I wonder if the distortion of the phase inverter is dominating the distortion of the output transformer in this amp? I have done the usual mods to help reduce the asymetries and the sound smooths out a bit at lower drive levels. Very interesting results!
I was thinking more on this. Isn't it strange how close micing can make thngs sound more similar(especially when the mic/speaker are not moved between changes to an amp), but then in the room it is a different story? I wonder why that is? I mean it is the same room., and if the speaker doesnt move then...?
Agree--amps with a cathodyne PI do tend to flatten out after 2/3 up the volume knob--but I'd say in my experience messing around with these OTs, that is so fuzzy/square that it does make the differences more apparent (comparing when the volume is dimed). Also worth noting that the Princeton and tweed OTs in this video are traditionally intended for amps with a cathodyne!
I've been thinking a lot about it too; I'm no physicist, but isn't it true that different sound frequencies move differently? So placing a mic right next to a speaker is not going to get the effect of hearing the high frequencies beam straight out and the low frequencies be non-directional, and everything in between, reflecting all around in a room. Also I think the effect of just being blasted by the volume might help--you can turn the preamp down on the mic but our ears have one sensitivity setting! The more I re-listen to the clips, the more I can hear the same differences, it's just subtler.
Once again I thank you for doing these experiments! I love the speaker one that you did too. Also, I was planning on doing something like this for a deluxe, but I have more projects than time.
@@leiferickson3183 Absolutely! Shootouts can be really illuminating, although this one ended up a bit subtler than I was expecting. A lot of the time I'm doing them as much for myself as for others, so it's great to hear you find them valuable. They're kind of a different beast from regular demos, since they're so repetitive (if done rigorously), but for things like speaker/transformer/mic swaps, there's no better way to quickly hear how things compare! I just need one more 12A150 Weber model and I'll be able to do a shootout of all of those too :)
Why do they always make pedals so complex that the ordinary guy can never figure out ? And why do you even need them when you already have a good tone ? Waste of money to me !!
When Ted Weber was alive, he personally picked out a 12" 16ohm "Silverbell" & a 12" 16ohm "Blue Bulldog" for a fender twin, & have been impressed with the combo since 2008!
Anyone have any leads on where I can get one of these. I go to their website and it only shows dealers, from there I can't find any new to purchase. EDIT: Just found one and ordered it. I cant wait to play with this device!
Yeah! 12F150B is my fave ceramic American for black panel Fenders. Haven’t tried the 12F150T but the alnico version is next on my list. My next video will be a comparison of the same cone with alnico vs ceramic-the presence range is much punchier and potentially harsh with ceramics, so I would be wary of pairing the reportedly very bright T cone with ceramic.
I'm a big fan of Weber speakers. Have a 2x12 open back extension cabinet loaded with 12F150s for my '69 Fender Bassman head, that works great. I also have a '77 Fender Pro Reverb loaded with two 12A150 speakers that is fabulous. I get so many really nice comments about the Pro Reverb. One of the really great things about Ted Weber speakers is their customer support. You can actually talk to real person who can guide you through the evaluation process of selecting a speaker(s). They made recommendations based on my gear, and playing style. I couldn't be happier with their recommendations.
Great demo! It sounds like the amp wasnt turned up much, but it was hard to tell because the clean sound wasn't played as agressively. More info an the amp would be cool. I have been wanting to make some treble boosters forever but never have the time.
Thanks! The amp started as a Trinity Custom Plexi, but I built it with EL84s instead of 6V6s...its Normal channel is about the closest thing I have to an amp that "needs" a treble booster per the conventional wisdom, and its TMB channel is practically a treble booster on its own! The first half the gain's cranked about 2/3 and the 2nd half it's over halfway, and the tone knob is below noon (low pass territory). A lot of people say treble boosters sound the best into a cranked amp--I tried maxing the gain when recording the demo and it was just too much distortion, especially since I wanted to actually turn up and showcase the boost. It's probably a bit tough in a home studio demo to replicate the original use case (a stage-volume rig with a lot of headroom that's too dark)...I think the critical thing is getting the amp gain high enough that the signal is really full-range, and, usually, pretty chubby as a result, especially in Fender circuits, which mostly get wayyyyy to bassy when cranked. It's also received wisdom that TBs don't sound good through American amps but I would tend to disagree, especially with tweed and brown Fenders. For such a simple circuit, TBs have some serious magic, and they're fun to build too...more videos on that topic later :)
Good demo! Im interested in the comparison between the BP-1 and the Benson germanium boost. I totally have a "boost problem". I've been thinking about scooping up the Benson for a while now. My favorites at the moment are the pepper's pedals dirty tree and the crazy tube circuits superconductor. I only use the TC mode on the dirty tree but its great for everything, not just boosting a high gain amp. I can't bring myself to turn that sucker off at lower gain settings. I guess it's my always on machine.
Great demo man 👍 I feel like I love what this pedal does your tone but not sure if the £155 outlay for yet another "colour" pedal is something I can really justify, possibly another exercise in cork sniffing? I dunno, i'm tempted, might be a good replacement for my always on EP booster...
You could think of it this way; you bought an EP booster - whatever that cost you, it only adds one “colour” to your tone toolbox. For £155 you can get three different coloured boosts with the Boss. I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem like an excessive outlay to me.
@@ElliotGKnapp Got it playin on Spotify now. Great !! And nice cover art too, the cloud waving 'bye' to the lady (I think) in the valley.... Reminds me a bit of Gong's "Angel's Egg" cover, and Puffy has a bit of a Steve Hillage flavor - I mean that as a compliment, but you clearly have your own awesome individuality on that piece :-). from a 'pedal' point of view, what you sieved on Puffy is breathtaking... I thought one would need a super-arpeggiator like the Tararira to do all that, but your technical mastery and how it translates into thoughtful and beautiful art makes me want to go for the Arpenoid instead. Great work, mate, and thanks for all your work as a composer and for the community 👍 A question if you don't mind: since you can't specify a key, how does the pedal 'know' what notes to play, like is the first note you play always considered the root for the major and minor scales?
Great comparison! The Legacy ceramic wins it for me. I've got that bright jangly Fender thing in my '66 Twin, looking for a more balanced, smooth sound that isn't flat/dull. Watched a ton of shootouts and the whole line of Webers is amazing, but particularly the Legacy ceramic. 12A125A was very nice too. I'm curious what the Legacy Alnico sounds like in comparison to those two.
Me too! I've been veering heavily toward alnico lately and the Legacy is on my list--the ceramic 75hz was too spiky in my Plexi clone so I swapped for the 55, but I'm thinking an alnico 75 might do the trick. There's almost nothing out there about people's experience with alnico Legacy...
What an amazing concept and the work gone into it, you deserve at least $1-2k in payment. I’m trying to decide on the 125125a vs the 125125S which is supposed to be “warmer” and have more mid range. Any chance of opinions on that or sound?
Howdy, apologies for the late reply--I am rarely monitoring comment here. I don't have any experience with the ceramic 1.25" voice coil Webers, but I've tried most of the AlNiCo ones--I love the 12A125S--it's probably my favorite of this range. A bit smoother up top, with just the right low end control--love it in the 6G2 I built, and I could see it working really well for something like a Princeton Reverb despite the fact that it's not marketed for black panel Fenders. The "A" version is a bit more brash, as heard in this demo. If you want something brighter, the A is the way to go...even darker than the S is the H, which I also like a lot too, it's just noticeably less sensitive.
could someone please tell me more in depth and technically how and why the "bubbling"/"star sprinkles" are occurring? its very distinctive and reminds me of the GHZ Lossy and Digitalis plugins which play around with data loss, sample rate, filtering, etc. but I am curious to see how its being achieved in a unique way through hardware to see if I can replicate it digitally before I buy this beautiful pedal
After seeing this vid, I had to buy this thing immediately. Currently it's driving my family crazy. Can't wait for the upcoming rehearsal to drive my bandmates crazy.