KT88 application notes

[jazbo8]

Its in the new doyle marshall book and here:http://folk.ntnu.no/roef/JTM100.html. the different versions differ ever so slightly due to proofreading (or lack thereof) etc

Thanks, great effort for pulling all the information together!

[Danny_J_Glover]

I have great faith in everyone's knowledge of their amplifiers here.

I think the confusion came from the fact that Marshall put out different models, sometimes in the same years, with different innards, under the same name.

[Reeltarded]

No confusion here. Not sure who is confused and why but I see that everyone can repeat the internet ad infinitum.

Hey, there is the confusion right there!!

[Turret]

Its in the new doyle marshall book and here:http://folk.ntnu.no/roef/JTM100.html. the different versions differ ever so slightly due to proofreading (or lack thereof) etc

Offtopic mode on: Just got that Doyle book yesterday from Amazon. Money well spend! Thanks for the head up

[Leo_Gnardo]

But I've seen the 1967 Model of the Marshall 200.
(which people claim to be "The Pig" strictly because Mick Ronson called it that) Only the Marshall 200 model from 1967 is known as "The Pig" and it's clear because Marshall made the model number "1967."

It had "Marshall 200" on the front panel, "Marshall Major" on the back panel, and used the Partridge transformers and active EQ, leading me to believe that there is an overlap here.

Marshall wrote, "Marshall Major," on amplifiers that people call, "The Pig."

Pig story: Around 1991-2 I was asked to repair one of the 3-knobbers by Robert Frazza, Woodstock NY's "house sound man" for many a concert. HE got it from - Mick Ronson. I got the amp to behave itself & thought the tone was just frickin' awesome! Nothing second rate about not having the typical EQ section. Not long after that Mick borrowed it back from Robert, then Mick took it back to England, then he died there. Not much chance of Robert getting his amp back - and that's a tragedy too. Bummer to say the least. Without any bill-of-sale and cooperative relatives, it's a lost cause.

BTW UK English for any heavy object is "pig" and stage hands use the term for power transformers/autoformers used on stage & in studio. In USA the power transformers atop telephone poles some call "pole pigs", same idea. Oink oink pass the bacon!

[Roe]

Pig story: Around 1991-2 I was asked to repair one of the 3-knobbers by Robert Frazza, Woodstock NY's "house sound man" for many a concert. HE got it from - Mick Ronson. I got the amp to behave itself & thought the tone was just frickin' awesome! Nothing second rate about not having the typical EQ section. Not long after that Mick borrowed it back from Robert, then Mick took it back to England, then he died there. Not much chance of Robert getting his amp back - and that's a tragedy too. Bummer to say the least. Without any bill-of-sale and cooperative relatives, it's a lost cause.

BTW UK English for any heavy object is "pig" and stage hands use the term for power transformers/autoformers used on stage & in studio. In USA the power transformers atop telephone poles some call "pole pigs", same idea. Oink oink pass the bacon![/quote]

cool! any info about the circuit?

[Leo_Gnardo]

any info about the circuit?

All I remember was, it was simple & straighforward. Big-iron transformers probably Partridge. Fat & bright preamp stages much like any Marshall of the day, resistor-mixed and straight to the power amp. These days it wouldn't make its way out of the workshop without smiling for the camera. Then - it was a matter of make it work, fast please.

I did another 200W - the kind with EQ controls - for Bearsville studio around the same time. Needed output transformer rebuilt. Charlie Cortright of Cortron in Michigan did it & no problems at all. After the mid 90's I lost track of Charlie, and I hope he's OK. He mentioned he was getting busy building prototypes for Fender and a special silver-wire transformer for some Japan hi fi company. Since then I've called several times & got no return call. Back then, Charlie was "the man" for transformer rebuilds & custom work. If anybody knows him, please give him a big hello how'ya doin' from me. In any case I warned Bearsville to make sure the impedance selector matched the load; you don't want to have to repeat a repair that cost @ $500 plus 4-5 hours in the amp taxi. Now Bearsville's long out of business and who knows where the gear went. One of my customers picked up a plate reverb, aside from that it's scattered to the winds.

[LeftyStrat]

I've always been fascinated with this amp. Ronson's tone is one my favorites, especially on Ian Hunter's "The Truth...":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLJGtySZwf8

Still trying to figure out what fuzz he used. He said "American Tonebender" but from what I gather, 'tonebender' was sometimes used generically for fuzz.

[ampgeek]

Sola Sound Tone Bender Mk-1 according to this Wikipedia article.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Ronson


Ronson also used Marshall 200 amplifiers (not to be confused with a Marshall Major) that he nicknamed "The Pig", and also owned one of the first Mesa-Boogie amplifiers. Ronson also used a Crybaby Wah Pedal and a Sola Sound Tone Bender MKI for his signature sound during the 'Spiders from Mars' era.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tone_Bende ... Bender_MKI

Cheers,
Dave O.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Still trying to figure out what fuzz he used. He said "American Tonebender" but from what I gather, 'tonebender' was sometimes used generically for fuzz.

Back up to 30 Jan - statorvane says Ronson was using a WEM Dominator as a preamp for his Pig. I'm guessing similar to Robin Trower used a Selmer practice amp as a boost before a Marshall or in studio, Fender. This sort of thing's been done lots.

Tonebender was a specific OD box, not very fuzzy on its own IIRC, but a boost sort of like a Klon of more recent times. I've seen made in UK ones, and wouldn't rule out a US made copy or similar gadget.

When I had a play thru the Pig I fixed early 90's, it was big & clean as expected. Pushing it into the crunch zone would be enough to rattle the neighbors' windows & nearly crack my own. Yes, best to be used as a PA power amp, plenty clean boost for whatever tones you could work up with pedals and/or preamp.

[LeftyStrat]

I also ran across this:

http://www.musictoyzforums.com/showthre ... real-story