Stancor - Pacific - Heyboer - Marstran - MM - Edcor - Ceria

[gearhead]

Call me ambitous, stupid, or both, but am going to try and build two Expresses at once. One with Moose Trannies, and one with Pacific ones. Have most of the high-cost items already.

It's going to be a while tho (have another amp to finish still). Probably sometime in the early spring.

[RJ Guitars]

Has anybody built a wreck with the Stancor 3801 output iron? Isn't that the transformer that both the Heyboer and the Pacific are designed after?

For that matter, has anybody even heard one with that transformer?

rj

[reverbus]

If I have my statistics correct then one curiosity between the Heyboers and Pacifics is that in the chosen windings used for an Express they supply different voltages:

Heyboer = 300-0-300
Pacific = 280-0-280

Is there any adjustment in the dropping string between these two?

thanks,

rj

My Pacifics are ready to be mounted.
Would anyone, pls, comment/sugest to Rj Guitars question?
Anyone who also changed to Pacific's transformers?

Thanks

[M Fowler]

reverbus

I did not adjust my dropping string. I built my Express based on the Layout and schematic posted in the TW Files section with no modifications or additions.

I would mount those Pacific transformers and fire her up.

Mark

[dartanion]

I think the Heyboer and Pacific PTs are rated at different primary voltages.

[M Fowler]

Heyboer are 300-0-300 and Pacific are 280-0-280.

[dartanion]

Heyboer are 300-0-300 and Pacific are 280-0-280.

Primary. 120V vs 117V vs 110V.

I'll have to look at the specs again.

[dartanion]

Heyboer rates theirs at 120VAC.

Pacific rates theirs at 115VAC.

[RJ Guitars]

The info I have from Pacific has their power trans rated at 120V AC with the 250 and 280 secondary taps. The Toneslut web site has the Heyboer listed as 120V AC also.

I think it is noteworthy to consider that the average AC is just a bit higher now than it was 25 years ago. I can recall in my AC circuits class at the local University in the early 80's, the first night of class we measured the line voltage in the lab and everybody got something between 115 and 117 volts. Now I see more like 120 to 122V locally.

One thing that the values of that Pacific transformer implies is that a standard AC-30 power transformer might substitute in as an Express power tranny. These commonly have a 280-0-280 secondary winding. If you live in Europe, this may be significant to you because these are easy to find in Europe.

These are great transformers although a bit different in layout than your typical wreck. I built a Rocket amp using all AC-30 transformers and it fit nicely.

rj

[Richie]

Has anybody built a wreck with the Stancor 3801 output iron?

I have used all kinds experimenting. The NOS Stancors,heyboers,pacific,some stancor hifi,and others. All of the ones made, sound really good.
The Stancor is geting hard to find,But the thing is,between all of them you may hear only a slight difference.
So depending on ones ear, or what they like,someone may like one over the other. But they are all very good,so you really can't go wrong.

Even the real Trainwrecks used different trannys over the years,so i'm sure they would also be about the same as what most of us have gone through. Pacific,Marstran,Heyboer, are all good.

My brother Dana Built a Liverpool that used a Stancor 3800, 30watt OT, and it also sounded really good. And another Express using an old OT from a motorola stereo from 1959,,which sounded very good.

[geetarpicker]

When I built my pair of personal Express clones I used Pacifics for two simple facts. Obviously my own bench mark was my Pacific tranny original TW, plus at the time I was able to talk Pacific into making me a couple sets. I think they are still available, perhaps not stickered with Ken's old part #, but it's my understanding that Allyn's Pacifics are the same specs, just his new #. That all said, I've never played a wreck clone with Moose's latest version of a TW OT though "I think" all the details are a match to the original 6.6k Pacific.

I played a clone built by Richie that had a NOS Stancor in it, however he had a PT with a higher B+ than is typical so it was still a different animal, very nice but different.

I'd like to know if Marstan's TW OT has the additional 250 and 500 ohm output taps? If so that might make his OT more of a take on the original Stancor OT, which was used in the earlier TWs. In my experience the earlier wrecks had something different yet again compared to the later ones. Perhaps a little more lows and a softer slightly less aggressive nature.

Obvisously there are many options these days. It would be interesting to set up a test rig to test them all out on the same chassis.

[dartanion]

The info I have from Pacific has their power trans rated at 120V AC with the 250 and 280 secondary taps. The Toneslut web site has the Heyboer listed as 120V AC also.

I think it is noteworthy to consider that the average AC is just a bit higher now than it was 25 years ago. I can recall in my AC circuits class at the local University in the early 80's, the first night of class we measured the line voltage in the lab and everybody got something between 115 and 117 volts. Now I see more like 120 to 122V locally.
rj

That's not what I have from Pacific, so I guess there is still some confusion here. Maybe Moose will chime in as he claims the Heyboer and Pacific PTs are the same in HV secondaries.

I see anything from around 117 to 124 at my house depending on time of day and time of year.

[M Fowler]

reverbus is in EU so he has 240v from Pacific with 280-0-280 so je is good to go as is.

I have 118v in my jam room and work area.

Pacific is 120v 60Hz and secondary is 250/280.

[RJ Guitars]

I have a Pacific spec sheet that somebody here posted recently. I took the values I mentioned from that sheet. It looks official.

Do we know if the older models with "Other" transformers used the same dropping string as Gk's Orphan Annie? Which begs the next question, if they are indeed different secondary voltages, how much difference does a few volts make in the B+ nodes of an Express?

rj

[M Fowler]

This is what Allyn posted a while back.