Lack of Clarity

[Littlewyan]

When using my Trainwreck I notice that there is a lack of clarity when compared to Glen's. I know we use different speakers but I notice that power chords on the Low E don't sound as nice as his and when I play G its like there is a lack of midrange. I lowered the bridge pickup and raised the pole pieces on my guitar which helped a lot but still haven't got great clarity. Tried swapping valves which improved it slightly. Do you think my capacitors still need time to break in or perhaps its because i'm using an attenuator?

Guitar has Tonerider Rocksongs in btw and my speakers are now both Eminence GB128. The capacitors I used are orange drop 715p. The 500pf Caps however are an unknown brand (bought off ebay).

[mhartman]

When using my Trainwreck I notice that there is a lack of clarity when compared to Glen's. I know we use different speakers but I notice that power chords on the Low E don't sound as nice as his and when I play G its like there is a lack of midrange. I lowered the bridge pickup and raised the pole pieces on my guitar which helped a lot but still haven't got great clarity. Tried swapping valves which improved it slightly. Do you think my capacitors still need time to break in or perhaps its because i'm using an attenuator?

Guitar has Tonerider Rocksongs in btw and my speakers are now both Eminence GB128. The capacitors I used are orange drop 715p. The 500pf Caps however are an unknown brand (bought off ebay).

Try without the attenuator. I hate them because they typically turn your tone to mud (at least that's my experience).

[Littlewyan]

Ok i'll give that a go next weekend at my mate's house (he lives on a farm, no neighbours!).

Would there be much difference between Mallory 150s and 715p Orange drops though? I do have some 150s in my stock, or perhaps the 715p Caps need break in time?

[Blackburn]

If you lose the attenuator and you're still having issues with clarity, I'd go as far as mentioning cable selection. George L's, Lava Cables, etc, are great choices and come to my mind when talking clarity. We are, of course, splitting hairs at this point, but I've noticed differences in others vs my own personal Blue Demons by LC, but before changing cables, different speakers could be a better solution too, but I don't know anything about those Eminence and for all I know they could be great.

A lot of variables when it comes to this subject and you bring up a good point mentioning pickup height. Keep noodling and see what you come up with.

[Littlewyan]

Well speaker wise I went from G12T-75s to these GB12s which made the amp sound better. Lowering the pickup and raising the pole pieces is something I read about when it comes to increasing clarity and it works! I know Glen uses PAF Pickups which will be bit weaker than mine but not by much. Could try more valves. Interesting the Tung Sol 12AX7 has very little clarity in this amp. Also tried adjusting the bias but that didn't seem to do much, think thats more of a subtle change.

I have tried different cables, my elixir was too bright but my coily bullet cable was just right on the brightness.

[Blackburn]

Seeing as how you've looked into some appropriate areas to try and mend the issue, I'd say you should take the amp a step further and try some OS tubes if NOS aren't budget friendly. New tubes tend to give up lots of hash and can be pretty spitty in circuits like this. Maybe try a couple of the Winged C EL34s in the PS and go NOS in the pre. Them old tubes are such an upgrade when it comes to clarity and character.

[rooster]

Tubes are important, but the caps you are using are probably more important. The 715p is polypropylene (thank you BillyZ for the correction - I knew this! Haha!) while the original 418/PVC orange drop was polyester. ....but then, it may well be that without the right tubes you will not hear a significant difference with the caps. Damn, I hate it when this happens.

The Mallory 150s btw, I would not use. I used to use them but I now see them as a very cheaply made product minus any *soul* at all. I would only use them on a non-audio passing part of the circuit, like the Presence control maybe. I know some will object to hearing this but I have a/b tested the sonics of the current Mallorys in many circuits. I won't use them. I do believe the old Mallorys - which were much bigger physically - were better sounding, but I still would choose the polyester cap over these.

I do have a few sets of the original PVC caps of you want to give them a go, pm me.

[Littlewyan]

I do have some Winged Cs but didn't like as the bass was very mushy. Now I think I may have used a Carbon Comp as a grid stopper....so I'll change that to a Carbon Film. Also the 470pF Silver Micas I used I think are very suspect. They were very cheap and don't even look like Silver Micas. Pic attached. The one on the left is whats in the amp, one on the right is ome I took out of another amp but has too short leads to use in this one . Also thinking about it the Treble Cap should be 500pf not 470pf altho it shouldn't make much difference, but could be the difference I'm looking for!

Thanks for the offer rooster but I think I'll start by changing the parts I mentioned above. Also I do really need to try the amp without an attenuator as this could be sucking the life out of it so to speak.

Edit: The grid stopper coming off the volume control is actually a 2.2K Carbon Comp but its on a shielded cable. I wonder if using a normal stranded cable with 820ohms grid stopper would be better.

[billyz]

715p are polypropylene not polystyrene( which sounds good). 6ps is the closet you can get to the 418 cap. 6ps is also film and foil polyester but with tin platted steel leads not tin plated copper leads.

715's are too sterile sounding.

I have built several express's using all carbon comp resistors and they sound great, very warm , woody and organic. And plenty quiet too. there is way more tube noise than resistor noise .

the cheap xicon MF resistors are harsh sounding to my ears. I do like Military MF resistors like Dale, IRC, etc. They are non magnetic with tin plated copper leads. Carbon film are fine too, if they are quality and non magnetic, but most are not. Takeman are, so are the old ones Marshall used.

[geetarpicker]

A couple/three things come to mind. My two clones don't have any grid stoppers, and the only shielded cable is on the input lead. I am running the bright switch in the full 500pf position, but with the volume up high enough so that the cap's effect isn't at it strongest. On my latest clips (the live bar gig ones) of one of my clones I am running a THD Hotplate which does darken the clarity somewhat but it works well as the amp needs a little dampening in the highs. I also run my PAF pickups (both originals and burstbuckers) with the screws almost flat with the top of the cover, only slightly tapering them to balance the strings, and I keep the pickup fairly close actually. IMHO the old G12M speakers have great clarity (though not as intense as G12Hs) but somehow don't ice pick that much even when played brightly. In regards to my original TWs my Stancor amp has a little more clarity than my Pacific amp, and it's the Stancor one that has a grid stopper so who knows. To me the clarity thing is mostly related to the bright cap, which can be tricky to use if the amp is too bright but IMHO it does help the clean to mean range. The 500pf position also add some mids too. It's almost like these amps like to run bright, but then you darken them up in other ways to balance it out. Hope that helps! GK

[Littlewyan]

Thanks for the info everyone. I think I'll change that lead from shielded to normal stranded with an 820ohm grid stopper. It could also be my output transforner. Interesting that the Stancor OT Amp has better clarity. I've got a Danbury OT in my amp, don't know if anyone has had any experience with these.

[billyz]

I set my pickups up the same as Glen. Pole pieces low but adjusted for string balance. And pretty close to the strings. Mine are fairly low resistance though, 7.75K +-. One is a 1960 PAF the other a 68 TTop with paf pole screws. Lots of clarity.

[Littlewyan]

What magnet? Alnico 2 or 5?

[billyz]

What magnet? Alnico 2 or 5?

I would imagine Alnico 5 as are most vintage humbuckers.

[billyz]

Well, it finally happened a double post. Things are screwy.