Unleash peeps

[Gaz]

I'd think it would be really expensive to make, and more complex than the effort, but then again so are Dumbles

[Structo]

Ya know, I feel pretty dumb by now.

What are you guys talking about?


Or is this one of Miles flashbacks?

[Gaz]

Don't, I only know about it from the other thread:

http://www.badcatamps.com/unleash.html

[bcmatt]

I'm surprised no one has built one yet;) or maybe someone has?

It's not super complicated and we do have other threads on this:
https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... c7be4f5efe

It is a good reactive load and hen an SS class D 100 watt power amp.
But it is in a nice compact case with 2 footswitchable volume presets and an effects loop with a lifetime warranty. If I were to attempt something similar it would likely be large and ugly and take a long time to get working nicely... Including a lot of harrassment of the guys here.
I may experiment with just making the reactive load at some time...that would be handy for turning any amp into a Herzog with "feel" that one could put effects after and into another amp... Although I imagine that could do this easily with the Unleash using the effects loop out...

[Structo]

Ahhh, Black Cat Unleash attenuator.

Carry on.

[stephenl]

I had thought about building something like this. I got a.sample ICE power amp board from B&O and I was going to use a weber speaker motor for the load. Then I saw the Unleash and bought it instead. I figured it probably wasn't worth it to build it - I'd rather build tube amps.

Its a good product, sounds good, and I really like being able to put effects after my amp. I have a 10-band eq, reverb, and delay in the loop. The eq is really effective in this position.

BTW, if anyone is interested, you can call B&O USA and request a sample ICE Power board. Its pretty cool - just add 110vac and a speaker and you have an amp.

[cbass]

I want one

[Firestorm]

A reverse Thermos(C.) Makes cold things hot, makes hot things cold.

I totally want one.

[bcmatt]

So, I finally got some time to mess around with mine. 3 things:

1) I totally agree with the idea of turning up the volume first to around 10 o'clock. There is a fizziness that seems to appear below that... while have the trim lower than lighting-up doesn't seem to have as many ill-affects. it takes some twiddling to get a good tone, but it does seem possible for this thing to do it's intended purpose (even if it's not as described).

2) It allows me to run my Liverpool without the VVR. (The VVR causes disappearing cleans as the plate voltage gets low.) It also turns out that my JCM800 2204 clone sounds killer! This thing acts way more like an express than I thought once you get the master volume up to about 9 and the PPMIV cranked out. As a 50 watter, it was still way too much power to get decent tones out of it at reasonable stage volumes without the unleash. My 5e3 is probably closer to the right power for me, but still a bit loud most of the time, so the unleash turns it also into an amp for any venue at all. You'd think a device like this would allow me to have one amp for all occasions... but it makes it hard to get rid of any amp now, because they are all perfect for any venue with an unleash.

3) My stand-alone reverb couldn't possibly work worse in the loop. It worked great in my DC30's effects loop and good in front of most amps, but is silent in the effects loop. I thought I had a bad tube in the unit, but nope. It sort of works if I put a boss pedal (with buffer) in the loop after it, but still, turning up the mix knob cuts out the overall volume. Weird wacky stuff. I'm not sure if there is a fix to this... This was what I was most excited about with the unleash... realizing they might not play nice... but they really hate each other.

[M Fowler]

I was told that Badcat is now selling through Musician's Friend so not sure what that means for amp prices or unleash prices.

[Reeltarded]

Hey Matt that is good to hear it makes you like every amp.

Do you have access to a simple line mixer? If you loop a line mixer in you can parallel to the reverb and mix it externally. I have a couple things that require a bump on the back end too.

It does the same with my Fender reverb thing kind of.

Have you tried actually "overloading" the green light? Some things work better in the loop when it's baking. Like as if the trim were on 4 with a wailing 50w amp..

I really wish they made this with 2-3 assignable loops in a 4 space rack unit with 3 attenuators and stereo amps, oh, and world peace. Don't want to sound like a complete ass. Gimme. Gimme.

Musician's Friend. Kevorkian Music Company.

[bcmatt]

Oops! It looks like there actually is an issue with my reverb unit. I leave the country for a month, and come back to it not working. Going into it before the amp and it is acting the same way (mix turned up results in output volume down). I guess I need to sort that out first!

I already tried swapping tubes one by one. I guess I will try that again. Some thing is weird here.

Ya, I don't really have access to a line mixer around here. I'll ponder that a bit after I get this tank working again...

P.S. I actually got mine at Musician's Friend when they had one of their 15% off sales... still came out to really expensive after paying Washington State's sales tax... and then GST and PST to bring it into Canada. TAXES!!!!

[Reeltarded]

Oops!

Taxes are awesome. Wish i could get into that business.

[ampdoc1]

I'm sure most will!!

But, I can tell you how to spend $350 less to add a completely transparent attenuator to any amp.

Add a large variable resistor between the OUTPUT TUBES HEATERS and the AC heater supply line. This allows ALL the signal voltages to run normally, but "starving" the electron stream to the power tubes (this will not hurt the tubes,...plenty of info on the internet about this..IE transmitting tubes vs receiving tubes) . The resistor size will vary. My Express variant uses a 2 ohm 25 watter. It will allow attenuation down to less than 1W of output power with no loss of tone or response (other than when it gets to the point that your speaker does not have enough voltage to respond normally).

I built this in 2004, and it has been used a lot,...and still has the original tubes. If I was going to add it to an amp today, I'd use DC heaters with a VVR to adjust the voltages on the output tubes.

Try it,..you'll like it.

a'doc1

[Leo_Gnardo]

Taxes are awesome. Wish i could get into that business.

I tax my brain every day. So far have nothing to show for it.