Members blindopher Posted October 7, 2014 Members Share Posted October 7, 2014 Hi, I'm considering my next amp build and I wanted to know is there any way to enjoy a Marshallesque EL34 driven tone at 15W? I'm limited budget-wise to using my 1X12 cab loaded with a 30W driver. As I understand, my amp should in this case not exceed 15W RMS. I know one way to employ an EL34 topology would be a single ended amp, but I don't think SE would get me close to a Marshall tone. I think part of the Marshall mojo is the cathode follower into tone stack into phase inverter. So, is there anyway to employ two EL34s in this scheme and stay close to 15W? If not, how would I go about making two EL84s sound as close to a Marshall as possible? I don't really play clean and i'm looking for that Zeppelin classic rock plexi tones. (I play a Les Paul). thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted October 7, 2014 Members Share Posted October 7, 2014 Researching what Page used may reveal some options. What he used live and may have used recording may be very different in fact its believed he used many small amps miced at a distant to get many of those classic tones. http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyl...ig-Sounds.aspx This thread shows dozens of different amps. http://wholelottaled.webs.com/amps.htm He used a MKII Tone Bender Fuzz box which gave him his classic tone through just about any amp he used. http://wholelottaled.webs.com/effects.htm Page: It's called a Tone Bender. I had somebody custom make it for me and I get 75% of my sound with it. It's very similar to a fuzzbox, but I can sustain notes for several minutes if I want to. It just has an on and off switch and it also has a fuzzy sound. It's not manufactured at all. A friend of mine made it by hand for me. (Ed note: guitarists interested in buying the "Jimmy Page Tonebender" may write to Gary Hurst, Macaris Musical Exchange, 100 Charing Cross Rd., London, W.C.2, England. the price is around $35.00). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted October 8, 2014 Members Share Posted October 8, 2014 I've been playing through a Mesa Boogie Subway Blues which is a 20 Watt EL84 amp with a single 10. The amp has a halfpower speaker jack which essentially puts a power resistor in series with the speaker for a 10 Watt output. I use this amp for gigs at half power and festival FOH techs love me for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted October 8, 2014 Members Share Posted October 8, 2014 The Marshall tone has allot to do with the Tone Stack (EQ section of an amp) Power tubes can provide saturation when pushed but it has much less to do with tone then it does with the "grain" of the distortion. If power tubes are pushed with the right tone stack most power tubes will sound very similar until they begin to saturate and even then then they tend to flatten waves starting from the peaks down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted October 9, 2014 Members Share Posted October 9, 2014 have you considered using 6V6 power amps instead of el34? there you can build a 12-15w amp using a marshallesque zone stack... or you build an 5e3 deluxe with the right speaker it gets great tone, neil young use his for over 50 years now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted October 13, 2014 Moderators Share Posted October 13, 2014 Couple of things. One, SE might make the sound better than a stock Marshall, by increasing the second order harmonics. But better isn't authentic, so it might not be what you're looking for. Second, don't discount the contribution of the speaker to the final sound. A single 12" isn't going to sound the same as a 4x12, even if the driver is the same and the internal volume is, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blindopher Posted October 18, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2014 thanx guys, most helpful advise as usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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