my new ceriatone 36 watt with half power switch

[blaren]

yeah for a no frills amp there are a LOT of tonal possibilities to explore. What I want to try (in order) is:
Wanna try jumping channels...also wanna try them with my A/B and see if it's useable as a 2-channel switcher., preamp tubes...I have a nice bag full but no mullards . , power tubes (any recomendations?), I'd also maybe like to try some mustards or at least the new "vintage" sozos. I really cant see it sounding any better all around though. A nice stinky 12ax7 in V1 would probably mess things up just right but would probably take away from the pristine and transparent cleans.
I love the way it reacts to its tone pots too. With all my real marshalls, the presence knob does something I'm sure but I think only dogs can tell. The treble knobs dont seem to ever make it past 2 and neither does the middle...which as far as I'm concerned could be called treble2. the bass is useable I suppose but the volume pots arent...till you deal with the bright cap (re-issues especially). With the 36watter, the bass pot...it unleashes the amazing botttom end that this thing has on tap. The treble...well you seem a little high there. The pot definately IS a good working useable treble pot though...I run a littlt lower...well thats what I thought yesterday...we'll see. The mid pot actually controlls the MIDS! Like you said..really changes the amps character. It should be named the "personality" knob.
So much to play with on such a simple amp. How long does it take to find a tone on an amp with TWO ROWS of a hundred knobs each these days???

How long has Ceriatone been around Richie? How can he do this at these prices? Isnt it just him and a couple of other guys? Dont people know what he has and does? I'm pretty sure that if people knew everyone would buy one wouldnt they??? OK here in Canada at Vox retailers, you can get an AC30CC HEAD ONLY for $849 Canadian dollars...helluvadeal. I paid $615 plus $128shipping for my 36watt. Thats about $900 Canadian...oh the Vox would have 7%tax too bringing it to a little over $900C. OOPS...had to buy a headcase for the 36...that was another hun US plus shipping. They are very close to the same price. The chinese pcb voxes (very good reviews though and buddy has one...sexy) have reverb and trem and a headcase. The (Chinese lol) Ceriatone amps have love and mojo and TONE. The Voxes FY off the shelves....wouldnt the ceriatones?

OK I'm done
Season's Greetings everyone

[Billabong]

Blaren,
the amp looks great. I would do one thing to it however and that is clean off all of that excess flux still on the turrets and board. Flux is an aggressive oxidizer if left on. Did you choose the mallory caps or was that stock from Nik on this amp?

[Plexi]

Alot of the Vox and other amps may sound pretty good,but they usually are prone to problems,since i do repairs i've seen many of the same things happen to the same model amps...this is the more lower class models. The HW series,is much different ..but also cost much more.
What you have is, a hand wired amp,at a very low price..
Nik does great work as you can see/hear. And is good to deal with,at least he has been top notch with me. His parts are same as alot of other builders use. And i'm sure if you asked him..he could use the parts you wanted..within reason..
He has his own transformers..and I know Nik,like others,make sure they sound correct and hold up. He also looks close into the detail to make sure things are correct.
You could say this about anyone here that supplies parts or builds amps.. They want to make something that is going to last,and use good parts that sound good.

Anyway.. the other thing is you asked about.. not many people have tried/played a 36'r, and not as much intrest in them. Its a sleeping dog..LOL
You have a half power switch. I've been useing a Variable Voltage regulator on my amp..take the place of the MV so i can bring it down to 1 watt if i wanted to.
And there is also the option to build this same circuit in an 18 watter..
And so many options in tone shaping or voicing the amp if you wanted to.and all very easy with a few changes.

The heads are also very light .easy to carry..

As for tubes.. thats out the window with me.. preamp tubes i have to listen to them,no matter NOS or what brand,and swap out alot of them to find ones i like. And Be picky..since alot of hum can come from useing a crappy tube. Its not just the tone i listen for,its excess hum ,and hiss,or microphonics. I don't see how anyone could buy tubes and just pop them in an amp,even if they are supposedly tested,and think they will be fine.
These amps are super quiet if built right..

Richie

[blaren]

yeah I've dealt with George at metro a bit too and he's really nice. Actually I ALWAYS get fantastic service online....better than "live". The thing about Nik and Ceriatone though is that he doesnt just say....sure we can do that...or we can do that for this much more....he says....we can do whatever you want...if that's what you're after, maybe you should also think about this, this, and or this....either of which or a combination of all we can do...no extra charge !!...well Nik...can I at least send you some money?...no no..not yet.
And then the PRICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was originally gassing for a jtm-45 kit from george....had good dealings, hear nothing but great reports, see him at the forums....George is awesome...not trying to take anything away from him at all.
But Ceriatone built this amp for me for $615!!! The kit from George woulda been a grand almost...granted, it woulda came with a case and I would have learned more but uh....well I DO do nice work but....NOT like this!
It is pretty "hummy" though....I dont care really but never associated hum with tubes! hmmmm that's promising. They're JJs. I've had microphonic tubes of course but never with a hum. The hum is quite.... uhhhhhhhh.... quite a hum. I suppose maybe I have a bad one in v1 that was in v2 or 3 when he tested it and I mixed them up. Cool....I hope so.
My headcase does NOT have that metal plate on the "floor" of it like all my other marshalls do...whether its there for shielding or just fire suppression I dont know. He didnt test it on a piece of metal so I cant see it being important....until something blows and sends a spark onto a drop of tolex glue in there and the whole thing goes up. I didnt mention the hum to him either. It's like a 60cycle hum or whatever...like a singlecoil...or bad filter caps...both of which it ISNT. I figured that if that was how it was when he tested it then it's good enough for me. Doesnt bother me. I had attributed it to just some "placement" issues in there.
I cant wait to play some more with it but I got SO much crap to do today...oh Season's greetings everyone.
Yes it came with the M150s. I had asked him what else was abailable at the onset but they were the best he had. It was a timing issue. Whats the buzz around here about the new Sozo "vintage" caps...other than the price. :O I agree with the sentiment that ...while there are NOS mustards available out there right now cheap, the Sozos are perfect for builds (if they really ARE that good) but keep your mustards for your old amps that came with...or use them to replace-replacement caps in butcher jobs on vintage amps.
What are you guys using and whats everyone use in their 18s? What EL84s does everyone prefer in these? and plexi,....how much different is this circuit than the 18w? I thought it was VERY similar??????
thanks so much for the edumacation fellas.

[Plexi]

"""They're JJs. I've had microphonic tubes of course but never with a hum. The hum is quite.... uhhhhhhhh.... quite a hum."""

I have not been able to use many JJ's at all.. and the last few had a hum from hell in them.. try swapping V1 and V2 with different tubes or one at a time..and you'll see a difference i believe.

Also you need the metal shield in the bottom of the head box.. You can pick up a thin sheet of aluminum at Lowes..they have different sizes..

If you set this amp on a cab without the shield..it can pick up some noise,try moving it off the cab..see if it has less humm or noise.. the shield cures that.

Sarge has some good NOS EL84s at very fair prices. And also preamp tubes..
I've had very little luck with the JJ's,and EH's and GT mullard copy.. all the last ones i got were crap..useless. And with any of these tubes,you better check the voltages after puting them in..you may find some crazy things happening.

The 36 has a similar channel as the 18 watt trem Vol tone.. But instead of it going straight to the PI.. it share the cathode follower,and TMB tone circuit.. But still alot of the sound shaping of the 18s is from the PI.

But i have built a few amps now that were 18 watters,that used this 36 style layout. Some more raw sounding. And some tweaked amps for what the person was suggesting they were after. Mostly gave it a bit more clean..but still would rock when turned up. So a little of both ends.

When you make them a little cleaner sounding..they work better with pedals.

I use M150's and some NOS caps in builds..just depends.
The Sozo's i haven't tried.. i was always leary of the breakin..and tone changing they talked about. Seems it would be hard to build an amp,and know how it sounds..then after 100hrs..the tone change onces its gone out to someone. I'd have to know the before and after sounds..lol

So i just stick with things i know work.. But polyester caps,i have Orange Drops,but they are NOS polyester caps., similar to the Ones used in the Trainwreck amps... also disc caps,and silver mica in some places.
Richie

[NitroLiq]

Just curious as this would be something I'd be very interested in for my build...Is the power switch a 3-way toggle (off, lo, hi) or are there separate switches for on/off and hi/lo pwr? Richie, what would be easier to implement, the half-power switch or the variable voltage regulator?

Pete

[Plexi]

Just my opinion..the VVR would be by far the best to use.. it goes from full power to anywhere inbetween..i have mine set to about 1 watt as the lowest setting. Works great..no problems..

I think on the amp that he has...has the high low switch up on the chassis by the transformer.. So it would be a high and low setting..no inbetween spot on the switch.. Just guessing.. Almost afraid to suggest anything anymore..

Richie

[OrangeJTM46]

Plexi, where can I read more about the VVR? I searched and not much came up.

[allynmey]

Hi all, Sarge has a great deal on Polem NOS el-84's They are the same as the Telams which I think are some of the best sounding NOS el-84's around. I bought a matched quad for my new 36 watt build that will be made according to the new Ritchie/Pete layout!

[quote] Almost afraid to suggest anything anymore..


Come on now...don't get sensitive on us now!


Allynmey

[Plexi]

"""Plexi, where can I read more about the VVR? I searched and not much came up."""


http://www.18watt.com/modules.php?name= ... 18&start=0

http://www.18watt.com/modules.php?name= ... 69&start=0

These are a couple of the threads that were going.. I can't say about what or how others use theirs or their design.. I use the one uR12 built,and it works great,no problems in the least..

Allynmey,a little off topic..but if you haven't been to the wreck page...check out the post my brother put on there.. i found some NOS perf board that will work for the TW boards,and took it to him last night,and he posted a few pics...

Richie

[NitroLiq]

After reading a bit of that, I have the funny feeling the half power switch would be a tad easier. Richie, has Dana released a layout for his VVR, yet? Is he planning to?

Pete

[blaren]

Hey sorry...everytime I come back I see that plexi was the last reply so I keep thinking the thread kinda went dormant...oopsies.
Yeah the power switch is just a hi-lo.
I'm slowly learning more about the 36 and 18 watters (and amps in general) here. I had been here before but it seemed a little "deep". Every time I come back I "recognize" a little more.
I'm not a guy who has never lit an iron. It all started back in the '70s with simple children's sears radio kits and a light show for the band which consisted of a bunch of noma floodlamps and a big plywood box with a bunch of 110 outlets and automotive highbeam switches...you know...when we had stompboxes in cars too..before signal light highbeam switches.
I've of course fixed a bizillion cords, changed hundreds of pickups and pots...I had a satellite TV store....that can call for a bit of soldering and "modifying" , and PCB trace cutting and re-routing....blah blah..
so yeah I can do some nice work...even on TINY stuff with like 30gauge wire.
About amps I dont know much. I know how to drain caps (I cheat though), I've installed (and removed) a post pi master in a marshall, messed with bright caps and resistors a bit...That's about IT!
OK great...now I forgot where I was going with this...you should try talking to me in PERSON...god!
Oh yeah...the power switch..lmfao...anyway, yeah 2-way, resistive (?)....I mean it doesnt like "pull" 2 tubes...more like a DC30. I dunno...I cant see why they arent "stock" on the circuit. I havent put mine on HI yet...I've tried it but....havent needed it at a gig. This was the main reason behind me getting this thing in the first place...MANAGEABLE levels with WICKED tone. You know,...I havent really tried it at lo volumes in HI yet. I've only tried it cranked to see just how loud it is. I havent tried much really..I'm still blown away by this stupid thing. The channels have been bridged since you mentioned it Richie...ANOTHER MILLION TONES!!! thanks a LOT! I tried an ab box as a channel switcher but I dont think I'd ever use it that way...the channels are different but not a LOT different. It isnt supposed to be a "switcher" anyway right?...I guess you'd want an extra vol/gain on one channel but then you might as well get an amp with a whole bunch of bells and whistles. I kinda toyed with the idea of adding a ppiv master but nah...Hell I dont even know if the master in this thing is pre or post...must be pre right?
So yeah..in my mind..it isnt a 36watt its an 18watt with double power or HEADROOM switch...which SHOULD be mounted where it's accessable...next time. Hey Richie...what's this vvc? Is it like a little variac or something? Cant be...dont you have to consider bias with a variac? Or is cathode biased different?...or is it totally different than a variac?
There' s some werid stuff happening once in a while...minor...some noises and stuff....still havent put a shielding plate in it and havent even taken it off the cab...I havent tried different tubes, I havent tried a 4-12, I havent tried any other guitars....EVERYTIME I plug into it I get swept away. You know how if you strap on an old ES335, throw in on the neck pup and start wailing, you're gonna be stuck nodding out like sid and nancy in a sustained blues bend for hours...either that or youll be playing red house for about 99 and one half years. Plug in a tele on the neck pup and....or a quacky strat....or a....If I've been playing a marshall then I plug in a clean twin I play DIFFERENT.
I'll sit in front of this thing, try a switch or different settings and I'll be playing the ACDC BOX SET for 5 HOURS....Change it again and it's SRV for hours....Zepplin...Heart...you name it. Not that you set it up and start playing Blackmore licks...you set it up and that stuff just starts falling out. It seems to be able to NAIL so many tones. I've forgotten which one was ME!
I dont think I'll EVER get around with tweeking the circuit...even IF I knew what I was doing. Hell I've never even biased a marshall before (.
I think today I'll mate it to a 4-12....OR ...should I try first...going into the hotplate then line in to the twin for some reverb....hmmmlet's see which would be heavier...I mean lighter...maybe I'll just fire-it up again first ...to get another benchmark before I start carrying anything heavy around. This amp is ruining my life!!! I have things to DO dammit. Maybe if it wasnt set up in the middle of the living room I'd leave it alone for a while.
thanks for all the info and compliments fellas.

[Plexi]

Not that i know of.. I know all the post on that thread all sound techy,but uR12 makes the board and pot,and he has also incroperated a heat sink and fan. But even this is very easy to hookup.
So its really all done with his setup..just have to drill one small hole to mount it..and wire it in.
I never used the fan and heat sink on mine. I know he has his own design.. which is not exactly like the other known type of device..
He's been up to his eyballs in doing some amp stuff,trainwreck and 6v6 plexi hes building..and i think he put it on the back burner for now. He would have the answers for for all that info of what hes going to do wit the VVR. I know if you read the threads he didn't want to step on any toes..and all the mess on useing these things.. Really i don't see why he couldn't. His is different,or his own design..and they have been around or used in other things long before they were used in guitar amps..
The high low switch will work..but it is just different and can't turn the amp down like the VVR can. Its just a different principle of how they work and what they are doing in the amp.

Richie

[donbarzini]

With all the valuable information from blaren and Plexi, I recently ordered a 36W from Nik as well, thanks guys! I'm looking forward to playing this thing. Will I still want to play my JCM800 2x12 combo? Hmmmmmmm.

[Plexi]

""" I havent tried a 4-12"""

You haven't heard what the amp can do till you have it through a 4x12 and cranked a bit..

I know what you are talking about.. i love my 36'r..and been playing more lately than i ever have in a while. And can relate to getting all those tones. I been playing the Govt Mule..and now the Gary Moore tones with the Tokia LP guitar.
That song, King of the blues.. thats on the video where he is thrashing it at the with the horns blasting ..deep thick tone. Its scarry!! I've been using an old 68 cab,and another with the sammi's. I been diging out some of my old pedals too. Next will be some Trower and Hendrix. I've been playing through the normal channel with the TMB stack bypassed..feedback out.

Richie

[blaren]

I'm SO glad it isnt just me. I keep thinking I'm just wrong or biased. I keep waiting to read a post saying these things suck ass or someone to try mine and say...woah dude...what's WRONG with this thing.
Can you tell me anything about the transformers Nik uses?
I have my 4-12 cab wired to 4 ohms right now because I was trying my twin through it and using it with my harmony...both amps want 4 ohm loads. At 4-ohms I was also able to run my marshalls...rather run them at 16 though. Does this tranny prefer 16 ohms? I dont even really feel like trying it till I put it back to series parallel.
The NFB...it's a funny thing. The first night it was in...at home realized how nice and loose it got with it out. It gives up stuff way easier with the nfb out. HOWEVER....when you get a little heavy on the throttle and things get a tad out of control, you put the nfb back in and it tightens things up just enough but you still get all the "goods" you had at lower volumes with the nfb out.
I dont know if I'll EVER settle on a tone with this thing. I'm thinking I should set it somewhere and smash all the pots and switches right off so I can just PLAY the thing and quit **** around.
How are the heyboer trannies in comaprison to Niks. I've searched but...
Thanks again

[blaren]

Hey there donbar....how you doin? You reminded me...we should let everyone know that Nik at Ceriatone's prices are comming down and his shipping is now only $100 to the states!
Oh and....dons 36w has the half power switch (on the OUTSIDE...I think..right don?) AND effects loop. Cant wait to see that one....he's lining up some sexy boxes for it too.

[Chubsman]

What does the 1/2 switch do in the case of Blaren's 36w'er?
What does it cut off or remove from the circuit?
Where is it in the circuit?
Can this be added to the layout, faceplates Nik produces and the schematic?

Thanks...

[blaren]

here's what it does in caveman language...it throws a pile of resistance in there somewhere or something...I think....grunt. It doesnt pull 2 tubes and I guess it does whatever it does after the power tubes cause they seem to run the same on hi or lo...and this is with special tube looking at/watching caveman glasses on. I didnt ask TOO many questions cause I didnt wanna seem too dumb and I knew I probably wouldnt understand the answers anyway. I kinda asked a LITTLE...and so I just got a LITTLE confused...of course I let on like I knew wtf he was talking about. I looked into some DC30 info but that **** was creepy. Richie will tell us what he "thinks" as soon as he "straps on his penis". LMFAO
C'mon Richie...tell us how it works...just look at the pics....I wanna know too....cluck cluck

[donbarzini]

blaren, my 1/2 power switch will be located on the inside as well. FX loop will be done on a modded chasis. Yes, custom head box and 2x12 closed speaker cabinet loaded with Greenbacks from Jeff Swanson, everything should be arriving together:-)