Sound Garage Tales

In the end I decided that welded corners make a more G-force resistant and sturdy chassis. The first batch arrived two weeks ago and it looks superb! The thing is made out of 2mm aluminum that slightly thicker than 1/16″. The structure looks ready to take the road scuffs and hits. Literally.

There is a superb NOS photo library at www.tubemongerlib.com that one of my friends from Great Britain turned me on (Thanks Craig!!!).
So, browse and drool.

Uploaded with Skitch!

It seems much more productive when my day isn’t interrupted by small, quick tasks (at first), like run and drop off packages at the FedEx office, or realizing that I am out of solder and need a quick trip to the Rat Shack store (I really like their solder!).
So, today I finished wiring the power supply on two amps. It is easier to work on one process at a time.
Seemingly the mind is setup to function well once is wound up. It takes me a generous amount of time to have my mind setup for a task. So, back to… wait what was I doing before writing this blog??

I just couldn’t resist not painting my transformer end bells yellow. And dang! It does not look that BAD after all! I am to the point of offering chassis only instead of being housed in a cabinet. Too good looking to be hid, right?

Check what happened to this package of tubes sent in Europe. It is not only the fact that the tubes in it are broken. They are FLAT!!!
This can only be done two ways. Either the post handlers are usually placing the heaviest packages on top of the smaller ones or, the post man got caught on a elephant crossing.

Well after suspecting the speaker, then the casters on the cabinet, I zeroed in on the back panel. And yes, indeed the buzz source was coming from there.
It seems like the closed-back structure and small debth (9″) was contributing to bring that back panel buzz to surface, thing that usually does not happen on a open-back cabinet.
I solved this one with using a convertible back as I have on my 2×12 Slant cabinets. The two braces that join the three-pieced structure reinforces the whole back panel system so that it keeps everything snug and no unwanted vibrations or buzzes occur.

Yes, the amp was fine. The culprit was the 1×12″ cabinet. Something with the speaker or at least a rattle of some sort that resonates with that “G” note.
He will drop it off this week to take a look.
So yes in the end – the amp was just fine.
I guess we’ll have to go through the reverse-troubleshooting process next time: from speaker backwards.
Actually – that wouldn’t be relevant in a case where the guitar cable is bad. Hmm…

It happens sometimes that some amps just have this buzz or noise on only certain lower notes. For example I had a local customer calling in telling me of this certain noise when he was hitting the G or G# on the lower string. So I had him bring in his amp for a check.
Funny thing is that I played it and didn’t hear that yesterday. There was however a different setting. He has a 1×12 cabinet with a Celestion Blue, and I tried it through a 1×12″ with a Greenback, using my LP.
Will try it later today with a Blue also. Things like these are harder to track down and they can be cured hopefully by just replacing the tubes. We’ll see…

Here is yet another great kit from BYOC! Here is how a RAT on steroids sounds like (used a Voxer 18w):

Folks!

It is confirmed!

The Voxer 18 will receive another glorious review in the Guitar Player Magazine in the upcoming February 2007, issue done by no one else but David Hunter, the author of “The Guitar Amp Handbook”, former editor of “The Guitar Magazine” in the UK, contributor to books such as Aspen Pittman’s “The Tube Amp Book” Deluxe Revised Edition.

David has wrote a very favorable and positive review of the amp so stay on the lookout.
So all in all the Voxer 18 will be getting some serious fans throughout the continent and the whole world.

in Tone,
Gabi (Gabriel).