Dr Z Route 66 (VVR3 Works)

sliberty · Post by **sliberty** » Wed May 23, 2012 12:54 pm

Sorry, I thought you were talking about the Hall VVR. I know nothing about a kit by Skipz.

As they used to say on the old SNL...Nevermind.

doveman · Post by **doveman** » Wed May 23, 2012 1:02 pm

sliberty wrote:Sorry, I thought you were talking about the Hall VVR. I know nothing about a kit by Skipz.

As they used to say on the old SNL...Nevermind.

No problem ... I think both Skipz and Hall are doing the same thing but with different circuits.

doveman · Post by **doveman** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:26 pm

Update ... ordered Skipz VariWattFX but returned it ... instructions were a bit more complex than I wanted. Skipz was great about it. Installed Dana's VVR3 instead ... works great.

Plan:
[IMG:639:423]http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m168 ... C_0293.jpg[/img]

Installed:
[IMG:639:423]http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m168 ... C_0298.jpg[/img]

I like it!

doveman · Post by **doveman** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:40 pm

Final pictures ...

To fix scratchy pots at lowest VVR volumes ...
[IMG:639:423]http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m168 ... C_0307.jpg[/img]

And the control on the back ...
[IMG:639:423]http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m168 ... C_0303.jpg[/img]

[IMG:639:423]http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m168 ... C_0306.jpg[/img]

Works great ... my second VVR amp ... I'm a fan!

doveman · Post by **doveman** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 4:54 pm

Here's a clip ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HZBaCF99jo

If you adjust the sound up on the PC and compare the tone ... I think it's the same. And cranked ... this thing is a hammer.

doveman · Post by **doveman** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 5:15 pm

And some cleans ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWe1V8fVCOE

ampgeek · Post by **ampgeek** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 7:34 pm

VERY nice Doveman!!

Arguably the best VVR implementation/comparison in tone with decending output that is out there.

A very fine sounding amp as well.

I enjoyed that alot. Thanks for sharing!

Cheers,
Dave O.

NickC · Post by **NickC** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 7:36 pm

I listened to both the clean and crunchy vids.

Man-oh-man, that is a good sounding amp!

Also, your playing makes the amp sound good too. Tasty, tasty stuff.

Nice! Thanks for sharing.

doveman · Post by **doveman** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 8:18 pm

Thanks guys ... I did not really like the amp when I first got it. It sounded good at real low volumes and at real high volumes. A REAL LOUD 32 WATTS TOO! I bought a Brake Lite ofr $169 but it just shaved a little off the top ... and I'm just not a big fan of attenuators. Don't get me wrong ... the BL is OK ... but it can't compete with this VVR stuff.

I think the amp sounds pretty good now ... although many were telling me not to mess around with it ... it's now a usable (extremely useful in fact) tool when I get the volume up over noon. Really that's all these things are ... just tools to make music.

I put the "cathode biased" VVR on my Richter Supra-Luxe 30w tweed and loved the results ... so I took the chance. Glad I did.

doveman · Post by **doveman** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 10:37 pm

UPDATE: Missed a related thread. I'll put the final solution in all related threads in case someone else is researching this later.

I had blown the MOSFET and was thinking it might be overheating ... but it turns out the I had the VVR3 getting fed directly from the recitifier. Guys here helped me get to the solution through a couple of other threads. The VVR3 now sits just after the first of 3 filter caps. So the solution is slightly modified from the earlier pictures in this thread ... so just dropping this in all of the related threads so not to mislead anyone doing research later.

Not only does this make sense ... fix the problem ... it's also a neater and more tidy solution. I tested it at the 3:00-3:00-3:00 setttings with the VVR on 5. You can still put your finger on the bolt head holding the MOSFET (hot but not uncomfortable) and the surrounding aluminum is warming nicely (seems to dissipate just fine). Excellent!

Here's the final fix.
[IMG:639:371]http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m168 ... C_0432.jpg[/img]

Notice it is much cleaner:
[IMG:639:423]http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m168 ... C_0431.jpg[/img]

I really appreciate the help guys. Thanks!

imaradiostar · Post by **imaradiostar** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:14 pm

So to be clear- you scaled the whole amp?

Very interesting. It sounds great!

jamie

doveman · Post by **doveman** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 12:14 am

imaradiostar wrote:So to be clear- you scaled the whole amp?

Very interesting. It sounds great!

jamie

Yep - scaled the whole amp.

doveman · Post by **doveman** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 11:50 am

Here's some doodling at "bedroom" levels for a really loud amp ... tamed by the VVR3 ... just for reference. I love the result ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIXJdRnFe_0

renshen1957 · Post by **renshen1957** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 7:47 pm

Tube Amp Archive

Dr Z Route 66 (VVR3 Works)

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