my new ceriatone 36 watt with half power switch

blaren · Post by **blaren** » Sat 01/14/06 2:38 am

hmmm...I'd love to try a real 18 watter. Wonder how much different it sounds than the 36 on half power.

donbarzini · Post by **donbarzini** » Sat 01/14/06 9:05 am

probably like 36w on half power

blaren · Post by **blaren** » Sat 01/14/06 1:57 pm

Hey Donny...weirdo
I hope everyone doesnt think me and Don are fighting all the time...we know each other very well. He is my next door neighbor. He lives in one of those new Canadian "same sex marriages" we have here now. AND...I just wanna say...FOR THE RECORD...that while I dont "hate" bonesmokers, I dont condone what you 2 fellers got going on over there Don!
Now with that out of the way....if an 18 watt is as "stout" as this thing is on half power....well...that's just crazy!!
Oh and...I was just kidding about Don....he doesnt live next door to me....hell he might not even be gay.

kellytb · Post by **kellytb** » Mon 01/16/06 1:28 am

Since I am new to the amp building I will stick to what i know about! Ok, ritchies love rock is a korean model which are smoking for the price, are not mahogany (are alder i believe). The Japanese ones are in my opinion better than what gibson has been pumping out the last 20 years except for their custom shop 59ers but who has 5000 american to piss away on one guitar? The japanese still have the same gibson head stock on their good models. The models to look for are ls 200 (ebony finger board) or the ls 320, which is an almost xact knock off of a 59. The 200 goes for around 2000 canadian where as the 320 goes for 3200 canadian. That may seem high but it is just as good quality as the gibsons but for aheck of a lot less moolah.

blaren · Post by **blaren** » Mon 01/16/06 4:26 am

$3200CAD for a TOKAI????? :O three THOUSAND two hundred dollars???

for $3200 you could get 2 used PRS CU24s with 10 tops and birds in mintcondition on ebay...OR...3 McCartys or 3 or 4 CE24s OR a CE and a vintage marshall 18w combo or a REAL plexi or a REAL '60s gibby or strat OR an epiphone lp, 2 REAL PAFs, a built 18watt kit from Nik, a bag of weed and a trip to Mexico...OR...OR...OR...
c'mon...3200?? Give your toque a spin.

zach5150 · Post by **zach5150** » Tue 01/17/06 3:23 pm

Hi fellas...I'm new here on 18 watt.....i hang around regularly on The Gear Page.net.....I've been emailing Nik and I'm gonna buy an amp kit from him soon....I read this ENTIRE post.....every single entry hopeing to narrow my decision between the 18 and 36 and I'm happy to report that i'm absolutely no closer whatsover to making that decision!

Apparently, they are all just crazy nuts amazing.....i'm just wondering if I'm defeating the purpose of a low wattage amp w/ the 36 watter?? I know, it's got the 1/2 power switch....but, is it the same as the 18 watter, or sound like a choked 36 watt?

....discuss....

Post by **Plexi** » Tue 01/17/06 4:08 pm

First about the Tokia..

""" ritchies love rock is a korean model which are smoking for the price, are not mahogany (are alder i believe"""

Well no.. it is mahogany according to the ad. Here is what it says..
Supposed to be special made guitar for Canada,whichis where it came from. maybe since its a 2006 they are made different.
but here is part of the ad,that describes it.

""is custom made for the Canadian market. It features a solid mahogany body with a flame maple top beautifully finished in a vintage violin burst finish with bound body and cream pickguard.

The Love Rock standard also features a Canadian rock maple set neck with bound rosewood fingerboard and mother of pearl trapezoid inlays. The nut measures in at 1 5/8" and is made from real bone. High quality electronics featuring 2 chrome covered PAF styled alnico humbucker pick-ups controlled by two tone / two volume controls and a chrome three position pickup selector switch. Keeping things in tune are chrome Kluson styled tuning machines, chrome Tune-o-Matic style bridge and tail piece."""

"""i'm just wondering if I'm defeating the purpose of a low wattage amp w/ the 36 watter?? I know, it's got the 1/2 power switch....but, is it the same as the 18 watter, or sound like a choked 36 watt?

....discuss.... """

I can't answer that one because i don't use the half power switch..
But with the VVR you can get anything from 1 watt to 36 to anything inbetween.

Richie

blaren · Post by **blaren** » Wed 01/18/06 2:58 am

Zach...Again, I've never tried a real marshall 18 watt or a clone of one so I cant really say. What I CAN say though is that.......it seems to sound exactly the same (other than the volume) whether in lo or hi power.
Trouble is...I've only had a chance to gig with it once (in a rush) since I got it so I still havent REALLY gotten to know it. I havent even barely switched it to high power. I've only tried it a couple of times to see how much louder and cleaner it is. Not much and not much!
It sounds far from a choked ANYTHING in lo power. The question I find myself asking is...you sure this thing is only 18 watts on lo power???
I DO understand the relationship between dB increase/power increase and so it will only be 4dB louder at 36 watts so even at 18 watts,...it's damn near as loud as a 50 watter. The difference is perceivable(?) but not extreme. What it IS is way easier to overdrive than a 50 watt (in 18 watt mode..well, in hi too..my 50s are all NMV). Like you, I wanted an 18 watt but the 18 watt TOY that I had/have just had NO headroom. I had no idea if a real 18 watt had sufficient headroom for me and Nik suggested the 36. I figured that if I got him to put a half power switch in it, I'd be safe. I'd have an 18 watt BUT, in the event that it didnt have ANY cleanliness, I had the option. AS it turns out, I think 18 would have been plenty. I still have 50 watt marshalls that I still want to use when I can "let them run" so really, I dont know if I'll EVER use it in full power. BUT...who knows...maybe after I gig with it a few times I'll throw all my 50s in the trash. I dont remember what the difference was pricewise between 18 and 36 but IIRC it was negligable and he didnt charge me anything for the half power switch....WHICH, if you're just getting the regular 36w, it doesnt come with the half power switch...at least it didnt then...you have to tell him you want it.
Ask Nik about how the half power works. It's like the Matchless.
I SO want to try an 18 watt!!!!...just to see.

And now YOU plexi...thanks a LOT....now you got me jonesin for one of them japanese..oops...KOREAN copies...NOT the $3200 one. How much was yours again?
Now you got me goin and I gotta tell ANOTHER story...ok..
When I lived and played on the west coast for a billion years, buddy the older dude owned/owns a '62 and a '63 strat....like 2 strats one of each...ok..lmao..so the big dumb jackass would ALWAYS play this stupid old metallic red tokai strat with real high action and great big crusty old fat strings. He didnt do it just for fear of damaging or getting one of the gems damaged, he just liked the tokai better than the totally stock, slabboard strats. He'd bring the big guns to special gigs and he'd TRY to play them for a few tunes but he'd always end up playing the stupid tokai.
God I hate those things....TOKAIs I mean.
So yeah...how much ARE they Richie?...and is the top veneer or a nice thick chunk?
Ever since I got this dam 36 watter I open ebay and ....I dont even feel like looking for anything...seems like there's nothing I want anymore. I dont even keep my eyes open for recently listed marshalls that someone's ex put up for a $75 BIN.
Tokai les paul eh? hmmmm
The way the exchange rate is these days, if you can get a good deal on one on ebay from the states and get it here without paying any duty, tax, and UPS ransom...I mean "brokerage" fee,....well..I'll be right back...and if I come back here saying...I"Hey I just bought me a tokai"...SOMEONE around here is really gonna GET IT!

zach5150 · Post by **zach5150** » Wed 01/18/06 3:52 am

Blaren,
Thanks for the cool descriptions....I'm in communication w/ Nik right now....we've even been talking about some 6V6 possibilities with the Mathcless circuits, so I'm still not sure exactly where i'm gonna end up. In the end, i'll probably end up build a bunch of amps!

God, what a sickness eh??

As for Ritchie and the Love Rock lust....yeah, well....ME TOO....DAMN IT I dont make enoug money! What I can tell you Blaren, and I'm sure Ritchie will chime in...but, i found a dealer in canada that somebody on this board pointed me to. http://www.jsdguitarshack.com/
I dont know where that dude was coming up w/ 3200 bucks or whatever it was...they're in the neighborhood of 500 buckoaroonies plus a case for 60 or 70 bucks, plus 40 to ship it to the US. Plus, when I called him earlier today....(yep, seriously, i'm jonesin too!), he told me how he ships to the US via USPS (not UPS/Fedex cuz they charge some international fee) that the USPS does not charge....he's got the whole customs thing wired it sounds like, so there should be minimal worries. The guitars sound pretty nice Korean, or not. He told me they are made in a small factory in Korea, not one of the huge places churning out tons and tons of guitars per day.....plus, these models are different (read, better) than the ones Tokai makes for other markets. They are custome spec'd for the "canadian/north American market".......anyway....i'll probably add one of those to my collection real soon too...that's what i need, another amp....and another guitar.....

blaren · Post by **blaren** » Wed 01/18/06 3:55 am

DOH!!!...thanks a LOT for the link there mofo. Yep...I always BEG everyone to ship USPS instead of UPS cause of the brokerage fee....PLUS...USPS is WAY faster EVERY time.
DAMN you guys!!!

GREAT...that site is down.So they SOUND wicked too Richie? You aint planning any pickup change?
What kind of neck they got? The slim atper or a big old club?

That site better get fixed...I'm having a panic attack!
At least I'm back on the hunt again

EDIT..Hey Zach...site's still down so I been shoppin a bit...this one's pretty sexy and only 20 bucks shipping!!!...but if other dude is gonna hook you up and save on shipping and duty...
but this IS sexy (hope this is allowed...NOT MINE!!)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... _Stores_IT
ooopsies...he has lots...check this one out!
http://cgi.ebay.com/TOKAI-Love-Rock-Std ... dZViewItem
OR...
http://cgi.ebay.com/TOKAI-Love-Rock-Std ... dZViewItem
:O...ROSEWOOD TOP?????????????? HOW MANY of these things am I gonna have to buy???
BUT...they have a maple neck though....that aint gonna sound like no Paul!

Post by **Plexi** » Wed 01/18/06 7:01 am

""""So yeah...how much ARE they Richie"""

Around 500.oo but i would suggest to buy the case too.
Almost the same story on the Strats..and i've played a bunch of strats..
I have a Early Fernandes,which was copied after many early strats.
And it too is killer..plays better than alsmost all the strats i've every played..and thats vintage ones too. And i have owned a few of those.
I even owned a 57 mary kay strat. I picked the fernandes up at a pawn shop for 200.00 a few years back. These are also great playing and sounding guitars to look for. But these are like people say..the early ones are the better guitars..

Richie

Post by **rjgtr** » Wed 01/18/06 10:57 am

Also keep an eye out for the ESP Vintage strat copies. They are very nice Japanese made guitars. I played one for several years and really liked it a lot.

Chubsman · Post by **Chubsman** » Wed 01/25/06 5:54 pm

Can someone get me the dimensions for a marshall head that the 36watt would fit in. I was eyeballing your Blaren and I would like to build an exact replaica of that. I am getting my kit from Ceriatone and need to house it.

Can some one help

are there blueprints laying around??

jk · Post by jk » Wed 01/25/06 7:55 pm

I've got the 36 and 18, same ceriatone kits, both housed in identical small box heads from swanson. So the plans for a generic jtm small box should be out there somewhere. Hope that helps,

Jim

zach5150 · Post by **zach5150** » Wed 01/25/06 8:09 pm

JK
You've got them both?? I've been looking for somebody to do a side by side comparison of them....what are your views about them? Does the 36 watt overdrive at the same volume as the 18 or do you have to crank it?

blaren · Post by **blaren** » Thu 01/26/06 3:03 am

zach5150 wrote:JK
You've got them both?? I've been looking for somebody to do a side by side comparison of them....what are your views about them? Does the 36 watt overdrive at the same volume as the 18 or do you have to crank it?

Yeah me too...oopsies...I was more wondering the difference between the 36w on half power and the pure 18w.
But what ARE the differences between the 18 and 36?

And about the headcases,...ask around at all the sites...well unless you really want to build one but I got mine for a hundred bucks...mint. A lot of people are putting their RIs into BB cabs and their smallbox cabs are sitting in their closets. Ask at plexipalace, the gearpage, here....
The marshall cab needs holes drilled to accept the 36w though. The chassis holes are right where the feet of the smallbox are. I removed the feet and drilled through the cab abd replaced the feet over top of the chassis mounting bolts. It's WAY more aerodynamic that way lol.

zach5150 · Post by **zach5150** » Thu 01/26/06 3:54 am

blaren wrote:
zach5150 wrote:JK
You've got them both?? I've been looking for somebody to do a side by side comparison of them....what are your views about them? Does the 36 watt overdrive at the same volume as the 18 or do you have to crank it?
Yeah me too...oopsies...I was more wondering the difference between the 36w on half power and the pure 18w.
But what ARE the differences between the 18 and 36?

Oh...yeah, i think that's what I meant too.... :0

kellytb · Post by **kellytb** » Thu 01/26/06 8:01 am

Since I don't want to blast anyone for being a Dumb ass, right Zach! Check out this link if you are a fan of the Tokai guitars.
http://www.tokairegistry.com/

jk · Post by jk » Thu 01/26/06 12:45 pm

I don't have a half power switch on my 36, so I don't know how it would compare in that mode to the 18.

All that said, go build an 18, you'll have everything covered then. I have no regrets, and actually find it to be different and excellent in a great way.

blaren · Post by **blaren** » Thu 01/26/06 3:03 pm

jk wrote:I don't have a half power switch on my 36, so I don't know how it would compare in that mode to the 18.

All that said, go build an 18, you'll have everything covered then. I have no regrets, and actually find it to be different and excellent in a great way.

Oh THAT's helpful lmao...
I guess it's kinda apples to oranges....even one 18wbuild to another is different too I guess. Ok how about a clue then....where do you play more...living room or giging?..and which amp do you use most? and why?
Imagine that I'm not rich and have neither an 18 nor a 36 but want to build one...which one and why?
Thanks

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my new ceriatone 36 watt with half power switch

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