Authentic JTM 45/100 build diary. Clips added.

[Xplorer]

WHAT A TONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
can't wait to start mine ! thanks for the clips.didn't play these acdc/led zep settings in his tone, with the same amp. ???

[VintageCharlie]

Thanks!
Sorry, i didn't understand your question? Did you mean if the settings for the ac/dc clips and the Zep clips were the same? Yes, they were, but you could easily dial in more authentic Zep tones by raising the mids, presence and treble - one can get a tone with a nice edge with these too (i didn't have much time to dial in the EQ for every tone, but, as i mentioned - the EQ is surprisingly responsive for a JTM). I will try to show the edgier tones in the next clip with a strat - almost sounds like an AC30 on a truckload of steroids, with more bottom and breakup, if mids, presence, highs are at about 3 O'clock.
That being said - for Zep you really need a JMP. And i think for later Hendrix there is no way around a JMP either. Though it is easier to approximate Jimi's tone on the JTM than Zep. If i will manage to cure the ghosting, i will build a 67/68 JMP 100w, as all my doubts about a clone being capable of nailing these tones will be gone (they are gone, i'm just afraid the cause of the ghosting might not be easy to find. I'll find out soon, as i'll start to dig around for the casue in the winter holidays).

[Xplorer]

ha ha, it's normal that you didn't understood my question : i realise that my wireless keyboard didn't send the first letters of my question ! lol
i wanted to say : it's surprising how jimi totaly didn't have this acdc/led zep tone, with the same amp. he never set his same amp to these these acdc/led zep tones .. off course, you played with a les paul but still .. can't wait to hear your jimi's tones. i hope that you'll find your way for these ghostings, although i didn't notice it, it didn't chock me.

[VintageCharlie]

Ok, here comes a clip with a strat. Even more slop, but i didn't have time to do a halfway decent take. My "Jimi tones" are long gone with my practice. Still, i hope it's possible to get an approximate idea of the tones. If you'd be after Jimi, you would probably have to back up the guitar volume a bit - i had all controls on 10. For the fat bold Jimi type tone a flat EQ would do it, maybe bass at 2. In my case i left bass at 0. To my ear the first two notes, which is the only thing i remember from if 6 was 9 pretty much nail the tone - it really sounds like Jimi out of the box.
There are 3 settings in the clip. In the beginning the EQ is flat, bass on 0, later i slightly raise presence, mids, treble to about 6-7 (to get that strat-chime and quack detail). Volume (only Hi Bright input) is for the most part at 8-10, but got it at 7 for the almost-clean tones. At the end i go for a really edgy tone and raise P, M, T even more to approximate the tone from you got me flaotin' (the riff is terribly sloppy again), but i was surprized that it was possible to get in the ballpark. It is to me one of the most ellusive tones from Bold as Love - it is very glassy, chimey, but smooth in the same time. I suspect that the guitar on that track might have some sort of alternative wiring to it, as it doesn't sound like anything else i have heard from a strat (it might even be a different guitar, who knows).

So here's the strat clip:

http://soundcloud.com/vintagecharlie/jt ... -rod-strat" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Xplorer]

nice ! it's incredible how a les paul and a strat sound different on this amp.
yeah, this is the amp i'm expecting
on axis, i think that jimi uses a fuzz, that's why . i think that some talked about tha black flag too. possibly a slightly different volume pot value.
i'll post clips of mine when it'll be time.
i suppose that your wife is in peace now ! ha ha , no more NOS part searching

[Xplorer]

edit : funny that you talked about axis bold as love tone because i just did the final test of my germanium fuzz, forgetting to put a battery in it. this had something close to the axis tone. and it's well known that the dying batterys make the fuzz sound nice.

[VintageCharlie]

Not really - how will i explain to her that now i will be chasing ghosts... in an amp?

[Xplorer]

ha ha ha
i can imagine her discussions with her girl friends. " i tell you ! Now he's searching some ghosts ! some kaspercitor or whatever into an amp ! " "ooooh that's baaad ...." " go back to your mother's house ! "

[VintageCharlie]

Casper the friendly capacitor

[neikeel]

The tone is all there!

How have you got on with the 4x12, is it up and running yet?

[VintageCharlie]

No, it's still a 4x12 with 2 speakers, but will compelte it once the holidays are here. Though i wouldn't dare to crank it unattuanated in the same room where i stand. Maybe if it was outside, or in an arena I think, one day, probably in the summer, my neighbours will get a loud surpeize

Neil, so to you all sounds like it should with a jtm45/100? (Apart from ghosting, of course)
I'm very happy with the tone, just wondering if it sounds like a proper 45/100 should also to someone who has extensive experience with these amps (probably hard to tell from a recording (into a cab sim at that), but still - you've got an original and have built clones and repaired other peoples amps, etc.) I was worried til the last second that it might not sound "right", probably because i believed in some voodoo, which has been demystified to me by this clone.

At some point i will probably build the 100w JMP with NOS parts - just as authentic as this one, as there is simply no way i could get myself to sell them after all the time invested in the search (except to get cash for the purchase of an original) and i also don't see any sense in keeping them in a drawer.
But before that i plan a 50w build, probably a JTM-50/JMP-50 (ss/tube rectifier switch a la Club 40), with modern parts and as "economical" as possible, because ... i want to build it myself, along with an AC30 or one of it's derivates... as you see, the amp bug doesn't have it's winter-sleep in Latvia yet.

I thought about getting a real 63/64 copper panel AC30 - they can be bought for about 800-1000 gbp sometimes, which means that one wouldn't spare much money by cloning one, if at all. The problem with originals is that it's value would decrease with each solder joint touched; if i'd want to change something on it, it would be a really tough decision - so this cloning deal really has some strong arguments, especially, if it is really possible to get those ellusive tones.

[neikeel]

The strat tones are there, the LP ones sound quite bright and modern (recording technique, bass on zero, pups, guitar etc) to me, but probably an EQ issue, the woodiness of the strat comes through particularly how responsive it is to guitar controls.

Love to hear some more and your playing will sharpen up too (again it is there but one should not judge on quick clips without click track or similar).

[VintageCharlie]

Thanks for the input, Neil! What are your favorite settings for an LP on your 45/100's?
I was actually pleasantly surprized that this amp is by no means overly dark, as some have described it. It has actually quite a bit of brightness on tap. It can go easily from dark, round fat to bright and edgy. The reason for the added impression of brightness might be the 3 mic sims, which let almost all frequencies through.

[VintageCharlie]

One thing i didn't mention - once the map gets past 8, it doesn't get mushy or just smoother, a lot of rich harmonic content appears, including some high mid frequencies that add a bit of bright overdrive at the high mid region - this is where it sounds like a sonic explosion. I personally love that tone, but i see that most people prefer the amp at hi bright vol at 8 (which is a great spot to go from clena to mean - over 8 it gets harder to get really clean tones, one has to pick really extremely softly on a les paul to manage that). I remember that Germino was one of them and said that past 8 the amp creates too many harmonics (that might be an issue in a band context, if the guitar gets too wide of a spectrum). But when it is on its own, i simply can't think that there might be too many harmonics, especially when they all blend together so well. But you're right, that brightens up the top end a bit.

Btw. i just played around with a Ge Fuzz Face (a regutted JH Dunlop fuzz - one of the blue ones, which was ok to begin with) into the map cranked. And that is where it really brings out instant hendrix flavour - i have to set the fuzz volume on max, the fuzz knob at about 75% and then i can work the guitar volume to get flat out over the top wooly mamoth fuzz tone, then back up the volume by tiny incriments and one can find lots of slightly different textures and amounts of overdrive, then back off more and find a spot where the guitar cleans up completely and sounds almost identical as if the guitar on 10 would run straight into the amp (no tone loss what so ever). I didn't understand how to work it at the first attempts, but today it was a big revelation to me how useful and versatile this extremely simple circuit can be. It is like it would have been made for a strat - fattens up the tone, gives more drive without distrubing the main character of the guitar - can be really transparent - a fantastic device! ANd then all the shades and textures one can get out of it, just by working the guitar volume!

[Xplorer]

What i added is an Impulse Response cab sim from Redwirez (3 mics - a 121 and a m160 at 0.5 inches from the cone edge and an U67 12 inches away from the cone edge; all mixd in at equal amounts, which lets a lot of frequencies through, as i wanted that as many nuances and harmonics are audible as possible through a sim). Then i added room reverb and that's it.

Karlis, did you mean that you used three different tracks with one redwire for each ? interesting, i didn't even try this idea.
and altiverb for the whole stuff ? what custom preset ? may i ask you this one ? it'd be fun for me to compare my superlead in the same conditions, till i endly got my jtm.
what i can't reach is the feedbacks that you can hear with a real cab. it doesn't work this way with a sim, but you can reach a lot of the rest
by the way, about my private message, did you notice anything you could provide or something ? got my transformers now.

yeah, we wanna hear clips with your fuzz now !!
... i sold my first germanium fuzz today and it has an octavia onto it too.