I have moved

 Just a quick post to make people aware that I have moved to a self hosted blog.

It can be found at the following address. www.aurora-audio.co.uk

You can also buy PCBs for valve preamps,amps & effects loops etc there.

I will be leaving this up for reference.

Thanks

Tony

Ceriatone Yeti build. Complete

I have finally got around to completing the Ceriatone Yeti 50 build. It is a very versatile amp with it's selection of gain controls & bright switches.

I will do a full review/write up over the weekend once I have had a little more play time with the amp. There are also a couple of pickup reviews that I need to publish too!

I haven't taken too many photos just yet as I need to do a little tidying of the build but more shall follow soon.

As can be seen in the photos I used a selection of transformers from Classictone made by magnetic components.

 The power transformer is a JTM45 transform built to original specs. I used the additional 5V winding for the DC supply on V1 & 2 so there is enough current handling capacity on the filament winding so I can experiment with alternative power valves such as 6550/KT88.

 The output transformer is a 50w Plexi transformer with a 3.6k primary & the Choke is a standard 3H, 250mA marshall style choke.

Here is a shot of the DC heater supply for V1 & V2 which is powered from the 5V rectifier winding on the JTM45 Power transformer. The rest of the filaments are using the 6.3V winding

Here is a shot showing the tonestack, Presence & Depth control wiring.

And here are the dual gain controls (first and second gain stages) the master volume and the Bright & Era switching.

This photo shows the wiring of V1/1 and also the Pussy Trimmer control which controls the output level from the first to the second gain stages. With this control you can really fine tune your tone. Ceriatone set this pot to full when shipping out amps but I prefer it around 3/4 full.

This is a photo of the completed amplifier. The bias circuit is particularly handy in this amp with the filtering and individual controls for each power valve.

 Here is an top down view of the completed amplifier.

Here is the rear of the amp showing the full length rear faceplate that I had custom made. The reasoning for this is explained below.

 I didn't want to have the beer inlet cutout on the top of the amp so I opted for a rear grill for maximum ventilation.

Fully Loaded - Ceriatone Yeti

It's been a bit quiet here recently due to work restrictions but I managed to get the board fully populated.

I had to swap some parts of the kit out due to space being a premium on the board but I managed to keep it all clean and tidy.

I decided to stick with the Holy Grail electrolytics and see how they fare over time as they are the only unknown in this situation. If they fail or I feel they could be better which is unlikely judging by the high quality standard set by the rest of the kit they should be nice and easy to replace being on turrets.

Now i'm just waiting on the headshell & chassis to come back to me and of course for Triode to hurry up and ship the transformers.

Watch this space!

New horizons! First Turret Build. Ceriatone Yeti 50w

Hi to anyone that still reads this. It has been far too long since I updated things but i've had a lot on with buying a house and various other 'life' things getting in the way. Enough waffle though! Onto the main course. I exchanged a few emails with Nik @ Ceriatone and ended up ordering his basic kit for his Yeti model which is a Marshall style amp with the ever popular Jose mod that is currently being rammed down peoples throats by the likes of Friedman etc. This is the first time that I have ever built anything using turrets. I have always liked the idea and the look but just haven't gotten around to it so this may take a little longer than usual as it's a new experience. The kit itself came with a very nice selection of parts that I wouldn't usually go out and choose myself such as carbon comp resistors and some very nice looking Ero MKT1813 caps and some TAD mustard caps that I have heard many good things about. The other parts such as chassis, faceplates, switches and jacks are all very high quality and your usual suspects for jacks being Cliff UK and my usual choice for valve sockets, Belton. I have only just started building this and I haven't had much time on it so far so here are a few pics of the progress so far. I have no idea on the specs on Ceriatones custom 'Holy Grail' electrolytics so that could turn out interesting but time will tell.

MkIIC+ wrapping things up.

I have very little time nowadays so this post is going to be more a collection of pictures and a couple of audio clips. I will revisit this in a few months in more depth.

Viking Pickups: Berserker Bridge & Neck Review

I've been using a set of Berserkers which is part of the Odin series from Viking Pickups for just over a month now and they have made a very welcome addition to my setup amongst the likes of Bulldog, Entwistle & EMG pickups.


They have filled a major gap that I have in my collection with is a serious lack of pickups that use Alnico magnets. To some people this may seem like utter insanity but I have never managed to find any that I liked after flirtations with the Duncan JB & the Bare knuckle Nailbomb. Neither of these suited me at all. They both suffered from a soft flubby low end which just wont cut it for the music that I play.


This is the key point where the Berserkers differ. The low end is very controlled and focused which is a bit of an odd trait for an AV pickup but it's definitely something that I like.


The Sound
These pickups have a fairly high output clocking in at 16.6k on the bridge pickup and 8.6k on the neck so they aren't exactly what you would consider a straight up PAF I'd say more a hotrodded PAF and even that is downplaying the power.

They have a good solid amount of upper mids which is complimented by a healthy amount of highs that doesn't fizz out or go really scratchy. The Low end as i said earlier is very focused and precise. These three points added together make for a nicely balanced tonality across the whole TMB spectrum.


They seem to soak up gain in a very pleasant way without getting ultra saturated so you still hear all of the notes ringing out in the chords yet you can still chug away like James Hetfield on them. Add to this the midrange detail and you have a recipe for disaster!


The bridge provides a present and clear clean sound that some may describe as spiky but to me it is more of an in your face biting clean sound which is what most players look for when looking at bridge pickup clean sounds. The neck pickup is where the soft smoother clean sounds are for those delicate passages.

The Look
The Berserker comes in a selection of different metal covers that look like well used pieces of weaponry. The colour choices are Black, Bronze & Silver. Pictured below is the Black set.

Summary & Soundclips
As I said at the top of this review these pickups have filled a gap in my collection and I can't see them changing for anything else any time soon. They provide a wide range of sounds that I could get with my other guitars but it would always sound a bit forced due to the Ceramic & Neodymium magnets with the Berserkers it sounds very thick & natural.


I would highly recommend these to anyone who is tired of the same old choices that we've been given all of these years and want something a little different and special.


The Price for a set is £82.45 which is an absolute bargain especially when paired with the fantastic customer service and sales support from the guys at Viking Pickups.


To purchase or enquire further about Viking Pickups contact Stefan on the link below.


http://www.vikingpickups.com/

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything here so thought I'd do a quick post.

I more than likely have some downtime coming up in a few weeks time so I plan on doing some indepth amp and pedal reviews, hopefully with clips, of the gear I have that's been built by Toe-Knee.

I'll post back more when I know for sure what's coming!

Me$a MKIIC+ Build : Part 2

This update has very little information as not much has changed really.

I have installed all of the capacitors.

I aren't too familiar with the circuit so i went with safe bets on the cap choices. I'm using Mallory 150 alongside nichicon and Vishay electrolytic capacitors with a few Kemet & Vishay Tantalum capacitors.

Me$a Simul-Class Style Output Transformer

Hi guys. This is going to be short and sweet as not much has happened.

It's just a quick update to show off the custom wound Simul-Class Output Transformer.

It took a heck of a lot of research finding all of the info regarding the Simul-Class architecture. After scouring the internet for a few months I found a wealth of information on the SLOclone forums (should have checked there first) And this is the result....

Me$a MKIIC+ Build

Hey guys I've been pretty quiet lately due to work commitments and life in general.

I have always wanted a MKIIC+ with the Simul-class power amp, reverb and graphic EQ and have been watching eBay for years now and they all keep going for £2k+ or are in terrible condition.

So I finally decided that I should build one myself. This amp is easily the most complex thing that I have attempted and has taken a few months of research just to get my head around the circuit.

The PCB & Chassis are from Ampclones.com and they're incredibly well made and easy to solder to.

I haven't done much work on this yet as it's a pretty expensive build so i'm going to be doing it a bit at a time over the next 4-5 months.

I have the a custom Simul-Class output transformer on order from BLS Electronics. I am really looking forward to getting this after putting in so much time researching the output transformer design and I have wanted to try some BLS transformers for quite some time now.

Here is a picture of the chassis (I scuffed it unfortunately when jamming it back into the box but i'll just get some faceplates to cover the damage)

And here is a picture of the boards populated with resistors, diodes and transistors.

I will post more as the build progresses.