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What OT would do OK for both HiWatt and 1987 preamp circuits
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 7:55 pm
by cagenut
Is there a good compromise for a 50w OT....one that would let a "HiWatt sound like a HiWatt" and a 1987 "sound like a Marshall"?
Im toying with the idea of racked pre's and a racked power amp. I could have a lot of fun with this in my studio.
If I built one power amp that would work well with both the DR 504 pre AND the 1987 pre...what would be a good bet for an OT?
Re: What OT would do OK for both HiWatt and 1987 preamp circuits
Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:25 pm
by cagenut
Anybody care to help me find a happy medium? I dont have a lot of $$$$ to purchase multiple transformers. Help me off to a good start!
Re: What OT would do OK for both HiWatt and 1987 preamp circuits
Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 5:58 pm
by HTH
Drake and Partridge OTs are very different sounding beasts. Decide which tone you'll use more and buy the corresponding transformers.
Personally, I'd go with a Drake type repro as it'll sound good on either the Marshall or Hiwatt tones, but I tend to think that Partridge OTs can sound a bit harsh in a Marshall circuit (like a Laney Supergroup basically).
Aside from my own personal tonal preference, I don't know where in the hell you'd actually find a 50w Partridge OT anyway unless you get one from Mercury Magnetics ($$$$$$$$).
Re: What OT would do OK for both HiWatt and 1987 preamp circuits
Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:58 am
by Roe
heyboer does partridge clones
Re: What OT would do OK for both HiWatt and 1987 preamp circuits
Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:12 pm
by cagenut
Drake repro...excellent advice!
Re: What OT would do OK for both HiWatt and 1987 preamp circuits
Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:12 am
by aquilarosso
cagenut wrote:Anybody care to help me find a happy medium? I dont have a lot of $$$$ to purchase multiple transformers. Help me off to a good start!
I often find that international forums sometimes have many responses to my questions that seem to assume I'm a millionaire and can afford thousands of $$ on the very best of everything. On my New Zealand guitar forum, people are the opposite and freak out if suggest that you want to import some fancy part for your amp from the USA, many of them don't get it. Most musos over here in NZ are often broke and can't afford quite as much flash stuff (importing is expensive too).
If you can muster the extra dosh though, I'd suggest looking at the possibility of running a dual mono block setup with Partridge on one side and Dagnall/Drake on the other. It could sound pretty nice, Marshall crunch and Hiwatt clarity perhaps. I'll try it out on my Pod
Re: What OT would do OK for both HiWatt and 1987 preamp circuits
Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:52 pm
by HTH
aquilarosso wrote:
If you can muster the extra dosh though, I'd suggest looking at the possibility of running a dual mono block setup with Partridge on one side and Dagnall/Drake on the other. It could sound pretty nice, Marshall crunch and Hiwatt clarity perhaps. I'll try it out on my Pod
nice idea - that would work great.
I have a stereo valve poweramp (Marshall 9005) and you can get those quite cheap these days (seem to be out of fashion)
Anyway, like aquilarosso said, that would be a very versatile setup if you changed out one of the OTs for a Partridge clone.