yes.... I Know....I'm starting a #183 build!

[martin manning]

p.s. from an aesthetic point of view I don't really like the white flown wire to the on /off switch would it be better to run it along the floor of the chassis? it will be crossing a lot of other wires though and I was worried about noise. the amp is very quiet as it is.

I would tuck all three of those white wires into the upper corner, and run the one from the switch over and straight down on the back panel opposite it’s destination on the PT. It then crosses all the other wires at 90 degrees.

[erwin_ve]

I still don't like the PAB on most ODS amps, it's probably designed for people who play high output neck humbuckers as it cuts the low end. probably be good for cutting high gain tones maybe. Not my thing though.


M

Nice work on this #183 Marcus. The By Norbury Suits very well
On the Pab: I still have to try this myself bit this is a trick that Gary from Glaswerk posted a while ago: "Shunt the 22M PAB resistor between the Treble and Bass with a 0.01uf cap in series with a 470K resistor." This would cut some boost, but bit more balanced with more bass.

[norburybrook]

I still don't like the PAB on most ODS amps, it's probably designed for people who play high output neck humbuckers as it cuts the low end. probably be good for cutting high gain tones maybe. Not my thing though.


M

Nice work on this #183 Marcus. The By Norbury Suits very well
On the Pab: I still have to try this myself bit this is a trick that Gary from Glaswerk posted a while ago: "Shunt the 22M PAB resistor between the Treble and Bass with a 0.01uf cap in series with a 470K resistor." This would cut some boost, but bit more balanced with more bass.

Thanks It's not the gain boost it's the lack of bass and the 'thinning' of the sound. Perhaps just a straight tone lift would be more up my street

@martin , it's actually only one wire, the others are against the rear panel, not clear in the shot.

M

[erwin_ve]

I still don't like the PAB on most ODS amps, it's probably designed for people who play high output neck humbuckers as it cuts the low end. probably be good for cutting high gain tones maybe. Not my thing though.


M

Nice work on this #183 Marcus. The By Norbury Suits very well
On the Pab: I still have to try this myself bit this is a trick that Gary from Glaswerk posted a while ago: "Shunt the 22M PAB resistor between the Treble and Bass with a 0.01uf cap in series with a 470K resistor." This would cut some boost, but bit more balanced with more bass.

Thanks It's not the gain boost it's the lack of bass and the 'thinning' of the sound. Perhaps just a straight tone lift would be more up my street

M

Let me rephrase that: in order to get more bass with pab you could do as above but you loose some boost.

[norburybrook]

p.s. from an aesthetic point of view I don't really like the white flown wire to the on /off switch would it be better to run it along the floor of the chassis? it will be crossing a lot of other wires though and I was worried about noise. the amp is very quiet as it is.

I would tuck all three of those white wires into the upper corner, and run the one from the switch over and straight down on the back panel opposite it’s destination on the PT. It then crosses all the other wires at 90 degrees.

Bit of splicing required but here we go, much nicer.

IMG_20190124_152715.jpg

my replacement 3k3's arrived today so they're now in. Shame they weren't black!



m

[donvan]

Well done Marcus!
I'm not seeing a FET circuit board. Do you plan to add one?

[Reeltarded]

easy fix for pesky work.. do a day long series of shootouts and tell the client you are looking for "subtle nuance".. gah, no wonder we lost our funny accent.

Speaking of taxes, I'd write this session off as a business dinner by constantly eating sandwiches and hammering martinis.

"Oops.. one more time. Thought I heard a burp but it was me.. take eighty-whatever.. Bluesmaster slightly more mids.."

[norburybrook]

Well done Marcus!
I'm not seeing a FET circuit board. Do you plan to add one?

No...…



don't need it on this amp.

I have switchable FET on my second gen and the Bluesmaster


M

[norburybrook]

easy fix for pesky work.. do a day long series of shootouts and tell the client you are looking for "subtle nuance".. gah, no wonder we lost our funny accent.

Speaking of taxes, I'd write this session off as a business dinner by constantly eating sandwiches and hammering martinis.

"Oops.. one more time. Thought I heard a burp but it was me.. take eighty-whatever.. Bluesmaster slightly more mids.."

I had to do it. It's my last ODS build so I wanted it to be as good as it could be. It's been a journey.

IMG_20190124_154013-01.jpeg

M

[pompeiisneaks]

Outstanding stuff Marcus! Well done!

~Phil

[didit]

Hello Marcus --

I had to do it. It's my last ODS build so I wanted it to be as good as it could be. It's been a journey.

That turned out just gleaming & brilliant. Look forward to hearing your next batch of recordings.

Promise to avoid reminding of this should you adventure to making another ODS when future urges strike.

Best .. Ian

[talbany]

Marcus
Nice work and congrats!.A few questions regarding your 183 amp?

1. Can you tell a difference in an ODS with EL-34's vs 6L's
2. What style of music do you think that circuit best suits?
3. What guitar sounds best to you in that amp?
4. Which blooms and sustains best?
5. Which amp is the most fun to play?

As far as the PAB goes. I rarely use that function at home in my studio just woodshedding however I use it quite frequently in a band setting especially with my les Paul.

Yeah I am not going to build anymore either.

Tony

[norburybrook]

Marcus
Nice work and congrats!.A few questions regarding your 183 amp?

1. Can you tell a difference in an ODS with EL-34's vs 6L's
2. What style of music do you think that circuit best suits?
3. What guitar sounds best to you in that amp?
4. Which blooms and sustains best?
5. Which amp is the most fun to play?

As far as the PAB goes. I rarely use that function at home in my studio just woodshedding however I use it quite frequently in a band setting especially with my les Paul.

Yeah I am not going to build anymore either.

Tony

thanks Tony.

I'll answer your questions when I've had chance to get to know this one better.

My first impressions were really about the overdrive on this amp compared to the #102 which is also a high plate Skyliner. The OD on this amp is really in the gainy Santana territory, whereas my #102 is a lot less gainy, this is with my favourite p90/broadcaster pickup telecaster. I've just ordered a pair of 250k CTS audio pots as I have 300k linear in there at the moment on the drive/volume and I wonder if that's skewing my perception of the sound with everything at 12 O'clock settings. when I looked at the #183 details they pots seemed nearer 300k than 250k so I went with 300's I'll see if that makes a difference when I swap them. I also read that a linear pot might be better on the drive, we'll see.


I had a bitt of a pre amp valve rolling today and ended up going back to the sovtek in V1 but replacing the NOS ruby with a TAD 12 ax7. I've got the OD trimmer on 23k so only 1k from the original #183 so it shouldn't be that far from how it's voiced to sound.


the clean is really sweet, it's brighter than the #102 but it's very full and sustains nicely, as I said previously it's almost like a cross between the BM and the #102.

overall I'm pleased with the build from my own point of view. I managed to sort out the problems without any hand holding from Martin and I feel I've come a long way from where I started when I jumped in the deep end with very little knowledge or skill

I shall, report back when I've had chance to paly it more and more importantly make a cabinet...it's not finished until it's sat in a wooden,tolex/suede covered box!!


once again, thanks to all who've contributed advice and help on this build



M

[martin manning]

The OD on this amp is really in the gainy Santana territory, whereas my #102 is a lot less gainy...

It's those black resistors! ;^)

[talbany]

Marcus
Nice work and congrats!.A few questions regarding your 183 amp?

1. Can you tell a difference in an ODS with EL-34's vs 6L's
2. What style of music do you think that circuit best suits?
3. What guitar sounds best to you in that amp?
4. Which blooms and sustains best?
5. Which amp is the most fun to play?

As far as the PAB goes. I rarely use that function at home in my studio just woodshedding however I use it quite frequently in a band setting especially with my les Paul.

Yeah I am not going to build anymore either.

Tony

thanks Tony.

I'll answer your questions when I've had chance to get to know this one better.

My first impressions were really about the overdrive on this amp compared to the #102 which is also a high plate Skyliner. The OD on this amp is really in the gainy Santana territory, whereas my #102 is a lot less gainy, this is with my favourite p90/broadcaster pickup telecaster. I've just ordered a pair of 250k CTS audio pots as I have 300k linear in there at the moment on the drive/volume and I wonder if that's skewing my perception of the sound with everything at 12 O'clock settings. when I looked at the #183 details they pots seemed nearer 300k than 250k so I went with 300's I'll see if that makes a difference when I swap them. I also read that a linear pot might be better on the drive, we'll see.


I had a bitt of a pre amp valve rolling today and ended up going back to the sovtek in V1 but replacing the NOS ruby with a TAD 12 ax7. I've got the OD trimmer on 23k so only 1k from the original #183 so it shouldn't be that far from how it's voiced to sound.


the clean is really sweet, it's brighter than the #102 but it's very full and sustains nicely, as I said previously it's almost like a cross between the BM and the #102.

overall I'm pleased with the build from my own point of view. I managed to sort out the problems without any hand holding from Martin and I feel I've come a long way from where I started when I jumped in the deep end with very little knowledge or skill

I shall, report back when I've had chance to paly it more and more importantly make a cabinet...it's not finished until it's sat in a wooden,tolex/suede covered box!!


once again, thanks to all who've contributed advice and help on this build



M

Gottcha!. It's not skewing your perception!.It does have more gain.The main reason is because both drive and OD levels are 250K instead of 100k.(they act as voltage dividers ) Which is why I said in my description several posts back that the amp is better used as a "Rock" type sound or in your case "Santana" and why I asked you what genre of music better suited that circuit since most people I know usually describe it as a great "Rock Amp". Then again I could be wrong and it could be your new "Black resistors" or those snap in caps.
If you don't like all that gain coming on so quickly go with the Audio tapers.
If you don't like all that gain go back to 100k and you will have another 102.

BTW.I have an SSS that sounds like Stevie Ray Vaughan
Just poking fun at ya!

Enjoy your new Mexican rocker!

Tony