Trainwreck preamp in a pedal?

[riscado]

has anyone built a trainwreck express/liverpool type preamp in a pedal, with full voltage, much like a matchless hot box. Maybe with a switchable third gain stage?

thanks

[camden_guitarist]

Hi, you might in that case just buy the Fender '59 Bassman pedal by BOSS, since that is what the Trainwreck pre-amp is modeled on, a minor modification here or there but that is basically it.

The real kicker of the Trainwreck amps is it's the combo of the pre-amp and power-amp sections and careful selection of components!

Cheers,

Paul.

[tubetek]

I've built a few express preamps into existing (usually Fender) amps; the result, while pleasing, didn't approach the TWExpress response and touch-sensitivity. Seems that the TW circuit was designed to overdrive the power section first, followed by the Phase-Inverter, and finally the preamp. Using the preamp alone (as designed) results in a pretty clean boost unless the drive is carefully balanced to a tube output section. Hope this helps...
tubetek
PS> +1 on the Bassman preamp OR the Alembic preamp based on the Fender Blackface.

[ampgeek]

I did one based on the project presented here:

http://www.el34world.com/projects/tube_box.htm

My circuit was a hybrid of a Hotbox and a Mesa Boogie Bottle Rocket with foot switchable gain options (e.g., bypassed, 1 stage, 3 stages or 4 stages).

If I were to do it over again, I would have just stuck to one plan. I could never get the tone where I wanted it in all modes unfortunately. It was great when set up for any one option but switching between them required a lot of fiddling with the knobs which kind of negated having the foot switchable options.

I did go back into it trying to morph it into a TW type circuit with minimal success. I have never heard or played a real TW but the pedal never sounded like the TW clips that I have heard.

Note that the referenced project is not intended as a pre guitar amplifier pedal. Way too much gain for that application. The addition of a pre output voltage divider gets it where you will want to be.

Dave O.

[jaysg]

I believe the goal of some of the Shaka Brada versions was to create a pedal that had the same overload characteristics....as the input increases, stages progressively overload, back-end first.

[dayn]

Dana (UR12),

Couldn't the Lil Devil be this with a load and put into a large stompbox enclosure?

[UR12]

Dana (UR12),

Couldn't the Lil Devil be this with a load and put into a large stompbox enclosure?

It would be a pretty big stomp box Maybe I could just mount a footswitch on top of the head cab...

[geetarpicker]

Found an old used footswitch, got Orphan Annie out, and a hole saw is already on my cordless drill. Just where should I start drillin'?

(Just kidding!)

[UR12]

Found an old used footswitch, got Orphan Annie out, and a hole saw is already on my cordless drill. Just where should I start drillin'?

(Just kidding!)

I hope it is an original Stackpole Footswitch