Question for zaphod Phil

[LPC]

Phil,

I saw your response to that "Traynor for sale" post, and I am assuing that you were being sincere (not sarcastic).

Just curious if you knew what type of circuit/amp Pete Traynor copied on these amps (2-84's 12zx7's). I had it open years ago but wasnt into learning about "circuits" etc then. Funny thing is, with the exception of the speaker which blew in like 1986(or something like that), and power valves, everything else is original - even all the caps and pre amp tubes (I double checked the amps a 71). I cant understand this because I always here about amps needing caps when they get older etc. A few years ago someone told me to test the caps, so I tried to follow their instructions, and wound up with this "woo woo woo woo woo" for a while...then it just seem to go away (amp currently seems to work fine - its got those metal mallory cans in it). One thing though, it has seemed to develop a little bit of a hiss now, which it always had, but now just seems more audible.

The only complaints with the amp seem to be from other guitarists. One, depending on the guitar, is that the amp is extremely bright....I ve been asked to turn the treble down on more then one ocassion, and its like "ummm...its on 1". I am used to it though cause its the first guitar amp I ever owned. I ususally keep the treble at about 2-3 and it seems cool. If you crank the treble, you get some hiss, but its the most knarly british sound - with a fuzz pedal its total jimi. Ahhh I could ramble on and on...... Second complaint is the 2 prong cord...not a totally bad thing though..seems to be and automatic system that keeps people from reaching to touch any of the knobs or controls...Rock on!

[dboul]

Also . . . I've always wondered what Zaphod means.

[Plexi]

""We named Zaphod after the character in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, by Douglas Adams. Zaphod, you might recall, wore peril-sensitive sunglasses. The more dangerous the situation the darker the sunglasses got. His theory was that there is less stress because the actual danger is blocked out. ""

i'm sure Phil will fill us in on the meaning..maybe something to do with the Galaxy etc.. But he did have the "dark" sunglasses on in his pic..

but as far as the traynor goes.. alot say its supposed to be like the Deluxe..maybe by the features..but by the schematic its alot different..
Also you think our EL84s are run hard in the 18.. those in the traynor were running at 398V

Some of these had a treble boost...

I think the traynors are one of the best bargin amps for the money..
I own 2 of the early YBA bassmaster amps.. and plexified them..
If you know what to change, they can sound as good as any plexi..
And only have a few hundred bucks in them..

Richie

[zaphod_phil]

With my Ontario Canada (as well as intergalactic) roots, I happen to have tremendous respect for Traynor amps. I agree with Richi about them being tremendous value for money, and we all know how they used to test Traynor designs for robustness by lobbing them off buildings! This is of course a personal view, but I rate Traynors up alongside the best Fender and Marshalls. It just seems as if unfortunately they stayed in second tier in the market through no fault of their own.

...but its the most knarly british sound - with a fuzz pedal its total jimi.

That says it so well!
The two faults you describe are pretty easy to fix. Just replace the power lead with a modern three-wire lead, connecting the ground to one of the transformers bolts on the chassis. You need to do that for safety. The over-brightness can most likely be fixed by changing a cap value in the preamp. I don't have a schem handy or I would suggest where to look.
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Zaphod Beeblebrox is the very spontaneouse and double-headed Glactic President in the Hitch Hikers Guide story, who for a stunt hijacks the 'Heart of Gold' spaceship that he is supposed to be convening the launch of. This immediatley turns him into a fugative and folk hero. Anyone who hasn't read these books is really missing something! In the old days of the Yahoo-based 18watt group I had to register myself with Yahoo and choose a unique screen name. Not really wanting to be something like Phil99999999.99, I opted for zaphod_phil, being a Hitchhiker's Guide fan, I added Zaphod. When the new 18watt board started up I decided to keep the same handle to avoid unnecessary confusion.

[ampkits]

Hi,

The Hitch Hikers Guide is definitely a recommended read, I think it's one of the most influential modern books (and damn funny to boot) that has mass appeal.

The answer to the ultimate question of Life is given in the book; and I still smile whenever somebody preaches about the meaning of life or friends out looking for the ultimate truth.


So long, and thanks for the resistors,

Nik

[Twigley]

What was the magic number again? 40?

[zaphod_phil]

Deep Thought the computer calculated the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything to be 42! Only problem, they then realised they didn't actually know what the ultimate question itself was....

[Twigley]

lol. i will read that book eventually. have you seen the film?. what did u think? soo all good things are 42? i'll remember that for future refernace. maybe a 42 tube amp? one with 42 knobs? hehe

[zaphod_phil]

The radio series (available from the BBC on CD) is probably the best version. It's recommended to listen to it with headphones on, for the full stereo effect. I have the TV series on DVD as well, and all five books of the trilogy - or maybe it was six in the end.

42 - let's see. Maybe six knobs on the amp graduated from 1 to 7, maybe...? That would confuse a lot of folks.