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PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 10:46 pm 
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Holy Ghost
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I made a Custom 30W Lightning with switchable Hi & Lo Power, just like the DC-30, but only the single Lighting channel, no EF-86. Here are some first impressions from lbet, the wonder musician.

1. It's nice.
2. Not too much clean headroom
3. There is a lot of distortion coming from the back end. The more you crank the master the more crazy it gets.
4. I leave it at 12 along with the pre gain and plug a strat into the low gain channel. Nice
5. It would be louder and cleaner with a Mesa cab with v30's
6. It is not as clean as compared to the lightning believe it or not.
7. The low power setting was a tad cleaner and spankier than all 4 power tubes lit up.
8. When you switch from low to hi it is definitely louder.
9. It is cleanest with the master at 12 o'clock and the volume at 12 or less. Forget about it with humbuckers.
10. Low input nice distortion but more than the low input with the same amp settings
11. Do you think there is a setting where you can get the lightning sound, but louder? You can get a lightning sound but it is only a little louder. When you crank it it starts to compress a lot.

We both expected more clean headroom than it seems to have right now.

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:36 pm 
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lbet & I consulted this morning and tried to put away our preconceptions of how this amp should sound. We decided to go to the M@tchless site and listen to some clips of the DC30. Guess what? Yup, that's what it sounds like. Clips to come!

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 11:47 pm 
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Image

Notice the two extra 1.5K carbon film resistors

Image

Cathode resistors underneath board. Both switched in parallel for 30W operation.

Image

Standard 15 chassis mofdified to suit 30W transformer set. Grid Wires completed.

Image

Wired up and working. Notice Cathode switch on rear panel for 15 / 30 Watt operation!
Standard Lightning on Low power, DC30 with Lightning channel on High power

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 12:12 am 
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Looks good. I'm jealous.

What PI did you guys use, the Lightning or the DC-30?


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 12:37 am 
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I used the Lightning PI, practically the same design with only one component different, but same configuration.

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:37 am 
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Doesn;t the DC-30 PI run cooler. Were you just using one 12? I wonder why there is'nt more headroom.


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:57 pm 
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The only thing I can think is that the EL-84 is an output tube with gain, right? Your low-power mode uses all four output tubes, right? Presumably lower gain, and a cleaner sound.

Bear


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 7:56 am 
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The lo power mode disconnects two tubes from the output circuit leaving it as a 15.
The PI may run cooler in the 'real' 30, the PI topology is a bit different. We've decided it sounds the way it's supposed to and we're soaking up the sounds now.

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 9:58 am 
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Well it's great and I can't wait to hear the clips.


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 1:17 am 
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Did you have to cut your impedance out by half?

Also, how did you disable the two power tubes to go 15? I'm guessing you did it at the other Cathode Resistor? I was thinking of just going with one 60 ohm 10 watt to compensate and take up less space.


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 8:34 am 
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Yes, we did it at the cathode resistor. You need to have 120 ohms for the 15 and 60 ohms for the 30 so you will need two anyway. We put them in parallel and switched them in/out. Matchless puts them in series & switches them in.

The 'mismatch' is part of the 15's sound. 4K is right for the 30 and 8K for the 15. This tranny is 4K so it works according to original design.

I'm going to post a schematic & layout of this amp soon. It's almost done.

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 12:17 pm 
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Hey Stephen. Any new news on this monster. MO pics, maybe some sounds.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 12:49 pm 
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OK guys, here's some pictures of the build I delivered. We haven't recorded anything with it yet, but the owner is doing another CD with his band and he said I'd hear him play it then. I may be able to post them then.

He said the amp was great and was going to be taking it to rehersal and use it with the full band to see how it stood up to the stage levels.

After I built it, it did not seem a big stretch to do a second channel with the EF-86, cut control etc. the layout was clean, if not a bit tight. I'd make a few changes to accommodate the tubes, that's all.


Image


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Image


Image

Image



Image

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 11:45 am 
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Looks good. Which webers did you load into it. I bet they sound great.


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 11:59 am 
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Webers were the 10A125 Vintage Series AlNiCo 10 inch Speaker. they did sound great! The 2X10 combo is a very nice one.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:05 pm 
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That looks really nice.


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:37 am 
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Hi Stephen,
Beautiful work!
Are you going to do a layout with the 2nd ef86 channel and cut control etc as well? I didn't any of those inputs/controls on the pics of the amp.


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:40 am 
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Thanks Daz,

This was a simple 30 watt with Lightning controls. It wouldn't be that hard to add the remainder. I think many could be located on the control then just need to add a hole for the EF86 and a few parts for it on the board.

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 12:08 pm 
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I can't stop to wonder if this would be cool with two el 34's instead of 4 el84's. This might get more cleans and the darker 34's might be cool since this si a bright amp. I know it might be a diffrent beast but I love my lightnings tone stack.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 11:07 pm 
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For sure. It's worth a try. I'd graft a Matchless EL34 PI thru back end onto the Lightning pre-amp.

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