Matchless Phoenix / Bad cat Wild cat / Top Hat super deluxe schematic?

[VintageCharlie]

Hi folks,

so i have been experimenting with an AC30 type front end and a JTM-50 output some time and the initial results are very promising, but it is a far way from soundign right. That seems to be very close to what the Matchless Phoenix, Bad cat Wild cat and the Top Hat Super deluxe is (all of which are cathode biased as opposed to the stock JTM-50). Coincidentally there is not a single schematic i can find of these amps, while many other models schematics are floating around the net. I am interested in the 12ax7 channel only. I do assume that all of them share the same vox value PI, which i see in many other models of these builders, but i really would like to reference that against some documentation.

Has anyone have a schematic of any of these? I have read that the Phoenix is exactly a DC30 preamp with a Chieftain power amp - if you'd combine both, this would be exactly what the Phoenix would be (i've seen other say that there are tweaks on the Phoenix preamp). It might be the case that it is identical to a DC30 preamp/Chieftain PA, but as often in the era of internet, not everything is true - so it would be great to check that statement against a schematic.

Thanks a bunch in advance!

[sluckey]

Is any of this useful?

[VintageCharlie]

Is any of this useful?

Thanks, Sluckey,

but i think this is something quite different.

The amps i mentioned all have an AC30 Top Boost style preamp with a tone stack (bass/treble and a fixed 10k resistor that can be easily substituted for a mid pot Marshall style) and cathode biased el34 tubes in the output stage, without a NFB loop. I think the Phoenix name in this case is just a coincidence.

Supposedly the Phoenix would be a combination of a DC30 preamp with a chieftain power amp. Both of these schematics can be found on the net, but i have yet to find a proper schematic of the whole amp. I am looking at least for someone who has seen the Phoenix (or any of the other similar ampos) first hand and can confirm that it is really the case that it is a combination of the DC30 style preamp with the Chieftain power amp.

[VintageCharlie]

These particular amps also seem to be quite rare in Europe especially and even good quality clips of all of them can not be found in abundance. The concept looks like something similar to RJ's Rockster 66.

[mojotom]

Not that far from an AC50, very nice amp, quite powerful and heavy but very nice sounding. One of me fave Vox to be honest.

You could take a look at the Clubman and Chieftain for Matchless and Hotcat from Badcat for the output stage (schem available).

I would find a lower voltage power transformer as nowadays EL34 biased like they use to bias them at Matchless might be hard on tubes.

[VintageCharlie]

Not that far from an AC50, very nice amp, quite powerful and heavy but very nice sounding. One of me fave Vox to be honest.

You could take a look at the Clubman and Chieftain for Matchless and Hotcat from Badcat for the output stage (schem available).

I would find a lower voltage power transformer as nowadays EL34 biased like they use to bias them at Matchless might be hard on tubes.

What voltage would you recommend? For my experiments i am using a JTM-45 power amp that puts out 345v to the tube rectifier. The AC30 PT is about 285v. I have another PT that puts out 325v - maybe that one could be a good starting point?