|
Post by sae2111 on Jan 24, 2008 21:49:10 GMT -7
Hello brothers and sisters,
The first Z amp that I ever played and the one that still strikes me as sounding like "me" was a Delta. I still dream about that amp. I couldn't afford one when they were around and now they're so difficult to find...... I LOVE my Ghia and will never get rid of it. But, sometimes I just need a little more power. Ideally I would love to have a 2 amp setup with the Ghia and the Delta. But, if I can't find one, how close could I get with a Bi-Valve? I've never played a THD amp and would appreciate any input.
Cheers
Seth
|
|
|
Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Jan 25, 2008 5:18:34 GMT -7
Hey Seth... This might not be exactly what you're looking for (my opinion that is) but..... I've had a THD Univalve for a couple of years; I know it pretty well. It's not exactly like 1/2 of a Bivalve, there are differences, but they're similar. I also am a new Delta 88 owner, although I will not have the amp until Wednesday I do know a little about amps and the engineering behind them. The Delta 88 makes has its distinctive monster sound because of a few factors: the EF86 input tube, the Dr's unique tone controls that are on the Z28/KT45/RT66/Delta 88, a somewhat unconventional phase inverter design that uses 220K plate load resistors, and last but not least a *killer* ultralinear output transformer. That's not to mention all the "details beneath the hood" like the power supply, coupling caps, etc. that are all custom designed by the Doc to work in harmony with the rest of the design. The Uni/Bivalve are amps that have a more "generic" (I call it hi-fi) tone stack, a "cleaner" phase inverter (on the Bivalve) and a power supply and output transformer designed to be compatible with a wide array of tubes from 6K6's to 6550's and everything in between. I like my Univalve, but I think if the Uni/Bi amps have a weakness, it's that they were designed to be compatible with many output tubes, so nothing in the circuit is optimized for any particular tube. A "jack of all trades and a master of none." So, I believe that a Bivalve with KT88's will not cure your Delta 88 blues. A real Delta will "crunch" way earlier than the Bivalve, and will have a totally different "feel", which is why were all playing those Z's in the first place. Have you tried a Route 66? I know the 66 and the 88 are very different amps, but the 66 has it's own big bottle magic; it's warmer and "softer" than the 88 but you may love it. I know I do. Hope this helped, Phil
|
|
|
Post by zdogma on Jan 25, 2008 6:54:46 GMT -7
I think Phil's right on the money. I also had a Univalve, and even with a KT 88 it didn't really sound much like a Delta 88. The THD uni/bivalves are good amps, and they're fun to tinker with, but the front end and tonestack work quite differently from the Z's.
|
|
|
Post by Shannon on Jan 25, 2008 8:14:29 GMT -7
If you're looking for the Delta sound, get a Delta. They are starting to pop up for some reason, and at good prices. (I'll never part with mine ;D) Like Phil said, it's more than just the KT88 making that sound. Just keep looking.
|
|
redgl
Junior Member
Posts: 62
|
Post by redgl on Jan 25, 2008 8:17:38 GMT -7
Great post Phil.
|
|
|
Post by myles on Jan 25, 2008 9:18:34 GMT -7
Hello brothers and sisters, The first Z amp that I ever played and the one that still strikes me as sounding like "me" was a Delta. I still dream about that amp. I couldn't afford one when they were around and now they're so difficult to find...... I LOVE my Ghia and will never get rid of it. But, sometimes I just need a little more power. Ideally I would love to have a 2 amp setup with the Ghia and the Delta. But, if I can't find one, how close could I get with a Bi-Valve? I've never played a THD amp and would appreciate any input. Cheers Seth Seth, The two amps would not even be close. One is cathode biased and the other grid biased. Different tone stacks and lot of other things. It would be as if I put Pierelli P700s on my Scion XB and expected the performance of a Ferrari BB512. Same tires ... different cars ... same tubes ... different amps. The difference in the two amps would be even more different than 6L6 tubes in a Soldano SLO100 vs a Fender Twin Reverb.
|
|
|
Post by myles on Jan 25, 2008 9:21:05 GMT -7
I think Phil's right on the money. I also had a Univalve, and even with a KT 88 it didn't really sound much like a Delta 88. The THD uni/bivalves are good amps, and they're fun to tinker with, but the front end and tonestack work quite differently from the Z's. A Univalve with a KT88 is about a 12 watt amp as it's power supply starts to run out of gas. Remember, this is an amp that can use most any output tube. You also cannot compare grid biased to cathode biased amps and that is the bigger factor as are the transformers and then the tone stack and other factors.
|
|
|
Post by sae2111 on Jan 25, 2008 15:07:23 GMT -7
Thanks for the speedy and well-put answers. Looks like I'm just going to have to wait it out.
|
|