Hovercraft Amps- Tell Me More

[Chris Loeffler]

What's the scoop with Hovercraft Amps? It appears they are modded Jet City amps? I'm actually surprised more people haven't done this, given it's a logical extension of the pedal modders. Jet City amps are supposedly pretty alright to begin with, and they seem to pop up incredibly cheap through big box stores at least a few times a year (probably warehouse deals on transitional models), so it seems a good candidate to mod.

 

My question is, anyone have any experience? The sound clips and videos are nice and doomy... I'm wondering how much they're changing (not that it matters... if it sounds good we shouldn't care WHY it sounds good) and just in general curious to hear what others think.

 

Color me intrigued... might have to make a trip to PDX for Brews and Gear.

[peteyforto]

I've got a 50 watt Falcon. Basically it's got a ton of tonal variations due to addition of a FAC switch, which is supposed to be like the multi position FAC knobs on old Oranges from the seventies, although this is only three positions. There is also a switch which goes from seventies era Orange/Matamp to Sunn but with way more gain on tap. On the back is a depth like on Soldanos and a voicing pot that goes from vintage to modern. Lots of funn. Other than that it's a Hot Rod +.

[WRGKMC]

When I read your post the first thing that came to mind was when we used to take are Ampeg V4 amps and lay the cab face down on the floor then crank the heads to play at low volume. The power from the speakers would make the cabs move around on the floor like a hovercraft.

 

Just kidding of course, but hey, it would be a cool way to ride in on stage like a flying carpet.

 

I been reading about the Jet cits and from what I gather they do sound a bit Marshall-esque to begin with. Its a simple amp so I'm sure you have all kinds of things you can do to mod them. I'd think and effects loop and a speaker emulated line out would be good candidates.

Maybe some midrange tone stack cap options with push pull knobs would be cool too.

[count.me.out]

I've been fawning over those little Dwarvenauts for the better part of this year. Honestly I feel like most of what's been mentioned on this thread plus info on the site is as much as I'll know before I can buy one, play it, and peek around inside. They offer a variety of different customizations on your build so each one really seems to come out pretty unique. I also understand that they build from a variety of different amps - I picture a stockpile of Sunn's, Mat's, vintage Marshall's, and HiWatt's in an underground fallout shelter beyond my wildest hoarding dreams, a better kept secret than hovercraft gut shots.

 

 

 

They've also been building motorcycles for a while now, and from what I've seen in demo vids, the Ionostrofear Fuzz is really versatile.

[count.me.out]

Also, they're funny as hell, and occasionally include comics with your order. This may be the best eBay listing I've ever seen. Seriously, read the whole thing.

 

 

 

http://m.ebay.com/itm/Hovercraft-Amps-Dwarvnenaut-20-mid-century-modern-custom-art-series-amp-/331656857454?nav=SEARCH

[count.me.out]

And the hot sauce!

[count.me.out]

Okay, so I spent almost all of yesterday and most of today researching Hovercraft amps. User reviews and unboxing videos, endless deliberation over what customizations I would want when I have the $$$, etc. According to the (sadly) failed Kickstarter for the Dwarvenaut 20 MKII last year, the FAC switch and Falcon tone control range includes comparisons to Sunn T's, Orange/Matamp (OR/GT? Whatever kept them beefing so hard?), Marshall, Hiwatt, Laney Supergroup, Traynor, Mesa Recto's, and allegedly a ton more.

 

 

 

That's a tall order, no doubt, especially for an amp you can purchase for under $800, but nothing I've seen so far casts much doubt in my mind. The fact that Kurt Ballou from Converge keeps one in his studio, not to mention countless top tier doom lords using them on their new records and live, I retain my faith. I'm just stoked they got MKII in production, because from YouTube video evidence (shoddy and weak as it may be), the second model seems more versatile.

[count.me.out]

Thinking about investment value, I guess my biggest concern is this - since these amps are built from vintage parts, and my shoddy hearsay knowledge of Sunn amps says they can be very difficult to service because of out of production parts - are they better/well suited to repairs and servicing post warranty? Anyone know?

 

 

 

Also, sorry for several long posts in a row - I'm new to the forums and probably have no etiquette

[Chris Loeffler]

Not at all... That's the point! I suspect they aren't made from vintage parts... Rather just higher quality. From a service standpoint, I wouldn't be concerned. An amp tech wouldn't need schematics to troubleshoot a bum part.

 

 

 

I love the sound clips I have heard so far!

[WRGKMC]

Thinking about investment value' date=' I guess my biggest concern is this - since these amps are built from vintage parts, and my shoddy hearsay knowledge of Sunn amps says they can be very difficult to service because of out of production parts - are they better/well suited to repairs and servicing post warranty? Anyone know? Also, sorry for several long posts in a row - I'm new to the forums and probably have no etiquette[/quote']

 

Unless something was very unique and specifically designed to be exclusive to an amp, you can find loads of high quality replacement parts. Companies like Sunn did use some unique transformers for their solid state builds but most anything with their tube amps can still be found.

 

The whole thing about vintage parts is 99% bunk. The only thing that happens using vintage past is they can be wildly out of specs due to aging or never built within tolerance from the start because of poor manufacturing quality. In tube amps parts could be out of tolerance and still function so really cheap parts could be used without much quality control. The designs were simple and you could tweak them by taking a batch of parts and finding the ones with the closest values.

 

Over time caps and to a lesser extent resistors and other component values drift out of specs due to fatigue as the materials deteriorate and the tone of an amp can change, but its usually for the worse, not better. New components have computerized builds with much higher quality materials and much lower tolerances and longer lifespans. I'd rather have an amp built with new caps and resistors over some old used parts someone scrounged together any day of the week. The whole old part snake oil BS is targeted to people who have no clue. Its the design/schematics that is important in getting the tone you want then using the best components available.

 

There may be some NOS parts like switches, jacks, knobs sockets etc that do not age or loose value that can surely be used in a build or as replacement parts but for the most part, it comes down to the actual values component produce. If a resistor is supposed to drop 10V, a new metallic resistor is going to do it quieter then a vintage carbon. If a cap needs to pass a signal an new high quality one is likely going to do it more efficiently with less signal loss. If anything a newer amp made with the same components may sound too good so you'd have to adjust the component values to reduce fidelity. Again this all falls under the design aspect. Old amps sounded better when they were new and new amps will sound vintage as they age. They do age better when you select the best components available from the start.