Plexi Power!

flemingmras · Post by **flemingmras** » Sun May 16, 2004 9:04 pm

Right I see that. However, all you have to do is open the amp and take a look at what color wires are coming from the PT and going to the mains fuse holder and the Mains switch. The orange should be going to the mains fuse and the blue or brown should be going to the mains switch, or the other way around.

However last time I checked all of Europe should be about 240 volts so this means that the brown and orange wires should be connected.
The rest should be cut and capped off as they will not be used. I understand you like the sound of it, but I'd hate to see such a fine amp possibly go up in smoke all because of the wrong wire being hooked up. I also highly doubt that you'll hear any difference with a 15-30 volt drop anyway.

Jon

Flames1950 · Post by **Flames1950** » Sun May 16, 2004 11:51 pm

Trigger wrote:Well, thank YOU for the advice on what to do with my cream, Shane.
I'm gonna try it one of these days. It's quite a huge skippy ball in my pants, so I guess it's wise to milk it in excitement. I'll keep y'all informed.

I was scared there was gonna be a picture to go with this post in that big empty space!!!!!

bluefuzzguitar · Post by **bluefuzzguitar** » Mon May 17, 2004 6:18 am

Flames,

I was even more scared as I know he's referring to a certain 'movie' which you don't wanna see, believe me.

I won't elaborate to protect the innocent.

Mike

flemingmras · Post by **flemingmras** » Mon May 17, 2004 10:08 am

johniss0001 wrote:Guy can you help me I am thinking about getting a kit myself from George where I choose the parts. I want to know what choke would be the best for me as I am building a 100watt plexi ?

John Ross

IMHO, I really can't tell the difference. Both my plexis have different chokes, one a 3.3H and one a 10H. However I have noticed that on the one with a 3.3H I can hear SLIGHT ghost notes if I REALLY listen for them whereas on the other one with the 10H I can't.

I say go with the 10H choke. More filtering=less ripple=lower noise factor.

Also John if...I mean, WHEN you do get the kit, you can always contact me through here or email if you need any technical assistance. I have built 3 of these beasts and am starting another one today, and I've got 2 more after that to build, so I've become quite the expert on these kits.

Jon

johniss0001 · Post by **johniss0001** » Mon May 17, 2004 12:58 pm

thanks for the info. If I do have any technical difficulties I will definetely come to you.
By the way how much are your spinal tap plexi panels?
I like you work on ampifiers as I saw one of them on fleabay

as you call it anyway your amp looked impressive.

Does your amp sound as good as it looks

John Ross

Boogies are Shite

flemingmras · Post by **flemingmras** » Mon May 17, 2004 1:28 pm

HELL YES IT DOES!!! I recommend the Heyboer trannys for a tighter sound though.

YOU WILL BE IMPRESSED GUARANTEED!!!

Jon

bluefuzzguitar · Post by **bluefuzzguitar** » Mon May 17, 2004 1:36 pm

Jon,

I just got off the phone with my amp doc. As I mentioned before he'd measured all the wires to determine which is which. He hooked up both the orange (common), the blue (220v) and brown wire (240v) and currently the voltage selector is set at 220v. That means it's currently on the blue primary. That's what's producing the 500v plate voltage. He'd also tested the PT's performance and it's not heating up or anything. He offered two possible explanations for the B+ being 500v:

- Since Heyboer is an American transformer maybe they added a few extra windings because you guys have 50 hertz? We have 60 over here so that could explain the voltage increase.

- This could simply be the power trans putting out an additional 30v in response to the 220v current we have here.

Either way it's completely safe and I consider the extra 30v an added bonus to my amp's response and tone. Thoughts anyone on what causes the 30v increase?

Mike

flemingmras · Post by **flemingmras** » Mon May 17, 2004 2:55 pm

Actually we're 60Hz over here too!

I know the tranny will handle it, but here's what I'd like for you to do.

Tell your amp doc to check your heater voltage. If it's higher than 6.3, run that thing on the 240 tap. If it's higher than 6.3V, you'll burn up your heaters.

I thought your wall voltage was 240 anyway!

Jon

bluefuzzguitar · Post by **bluefuzzguitar** » Mon May 17, 2004 3:42 pm

Jon,

If you guys have 60 hertz then WE have 50! Shows you how much I know, huh?

Actually, he did mention checking the heater voltage and it was exactly 6.3 so it is safe yet still putting out 30 more volts (I ain't complaining!

). Our wall voltage in Holland and the rest of Europe is 220v. Could be 225 in some places, 230 in others. In England they have 240. I don't have a voltage selector switch on my Super Reverbs as the OT's are not multitap ones so when we play in the UK we use the Supers for smaller rooms. They sound absolutely AWESOME with the extra 10v running thru them! Come to think of it, my plexi might sound better too if I left the voltage switch on 220 too...

Mike

johniss0001 · Post by **johniss0001** » Tue May 18, 2004 6:03 pm

Bluefuzzguitar how did you wire your trannies to make them compatible with power in Europe.

When I get my plexi built I might put kt66's in it.
Are kt66s preamp or poweramp tubes as I am new to valves.

If they are pa tubes can you suggest good preamp tubes?

John Ross

Boogies are Shite

bluefuzzguitar · Post by **bluefuzzguitar** » Tue May 18, 2004 7:34 pm

John,

I didn't wire it. I'm all thumbs and just the geetar player. My amp doc did it all for me. The Heyboer PT came with several wires in different colors. It's like Jon said in one of his previous posts on this thread. You need to hook up the orange wire and, in your case (UK current), the brown one (240v). If you don't know how I suggest you find a tech to do it for you.

KT66's are power tubes. They can best be described as a cross between an EL34 and a 6L6. But then if you're new to tubes that info probably doesn't help you much either. The KT-series tubes (66, 77, 88, 90, 100) are a British invention. The 66 is a British variation on the American 6L6 tube (the ones you'll find in Fender amps). 6L6's are slightly midscooped, or, in British terms, they show a mid 'kink'. The KT66 design eliminates that kink (KT = Kinkless Triode), allowing the mids to become more pronounced.

EL34's have more pronounced mids too. Hence my description of the KT66 as being a cross between EL34's and a 6L6. KT66's have the tight bottom end and glassy highs of a 6L6 and the crunchy midrange of the EL34. What's also important IMO is that KT66's have more headroom than most 6L6's and EL34's, which means the tube shows more dynamics and is less of a one trick pony. Personally I think this is a wonderful tube. Make sure you get the GT-KT66HP, tho. Don't bother with the cardboard Sovtek ones. I haven't heard the Chinese Valve Art KT66's yet so I can't comment on those. Although there have been good reports about the Valve Arts KT66 on the Plexi Palace forum there seems to be a general consensus the GT is the best current-production KT66.

For preamp tubes I recommend the JJ ECC83S or failing that their regular ECC83. A great-sounding tube with a slightly higher output than other current-production ECC83’s and an emphasis on the lower mids. In other words, they have slightly more OOMPH than other ECC83’s. They sound great in Marshalls IMO and again that seems the general opinion on the Plexi Palace forum as well.

George stocks both the GT KT66’s and JJ ECC83’s. If you’re gonna place your order for an entire kit with George I suggest you order your tubes from George as well. His customer service is unparalleled IMO and the quality of his products is outstanding. If, however, you’re ordering stuff seperately or are still in the process of trying out and experimenting with various preamp and power tubes I know a few eBay sellers who will sell them cheaper. In all fairness to George I won’t mention them in this post. I’ll list them in a private message to you instead.

Mike

johniss0001 · Post by **johniss0001** » Thu May 20, 2004 11:16 am

Thanks bluefuzz guitar now I won't get ripped off with buying crappy but expensive tubes from my local music shop.

The Kt66s I am definetely gonna go for and JJ ECC83s

John Ross
boogies are shite

bluefuzzguitar · Post by **bluefuzzguitar** » Thu May 20, 2004 12:37 pm

A very wise choice, my friend...

Mike

bluefuzzguitar · Post by **bluefuzzguitar** » Thu May 20, 2004 9:34 pm

Well, I finally got a chance to gig my plexi last Wednesday night. Let me start off with the good news. The tone of this purple monster is simply awesome. I now have a VERY LOUD 100w amp with a tremendous low end response. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if my amp measured at 150+ watts!

Now here's the bad news. Apparently the council of the city of Zwolle where we played had set a limit of - get this - 82 dB! When they gauged my plexi during soundcheck they measured 110 dB so you can imagine what my gig was like. An 82 dB limit is simply impossible to play with. I was afraid to touch the strings almost!

What's even worse, Dennis was there doing the sound for the first time in years. After the first official warning (there were 4 in total) Dennis had no choice but to put only the vocals thru the PA. Me and Ruubz had been looking forward to gigging with our plexis very much and then this happens. FWIW Dennis, the sound was simply awesome during soundcheck before you were told to turn it down.

I don't know what it's like in other countries but right now there's this 'sound fascism' going on in Holland. It's because rich bitches decide they wanna live downtown where the action is and then decide it's too noisy down there. If you can't take the heat don't fuckin' live there!

Because these people have money and contribute largely to the local economy their minority voice is heard over the many people at our gig shouting 'LOUDER! LOUDER!' God, I hate these friggin' beeeeeeyyyyaaaaaaaaaatches!

I can't wait until we go back to England next week. The land of decibels, the land of RAWK! Over there your wrist gets slapped if you DON'T play loud enough! We're there for four gigs. Too bad they're club gigs and we can't fire up our plexis. Oh well, the Guinness will make up for that...

Mike

flemingmras · Post by **flemingmras** » Thu May 20, 2004 9:39 pm

Try a power soak! The Marshall Power Brake kicks ASS!!!

Jon