It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 2:34 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: looking to get the most out of by Blues Deluxe RI
Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 5:44 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2007 6:01 am
Posts: 4
i'm looking to maximize my amp. here is what I have:

52RI Tele playing through (in order):
Boss tu-3
Buddy Guy Wah
Reverend Drivetrain II
Fulltone OCD
Big Muff
into my Blues Deluxe RI.

Currently, I just keep my tele full throttle and have by BDRI at about 3 on both channels. reverb around 8-9. varied settings on the bass/treble/midrange but don't think that has much to do with my concern. everything just seems flat. no pop, no fire. any suggestions as to order of pedals, differentiation of settings on the amp vs guitar, etc.

discuss...


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: looking to get the most out of by Blues Deluxe RI
Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 5:58 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 7:42 pm
Posts: 1524
Location: OZ
That's a hell of a lot of reverb your dialin in there.....

_________________
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: looking to get the most out of by Blues Deluxe RI
Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 6:10 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2007 6:01 am
Posts: 4
it fluctuates. its usually around 4-5. but i just pumped it up recently for a little sun records sound.

keep in mind, everything on that amp goes to 12. 8)


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: looking to get the most out of by Blues Deluxe RI
Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 7:30 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2007 1:08 pm
Posts: 1307
Have you tried just the OCD after the wah? Lower the reverb. Turn it up a little?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: looking to get the most out of by Blues Deluxe RI
Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:56 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:37 pm
Posts: 8708
Location: Natural Bridge, Virginia
musichead wrote:
i'm looking to maximize my amp. here is what I have:

52RI Tele playing through (in order):
Boss tu-3
Buddy Guy Wah
Reverend Drivetrain II
Fulltone OCD
Big Muff
into my Blues Deluxe RI.

Currently, I just keep my tele full throttle and have by BDRI at about 3 on both channels. reverb around 8-9. varied settings on the bass/treble/midrange but don't think that has much to do with my concern. everything just seems flat. no pop, no fire. any suggestions as to order of pedals, differentiation of settings on the amp vs guitar, etc.

discuss...


The first thing you need to do is disconnect everything in your pedal chain and plug the guitar directly into your BDRI. Check the bias of the power tubes. They are usually set by the factory too cold making the amp sound kind of flat. Using a bias probe and a good DVM, measure the cathode current and plate voltage. Set the cathode current somewhere between 70 ma and 80 ma and measure the plate voltage. Multiply the two values together and you will get an idle power reading. Divide that number by 30 watts to get the percaentage of maximum plate dissipation. Somewhere between 50% and 70% is good for the BDRI. If none of this makes sense, ask. I'll be happy to go into more detail.

Once you have set the amp up, experiement with your tone and volume controls. Find the settings that give you the best tone. You might want to consider (although not required) better tubes or speaker as the stock ones tend to sound rather harsh.

After all this is done, THEN plug in your pedals. Do a search on the Net for pedal chain order. There is a lot written on how to properly order your pedals.

Any more questions, ask. Do a search on my user name and BDRI and you will find a lot of information from me on tube choices, speaker recommendations, biasing etc.

_________________
Bill

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: looking to get the most out of by Blues Deluxe RI
Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 4:30 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2007 6:01 am
Posts: 4
Bill,

thanks for chiming in. I had read many of your posts regarding tube bias and tube replacement of the BDRI. I did do the pencil test on my tubes last night and found that 2 of my 12ax7 tubes are definitely in need of replacement. when the preamp tubes are replaced do they need to be biased? or just the power tubes? i am looking at replacing all of the tubes soon, but may just start with the preamps since they seem to have the immediate problem.

also, i have read that you can use 6V6s in the BDRI but that the wattage is decreased to about 25 watts. is that true? and if so, will the decrease in wattage allow me to turn the volume up past 3 and push the power amps more without increasing the ringing in my ears? what is your suggestion for power amp tubes? I did see one of your posts that showed a different preamp tube in 3 to create a second clean channel with less bass for your humbucker guitar. i'm looking for humbuckers in my next guitar so this interests me. could you discuss that further?

in regard to your suggestion of measuring the ma and plate voltage. i understand where to measure the ma and how to vary it. but where do i measure the plate voltage? its been years since electronics class in high school!


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: looking to get the most out of by Blues Deluxe RI
Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 5:03 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:37 pm
Posts: 8708
Location: Natural Bridge, Virginia
musichead wrote:
Bill,

thanks for chiming in. I had read many of your posts regarding tube bias and tube replacement of the BDRI. I did do the pencil test on my tubes last night and found that 2 of my 12ax7 tubes are definitely in need of replacement. when the preamp tubes are replaced do they need to be biased? or just the power tubes? i am looking at replacing all of the tubes soon, but may just start with the preamps since they seem to have the immediate problem.


Only the power tubes require biasing. Preamp tubes are biased also, but the bias scheme they use does not need to be adjusted except in very rare cases.

musichead wrote:
also, i have read that you can use 6V6s in the BDRI but that the wattage is decreased to about 25 watts. is that true? and if so, will the decrease in wattage allow me to turn the volume up past 3 and push the power amps more without increasing the ringing in my ears? what is your suggestion for power amp tubes? I did see one of your posts that showed a different preamp tube in 3 to create a second clean channel with less bass for your humbucker guitar. i'm looking for humbuckers in my next guitar so this interests me. could you discuss that further?


Yes, you can use JJ 6V6S power tubes in place of the stock 6L6GC/5881 power tubes. However, I use the following tube set from Eurotubes:

V2/3 = JJ 12AX7
V4/5 = JJ 6L6GC

(The Eurotubes site seems to be down right now so I can't link to it. I'll edit this post with a link when it comes back up.)

In V1 I use a NOS JAN 12AY7 from here:

http://www.kcanostubes.com/content/nos-jan-ge-12ay7

This reduces the amp gain enough to allow you to get the volume control up into a more responsive range. I normally run the clean volume at "6". The drive channel also becomes essentially a second clean channel.

musichead wrote:
in regard to your suggestion of measuring the ma and plate voltage. i understand where to measure the ma and how to vary it. but where do i measure the plate voltage? its been years since electronics class in high school!


I stongly suggest you purchase a good digital voltmeter and a bias probe such as this one:

http://www.amp-head.com/product_info.ph ... ucts_id=70

It plugs in between the power tubes and the tube socket and then plugs into the DVM allowing you to measure the cathode current and plate voltage in one swell foop. Best and safest way to bias an amp. There are other types of bias probes out there, this is just the one I use and recommend.

_________________
Bill

Image


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: