Trainwreck Rockets

[Gibsonman63]

Sounds like you need to build a clone of your own for gigging. What better way to voice a TW build than have the real deal sitting next to it for comparison.

Kinda reminds me of my friends that have these nice cars that they will occasionally trailer around to show people, but never actually drive them. Hopefully your amps get some time in the studio doing what they do best.

[sixkids]

Hey G,

Nothing wrong with what your friends do with their cars, as long as it makes them happy. Life is short and it goes fast - I know all too well as I have six children and one has already graduated college and moved out. Number two is soon to follow, next month.

Enjoy the day,
Tom

[M Fowler]

Tom,

When gigging with the Express do you mike the cabinet?

How are you controlling how loud this amp gets by the guitar volume knob only or using an attenuator at all?

Mark

[sixkids]

Hey Mark,

I do not gig with the Express. I have a Komet Concorde that I bring out of the house. That said, one of the cool things about Ken's amps is that they are actually not that loud. I mean, you wouldn't be doing a coffee shop with one, nor would you set your 1 year old daughter down infront of the 4x12 cab but they are definitely not nearly close to a 100 watt amp in volume. Not only did Ken develop a fantastic sounding amp, but I'm guessing that back when he designed them, he wanted guitarists to play them day in/day out in the real world, and not behind a plexiglass wall with ear phones on. I don't know anything about the workings of amps, but I understand that the Trainwrecks operate at relatively low plate voltages, and maybe the result of that is tube saturation at a lower overall volume - I don't know.

The general volume is set by the volume knob on the amp. The amp starts to overdrive relatively early on, and you use your guitar's volume control to "clean up" your tone. You can go from clean to lead and everything in between.

Hope that helps,
Tom

[M Fowler]

Thanks Tom,

My Express is too loud for what the sound I need out of it. So I gig with my octal power section Reverb Rocket mostly due to the tones I can get which are more to my liking. That and the fact it is very pedal friendly.

But I was wanting to get my Express closer to what Ken had in mind and therefore, I think starting with some NOS tubes is my next big step.

Mark

[sixkids]

Hey Mark,

I played through a Faustine Phantom attenuator, a week or two ago, and to tell you the truth, it changed my thinking on them. The unit really did a good job of taking the volume down without messing with the tone. The problem is that there apparently is a very long waiting list. I'm thinking about getting on it though.

I don't know what else to tell you. You need a certain amount of power/volume to get your power tubes to cook - you can't fake it.

All The Best !!
Tom

[2tone]

Great Unit...Works well with Wrecks..supposedly production is enhanced now..mine took a year to get..

Hey Mark,

I played through a Faustine Phantom attenuator, a week or two ago, and to tell you the truth, it changed my thinking on them. The unit really did a good job of taking the volume down without messing with the tone. The problem is that there apparently is a very long waiting list. I'm thinking about getting on it though.

I don't know what else to tell you. You need a certain amount of power/volume to get your power tubes to cook - you can't fake it.

All The Best !!
Tom

[Lonely Raven]

Crap, about $1000.

[paulster]

It's well worth it. I'm seriously thinking about getting a second.

[Reeltarded]

Hey RT,


All The Best !!
Tom

You too, Tom!

Have you ever played through any of his modified Fender heads?

[RJ Guitars]

thanks guys for sharing on this thread. It's good to get some TW owners to help us understand the what we are looking for... that is great tone, small package, confirmation that it's all about the volume control on the guitar, etc..

I think John Mark has Rocket #2 - isn't that the one that he refers to as "Reality Check"? Rocket #1 is still in possession of the original owner - I can answer PMs on that topic but don't want to post it openly. My understanding is that there were only 6 made, not a hard fact but from a reasonable source.

Have any of you guys with the originals made recordings where we can hear the Wreck at work?

thanks again for the posts,

rj

[Roe]

Hey Mark,

I played through a Faustine Phantom attenuator, a week or two ago, and to tell you the truth, it changed my thinking on them. The unit really did a good job of taking the volume down without messing with the tone. The problem is that there apparently is a very long waiting list. ...

the alex attenuator also works great. no waiting list and lower price as well

[RJ Guitars]

Hey Fellas,

Anyone know who owns Trainwreck Rockets Amanda, Betty Lu and Dinah ? If you have any leads, please get back to me at tomcostigan (at) aol (dot) com. Thanks a ton in advance.

All The Best !!
Tom

I think I was incapacitated when this thread first showed up... but I don't think anybody mentioned that TW Rocket Amanda belongs to Derek Ferwerda and he did gig with it regularly and last time I talked to him it is still his go to amp in the studio.

[rooster]

Oh, that's painful news, RJ. I was hoping he was offing it in a fire sale or something.