Van Halen Tribute Amp

Forum to discuss amp circuits besides the 18 Watters and their ilk.

Moderators: JMPGuitars, Daviedawg, Graydon, CurtissRobin, colossal, zaphod_phil

User avatar
crgfrench
Frequent poster
Frequent poster
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri 04/27/18 3:02 am

Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by crgfrench »

I decided to build a high gain 20W 1x12 combo to get that Brown Sound. It will be point to point in a Hoffman Stout chassis, with fixed bias for a pair of 6V6GT output tubes. Feeling pretty happy that the iron fits the chassis perfectly, won't even require any mods at all.
20201114_002846.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
3 x

User avatar
Bieworm
Verbose Moderator
Verbose Moderator
Posts: 2428
Joined: Mon 02/10/20 8:24 am
Location: Belgium

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by Bieworm »

Looking forward to following this thread already!!!
1 x
"THIS should be played at high volume..preferably in a residential area"

Riffmonster
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 91
Joined: Tue 02/09/16 12:38 pm

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by Riffmonster »

Awesome project!!
I will follow it carefully and wish you good luck with the build! With schematic are you starting off with?
1 x

geoff 1965
Verbose poster
Verbose poster
Posts: 1118
Joined: Mon 01/04/16 3:52 pm

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by geoff 1965 »

cool! part of his signature was dialing in the voltage with a variac so are you going to use VVR? what's the spec of the transformers Craig?
sad loss along with Peter Green and others this year!
1 x

ViperDoc
Occasional poster
Occasional poster
Posts: 195
Joined: Mon 05/18/20 8:09 pm

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by ViperDoc »

Dave Friedman also noted that in addition to lowering the AC voltage, EVH would rebias the output tubes to proper current.
1 x

User avatar
JMPGuitars
Super Duper Admin
Super Duper Admin
Posts: 4130
Joined: Tue 09/18/12 8:00 pm
Location: South Central, MA
Contact:

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by JMPGuitars »

ViperDoc wrote:
Sat 11/14/20 12:18 pm
Dave Friedman also noted that in addition to lowering the AC voltage, EVH would rebias the output tubes to proper current.
Proper current for what/when? That's an ambiguous statement for somebody using a variac.
3 x
'I installed a skylight in my apartment yesterday... The people who live above me are furious.' - Steven Wright

Modern Ground Schemes
Soldering Technique
B+ Voltage Reduction
Amplifier Tools & Parts Info


Web Design: DolceVittoria.com
Guitars / Amps / Effects: JMPGuitars.com
(anti)Social: Facebook · Instagram
Items for Sale

User avatar
crgfrench
Frequent poster
Frequent poster
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri 04/27/18 3:02 am

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by crgfrench »

Eddie was quoted saying they recorded at 89VAC mains, but the live settings varied with the venue.
0 x

User avatar
crgfrench
Frequent poster
Frequent poster
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri 04/27/18 3:02 am

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by crgfrench »

Riffmonster wrote:
Sat 11/14/20 7:40 am
With schematic are you starting off with?
Thanks -- I drew up my own schematic for it based primarily on the Ceriatone Son of Yeti layout. It's basically going to be a P2P version of the Son of Yeti in a Hoffman Stout chassis.
EDITED: R19 in the first schematic I posted should not be in the circuit, I deleted it and re-uploaded the corrected image.
Screen Shot 2020-11-14 at 7.40.51 PM.png
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by crgfrench on Sat 11/14/20 7:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1 x

User avatar
crgfrench
Frequent poster
Frequent poster
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri 04/27/18 3:02 am

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by crgfrench »

Here is the plan for the control panels
Screen Shot 2020-11-14 at 3.39.42 PM.png
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
2 x

User avatar
crgfrench
Frequent poster
Frequent poster
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri 04/27/18 3:02 am

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by crgfrench »

geoff 1965 wrote:
Sat 11/14/20 11:27 am
...are you going to use VVR? what's the spec of the transformers Craig?
Not VVR, just a "Variac emulation" applied to the small AC signal instead of the large AC power source. You can see it in the schematic. I'm using the Lunchbox tranny set from Promitheus.
0 x

Riffmonster
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 91
Joined: Tue 02/09/16 12:38 pm

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by Riffmonster »

crgfrench wrote:
Sat 11/14/20 3:28 pm
Riffmonster wrote:
Sat 11/14/20 7:40 am
With schematic are you starting off with?
Thanks -- I drew up my own schematic for it based primarily on the Ceriatone Son of Yeti layout. It's basically going to be a P2P version of the Son of Yeti in a Hoffman Stout chassis.
EDITED: R19 in the first schematic I posted should not be in the circuit, I deleted it and re-uploaded the corrected image. Screen Shot 2020-11-14 at 7.40.51 PM.png

The schematic looks very interesting! What exactly does the saturation switch do? I am not really familiar with anything like it. Thanks, I hope the project is progressing well!
1 x

User avatar
crgfrench
Frequent poster
Frequent poster
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri 04/27/18 3:02 am

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by crgfrench »

Saturation switches in a pair of zeners configured as clipping diodes. 2 different pairs to choose from.
0 x

User avatar
Bieworm
Verbose Moderator
Verbose Moderator
Posts: 2428
Joined: Mon 02/10/20 8:24 am
Location: Belgium

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by Bieworm »

crgfrench wrote:
Wed 11/18/20 8:32 pm
Saturation switches in a pair of zeners configured as clipping diodes. 2 different pairs to choose from.
Are the zeners still to be determined ? They're not specified on the schematic

What are the functionsof lava and magma?
0 x
"THIS should be played at high volume..preferably in a residential area"

User avatar
crgfrench
Frequent poster
Frequent poster
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri 04/27/18 3:02 am

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by crgfrench »

Bieworm wrote:
Thu 11/19/20 12:22 am
Are the zeners still to be determined ?
a pair of 1N4739s and a pair of 1N4747s
Bieworm wrote:
Thu 11/19/20 12:22 am
What are the functions of lava and magma?
Magma sits DEEP in the bottom end of a volcano.
Lava spews HIGH out of the top end of a volcano.
Plain amplifiers sometimes label these "resonance" and "presence".
2 x

Riffmonster
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 91
Joined: Tue 02/09/16 12:38 pm

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by Riffmonster »

Thanks for clarifying, makes sense!
1 x

User avatar
crgfrench
Frequent poster
Frequent poster
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri 04/27/18 3:02 am

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by crgfrench »

Here is the "close to final" layout:
Screen Shot 2020-11-30 at 12.22.03 PM.png
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
1 x

User avatar
crgfrench
Frequent poster
Frequent poster
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri 04/27/18 3:02 am

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by crgfrench »

3 changes at this point:
1) Mounted PT laydown style rather than standup to save some space in the Tweed Deluxe cabinet (even though the cab will be 1" deeper than standard)
2) 50k mid pot rather than 25k (boost mids, same as EVH Marshall)
3) might add a 3-way "Plume" switch to choose the Lava tap 4/8/16R
0 x

User avatar
crgfrench
Frequent poster
Frequent poster
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri 04/27/18 3:02 am

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by crgfrench »

Most of the parts are here
20201202_135218.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
1 x

User avatar
Bieworm
Verbose Moderator
Verbose Moderator
Posts: 2428
Joined: Mon 02/10/20 8:24 am
Location: Belgium

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by Bieworm »

crgfrench wrote:
Wed 12/02/20 2:23 pm
Most of the parts are here20201202_135218.jpg
Shake it!!! How does it sound?
😀😀😀
No seriously.. looking forward to your new build Craig!
1 x
"THIS should be played at high volume..preferably in a residential area"

User avatar
crgfrench
Frequent poster
Frequent poster
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri 04/27/18 3:02 am

Re: Van Halen Tribute Amp

Post by crgfrench »

Just a bunch of rattley noise so far!
1 x

Post Reply