D'lite OT ?

[nickt]

Just received my PT and OT for an up coming D'lite but am a little surprised by the OT. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with it as such however it seems a tad small - more like what I'd expect for a Deluxe or 18watt.

I have one of jimib's 2x6L6 or 4xEL84 OT's - I believe its 3K7 primary.

Should I stick with the Brownnote OT or "upgrade" to the bigger iron?

Waddaya think guys? Thanks!

[brownnote]

more like Vibrolux...

[nickt]

So you're not recommending I use the BrownNote eh?

Seriously though I really liked the strat tone Billy Yates was getting on a D'lite in that YouToob clip - is the trannie anything to do with that? If so I'm sold!

[greiswig]

I've used the stock Heyboer OT as well as a 50W Heyboer that I got from Brandon. The stock OT is what I would describe as gooey...harmonics kind of ooze from it. Brandon's, which is a big chunk o' iron, I found to be tighter in sound and feel as well as being a bit more punchy. The harmonics are still there, but they're more focused and balanced to my ear.

They both sounded good to me, so it's a question of what quality you're after, and how the OT works with the rest of the amp. I doubt the OT will be the one item that will make or break your build unless you're planning to use EL-34's in it.

I would suggest that you build the amp with the stock tranny (since it's paid for), see if it sounds good as-is or if the bass feels too flabby. If the latter, I can recommend Brandon's.

PS - if you tweak and tweak with the stock OT, get ready to undo all those when you put in something different. The same tweaks sure didn't apply in mine after I changed OT's.

HTH,

[nickt]

Cool thanks -g

My tone is usually pretty bright/middy so I'll try the stock first. Given jimib's is an AC30 OT I think I'll put it in something else - too many variables if I mess with the base-line.

[brownnote]

I'm just saying...it's based on a Vibrolux core size.
The D'Lite Kit works great with that OT, and the character of the OT is similar to that of a Vibrolux.
You can run 6L6's for about 35W or 6V6 for about 22W.
All of the clips on the BN site were recorded using that OT.

It saturates nicely, and has all kinds of harmonics.
During the R&D phase of the D'Lite we tried many OT's including some bigger, smaller, cheaper, more expensive...that was the one that sounded best to us.

We also use a larger OT for our D44's which is the amp the Billy was playing, and is the same core size as the OT that greiswig mentioned, it's basically a 50W OT and is about 1/4" less lamination thickness than the 'Twin' OT.

I would not judge the "22/33" output by it's size, it's rocking every corner of the globe, and it does sound great.

Obviously it depends on what you're asking from the amp...a 35W OT is not a 50W OT and any comparisons should be tempered by recognition of the fundamental differenced between the two.

There are a lot of 50W & 100W ODS type amps out there, the D'Lite is a lower powered version based on the concept of a bit more obscure HAD amp that was built from a modified Vibrolux...at least that was the inspiration based on something I read about the alleged "HAD Vibro amp" a long time ago.

So if you decide a 22w or 35w amp is not your cup 'o tea, I'd say look into bigger iron at that point.

We're offering a D44 transformer set now, and I'd be happy to give you the best good buddy possible, so if you find yourself shopping around, shoot me an email.

[Funkalicousgroove]

The core of Greiswig's OT is the size of a Twin Reverb OT, might be overkill, but I think it sounds great

[greiswig]

I would not judge the "22/33" output by it's size, it's rocking every corner of the globe, and it does sound great.

I wouldn't, either. I hope I made it clear that I like the original OT...which is why I haven't sold it. I may well use it in another build, and the BN gents clearly made a good choice with it and weren't skimping on quality. There are still times when I find myself wishing for some of the qualities that OT had, but I have been better able to find tight, Robben-esque tones in my build from the Bludotone unit. And it has a 32-ohm tap! So when I wire up my pair of 64-ohm speakers in parallel...

[greiswig]

I would not judge the "22/33" output by it's size, it's rocking every corner of the globe, and it does sound great.

I wouldn't, either. I hope I made it clear that I like the original OT...which is why I haven't sold it. I may well use it in another build, and the BN gents clearly made a good choice with it and weren't skimping on quality. There are still times when I find myself wishing for some of the qualities that OT had, but I have been better able to find tight, Robben-esque tones in my build from the Bludotone unit. And it has a 32-ohm tap! So when I wire up my pair of 64-ohm speakers in parallel...

If you're your own roadie, you may want to know that the Bludotone OT probably nearly doubled the weight of the head.

[brownnote]

The core of Greiswig's OT is the size of a Twin Reverb OT, might be overkill, but I think it sounds great

I haven't heard his, but I'd agree...
I've got a Bludo Twin OT, and it's excellent.

Now I just need two 6x12 cabs to tax that baby

[Richie]

Now I just need two 6x12 cabs to tax that baby

http://sunn.ampage.org/site/catalogs/1968/1200s.jpg

find a couple of the cabs for the 1200s

[brownnote]

Now I just need two 6x12 cabs to tax that baby

http://sunn.ampage.org/site/catalogs/1968/1200s.jpg

find a couple of the cabs for the 1200s

Those are awesome...have to hunt for some.

Or, could go this route:
http://www.greenamps.com/tubeampsandbigcabs.html

[stelligan]

nickt,

I'm well over a year using that original D'Lite OT in a 2 x 6L6 amp from the first set of kits and it's holding up great. Loud enough to get over a rock drummer and then some. Harmonically rich tone. I'm very happy with it.

Dave