My take on the SSS Updated: the beast is alive VIDEO(S) NEW

[ElectronAvalanche]

@Mike and Aaron, thank you!

The FET is working, I installed the FET transitor the wrong way around in its socket

I have 444V on the output tubes (all four installed) and have them at 30mA idle bias. Sounds really nice.

Seems I had a missing ground on the Dlator send/return jacks, so I had some hum on first testing the loop (plugging an FX into the loop). With nothing in the loop, there was 0 hum whatsoever. Ground from Send/Return jacks to preamp ground fixed that.

One odd thing came up:

Last night and today I tested the amp with my pedal board in front (no effects on using a pedalboard switcher, but of course a buffer on the pedal board. When going into the amp directly from the guitar I get a 120Hz (very low level) but only if I turn back the guitars volume to half (starts on 7 on a Strat, tested with different guitars). With the guitars volume all the way up or down no hum. Also no hum when the FET is switched on.

I am scratching my head on this one. Seems like the input likes to see a buffered normalized signal to ground via a buffer.

Any ideas?

Concerning the question of colour schemes of the headshell:

I am tending towards Fender smooth blonde tolex with beige Fender grill cloth and gold piping. Open to suggestion though

Attached are some more pics from various stages of completion of the amp.

Thanks,

Electron

[ElectronAvalanche]

So got the hum pinpointed:

When I pull the relay (thank God I have a socket for the relay) and directly go from input to the grid resistor of V1A, the 120Hz hum with the volume on 7 on my Strat is gone.

So....

is the relay too close to the input section? Induced 120hz hum from the relay coil? See attached pic for the location of the relay. Speaking against that are many many amps and switchers that have the relay also very close to the input section.


I installed a flyback diode across the relay coil. But if the flyback diode was the wrong way around, the relay would not work?! I would hate to pull out the relay/FET board again.....

Edit: maybe the DC from the relay board is also playing into this. I missed ordering 1000uF caps for the relay DC filtering and used two 47uF caps instead. One before the Voltage regulator, the other after that. Mayb the DC on the relay has a lot of ripple still?

Edit Edit:

Putting a 470uF across the installed 47uF fixed the hum problem! So for DC with a voltage regulator for a relay use at least 470uF before and after the regulator. The two 470uF I have on hand are axially unfortunately and I really need 1000uF, so its time to order some more caps.

Happy Camper with a nice SSS at home!

Electron

Electron

[ElectronAvalanche]

Here is a short demo of the amp.

Please excuse my hackjob playing. Its my first YT video and I was kind of excited.

Electron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1OmNYrSI2E

[AtomCap]

Great build, sounds great!!!!

[Colossal]

Great looking build and sounds really, really good. Now I know what to do with that 100W Fender iron...

[ElectronAvalanche]

Thank you AtomCap and Colossal!

This amp came out nicely! I will need to put it through one of my 2x12 cabinets with Celestion G12/65.

Two more deviations from the 002 schematic to report:

I now hav 2x270k resistors in parallel between the filters
I also opted for a 100R tail resistor on V1b, not the 1k as shown in the schematic. I am still wondering if the 1k really is correct.

Electron

[NickC]

Here is a short demo of the amp.

Please excuse my hackjob playing. Its my first YT video and I was kind of excited.

Electron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1OmNYrSI2E

Wow! What great sounding amp. I am impressed!

[jelle]

Awesome! Congrats.

[mlp-mx6]

Sounds great, looks great. Congrats!

[dcribbs1412]

Congrats ElectronAvalanche
great looking and sounding build, your
clip makes me want to try this circuit....
This has got to be a blast to play.
Does it breakup at all?

Darin

[dorrisant]

EA - nice looking build! I like the PCB concept

Tony.

[ElectronAvalanche]

Congrats ElectronAvalanche
great looking and sounding build, your
clip makes me want to try this circuit....
This has got to be a blast to play.
Does it breakup at all?

Darin

Hi Darin,

thank you for your feedback! The amp is really a pleasure to play. I tend to use clean amps with my pedalboard in front (some reverb/delay in the loop) more than my ODS style amps.

You should definitely try a SSS, it really is worth the hassle.

It breaks up when the volume pot is at around 2-3 o'clock, the Send at 12 o'clock. More breakup with the FET enganged of course (will try to make a demo of that). I have not been able to fully max the Master, but this thing is loud. I will scope the amp once I get a chance to access my scope to measure output power and see where it starts to distort. In my rendidition I think the CF of the Dlator breaks up first, that is where the "Master" trimmer comes in handy. For now I have this trimmer set to 1 o'clock.

Cheers,

Electron

[ElectronAvalanche]

EA - nice looking build! I like the PCB concept

Tony.

Hi Tony,

oddly enough, using (albeit handdrawn with a Edding 3000 Marker) PCBs has resulted in extremely nice sounding amps. I did my external DLator this way and a Vibroverb clone and this SSS and all three "amps" do sound extremely nice and have NO background noise. Building the ODS using eyelets and stuff was always a mixed experience. I think one invests more time in a good layout when going the PCB route. More so when handdrawing the PCB since you do not want to start anew once you start "painting". I also do not think that PCBs in any way make for worse amps than eyelet board amps. After etching I chemically plated my PCBs with tin and then also used solder to "thicken" the traces.

I am currently considering having a double sided one piece PCB professionally made for my 002 intrepretation. The power tube sockets of course would be chassis mounted. This should work and would make building extremely easy.

Electron

[Synchu]

Great looking and sounding amp. An inspirational build.
Gotta do an SSS myself.
Niki

[ElectronAvalanche]

Here is another very quick and dirty video, showing how the amps reacts with an OD in front.

Amp is set to absolute bedroom levels (you can hear the acoustic sound of the Strat quite nicely)

OD is a CMATMODs Brownie set to medium gain

Strymon Flint and Timeline in Loop.

The amp almost feeds back at these bedroom volumes.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpJ_I3gbBf4