Express done.. I love it! (title edit)

[ODwan]

Have a Cut control, too! My cathode bypass caps are bipolar electrolytics. I tried different tail resistors, too, but ended up with 10k again.
Timo

[tsl602000]

I think I'm finally getting what these Trainwrecks are all about: tweaking untill you really like what you hear. I never was into this tweaking thing, but it sure pays of.
Somebody on this forum compared a wreck with a F1 car and I'm starting to understand him; you have to control this amp or it takes off and nothing happens under 15k RPM. With the wrong set-up it drives like a b!^ch.

I'm liking the amp the way it is now. The only thing that's bugging me is when I switch to the neck pup of my strat. It get's way too muddy, no matter what tonesettings I use.

I still wonder if changing the pre-amp more towards a Komet would take care of that muddyness on my neck pup......

Coen

[ODwan]

Hm, I never had th issue of muddyness with my Strat's neck PU. Maybe you can try to switch to the 5200 primarys on your OT, if you have one equipped with these. It's said that Ken did just that to clean up his amps for players with bass heavy neck HBs or P-90s. Take a look at the Trudy schem. She was retrofitted with a 5200 tranny to tune her to a LP special with P-90s.
Greetings,
Timo

[tsl602000]

Timo,
I have the 5200 tap on my OT. I was just doing a search on the forum for the differences between the 6k6 and 5k2 tap. I'll try that.

I wouldn't call my strats bass heavy, my clone just doesn't like the neck pup...

edit: thanks for the schematic!

Coen

[riscado]

hey odwan, is that a schematic of a real express or is it a clone?

[tsl602000]

Riscado, there is a NFL in the schematic.... drawn near the presence pot.

[riscado]

Hey tsl, thanks you're a bit late thought I noticed it and edited, thanks anyway!

[ODwan]

hey odwan, is that a schematic of a real express or is it a clone?

It's a real Express! Owned by some vintage gear shop I forgot the name of. There was a link to the shops site somewhere here on the forum. This site had fotos of here sitting in the shop and with a letter signed by Ken, where he explained, he put a new tranny in it and tuned it to the LP Special shown in the foto.
Timo

[hairyandy]

hey odwan, is that a schematic of a real express or is it a clone?

It's a real Express! Owned by some vintage gear shop I forgot the name of. There was a link to the shops site somewhere here on the forum. This site had fotos of here sitting in the shop and with a letter signed by Ken, where he explained, he put a new tranny in it and tuned it to the LP Special shown in the foto.
Timo

I believe the shop is Solid Body in Minnesota.

Andy

[Shermock]

Yep. Solidbodyguitar.com, I think.

I called them, and asked about playing it. The employee said his boss was not in at the moment, but from what he's observed his boss would not let me try it. He said, "He'll let you play it for $30,000." At that point I mentioned by copy amp, said I'd like to A-B the two, and he said,"I don't know...that may interest him enough to let you try it, but you'd have to wait till he's back to ask him."

Ugh. I have NOT called back.

Shermock

[tsl602000]

ok, after several mods, I have the amp up to my liking. What a monster it is!
The only thing I'll try is replacing the power resistor with a choke.

Thanks for all the help!

[captain_rusty]

From "I hate it!" to "I love it" - excellent!!

When (if) my Ceriatone gets here, I'll be bugging you for ideas

[larseko]

Thanks for this great thread. A lot of useful information here for us Ceriatone owners. I'll try some of these mods myself, as I have some similar experience with the tone. Although I don't hate it, I'll have to admit it could need some tightening up in the lower registers, and some warming in the high registers.

Thrilled to see how the mods worked out for you.

[tsl602000]

The most important mods are the hi cut control and the 22k tail resistor. They really changed my amp.

[Elcabong]

The most important mods are the hi cut control and the 22k tail resistor. They really changed my amp.

I need to try these. What values have you used for the hi cut control? I have a schematic showing a 250K pot and a .0047uf.