trinityamps.com

Hey all.

Coco gave me the Tramp today for a second run. There were some changes required after my last go to sort out the sound and I jumped at the opportunity to try it again.

Got it home and lit her up after dinner for a quick recording session. I had a one hour window from dinner to when the kids go to bed, so I didn't get too much time to get to know the amp.

Firstly, apologies for the dodgy playing as usual. All clips are just a guitar, a cord and the Tramp. Recording is into the on-board soundcard on my PC though a SM-58 about 1' from the center of the cone. Nothing was done during mix-down (there aren't enough effects to make my playing better)

First, I tried out the Tweed channel. In the style of bgroup, I just cranked everything, plugged in my heavily modded Squire Strat in the bridge pickup position and pounded out some AC/DC. Sounded good, plenty of meat, gain, for that old school stuff. I like it! As mentioned by zaphod, probably more gain than a straight tweed, but back off the gain and you'll get there, for sure.

http://www.trinityamps.com/j-rock/StratTudeAC-DC.mp3

<edit>I just listened to this one...forgot about the nasty lead-like noises at the end, I meant to edit those out, apologies for any pain and suffering:?</edit>

Dropped down the gain and volume to about 7 each and tried a couple Tragically Hip riffs...again...delivered!

http://www.trinityamps.com/j-rock/TweedStratHip.mp3

Next, dialled down to a clean-ish sound and tried some Metallica stuff, sound had some nice dynamics and nice articulation, again, sweet!

http://www.trinityamps.com/j-rock/TweedCleanStratOne.mp3

Now, the Explorer and the 'Tude. As mentioned before, this guitar is typically tuned to B. Not sure what the hell it was tonight, but tried out some riffs from a friend's band, tuned down. As expected, the hotter, stock pickups pulled the gain up a level over the Strat. The low end stayed well defined and crunchy. Pinch harmonics, and other high-gain sounds are also delivered in this configuration....

http://www.trinityamps.com/j-rock/ExplorerFrakturedTude.mp3

Finally, I broke with tradition and tuned the Explorer to standard pitch to bang out some old Metallica. Same comments as above, but hopefully the standard pitch sounds more familiar than my barely in-tune de-tune!

http://www.trinityamps.com/j-rock/ExplorerMetallicaTude.mp3

In summary, this amp is now my Desert Island Trinity! It could keep me rocking, as long as I figure out how to generate electricity from my vine and coconut bicycle-generator - How cut I would be...and I might have some chops!!!!:roll:

Great job coco and zaphod; another Trinity winner!

J

Hmmm...interesting. Seems to have a percussive quality. Also a darker character than most SE amps on the market (most are EL84 based though, which tend to be bright & buzzy in SE designs). The voicing sounds more American to my ears. May just be the natural EQ of your recording setup, but given that the tonal baseline was a SE Fender it makes sense.

Was that with the 10" Jensen? If so, I wonder how it would sound with something a little more "hi-fi" - like Fanes for example. I'm thinking that would add a little more "hair" and give it an even more Boogie-ish feel.

I'm suddenly more intrigued by the Tramp...

Thanks for posting those clips . The first of many I'm sure . Quite amazing how heavy you can get the tone . Keeping in mind its set up right now as a SE 6L6 version . 6V6 would be interesting.I've never heard those pinch harmonics with the tramp yet . Very cool. I think we can say it can do some metal.

_________________
Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

It did have the 10" Jensen Blackbird in it which live is quite bright. I'm sure the octals account for the smoothness andamerican sound. In Tweed setting, it's almost a hot champ. In tude mode, it is not a champ at all, except it does share the output tube. In both modes, Tweed & 'tude, everything is controllable, including B+ (voice & gain of triode 1 (fat/thin) & 2 (Tweed/ 'tude), Gain of amp, Bass Treble, Master volume & B+). Output tubes too are interchangeable, so, you can make this sound like a lot of amps, more Brit too with an EL34. I guess we could punch a spare hole for the EL84 fans out there??



In Tweed mode with 6V6 or 6L6 yes, in 'tude mode, not so much except power section. Lots of flexibility and playtime here.

_________________
Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

I've gotta learn how to do pinch harmonics...

Yes, you're right. EL84s often tend to suffer problems with harshness in SE amps. Also in Tweed mode the amp is intentionally darker, just like a real Tweed Champ/Princeton. In 'tude mode you get more sparkle, chime and rich harmonics.

The Fender is only the baseline in Tweed mode. In 'tude mode it's really a different amp, with a Marshall baseline. Of course we know that ultimately Marshall amps also derived from Fenders. However, with a 6L6 and a Jensen speaker you might pick up a bit more of a Fender Bassman kind of vibe. The stock speaker for this amp will probably be a 10" Tone Tubby.


We get a Bassman kind of vibe with a 6L6, a Plexi to JCM vibe with an EL34 (particularly in 'tude mode), or a JTM45ish vibe with a KT66.

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Great tones come in small glass jars!

BTW folks, according to j-rock, the VRM was only at 5.5! So the B+ voltage was pretty low and the tone would be a bit darker. Now he's going to try it at 10 too!

Stand-By!

_________________
Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Noodling a bit more today. Laid down a couple more clips with the Strat with VRM on 10. Had to back out the mic for this volume....This rig is pretty loud! I was thinking about trying various VRM levels and recording the same clip to see how they sound A/B'd.

Hope to try the Explorer a bit later today and record some more high gain stuff...

J.

Remember I made a comment some weeks back about the ability to swap power tubes for different vibes/output levels?

I would have no interest in an EL84 in SE mode. I have two of those already & no interest in a third!

With that baseline tone with the 6L6 it would be very interesting to add a second pre-amp tube for an additional cascaded gain stage (or two).

My interest in this little puppy continues to build...maybe it's because I don't have a project happening at the moment.

Extra Hole pre-punched for that. Some nice switchable cascade gain stage!!Thought of that one too!

Dropping the EL84 hole and sticking with the octals.

_________________
Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Spent a bit more time today, and at coco's request, decided to brutalize some more classics. All recording was done with the "Fat" setting.

Firstly, a Hendrix riff, with my Strat and the 'Tude. Apologies, Jimi! Everything boom, including the VRM for this one and the remaining clips!

http://www.trinityamps.com/j-rock/TudeHendrixDimed.mp3

Next, Lynyrd, just pushed down the 'Tude, engaging Tweed mode:

http://www.trinityamps.com/j-rock/TweedDimedSweetHome.mp3

Then dialled back the Volume and the Gain to 7 and 5, respectively and assaulted Zep:

http://www.trinityamps.com/j-rock/TweedCleanZep.mp3

Next, I tried same setup, with a 4 and 10 settings the only changes on the VRM. I couldn't detect a big change in the sound, certainly usable, perhaps those more articulate than me may be able to discern any differences:

http://www.trinityamps.com/j-rock/ExplorerLowVRMTudeDimed.mp3

http://www.trinityamps.com/j-rock/ExplorerMaxVRMTudeDimed.mp3

Finally, I plugged in my wife's Yamaha APX500 Electric Acoustic for a couple songs. Used to be pretty into Staind:

http://www.trinityamps.com/j-rock/ElectroAcoustBeenAWhile.mp3

http://www.trinityamps.com/j-rock/ElectroAcoustEpiphany.mp3

Limited recording rig and skill aside, I found plenty of usable tones in this box, and I'm sure with more time I could get to know her a bit better. Still loving 'er, coco!

J.

OK - as I did with all the Triwatt clips during the development stages, I tossed these onto a thumb drive & gave them a spin through my nice gear in the living room.

But first, thanks to J-Rock for taking the time! And as for butchering classics, dude - you should hear ME play!!!

Please take this with a grain of salt. As Brent always tells us it is extremely difficult to capture how an amp feels live with a recording, no matter how nice your gear is.

I won't comment on specific clips, just on the "clean" and "overdriven" tones in general, as my notes have many common threads. I will cite specific examples only where warranted.

Clean clips:
These sound a little too compressed & middy to my ears. I would hope for the amp to sound a little more open & "bouncy". That may just be the character of the Jensen Blackbird, or an artifact caused by J-rock's recording setup. The cleans sound a little sterile & lifeless. Reminds me of the cleans on my Traynor YCS100 - it's just clean, but not really all that alive.

I realize that a Tweed/F-series has a darker/warmer character than a Blackface/AB763, but I didn't think it was a huge difference. I've built both and based on those I expected this to be more open & round, especially with the 6L6 in there.

I wonder how it would sound through a Jensen P10 series. Does the Blackbird sound this compressed live? Stephen noted that it sounds brighter live, but is it also more open overall?


Overdriven clips:
As I noted before, the dirty clips all have a percussive character to them. I dig that. There was one clip with the VRM really low that sounds a little more relaxed - "browner" I guess. I think that's my favorite of the overdriven clips. Some of the clips with higher VRM settings have a nice "bark" happening. Also cool.

As with the clean clips, there's a compressed feel that makes them a little undefined at times. It's almost a little too busy in the mids or something. I can't quite put my finger on it. It reminds me of how some of my Brit voiced amps sound through most Celestions. When run through my Fane (clone) loaded Triwatt cab those same amps make me salivate uncontrollably. Perhaps I just like a slightly more relaxed/open/hi-fi character to my tone, and this is all just personal taste talking.

One side note here - most of the OD clips were done with an Explorer, and if it has the stock 500T in the bridge, that's probably part of the reason I disliked them. I absolutely DETEST that pickup! The reason is it's too undefined & muddy (IMO). I dislike it so much I once sold an SG because it had one...and anyone who knows me will tell you that I LOVE SG's! It was a 24-fret with an ebony board too (drool) If your Explorer doesn't have the stock 500T, well, disregard this paragraph!

I did not like the Hip clip at all. Didn't do it for me. But, I will say the overdriven Strat clips have better definition than the Explorer clips.

Thanks to j-rock for recording the clips. I'm no recording engineer but recording direct into the on-board soundcard on a PC though a SM-58 (vocal mike) may have something to do with tone charater you're hearing.

The jensen is a 10 inch 100 watt alnico and so you get some natural compression and maybe stiffness there. Next, we should try the tone tubby.

For the middy sound, lbet & i played with the midrange control in real time and found a sweet spot. Brent also repeated the experiment and in the end, we left it alone. The sweet spot was pretty well in the middle anyway. This can be tweaked for loudspeakers, but initially, we did think it had a strong midrange, so thats an interesting comment.

As for openess in sound, I dont think the recording can do it justice. It's not a $1500 412, but live, it sounds fine as commented by bgroup, sonic deli and val oddo.
As Brent said when he first tried it, he could record an album with it.

So, on that note, j-rock, thanks for taking the time to do the clips & emo for the comments.

Now we need to see what bgroup has to offer up![/list]

_________________
Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

I'm sorry guys that I haven't gotten to those clips yet! Just too damn much going on... I'll get to it tomorrow, I promise!!!

Can't wait to listen to the clips above!

_________________
Brent Bodrug
Producer-Engineer/Songwriter

www.slyfichapel.com

Hey guys.

As coco noted, my recording setup is very rudimentary, and likely didn't capture what I heard in the room. Frankly, I haven't had time to listen myself, I just tried not to redline the levels or change anything in the recording setup too much.

Emo, thanks for your comments, I have never been able to articulate sound qualities like some of the folks on this forum, and always pay attention to folks who can.

Indeed, my explorer is completely stock, and likely has the P/U you mentioned, though I don't know. I try not to mess with my guitars and amps too much...I have leftover parts syndrome, which manifests when I take anything apart and attempt to rebuild.

I'm sure that bgroup will come up with some professionally recorded clips that highlight the excellent qualities of this amp.

J.

If your Explorer is stock, it would have that pickup. That's probably a contributing factor.

I'm sure what I'm hearing has as much to do with the recording setup as anything. The Triwatt clips I did a while back were done with a Zoom H4 about 3 feet from the cabinet & slightly off-axis, and I noticed those sound very different than the amp does "live". The basic tone is there, but you don't hear the "organic" side of the amp. And it did compress it a bit more, and the OD/distortion is much more pronounced & "dry".

I have no problem with the amp being compressed & middy, especially in "tude" mode if we're trying to capture that crunchy Brit feel. I would like the Tweed mode to be more open & round. But, as this is meant to be a pretty simple design I realize some compromise is necessary. Something as simple as a basic NFB would open things up a little, but that's more of a Blackface trick than a Tweed.

So, don't look at my commentary as "critical" - more like (very biased)observations! This is all without hearing the amp live. If the boys say it delivers in that context, I don't doubt it for a second.

We haven't shared the design yet, but in Tweed mode, it does employ feedback. In 'tude mode, that is removed and the second triode gain is increased and bypass cap added.
Then there is the Fat/Thin switch for additional voicing & gain.

I'm looking forward to and planning on listening critically on Saturday night (Cadillac Lounge, 9 PM, Toronto) when Val Oddo takes the Tramp for a ride on stage. I hope someone will record that event. Val's one awesome player. (Sonic Deli)

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Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

A microphone a couple of inches away from a speaker will never sound the same as an amp does from several feet away interacting with a room... however, if it sounds good through a microphone a few inches away, you can bet it'll sound great in a nice room from a distance... when people say "my amp sounds great live but sucks for recording" I'm inclined to think that the room/environment is masking what the amp REALLY sounds like... but IME, any amp that sounded good with mics up close, sounded pretty great everywhere else too... when I get the new and improved Tramp back, I'll record some room with it to give a more accurate "live" context...

I'm not sure "open" and "bouncy" is how I'd characterize the Tramp - these are more things I'd associate with Stephen's Deluxe and TC15. The Tramp has more thickness, more of a low-mid focus thing that makes it warm and vintage sounding. The top is very smooth and dark and perhaps even a little compressed sounding - different from Stephen's other designs for sure... but in my multi-Trinity arsenal, that's a REALLY good thing - the one place in my work that I would always go for something non-Trinity is when I wanted a tone with a darker top end. The Tramp solves this. Admittedly, the amp is a little darker than I anticipated as well, but I LOVE it, and certainly don't think it's top-deficient!! And just for the record, I haven't heard it with the 6L6!

I suggested a Jensen P10R (a la the Super Reverb) to Stephen also, I think it would sound GREAT - especially if the new 'Tude mode works as advertised... P10's breakup is gorgeous! When the Tramp was at the Chapel, we did test it briefly through my 410 with TTC's and I thought it sounded FANTASTIC - hard to make a fair comparison with a single 10 and four 10's though... I would anticipate though that a TTC could be a little toppier and more open...

I think it is your personal taste talking Emo!! You're just not going to get what you get from the Triwatt/Fane combo out of the Tramp - it's not supposed to be the same... it's totally different but EQUALLY COOL imo...

Interesting on the 500T... I don't have a ton of experience with them, but interestingly Rob had a LP with a 500T in it at our little Tramp session and both Mark and I were drooling over the tones coming out of it!! I don't think I have any clips with it (Rob arrived late so all of the clips are Mark playing) but when I get the Tramp back, I'll get Rob back to see if we can demonstrate what we were all drooling about!!

Anyway, I'll be at the studio in a couple of hours and I'll take care of those clips first thing... they're very informal though, and the majority I have no idea what guitar or settings we used - I just let the hard disk roll while we played/tweaked... hopefully they'll shed some light on what we were hearing that night!!

_________________
Brent Bodrug
Producer-Engineer/Songwriter

www.slyfichapel.com

SM58 vs. SM57 - these mics have exactly the same capsule. They do sound a little different but that can be attributed to the silver ball containing a vocal pop filter on the 58. If you unscrew the silver ball and take it off of a 58, then you essentially have a 57 minus the little grill they put over the capsule on a 57... but the difference between a 57 and a 58 with the ball removed is negligible... so for those with a 58 that want to record your guitars with a 57, just take the silver ball off!!!

I found that I was able to effectively control the midrange by working with the other 4 controls as I stated in my initial review. I loved the mid-quality of the amp at my place. It'll be interesting to see if Emo feels the same way after a listen to my clips... but fwiw, what I heard from the Tramp was perfect in the mids for my tastes...

Should I be feeling stress over these clips now?!? LOL!

_________________
Brent Bodrug
Producer-Engineer/Songwriter

www.slyfichapel.com

The amp that I tested that night at my studio didn't sound like it had ANY design compromises!!

_________________
Brent Bodrug
Producer-Engineer/Songwriter

www.slyfichapel.com

I could be convinced to record the event for a small, or even better, LARGE fee!!!!!!! hahaha A laptop in the corner with a stereo soundcard and a 57 on the amp and an omni directional in the room for context would do the trick!! Wouldn't even need to be fed off the board...

_________________
Brent Bodrug
Producer-Engineer/Songwriter

www.slyfichapel.com