Ed's 1978 touring rig.

[leadguy]

I seem to remember that ROBIN L. got that slaving setup from Mark Cameron but I can't be bothered verifying it because of a lack of interest on my part.

Just because the slaving into a standard amp might sound half decent doesn't mean that Ed used it, all it proves is someone has dicked around themselves with it.

[vanhalen5150]

I slaved a 50w dimed into a 100w plexi as he described it on the second amp. It certainly sounded very smooth with an unatainable sound as through a straight amp. It isn't just a volume thing either. It's a tone difference. More album, reamped sound I think.

[rgorke]

Why are we giving this thread the light of day?

[rgalpin]

hee hee! b/c this stuff never gets old.

the identity of ROBIN L was never resolved for me - so i couldn't help throwing a couple cents on the table over it. at the time he showed up there was a flurry of nay sayers, some kool-aid drinkers, and some who said we ran him off - i never really figured where i stood on the matter - for me it's still unresolved.

i suppose it is a matter of little consequence no matter how you slice it. that's the attraction!!

-RUSTY L

[StuntDouble]

I have my opinion on who he was, and I don't think Robin L. was Rudy L; Dave F. kind of put the kybosh on that. However, I do think he was/is a knowledgeable amp builder and I'm not buying the "aww shucks" I don't know much about how amps work bit. I think the whole thing was a rouse but certainly not without merit. There's some good stuff in there, even if it was a somewhat childish prank. Just my .02.

That he knew those old O.T.s going in Ed's amp were 2" core Drakes when we all thought they were C1998 dagnals makes me think that he knows what he's talking about at least on some level...still a dumb prank though. A C1998's core measure's 1 5/8" across as does a Sylvania 6ca7 fat bottle. That's not what I see in this pic, and it confirms what Robin L said....EDIT: Even though I think he was/is an assclown.

[rgorke]

hee hee! b/c this stuff never gets old.

the identity of ROBIN L was never resolved for me - so i couldn't help throwing a couple cents on the table over it. at the time he showed up there was a flurry of nay sayers, some kool-aid drinkers, and some who said we ran him off - i never really figured where i stood on the matter - for me it's still unresolved.

i suppose it is a matter of little consequence no matter how you slice it. that's the attraction!!

-RUSTY L

Yeah, I agree there is an attraction. I just wish we could all stay on topic with substance w/o getting distracted by the who and get more interested in the what.

I am in the camp of there are many ways of achieving the Dutch treat. Many have shown that here. What Ed did on VH1, from my perspective, is a pretty stock superlead running, to coin a cycling term, "on the rivet." The greenbacks are nearly weeping and Ed is, well, Ed. That third part is the key. Rob, you should come down and do some recording with my amp. I would love to hear it with someone who can really play.

[rgalpin]

that would be fun! we should do it!

the last time i fired up my SL it was dead! all i got was a red light - but no sound. haven't had the time to look at it - been using my PODxt pedal board.

[erigm]

rgalpin,

In my experience with experimenting with slaving/non slaving I have to agree with you. I think you can get the tone with just amp cabinet (VHII), but with slaving the feel and the harmonics and the "whump" is all just there (and VH1 is there too). AND, you can control the volume!!! It just seems to work for that elusive tone.

In the "stockholm" clips that are live (I'm not sure when that was), but that amp sounds amazing! I've never heard any other amp even close to that, and I have to think slaving is the key.

[plexified]

Jose was installing the larger Dagnall output transformers Ben .
The first proto Dagnalls were small ,and dreamy , But Drake was
an aluminum chassis ot as its swansong BUT still did all the 50
watters !

Dagnall was sending service replacements to Jose , JMP Iron bubba !


Robin the plexi files he was

I don't think it was anyone to speak of

just a turd looking for attention at the expense of genuine

folk as usual . They always loose the shine when they dry up , he he

[StuntDouble]

Jose was installing the larger Dagnall output transformers Ben .
The first proto Dagnalls were small ,and dreamy , But Drake was
an aluminum chassis ot as its swansong BUT still did all the 50
watters !

Dagnall was sending service replacements to Jose , JMP Iron bubba !


Robin the plexi files he was

I don't think it was anyone to speak of

just a turd looking for attention at the expense of genuine

folk as usual . They always loose the shine when they dry up , he he

I hear ya; the problem I keep running into when I talk to the Transformer guys is that know one knows anything about a larger 2" core Dagnall. The 1.5" core C1998 seems to be pretty standard from the Plexi's on up through the JMP Superleads. For the Superbass, the 2" core Drake seems tobe standard affair for the early 70's. If Ed was running his NFB setup from the 4 ohm tap that would narrow down the choices to the 1202-132. However, please understand I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just at a dead-end on finding anything out about a 2" core Dagnall O.T. from that era. I'm told that there never was one.

[Strat78]

So here is a shot that leadguy posted on page 23 of the Debate on Ed's Plexi thread some time ago. It's a Germino Fillmore amp and the OT looks huge! What will this do to the amp?: add more head room, sag or that strange magnetic field Plexifield talks about.

[StuntDouble]

lol... I've got that pic among others on my desktop right now, and I've been searching all over the net comparing photos to the one I posted above. I talked to Brian and I'm ordering a 1202-132 tonight, because it seems to be the closest modern equivalent. The O.T. Germino is using in the Filmore is a M e r r e n Audio 1202-132. I'm ordering one of Brian's O.T.s.

You can even measure the width of the power tubes and then the core of the O.T. in the pic I posted and it's 3/4" vs 7/8" and the OT is further away in the shot. The Sylvanias measure 1 5/8" across; that O.T. is 2"; it has to be. IMHO, if Ed had regular sized EL34s in his amp, that OT would look as big as the one in the Filmore does. The fat bottles make it look more proportional.

EDIT: One more thing; if you look in the pic, it seems that the 2" Drake is wider from endbell to endbell than it is across it's center, which would necessitate rotating it 90 degrees in order to make space. Why would Ed drill more holes in his amp if he were just going to replace it with an O.T. that was the same dimensions as the one being replaced and didn't require being rotated to make more room? I'm of the opinion that everything in that amp is the way it is for a reason, whether it's the O.T. and it's size/orientation, the choice of caps, NFB setup etc. It's all part of a recipe.

[Strat78]

We need to try this already. I'm still not sure how this will effect things. Won't a 2" make the amp really stiff? I attacked a width comparison with the tubes.

[StuntDouble]

We need to try this already. I'm still not sure how this will effect things. Won't a 2" make the amp really stiff? I attacked a width comparison with the tubes.

Interesting, when you zoom in like that, the widths look much closer....hmmmm, maybe I'm chasing rabbit trail here.

[jp0971]

Here's something else. While this was probably long after those pictures above were taken, the OT seems to have been rotated 90 degrees



Thoughts? I don't know if it's the same OT as we can't see the width.