First Trainwreck Express build, This Amps Going Metal \m/

[HobbswheresCalvin]

So,
for starters ive been attracted to this amp design for a number of years now. A friend had brought a clone to practice one day and i fell in love as soon as he turned it on.

Well, now i have the funds, the time, the experience, and the much needed, Patience, to build one.

i contacted our friend RJ with RJ Guitars, and after a series of emails he helped me decide on exactly what i wanted in a kit and sent it out to me. WAY quicker then i expected.

so this weekend, as in yesterday for 14 hours and today for half a day. i sat here and wired it up. or as much of it as i can do for now. i am still waiting on some filter caps from a friend at PRS. and some i ordered from CE distribution. i am going to try a few different types first before i shell out the cost of the Mallorys, i know i know. i am probably just wasting more money and should just go for the gold and stop playing with the silver on this one, but i am a starving musician here still.

anyways, any comments are welcome, i would definitely like to know if i made any mistakes anywhere, it will be benchtested before we strike a chord on it, i am a musical instrument tech here in santa cruz, and my coworker is a tried and true amp tech, so hes going to go over it after i complete it.

another note, i used leaded solder throughout, my coworker had a stash of it and thought in the interest of making a lasting amp and for the purists, i did her up the right way.

i did have a little trouble soldering the bus to the back of the pots with it, so mind my ugly mess there haha.

Hobbs

also, i did notice on my friends amp, and have heard from a few of you that, trainwrecks generally do not like low end, i am playing in a band using B standard tuning, thats B to B on a six string, weve done a little research and i may change the coupling capacitors to .047 to allow more bass through, let me know your opinions on that as well

let me know if you cannot see clearly enough, ill take more pictures

[HobbswheresCalvin]

some more pictures

[HobbswheresCalvin]

but wait, theres more

[RJ Guitars]

Looking forward to the final results, especially how this works out with the low B string. You are charting new waters and we can all benefit from what you'll learn on this effort. What guitar will you be using?

rj

[Colossal]

I play 7 strings in standard tuning (low B), and with my modded Liverpool, the tone is crushing. I am not going for Djent ultra-downtuned tone however. The sound I'm getting is somewhere between Van Halen and Tool. The Trainwreck sound is super clear and very musical.

I'll look forward to seeing/hearing about how your amp sounds. Good luck with the build!

[HobbswheresCalvin]

Ya its coming together. I am finally putting in the order for the filter caps tomorrow. Tho this is just a test set. If i like em they stay. If i think i can do better. I might try those tech caps you were telling me about RJ.

I am using ESP, were endorsing them and ive always used them. Even after i worked there, haha. A good product is a good product to me. My main is an ESP Eclipse II in Vintage Black. A completely random set of low output pickups in it. One is a ibanez george benson signature pickup i got from a friend, the bridge is a dimarzio air classic. This guitar is in Drop B, my other is an older LTD MH-300 ive had for around 12 years now. Same set of pickups. That one is tuned to B standard.

I cant wait to try it. The only concern is the low end. I would like to use this amp exclusively, as touring with 2 amps, micing both and getting a good tone, along side 4 other people and a sample machine every show, when we may or may not get siund checks at each show. Kind of difficult. Especially with the amount of gear we have to suit up with everytime.

I may be hitting you up RJ for some more capacitor values, and may indeed one day get the mallory filter caps.

Also what o you guys think of the feedback loop capacitor idea of the impedence selector. I saw a post a guy made the other day about it. He had said he used it to add bass.

[Colossal]

I am using ESP, were endorsing them and ive always used them. Even after i worked there, haha. A good product is a good product to me. My main is an ESP Eclipse II in Vintage Black. A completely random set of low output pickups in it.

I think low output pickups are very important in the Trainwreck-meets-low-B equation. I use Dimarzio PAF7s in my guitars and they sound very clear. They do not push the front end of the amp too hard. Clarity under pretty heavy distortion and compression is very important to me. A fellow demoed my modded Liverpool last night using a mahogany/maple neck-through 7 string with Bare Knuckle pickups. They are a bit higher output but still remained very clear. We did back off the gain to about 1 o'clock. He dropped tuned the B down to A and it stayed separated and very clear. He even commented specifically about how clear it sounded.

I cant wait to try it. The only concern is the low end. I would like to use this amp exclusively, as touring with 2 amps, micing both and getting a good tone, along side 4 other people and a sample machine every show, when we may or may not get siund checks at each show. Kind of difficult. Especially with the amount of gear we have to suit up with every time.

Trainwreck amps are bright but this is so they sit well in the mix in a live situation. They do seem to translate very well to modern metal and even Djent. Of specific note is the power supply design which adds just the most fantastic, elastic compression. I think speaker choice is important to getting the low end right. I like low wattage speakers personally as I think their breakup contributes to some of the warmth.

Also what do you guys think of the feedback loop capacitor idea of the impedence selector. I saw a post a guy made the other day about it. He had said he used it to add bass.

If you are talking about Resonance (kind of the conjugate to Presence), this is adding a cap (typically 0.0022 to 0.0047uF) in series with and behind the feedback resistor. It will add some low end back into the amp but too much and the amp will go from warm/tight to losing some of the shimmer and 3D qualities. Going further and it will get woofy. With a 4x12 it can be pretty awesome. If you are micing your amps, I would think you would be able to EQ the low end.

[HobbswheresCalvin]

Wow, it sounded good with even the bareknuckles. Those can have quite the outpit depending on which ones he has. I know the warpig is around 22ohms.

Ya, i definitely dont want to change the tone too much. I may add a small cap, like the 0.0022uf for the feedback loop. Maybe less. Well see, im ordering a set of F and T caps this morning . So it wont be long now.

I am using a 4x12 cab. A Mojo 1968 Marshall Clone. With Vintage 30s. Awesome cab ive had it a long time.

[HobbswheresCalvin]

Hey Colossal, does your liverpool have a PPIMV?

[Colossal]

Wow, it sounded good with even the bareknuckles. Those can have quite the outpit depending on which ones he has. I know the warpig is around 22ohms.

Ya, i definitely dont want to change the tone too much. I may add a small cap, like the 0.0022uf for the feedback loop. Maybe less. Well see, im ordering a set of F and T caps this morning . So it wont be long now.

I am using a 4x12 cab. A Mojo 1968 Marshall Clone. With Vintage 30s. Awesome cab ive had it a long time.

Yes, it sounded very good with the Bare Knuckles. I don't know which pickup models he is playing but I don't think they are crazy high output. I did have to turn the gain back as they pushed the front end of the amp a little more than my PAF7s. The thing I like is that you can hear the guitar, not just the amp.

Yeah, go easy on the resonance cap. Too much and it doesn't alter the fundamental tone of the amp, just takes something away. Yes, it will add more low end but at the cost of some definition. I am in it for the definition so I did just some subtle mods here and there.

That 4x12 has got to sound very good. I haven't tried Vin30s with any of the Trainwreck designs (but need to). My go to speakers have been Greenbacks and I really like them. I do like Vintage 30s with other amps though.

Hey Colossal, does your liverpool have a PPIMV?

Yes, I did add one and I find it to be a very useful mod. Purists may disagree but for getting a bit more clipping out of the PI, I think it has some added utility. I like the PPIMV up about 1/2 way and it really sings. Up to about 1 o'clock and it's a full, musical roar. Beyond that and you need a 4x12 to let it breathe. You can also get a very usable low volume crunch tone out of the amp when you want to noodle about but not peel the paint off the walls in the evening hours.

If you want to get a bit heavier sound, turn off the bright switch (Glen K told me this) and roll back on your guitar's tone knob slightly (Allan Holdsworth does this). You won't lose definition but it definitely thickens the tone up.

[HobbswheresCalvin]

So far the amps ive run thru and loved the mojo cab with have been a thriple recto, a framus cobra, a rivera tbr-1 i ran that amp with a 31 band eq in both effects loops with copious compression. I loved this sound. I spent hours perfecting that town in a studio i was practically living in a few years ago. My 5150 also goes through it and at the moment im using my first tube amp through it. A fender super twin reverb. The most bad ass amp ive owned. So much clarity..and so much volume. Ts also a stereo option amp like the newer 1960 lead cabs. So i am probably going to either mix the 5150 or fender super twin reverb in the cab to give both tones a chance to fill up the room, and allow our sound guy to mix them.

I am interested in the ppimv, do you have any pictures of the install or is there a schematic for wuere it goes exactly in the express schematic. Im new to this, sorry if i get annoying.

[Colossal]

I am interested in the ppimv, do you have any pictures of the install or is there a schematic for wuere it goes exactly in the express schematic. Im new to this, sorry if i get annoying.

Sure, here you go (see enclosed).

[schematic corrected 3/12/12]

[HobbswheresCalvin]

F & T filter caps went in today. Waiting for the silicone to dry before i wire them. One more check over after that and were gunna slowly power her up with a variac

Stoked

[Colossal]

Nice! Did you get your PPIMV sorted out?

[HobbswheresCalvin]

I got the parts for t, but i havent installed any mods yet. Im going to see how it sounds first. That way i know what advantages and disadvantages i come across