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.

Building a high gain amplifier part 2: The poweramp

Hey guys. I haven't been keeping up with this as well as I had hoped to but life gets in the way you know?

Today i'll give a brief overview of the poweramp. If you are using PCBs from C3amps or SmashGuitars this is all silkscreened so is an absolute breeze.

As usual I always start with the smallest components as it makes it far easier to keep things flush against the board as you build it up.

The smallest parts on the poweramp PCB are the balancing resistors for the filter caps which make sure that the caps see an even voltage. They also perform an additional function of bleeding away any voltage once the amp is powered off making it safer to work on which is a nice bonus. It does take a few minutes though so always check the voltages before working on the amp.

From here we move onto the diodes that form the rectifier for the AC input and also the bias supply. These have a polarity so make sure to check the circuit and silkscreen matches up with the way you insert them.

Also notice in this picture there is a jumper. This is one of the capacitor legs that I saved whilst doing the preamp. 

Next I install the axial capacitors for the bias and filtering. Again these are polarised so be mindful of this when soldering.

And finally moving onto the main filter caps. The F&T caps are truly fantastic for this application and they are what I will be using.

And that is all! Nice and simple just so long as you keep track of the polarities. The next post that I do will actually be wiring the preamp into the amp as I got my chassis predrilled and prepped from C3amps to save some time and work. I'm not going to say when the post will be up as everytime I do that something gets in the way so just keep checking back!

TK

Building a high gain amplifier part 1.5: The preamp continued.

I didn't get much time to take photos during this part as I was rushing somewhat as I had other things on later in the evening.

In this post you will see the board populated with the coupling & bypass caps. Some people will swear by one brand and type of cap whilst others will say that it doesn't make a blind bit of difference. In my experience it does but not as much as some would have you believe.

I have chosen Sprague 716p Orange Drops for the majority of the preamp because they have a certain hifi vibe to them that I like and seem well balanced tonally. For the 1uf bypass caps I have gone for Vishay MKT's, these are polyester caps and have more of a gritty feel to them. Another reason that I chose these for these positions is purely based on the physical size as a 225p orange drop is a really tight squeeze and  I like thing to look nice and clean in my builds so these are not an option.

Below is a quick comparison shot of the 225p and the MKT as you can see the 225p is gigantic!

In this next shot you can see the preamp fully populated with 716ps and the MKTs

And here is the lone Mallory 150 2.2nf cap as I forgot to order the 716p in this value. Luckily I had this kicking about.

And finally we have a bunch of leg cut offs from the caps. I'm going to save a couple of these as they will come in handy for the next post

In a few days I should have part 2 of this log up which is the power amp.

Thanks for reading

TK

Peak 2005 FCB4N2 Midi Controller

I've been waiting for this to arrive for a little while now. Customs had it for over a week and it seemed like they just didn't want to let it go. Chances are they couldn't figure out what it was so they kept on studying it!

Anyway onto the actual midi controller.

I'll start off with the the reasons why I went with the Peak unit rather than the usual suspects such as Voodoo Labs, Behringer etc.

I can't stand plastic looking controllers more so when they have plastic switches, it just screams cheap and nasty to me. The second reason was the price, at $149 this thing is a steal. Add to that the fact that it's really solid with sturdy metal switches and a nice clear display and you are clearly onto a winner.

The FCB4N2 also has a really nice black brushed metal finish which just adds a touch of class and looks very durable so I can't see it bending at all or easily getting damaged.

The unit was fairly simple to program after I got over my initial user error (retard moment) and as an added bonus the custom support & communication from Peak 2005 throughout the purchase was fantastic and I also had to contact Peak regarding my user error and got a very helpful and easy to understand reply.

I believe that this unit will hold up well on the road and if there any any issues I am sure that Peak will be there to back me up.

There isn't really much more to say regarding this as the unit looks and feels great and functions as it's supposed to. Beyond that it isn't really expected to do much more.

You can purchase the above controller from http://www.peak2005.com/j/midi-foot-controllers/15-fcb4n2-programmable-midi-foot-controller-ver20.html and also a number of other devices related to midi control.

The Metal Man #2

Greetings everyone,

This is just an introductory post as I am the new contributor to this blog

In reference to the title, I like metal. I own a lot of Ibanez, and I play seven strings. And I've started building amps. So taking that apart, I'll be reviewing or 'blabbering' on about metal, guitars that I like and building amps and maybe even some funky guitar customisation madness.

So here's to me, and my corner of the blog!

Roadkill Cabs Custom 2x12

This one took a while getting just right.

The idea behind it was to get something sounding in between a 2x12 & 4x12 as i love the punchiness of 2x12 cabs but i like the fullness of 4x12s but i hate the low end bloat they often have.

I went out and tried a fair few cabs and noted down what i did and didn't like about them as well as the dimensions/speaker placement etc

I then discussed things further with Tom @ Roadkill Cabs and he came up with the idea of altering the dimensions of his stag model and placing the speakers more towards the top of the cab for better projection into the room.

The internals of the cab are also kind of split into two 1x12s (i'll get some pics of this) rather than the usual single piece of wood for bracing to the back plate. This also seems a lot more substantial than what I have seen in a lot of cabs.

The result is exactly what i wanted. Very open,detailed and clear sounding cab with excellent highs, precise mids and a very tight low end without the additional resonance that you can get that can muddy up your sound.

Speakers are Legend V128s wired in series for 16ohm.

For now there is just a very quick pic. I will get some more tomorrow once I have moved all of the gear around.

Also the dimensions are as follows.
690 w x 490 h x 340 d

10,000 Hits!

When I started writing this blog I figured that it would just be a place for me to keep tabs of what projects I have been working on and an archive of photos and such.

However it has had a nice steady stream of visitors with a few emails also.

I just want to say a big thankyou for taking the time to read my ramblings and hopefully you will stick with it as things start to expand over the coming months.

If you have any questions or feedback don't hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks again

TK

EMG James Hetfield Signature Pickups (Het Set) Updated with audio sample.

I've had this set for just over a week now so I feel that I can give a fairly fair review of them.

First of all i'll get it out of the way that these aren't just the standard 81 & 60 in some flashy covers as most people expect them to be. I wanted a set of these for quite some time being a massive Metallica fan. Especially after hearing some newer live clips where James Hetfield has sounded amazing and cut through really well. From here on we can go into the main bulk of the review.

The Sound
These pickups have a fairly high output which is to be expected as they are designed exclusively for metal and of course they are EMG pickups.

They have a great helping of upper mids which was a pleasant surprise with just the right amount of grind going on there. They also have a touch more low end than than the standard EMG pickups but it is still very tight and precise with absolutely no excess flub. The high end is very upfront but isn't grating in any way and doesn't fizz out.

These pickups don't dissapoint for clean sounds either. The bridge provides that classic james hetfield clean sound, think of the Master of Puppets interlude or the intro of Welcome Home. The neck pickup is even nice r and delivers some very soft yet punchy clean sounds that work really well for things such as fade to black or the intro to and justice for all.

Clearly Metallica tones are very easily achievable with these pickups as are tones from any of the 80's metal bands. If this is what you are looking for then you will not be dissapointed with these pickups.

The Look
These pickups look very slick with a very nice black nickel finish with individual ceramic polepieces on the neck pickup and steel poles for the bridge pickup.

Summary & Soundclips
Overall I am extremely happy with these pickups. I play Thrash metal primarly and these pickups can cover everything I throw at them with ease from Metallica right up to modern Exodus. Usually when I swap pickups out I have some bad points that really niggle at me which is why I left this review for a while and so far i can't find a single fault.