FAO the


James8831
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James8831
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07/11/2002 7:43 pm
or anyone into teeny tube/valve amps.

After recalling L's post about small wattage amps and pstring looking for a new amp.

http://www.emerysound.com/

[I expect cute = expensive, though].

Oh,yeah the tech-talk bit:How do they get all those tubes in there?
:)



Accuracy,you say? hmm interesting concept..
# 1
Lordathestrings
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Lordathestrings
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07/13/2002 8:35 pm
LOL, James. I just had to check that out!

"... Its like suddenly owning a roomful of old amps. Also included is a cool mahogany rack for your newfound tube collection..."

Its good to see the micro-amp world is alive and well.
Lordathestrings
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# 2
pstring
Big as Elvis, Baby
Joined: 11/29/01
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pstring
Big as Elvis, Baby
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07/14/2002 4:01 am
I like the Spotlight, looks like an old radio, just needs a big old lighted dial and no one would know the difference, I guess Emery is into what I call the lunch box size amp, that's an amp that will fit into your lunch box and still leave room for a couple of sandwiches.

How did they get all those tubes in there?

Skillful application of a 12lbs, sledgehammer?

[Edited by pstring on 07-13-2002 at 11:04 PM]
# 3
James8831
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James8831
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07/14/2002 8:48 pm
I think they're excellent,except for the price ,but, the Mad Scientist concept may make up for it, imagine that 1 watt microbaby cranked up underneath the bed/desk...Oh yeah.

[On a similar styling tip to The Spotlight.. this was nearly acquired the other day

Bakelite
but James +high voltages =no.]
More training and tube amp study required.

Which is the best mallet to use for a 12ax7 ? can i use the same one for an EL34?? How does JAN manage to be in the army and navy at the same time?



[Edited by Lordathestrings on 07-15-2002 at 07:46 PM]
Accuracy,you say? hmm interesting concept..
# 4
pstring
Big as Elvis, Baby
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pstring
Big as Elvis, Baby
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Posts: 899
07/15/2002 6:04 am
I checked out the old Bakelite special that you posted, cool!, last month my son and I went to a Guitar Show and at one table a guy had a bunch of old amps similar to that Bakelite, and I heard a couple of them being played thru, I have to say that one of them really sounded great, a better tube distortion I don't think I've ever heard. I picked up a w5m Heathkit Mono Amp at a yard sale not to long ago, haven't gotten around to doing anything with it yet, I'm sure all the caps are worthless, but the guts of a good tube amp are there and in great shape, something to do this winter I guess.......................
# 5
James8831
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James8831
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07/15/2002 9:46 am
Yeah, those old 50s amps tickle my fancy from both a (potential) sound and visual angle too..and those heathkits seem to be top audio (I'm just finding out about tubes in audio,but,have seen some sites detailing them). They seem to occur on UK ebay quite a lot,luckilly there are still a few people who aren't wise to the hefty weight of guitar type valve amps and sell them in collectibles/radios sections. I've seen nice spec amps go for £30-50. When i've done "the knowledge" I'm thinking about modding an old Supro/Valco/Gretsch (etc),although more popular on the other side of the pond.

We do get a few old W.E.M. Westminsters and sim'lar for reasonable money here- but, i just cant quite pull the trigger..
Accuracy,you say? hmm interesting concept..
# 6
pstring
Big as Elvis, Baby
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pstring
Big as Elvis, Baby
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Posts: 899
07/15/2002 2:52 pm
Supro's, good stuff, speaking of the other side of the pond, what kind of money do Selmer's go for there? WEM's how was the quality on those in their heyday? I saw an old Led Zep "Dazed&Confused" video, and noticed Page with a hefty WEM stack behind him, I've seen the name but can't recall ever seeing an amp, Hey also when we were at the guitar show, I saw a table of Zemaitis's, I had never seen a Z, in the flesh before, nicely priced between $29,000-49,500, is Zemaitis still making guitars or has he went on to the Luithier's Reward?

a curious Yank
# 7
James8831
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James8831
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07/15/2002 3:53 pm
pstring,if you're lucky you can get a Selmer treble'n'bass head for £100-200 -say up to $350 USD (ebay price) ,they alway seem to get excellent reviews,and other good stuff up to H and H 100watt heads and WEMS of a simlar nature,but, I've given up on ebay..i have seen good stuff in the local free ad paper for similar prices,again I lack the knowledge/ confidence to safely buy one.

I believe i played in an H and H once, but, most of the other stuff i hear about by word of mouth,etc. I'm a child of the fizzy solid state age.

Though i can tell you that WEMS "big" models are excellent because if you look closely at the usual Free "Alright Now" video (the one where they're at a stadium gig) on VH1,Mtv..whatever there are piles of them round the stage.

i have no personal experience of these just now,but they seem to turn up on ebay in "batches" -music shop going out of business?- so i presume there are quite a few still around and Charlie Watkins is still going!.

http://www.wemwatkins.co.uk/


These schemes may tell you more in how well they're designed,etc Schematics

Tony Z stopped making gtrs in 2000 apparently,and being a paragon of ignorance i'm afraid I don't know much about his guitars either.

http://www.zemaitis.com/tony_letter.htm.

This whole site is worth investigating.

Do you think his guitars are worth 30K? I know some do..

I have no opinion as i haven't even seen one.


Have to bite the bullet soon so -do you have recommendations for a starter tube amp book?
a nose-y Limey.

PS - get the psiam cheque book (tax write off;) )
ready there's a glut *Pull* here


[Edited by Lordathestrings on 07-15-2002 at 07:44 PM]
Accuracy,you say? hmm interesting concept..
# 8
Lordathestrings
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Lordathestrings
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07/16/2002 12:51 am
Please take a look at the instructions on the vB Code page about giving short names to URL's. Those long strings make your posts 3 screens wide! :)
Lordathestrings
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# 9
James8831
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James8831
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07/16/2002 7:29 am
Sorry,Lord. Noted and read.
:o
Cheers for the edit.
Accuracy,you say? hmm interesting concept..
# 10
pstring
Big as Elvis, Baby
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pstring
Big as Elvis, Baby
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07/16/2002 2:57 pm
Just curious about the WEM's, around here the rare and seldom seen Selmer goes for a stout price and a body part or two, are Zemaitis's worth $$$$$?, well, high grade, hand made, limited quanity and big name recognition, certainly has all the requirements for collectibilty, I know they were very expensive and hard to get instruments when new, so if I was to throw down that kind of huge dollars on a guitar, I'd say the Z would be a prime choice, but it would be such a pure investment that it would be under lock and key and I'd have to keep my clumsy hands off from it, books on tube amps, I recommend, "Tube Amp Talk for the Guitarist and Tech", and "A Desktop Reference of Hip Vintage Guitar Amps", both by Gerald Weber (Kendricks Amps), "Inside Tube Amps" by Dan Torres, most of the stuff is on Fenders and Marshalls, but that info applies to most tube amp made, Ken Fischer of Trainwreck Amps has a section in both of Weber's books, those 3 books have enough info in them to keep a person busy for years, another old hard to find book that can probaly be referenced on the web is The Radiotron Designers Handbook, it was the golden text of the tube audio industry for years and probaly still is, lots of circuit design info in it, just remember though, distortion was a bad thing when that book was written..............
# 11
James8831
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James8831
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07/16/2002 8:07 pm
Yes, If i get a spare one hundred i may drop on a WEM_ I was actually j/k when i said pull,it's just rare that so "many" turn up at once.

Iknow I've heard of Tony Z's guitars before,just the old cotton wool in the head preventing me from remembering where. i quite like those Trussart (basically hollow steel verions of Ts and LPS) and quite like "Girl Brand" guitars.

http://www.girlbrand.com

Not one for those with hangovers,though.
Thanks for the info on the books, I've saved that on file will go off to amazon and Trainwreck Amps and have a hunt, I know Dan Torres has an excellent rep. and i guess its probably easier to induce distortion in an amplifier than reduce it.


Cheers.
Accuracy,you say? hmm interesting concept..
# 12
Lordathestrings
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Lordathestrings
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07/17/2002 2:32 am
As usual, StewMac to the rescue. I can add my recommendation for The Tube Amp Book listed there as well. Aspen Pitman spends a lot of time telling you about how great Groove Tubes are, and how many vintage amps he's collected, but the rest of the book is pure gold.
Lordathestrings
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www.GuitarTricks.com - Home of Online Guitar Lessons
# 13
pstring
Big as Elvis, Baby
Joined: 11/29/01
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pstring
Big as Elvis, Baby
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07/17/2002 11:04 pm
I agree with L, the Tube Amp book, does have some good info and some great pictures, I think Aspen Pittman had a great idea, he has a book that is in it's 4th or 5th revision, has sold many copies, and besides a description of his business and his amp collection comments, he actually wrote almost nothing himself, I need an idea like that. Yes a little gain goes a long, long , long way, and you can have too much distortion very easily, a clean sound with lots of headroom is alot harder to get........
# 14
James8831
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James8831
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07/18/2002 9:59 am
Many thanks Lord and pstring.

I'll have a look through stewmac more thoroughly..[how come we don't have stores like that in the UK??].

I ordered a 12" rad. sanding block from them yesterday,but missed the book section!.

Cheers.
Accuracy,you say? hmm interesting concept..
# 15

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