Bass or Guitar Tube Preamp Build - Based on Altec 1566A Circuit and RickTone Power Supply скачать в хорошем качестве

Bass or Guitar Tube Preamp Build - Based on Altec 1566A Circuit and RickTone Power Supply

On my quest for awesome tone, after trying several pedals that did not produce the desired result, I thought to build a tube preamp. I have absolutely zero experience with electronics so I started checking out YouTube videos for information ,ideas, and inspiration. I stumbled upon Uncle Doug's YouTube channel, check it out if you haven't already, he really explains things very well and makes you want to dive in and build something. He is an amp person, though, not a preamp/pedal person, so I was thinking of just building an amp instead, like a champ to start with. However, while binge watching his videos I saw one where he builds a RickTone tube drive/reverb unit from. Also, definitely check out RickTone's website, there are so many schematics on there. So, I started thinking of going back to my original idea of building just a preamp and found a tube preamp schematic on the RickTone site. I saw it was based on the Altec 1566A Preamp, so that took me to find the original schematic of the 1566A, which is not at all hard to find if you know that's what you're looking for, LOL! So it took me months of planning, thinking of the design and layout, trying to understand schematics, what Ohms Law is, buying piece-by-piece as a few buck rolled in here and there, and then getting the nerve to start putting it together. By the way, St. Clair Electronics in St. Bernard, Ohio is AMAZING!!! They had everything but the terminal strips I wanted and sold me individual components so I didn't have to buy a lot of something when I only needed one. So, I finally got it put together and I was not getting the measurements I was expecting. The voltage to the tube filaments was only 8VAC instead of 12VAC and the voltage doubler circuit was only reading something like half of what it should have been. I started taking the components apart to troubleshoot and it was at least not the power transformers, they seem to be functioning fine. And because of how I put this thing together, the layout is so crammed together I really can't reach anything else to test without disassembling the unit. So, I'm going to take apart the unit and build a larger chassis, with the tube sockets mounted so the tubes stick out the top and the pins will be way more accessible that way. Before I stopped testing I figured I'd plug in to see how it sounded and it really sounded good!!! At pre-clipping gain setting the tone was noticeably rounder/fatter. At low clipping gain settings it had a bit of a fizzy decay, and at high clipping settings it was beautifully dirty and still round, with no fizzy decay because even the decay was clipped. The unit was quiet too, probably mostly thanks to the grounding information I got from The Valve Wizard website. Yes, checkout the Valve Wizard site too!!! There is some seriously valuable information on the Valve Wizard's site and that is also where I got the DC coupled cathode follower protection idea. Well, before I could finish recording some "with and without" samples, the house filled with an incredibly horrible smell from the transformers overheating. Open windows, turn on fans, take unit outside and start disassembling to troubleshoot. And now back to the layout drawing board. I think the second go-round will be much quicker, cleaner, and more methodical, now that I have a bit of soldering experience and know what to test for along the way. I'm totally stoked to get this built again and record some samples!!! See you in another month or two, or maybe sooner!!!