Amp-Maniac Demo - A Fully Adjustable Voltage Reducer for Vintage Amplifiers

Подписаться 17 тыс.

Просмотров 2,5 тыс.

50% 1

The Amp-Maniac is a dedicated, fully adjustable line voltage reducer built to lower the voltage from your AC outlet to provide proper voltage for your beloved vintage amp that was built to run at 110 or 115v. It is heavy duty-built like a tank.
vintagesoundwo...
ToneQuest article, March 2010:
Thanks to John Peden’s exhortations that we check out Carl Hartman’s Amp Preserver last year, many of you seem to have jumped onboard with the lower line voltages that your vintage amps crave. Yes, you’ll extend the life of your tubes and those irreplaceable 50-year old components, but the votes are in - your most prized old amps will also sound much better at the proper 110 or 115 volts, too. Since our article on the Amp Preserver was published in the July/August ‘09 issue of TQR, Carl Hartman has expanded his original concept with the introduction of the Amp Maniac, which allows the user to safely adjust the line voltage similar to a Variac (except that you can’t exceed 120 volts and blow up your amp). Hartman has also cleverly developed a 7C5 tube adapter, which allows you to sub the sonically similar (and way cheaper) NOS 7C5 for 6V6s. Here’s the scoop...
TQR:Like wise, the Amp Maniac design is easy enough to understand, but I wonder if some players are under the impression that it can only be used with one amp at a time. We’ve been using ours with a heavy duty power strip/surge protector that delivers current to 6 amps in our music room, all adjustable through the Amp Maniac. Are there any potential disadvantages we may have overlooked in using this setup?
The Amp Maniac has a maximum current capability of 2.5 amperes, while the Amp Preserver has a max of 5 amperes. The use of a power strip is fine, as long as all the devices do not exceed the maximum current rating of the Amp Maniac. If you keep the inactive amplifiers on standby, then having more than one connected will ensure that you do not blow the fuse. If you have a pair of Twin Reverbs fully cranked, that may be problematic.The solution of course is to use a separate Amp Maniac for each amp, or keep only one amp on and adjust the output voltage to suit that particular amplifier.
TQR: What is your projected life span for the Amp Maniac in terms of the components used? Aside from the VU meter, there don't seem to be any moving parts - just those that are handling current... Also, do you recommend that a surge protector be used to protect the Amp Maniac?
The Amp Maniac should give years of service when not abused. The only moving part besides the voltmeter is the wiper arm on the variable transformer. Under the conditions of powering a guitar amplifier, the Amp Maniac should not require any regular service. I do not use a surge protector ahead of the Amp Maniac, but I do use a power strip that has surge protection plugged into the Amp Maniac to protect my amplifiers plugged into the power strip. I suppose the ultimate precaution would be to use a surge protector ahead of the Amp Maniac.
TQR: The bottom line here, gang, is that lower voltages than the standard 120-125 VAC pulsing behind your walls make for happier vintage amps and audibly better tone, and in just a few short months the Amp Preserver and Amp Maniac have already found their way into the hands of some major rock & roll outfits. As far as the 7C5 tube adapter goes, unless you are sitting on a stash of RCA 6V6GTs, this is a great way to cop that smooth vintage tone that can’t be squeezed from modern tubes, and for mighty light dough. Quest forth...TQ
Over 250 units sold
Guaranteed for life
Built like a tank
Handmade in the USA
Point-to-point wiring with crimped and soldered connectors
No circuit boards or perf boards
Wired with 14 gauge silver plated Teflon insulated wire
Font facing backlit display visible across the room
Displays both voltage and current
Helps to monitor your amplifiers overall health
The working musicians tool
You don’t have to be a rock star to afford one
Check our reviews on the Testimonials page at www.VintageSoundWorkbench.com
First and original voltage reduction unit made specifically for vintage tube guitar amplifiers

Опубликовано:

6 сен 2024

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист

Посмотреть позже

Комментарии : 64

@Tonetwisters Месяц назад

Wow. TWO tweed Bassmans!! Good on you, Sir. In fact ... DOUBLE good on you! Thank the Lord, bro ... you are indeed, fortunate and blessed!

@millstap Месяц назад

Thank you. Yes, pretty blessed. I only use one of the Bassmans at a time now but I always combine one of them with a blackface Super Reverb which is a great combination of the tonal palette.

@matthewf1979 4 года назад

I missed the last video, just went and watched it. You can definitely run two ~40 watt guitar amps on a 2.5 ampere fuse. You’re right! Do NOT buy a Brown Box! Carls boxes are priced right for what they do. Glad to see the fuse issue worked itself out.

@millstap 4 года назад

Whoops, I answered your other comment before I saw this one.

@jcd13able 2 года назад

AmpManiac will not regulate or correct your house voltage to 115 volts for example. The house voltage fluctuates as day goes on. At 1pm it can be 120v and at 2pm it might be 125v then at 6pm it will be 117v, etc. In order to get consistent 115v, you have to buy a furman 120v voltage regulator that will output constant 120 volts. Then you plug the AmpManiac into the furman unit and turn it down from 120v to 115v on the AmpManiac. You need both devices so you don't have to readjust the AmpManiac when the power company decides to change your house voltage in middle of the day for example. Even modern amps that are designed to run on 120 volts can benefit from both of these units to bring the house voltage of 125v down to 120v and keep it there. Remember that house voltage swing of 5 volts will produce a larger swing inside the amp because of its transformer.

@666pinkster 2 года назад

actually, no, you need neither. your example is correct, the voltage will be all over the place. it won't affect the amp or its performance.

@mtbmadman011 Год назад

Great experiments and highly imformative

@JWEmbry-wc7qi 4 года назад

Man, it is GREAT to see you again my friend!!!

@millstap 4 года назад

Thanks J.W.! I’ve been in quarantine, lol.

@MrTimdcarroll 4 года назад

I just went into the Vintage Sound Workbench website and it's stating that both units (Amp Maniac and t Tone Preserver) are 2.5 amps ... amp I reading that correctly? In your video you stated the Amp Preserver is rated at 5 amps. I initially freaked out when I heard you say that "maybe" the Maniac could run 2 amps ... well I have 2 amps in my rig which will be on at one time always and I thought perhaps I purchased the wrong unit ... regardless, the appealing thing of the Maniac is being able to dial it down precisely to the voltage you want ... If necessary, I'll buy an Tone Preserver too. I almost bought a Brown Box ... that would have been a big Whoops, could have saved money!great video and thanks!

@millstap 4 года назад

The Preserver is 5A. What two amps are you going to run on the Maniac? I run two 40 watt Fenders with no problems at all.

@shanebrbich5698 4 года назад

G’day Millzy 👍🇦🇺

@millstap 4 года назад

Hey Shane!

@TheRiotguitar 3 года назад

great video- thanks. I just ordered one of these because of your video. Nice pair of Bassmans too!

@millstap 3 года назад

Hey Shane. Wow, I covered one of your songs on my channel 10 years ago. These are great devices and were really the original voltage reducer back in 2008 when Carl built one for G.E. Smith. Yeah, the Bassmans are special. I will turn on my Super Reverb and play for a while but at the end of the night, it is always the Bassman. Just curious, with the French name Theriot, do you have relatives in the Lafayette, LA area? That is one of my old stomping grounds.

@TheRiotguitar 3 года назад

@@millstap no my family is from Thibodaux and New Orleans (mom's side) but I'm sure we were all brought over at the same time after the Brits kicked us out...haha. As for the unit, seems like it would be handy for new amps designed to run at 120 but wall voltage is coming out at 125 or 127...or would that even make a difference?

@millstap 3 года назад

@@TheRiotguitar Definitely. If you biased your amp at 120VAC, then you can keep it exact wherever you go. Just remember to note what voltage you are at when you bias your amp and then just dial in that voltage at every venue. The voltage can change so much from venue to venue, you don't have to worry anymore. But, you won't be able to go over the house voltage which shouldn't be a problem. With a Variac, you could mistakenly go to 130VAC which would fry some tubes. It's a not brainer really. You might end up with more than one. I have three. It really depends on how many amps you plan to run at the same time. If you are two or more, then the Preserver is fused at 5A but not as adjustable as the Maniac.

@TheRiotguitar 3 года назад

@@millstap thanks for the info!

@millstap 3 года назад

@@TheRiotguitar You're welcome Shane. I've run two 40w Fender amps and a vintage Fender reverb unit on the Maniac. The Maniac is fused at 2.5A. You can add as much as you can get away with until the fuse blows. Most amps idle around .6A and 1.4A when cranked. Even if two amps are cranked at possibly 2.8A, you may not blow the 2.5A slow-blo fuse. But, at a very high profile gig, you wouldn't want to chance it. Keep some 2.5A and/or 5A fuses handy for the Maniac or Preserver, respectively.

@scottiecampbell Год назад

Hi there thanks for the video! Question- am I able to hook the amp maniac to a tripp lite line conditioner or power surge? essentially amp->amp maniac->line conditioner. or just hook the amp maniac up to the wall outlet? thanks!

@millstap Год назад

That's what I do. I have my Fuhrman plugged into the wall and the Maniac plugged into the Furman. Then I plug another power strip into the Maniac and run several amps off of the strip.

@HailHailOfficial 5 месяцев назад

could you convert the maniac from 2.5 amps to 5 amps? i have 65 and 67 bassmans and seems i could run off one maniac but the extra amps could be good.

@millstap 5 месяцев назад

He used to make a 5 amp version but it is heavy and more expensive. He probably can still make it. You could go with the Amp Preserver which I think is rated a 4 amps. I run as much as I can get away with on my Maniac. The worst thing that can happen is you will blow the fuse. If you gigging, take some extra fuses but test it for a while with both amps. You can watch the amperes rise on the meter and it usually takes more than it is rated before it starts blowing fuses.

@HailHailOfficial 5 месяцев назад

@@millstap i saw a picture on his FB page, i will be asking for a custom 5 amp. thank you for the quick response and excellent video review

@60retired 3 года назад

You mentioned you think you could run two amps with the maniac but you never tried it in the video. What would happen to my amp if my line voltage is 120V and I adjusted the bias set at 117V and someone turned the maniac all the way up to maximum 125V. Wouldn’t that be almost as bad as using a variac max 130V and having the same scenario happen?

@millstap 3 года назад

Neither situation would be ideal. At 125V or 130V the bias would definitely be on the hot side if you set it at 70% at 117V. At 130V though, you would have a better chance of red plating the tubes. Just as long as the Maniac isn't kept at 125V you should be fine. I don't think the tubes will red plate at 125V. Just keep those handsy people away from your Maniac, lol. Variacs are useless when it comes to hauling those heavy things around. I love my Maniac. Right now I'm running my 1959 Fender Tweed Bandmaster at 112V and it sounds fabulous. That puts the heater wire voltage at exactly 6.3VAC which is what the tubes are supposed to run at. And, yes, I have have played two amps loud on the Maniac with no problem. You may even be able to go to three amps. The worst that can happen is you blow the fuse in the Maniac. Just have extra 2.5A fuses on hand. I run another group of amps and effects on my Preserver at 117V which is fused at 5A.

@DoItYourselfMusician 4 года назад

What's the ohm load on those old Bassmans? Is it 2 ohm like the modern ones?

@millstap 4 года назад

You mean the speakers? It is four 8 ohm speakers in parallel for a total load of 2 ohms on the OT.

@Matthew-OU812 2 года назад

Could a voltage reducer be useful for even a solid state amp, to preserve components as well as helping to get a less "brittle" sound? Sincere question. Thank you for video.

@millstap 2 года назад

Math, this is the answer from Carl himself, "If SS amp was built for voltage lower than 120-125 then yes, would help preserve component life. As far as brittle sound, no idea. That’s a characteristic of many SS amps." That's my thoughts too. What year was the amp built? If you house voltage in your area is even higher, it could help even with a fairly modern amp. If you have a Digital Multimeter, you can test the voltage in your socket.

@Matthew-OU812 2 года назад

@@millstap Thank you for replying and the homework. : )

@666pinkster 2 года назад

no. misbiased solid state will not sound more musical, and will be blatty and harsh. you don't want to brown out a solid state amp. think of a fuzzbox with a voltage starve or "sag" control. same basic idea.

@PurposefulPorpoise 3 года назад

the fuses on the back of my 100w plexi and 30w bassbreaker say 3amps, will this work with either of those cranked on 10? I only use 1 amp at a time, planning to use something like this for the 30w cranked

@millstap 3 года назад

It will work fine on both amps. I've run two vintage 40w Tweed Bassman amps on it and they are fused at 3A. I have both the Maniac (2.5A) and Preserver (5A). For years, I ran all of my amps and reverb units on the Preserver and never blew a fuse. The only time I blew a fuse is when my GZ34 rectifier tube was going bad and arcing internally. You can experiment and run both amps on the Maniac. The worst that can happen is you will blow the fuse on the Maniac. The good thing about having the ammeter is you can see what your amp current draw is when you are playing. When I am playing very loud, my Bassman runs around 1.4A. It idles around .6A. Two Bassman at loud (not cranked) volume would theoretically run around 2.8A but I've done it without blowing the fuse plus I had a vintage Fender reverb unit hooked up too. The best situation IMO is to have the Preserver for home and hook everything up to it. I have a power string with 8 things plugged into it. And then have the Maniac for gigs so you don't have to unplug everything at home. Since I am not gigging anymore, I have one amp on each. I do like the Maniac for the precision but the Preserver works just fine on getting the voltages in a good range. The disadvantage is if you are gigging, and each venue has a different house voltage, the Preserver will only allow you to drop it -6 or -12VAC but the Maniac will allow you to dial in the voltage precisely to the voltage you biased the amp at, at every venue.

@PurposefulPorpoise 3 года назад

@@millstap Awesome! Thanks so much for the detailed answer! Im sure this will help others also :)

@Nicko30able 4 года назад

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but why is the target voltage for dialing in not 110v as the spec sheet inside the amp says? I see 113v seemed to dial it in, but if I had no fluke meter to use, wouldn't I get a good result using the voltage reducer at 110v? Sorry to ask...

@millstap 4 года назад

Yes, 110v is fine. The voltage back in the '50's and '60's fluctuated a lot too. I just had fun dialing it in perfectly with the Maniac. On the Preserver, the -12V position would get you right at 109-110V. I've run my amp many times at 109V. EVH supposedly ran his Marshalls at 90V to get the brown sound. I wouldn't run it that low. The lower voltages will reduce the overall heat in the amp and make everything last longer.

@Nicko30able 4 года назад

@@millstap Thanks for that man. I was just wondering.

@TheDesertRat31 4 года назад

The primary and secondary of a transformer is just a ratio of one side to the other. Your output on the secondary will vary based on the input on the primary. If, for example) you shoot for the listed heater voltage, any deviation you see at the plates will be due to the accumulated variances in the individual component tolerances

@666pinkster 2 года назад

@@TheDesertRat31 exactly

@XxgunfetishxX 4 года назад

I have a vintage 67’ blackface twin.... do I need one of these?? What year did they switch to 120v

@TheDesertRat31 4 года назад

Look on your tube chart pasted inside the cabinet. It should have the voltage listed.

@carlhartman2818 4 года назад

Agree with Bob C, check the tube chart. The move to 120v supposedly occurred in 1967, but manufacturers of most devices took their time to use new appropriate power transformers (gotta use up that inventory). Most likely your amp is looking for 117v, rather than the 125v most of us see today.

@millstap 4 года назад

"Voltages gradually increased over the years from 110V to 112V, 115V, 117V and finally to the current standard of 120/240V at 60 Hz in 1967." -- quote from the internet. Your tube chart should say 117VAC. I have a 1966 Super Reverb and that is what is on its tube chart. You can be sure that appliance and amp builders did not begin to transition to the higher voltage PT's until many years later. If you have a huge stock of power transformers, you are going to install all of them and then get a new transformer. Even then, I'm not sure they changed the PT at all so you would end up with higher voltages on the amp. Ironically, it was in the early '70's when amps started taking a turn for the worse when it came to tone. I would say a reduction of -6 to -7 volts would help your amp. And when they say they settled on 120V it is actually as high as 125V in certain areas. I may do another video in a few weeks on the blackface amps with 117VAC requirements just to see how high the voltages actually are in those amps. They use a different PT than the old Tweed amps. Bassman is 8087 PT, and blackface SR is 125P5D. According to Classic Tone, they are essentially the same transformer but we will see. Maybe the newer 125P5D had more secondary taps for international orders.

@nros5020 3 года назад

So question for ya. Would there be any issue running my whole rig off one of these boxes? My single amp and pedal board and pedal power supply? Just wondering if that may be ill advised running a pedal power supply under 120v. Great video!

@millstap 3 года назад

Most power supplies are designed to run on 100-230VAC. I run all of my pedals on it. It still ends up being 9V, 12V, 18VDC or whatever it needs to be at the pedal.

@666pinkster 2 года назад

@@millstap in other words, it has no effect. lmao

@millstap 2 года назад

@@666pinkster Not on power supplies because they are their own little step down transformer themselves. That's why you can take your IPhone charger from the USA 120V to the EU's 230V with no issues.

@666pinkster 2 года назад

@@millstap the guy asked about running his "whole rig" on this snake oil. yeah, stompboxes, like the transformers in TUBE AMPS which do virtually the same thing. but try running a digital stomp or rack unit on lowered line voltage. forget it. dude, no offense to you, but the guys slinging this thing are selling snake oil. the amp's don't care about the line voltage much. the entire reason folks like evh used a variac in the first place was to misbias his amp by browning it out. tubes aren't like transistors. most tube amps will begin passing signal with a line voltage of 30 volts or less, and tubes by nature of their charicteristics don't like to stay saturated. they're continuously trying to soften any distortion generated. lowering voltage to them makes a marginal difference that people "hear" cuz they choose to. doesn't mean its a great idea. there's a lot better things to spend money on, bud. peace

@millstap 2 года назад

@@666pinkster Jimi, the whole purpose of this box is just to keep the amp from running too hot and to extend the life of your old components and NOS tubes, especially on the Tweed amps that were designed around 110V. At 125VAC you could easily be running the plates on your old RCA 6L6GC backplates at 500V which is over their rated voltage and way over the 400V on a Tung-Sol 5881 even though Fender designed those circuits to have over 400V from the beginning. They are tough tubes but, if you can afford to extend their life, then more power to you. I've spent way too much money on old tubes not to do it. And all the other components get hot so anything to reduce that heat, which shortens their lives, is great too.

@bobbarcus8310 4 года назад

Never did trust that brown box thing

@millstap 4 года назад

I'll have to say they have an impressive advertising campaign. I wonder how much it costs to get the endorsements of virtually every living professional musician on the planet.

@bobbarcus8310 4 года назад

I would think after all the videos you’ve done that some of these companies will start throwing you a bone or two You’ve grown a pretty good little fan base I still don’t know why you don’t show off some of those other apps of yours like I say I love that blonde bassman that you have

@millstap 4 года назад

@@bobbarcus8310 I know. I really need to get the blackfaces and the Blonde going again. I think they need a little bit of fine tuning although I did check those blues molded caps in a couple of the circuits and found none to be leaking. They hold up pretty well. I think I will do another video like this one and see how the voltages fare on amps that were designed for 117VAC. Some people have been asking that question.

@666pinkster 2 года назад

@@millstap people are dumb, and make dumb choices. if everyone says the sky is beige, does that make it reality? nope. i''ve tried this unit, a friend bought one. ssdd. my variac on my bench works better, is cheaper, and is useful. this is mojo baloney, sorry, bud.