18Watt.com

I figured since the marshall experts hang around here you guys could give me some helpt

Well I was pretty much settled on the Dr. Z Route 66 when I came across ciera tone where I can order repro chassis for the 18 watt, jtm 45, plexi 50, and plexi 100.

So.... now I'm looking for some descriptions of the different sounds that these produce. The sounds I'm going for in my head are from Hendrix's Woodstock. I really like the sound he has on the song after the "woodstock improvisation" on the second disk. I believe its titled "Villanova Junction." I"m also interested in the tube swapping ability in these amps as I would like to try the KT66's. I've heard some of the JTM 45's used these? I'm going to be mostly gigging in smaller venues so the plexi 100 is probably out, unless it is the "grail" that I'm seeking.

I recently played a 1959 slp reissue. I really liked the smooth round sound it had. I guess the best way to describe it was "Fendery" without the high end punch.

I also like Doyle Bramhall II's sound on his "Welcome" album. He stated there that he used a strat with a fuzz and a 1967 super bass.

Finally here are a couple of links from around the web that I really like.

Any help would be much appreciated.

http://soundchunks.com/drzamps/grissomrt66a.mp3

http://www.drzamps.com/sounds/daveroute1.mp3

This one is off Mike Fuller of Fulltone. He states that he uses a 100 watt plexi for the lead sound.

http://www.fulltone.com/audio/Albert24k.mp3


By the way, the other two were from Dr. Z.

Thanks,
fred

I'm not sure what a Route 66 is going for these days, but a used one would probably be on a par with building a JTM45 or 1987. The power level of ~30W for the Route 66 and KT66 JTM45 is a good pocket volume wise, based on what you say you want. There's a yahoo group for the JTM45 in which you'll see many of the same names as here. Just my opinion that the influences you mentioned often use pedals in front of their amps, so to an extent, all your choices can get you there.

Much like the legal eagle in Dickens, I don't recommend...but 100W amps seem less and less important. You might look into the progress here on the 36W and the TMB with negative feedback.

I've got a plexi head that I am just about finished with which has the standard EL34's in one set of sockets and EL84's in an adjacent pair of sockets in class A, so you can switch between 50 watts and 18 watts depending on your venue. It also has an ez bias on the back panel so you don't have to remove the amp from the cab to change tubes and re-bias. I will be posting the complete assembly drawings to it in a couple of weeks. I would suggest if you are mechanically inclined at all that you do some studying and build your own amp as it will be a very rewarding experience. You can get plenty of help here and on the plexi forum in Yahoo groups.
Barry

sorry

I just spent a few moments and couldn't find it, but I'm sure some of the ampheads here have it bookmarked...


Does anyone remember that great page that had all the marshalls this one guy had used though the years, with sound samples of each one. Black page, with the amp pics centered in the page. There were maybe six amps described in there - All the amps you are asking about. It would be a great place to compare the sounds....but I can't remember the link!!

Does anyone else?

Adam

bnwitt wrote:and EL84's in an adjacent pair of sockets in class A, so you can switch between 50 watts and 18 watts ...

Just to be really anal, as well as OT, if you have a pair of EL84s delivering 15 or 18 watts they are running in Class AB, not A, although a lot of amp companies' marketing departments would try to convince us otherwise. Two EL84s in Class A PP will produce 12W at absolute maximum...

Is cathode biasing not indicative of class A amplification?

Phil,
yes your right, I mistated. However, still plenty loud for me.
Barry

DeaconBlues wrote:Is cathode biasing not indicative of class A amplification?

No, not at all. It just means they're cathode-biased Class AB. In fact true Class A push-pull amps are *extremely* rare. For further technical explanations, see http://www.aikenamps.com/VoxAC30classA_2.html & http://www.aikenamps.com/ClassA.htm

Thanks, for the info.

I just found another fun article about Class A and Class AB amps, with a bit of a plug at the end....
http://www.paultalbot.co.uk/amptalk.htm