channel switchin. The amp has numerous personalities scattered all over the volume knob! The coolest thing about this feature for me is that allthough the amp cleans up dramatically while turning down, the volume doesn't completely fall off before you get to the clean spot you want. COOL. As far as the name goes.........keep in mind I haven't checked the list yet.....Yvonne. I am going to get a little sentimental here. My wifes name is Yvonne. How could I name this amp after anyone else than her? She puts up with my expensive hobbies and never asks for anything. She is a great lady! Besides she kind of shares some of the qualities of these amps (if you know what I mean).
Jim
Big Jim wrote: Channel switching? I don't need no stinkin channel switchin. The amp has numerous personalities scattered all over the volume knob! The coolest thing about this feature for me is that allthough the amp cleans up dramatically while turning down, the volume doesn't completely fall off before you get to the clean spot you want. COOL.
This is one of the things that really attracts me to the Express. I have read <i>everything</i> about them that I can and the more I learn about it, the more I appreciate the genius (and challenge) of the circuit. I love complexity but as I learn more about ampbuilding I have come to recognize the power and purity of simplicity. The Wreck circuit doesn't have a lot of components and I have found first hand that it's often the circuits with the fewest number of components in the path sound so fantastic.
Big Jim wrote:As far as the name goes.........keep in mind I haven't checked the list yet.....Yvonne. I am going to get a little sentimental here. My wifes name is Yvonne. How could I name this amp after anyone else than her? She puts up with my expensive hobbies and never asks for anything. She is a great lady! Besides she kind of shares some of the qualities of these amps (if you know what I mean). Jim
Yeah, I hear you. I am fortunate to have a wife who is just so incredibly cool and never complains at all when I want to spend some money. She is very supportive of my hair-brained schemes and calls them a "good learning experience" if sometimes they fail. She knows guitars and amps makes me happy. I couldn't ask for anything more. Should I build an Express (which seems likely ) I would definitely name it after her. I even have a little logo representative of her (an art deco/noveauish dragonfly) which would be nice for the wood front panel.
Jim
I hope you are having as much fun with yours as I am with mine. I ordered the lumber for the head cab today. Are you going to name your Wreck? I have a name in mind for mine.
Mikey
