LeftyStrat wrote:I wouldn't call any of the Weber kits 'clones.' They're loosely inspired perhaps, but the circuitry is different. And most of us that have built clones of Trainwrecks have realized that components and even layout have an affect on the result. A Dumble or Trainwreck is more than the sum of the parts or the schematic. Ceriatone probably provides the only kits that are close. If paint-by-the-numbers was all it took to make something like a Dumble, or a Trainwreck, or a Starry Night, then we'd all be HAD, or Fischer, or Van Gogh. And their works wouldn't sell for so much.
Thanks, LeftyStrat. This is very good to know.
I added your comments to my notes.
I'm gathering that you or others have done
comparisons on the "kits", as I do wish to build a kit.
Is there an Amp Garage thread that compares Ceriatone with others?
But, your advice is great. Thanks again.
LeftyStrat ~ I emailed Nik at Ceriatone regarding the three Trainwreck models
and studyied the three Liverpool, Rocket and Expression Trainwreck amps
on Ken Fischer's Trainwreck website. I emailed Ceriatone about Dumble
amp kits on their website as I cannot locate them.
On the Ceriatone website, I cannot locate the Dumble clones.
Does Ceriatone name it's Dumble amp kits differently?
Ceriatone's Trainwreck amp kit names are very close to Trainwreck's names.
What about Dumble?
I know it's a bit of an old thread, but I just got to play one of these. GREAT sounding amp with a tele. I mean, not $4k great, but MAN. The tone on this circuit is sweet.
EtherealWidow wrote:I know it's a bit of an old thread, but I just got to play one of these. GREAT sounding amp with a tele. I mean, not $4k great, but MAN. The tone on this circuit is sweet.
All those old octal tweeds sound great, especially with a tele - as Leo (not Little Walter) intended.
That tele sounded like crap through everything else in the store, including the Fuchs ODS. It's got me wondering if the 6G3 I'm working on wouldn't sound amazing with octals.
I bought a Little Walter 50 watt head and cab. The cab was a 2x12 loaded with one G12-75 and one Black Widow 1201. I was very excited when I bought it.
Now my other amps are a 94 Matchless HC-30 and a 1970 Marshall 50 watt.
The first thing I noticed was the LW 50 watt was no where close to the volume to my other two amps. My 30 watt Matchless walked all over the LW. The Marshall murdered the LW albeit a completely different amp, still a 50 watt. Difference being the Marshall has a SS rectifier. The LW was the only amp of the 3 that I had to use an EQ with and I used the same cab as well.
I really wanted to love the LW but I just couldn't. Phil was a super nice fellow and I did enjoy talking with him but for the money the amp did not perform like my others at all.
I was also told by a very well respected amp builder/repair guy that the LW used cheap parts and iron. That is 3rd party info not mine.
Bottom line is there is a ton of hype out there about these amps and for some maybe they work out just fine. Maybe I am super picky but after hundreds and hundreds of sessions and gigs I kinda know what I like. I'm not hear to beat up LW, just a personal experience I thought I would share.
I always thought Little Walter amps were aimed at the harp crowd. And some of our harp-playing friends seem to appreciate amps that sound - well the appropriate word is lame - compared to a properly working guitar amp.
One illustration - there's an outfit in Virginia that offers "harp mod" to Fender HotRod Deluxe for a measly $250. This mod must take all of 5 minutes and almost no cash to accomplish. First thing, they lock the bias voltage to its highest value, choking off the output tubes entirely, robbing all gain & clean tone. Plus another little whup-de-doo in the preamp, snip out a part, wow. BUT one of our local harp honkers loves his mod anyway. I told him, comes the day you want to return that amp to stock in order to sell it, I'll do it for next to nothing and no shipping needed either. And if you or one of your friends wants that mod, same thing. Save those shipping charges plus @ $230 in "labor."
Another harp player with a Little Walter 4x8 combo swapped his (9-pin) preamp tubes around until he found the least good sounding combination for guitar. But for him, he likes it the way he set it so who am I to argue. To me, the amp sounds broken. A lot of $$$ to spend on a ratty tone.
My personal experience is that you don't have to 'ruin' an amp for guitar to get a harp to sound good. A good guitar amp will work well for harp with the proper amount of gain and some heavy eq tweaks. If the eq has no range then the amp usually won't work well for both guitar and harp. The right mic is also very important for certain sounds.
The majority of the sound comes from the player and his technique.
vibratoking wrote:My personal experience is that you don't have to 'ruin' an amp for guitar to get a harp to sound good. A good guitar amp will work well for harp with the proper amount of gain and some heavy eq tweaks. If the eq has no range then the amp usually won't work well for both guitar and harp. The right mic is also very important for certain sounds.
The majority of the sound comes from the player and his technique.
I'm with you & not even any EQ tweeks necessary. I've seen Southside Johnny blow thru his VibroChamp, Paul Butterfield play thru TWO Twin Reverbs, & everything between. Well some folks gravitate towards distortion and sometimes towards whatever's supposed to be "hip." For instance some guitarists who like the ZeeVex "Super Hard On" expensive distortion box that just makes them sound as if their amp's broken. $300-400-500 for this . . . whatta larf . . . go figure... At least they can step on the bypass switch if they ever want to sound good. Not even a fuzz box, it's Emperor's New Clothes far as I'm concerned.
mscaggs wrote:
My next amp I really need to try is a Morgan
Cheers
I've had 4 or 5 Morgans. They're good amps but nothing special in my opinion. I also feel the build looks a bit rushed on the ones I've owned. Two of which had wires not soldered in pots. The circuits are nothing groundbreaking either.
The circuits are nothing groundbreaking either.