Corvzr1 Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 I know this is a guitar amp but I was just wondering if if would be possible to use my Mesa singel rectifer solo 50 head to power a speaker. Its pure tube power. I would have to probally use the clean channel and would have to watch the gain but I think it could work. What do you all think? PS it has 6L6's and 12AX7's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 The best rule of thumb is just try it and find out for yourself (and then don't forget to come back and share your experiences). I really doubt you'll break anything as long as you keep the gain down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 ---------------- On 1/13/2005 4:04:40 PM Corvzr1 wrote: I know this is a guitar amp but I was just wondering if if would be possible to use my Mesa singel rectifer solo 50 head to power a speaker. Its pure tube power. I would have to probally use the clean channel and would have to watch the gain but I think it could work. What do you all think? PS it has 6L6's and 12AX7's ---------------- Welcome to the Forum. The Mesa/Boogie is a nice guitar amp. If used for home the distortion figures - IM, TM. etc., don't quite match up. Plus it would be a mono signal. Sorry if this dampens things. But I do have all respect for Mesa. I have read of some Mesa Home Audio. But as that not your question, I won't go there. What Speakers will you be driving? You can PM me if wished. dodger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 The main problem with using guitar amps for home audio is that the guitar itself is limited in frequency range. Quite a bit more restricted than the typical audio speaker 20-20KHz range. Audio requires a wider and flatter frequency repsonse. So guitar amps are made to amplify the guitar range, and in some cases to do it as dirtily (i.e., with as much distortion) as possible. Exactly the opposite of a good audio-quality amp. An amplifier made for piano or organ would get you closer to a wider range as the piano has a more extended frequency range than a guitar. DM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 the output transformer is not meant for 20 - 20, 000 khz ... it's more like 1500 - 4000 khz .... nada, for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvzr1 Posted January 14, 2005 Author Share Posted January 14, 2005 Thank you all for your input. I had a feeling it wouldnt perform well, I was just curios as to whether it would be possoblie or not. I wont actually be doing this test becuase I dont want to destroy that amp. I really love it. Ther is another project I am pursuing that you all might be interested in. My father used to build Heathkit kits. One of them was a stereo amplifier (all tube) It needs a little maitinence but I would like to fix it up and try it out. I know its not audiophile quality, but I dont have the money right now for a good tube amp either. I would just like to play around with it. Ill post some pics of this "mess" another time. PS. Are there any kit companies out there today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfyr Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 While a tube affectionado myself, the old saw that solid state distortion is odd while tubes is even is not entirely accurate! In a non-distortion mode this point should be moot! For accurate recreation of sound I don't want ANY distortion! (well, I have an entire list of things I want if anyone cares! ;-) ) But the advantage of tube amp has really been in the realm of creating (as opposed to accurately re-creating sound) as the distortion was easily achieved and desired for creating sounds and recording. But even the studio has become dominated by waveform generators such as the Sans Amp for recreating ANY desired waveform without the need to drag around a myriad number of amps and effects! If you are interested in building a QUALITY amp, may I suggest checking out Nelson Pass' www.passdiy.com (for Pass Do It Yourself) site! You can't go wrong with his pre-amp and amplifier designs, and they will surpass any of the vintage designs you are trying to clean up. Various kits and parts and advice are available as well. If you can acquire access to the Audio Amatuer back issues, Walt Jung and others offered LOTS of terrific updated and improved circuit designs (the POOGE series, etc.) for modifying and improving existing circuits. But if you insist on restoring the old tube amps, you should focus first on replacing the old power supply with a highly regulated solid state PS and replacing all the aged caps which do not age well. Just be aware that tightening up the designs with new low tolerance 1% metal film resistors and caps may change some of the 'character' - meaning 'coloration' - you found desireable. Also, for schematics of vintage guitar amps, check out the volumes of Pittman's "The Tube Amp Book". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtaylor Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Go ahead and fix up the Heathkit,I'm sure it will be a fun thing to do. IMO I would not go to a SS power supply in your old kit,instead just beef the old supply up and put in new capacitors and resistors. The circuits were not made to handle the instant startup of SS rectification. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfyr Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfyr Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 It is easy and to incorporate a soft start feature into the power supply!! And SS circuits own the field! And NOTHING will improve the sound of the tube amp more than the highly regulated PS! Power supplies for audio frequency amplifiers may be broadly grouped into two groups: 1.) Those in which the rectifier feeds directly into an inductor, usually 5 to 20H, without a reserve capacitor (inductance-input), and 2.) 2.) Those provided with a capacitor as the first element of the smoothing circuit (capacitance-input). The inductance-input type provides a more constant output voltage with varying load current. It is said, therefore, to have better regulation or lower impedance. This type of power supply will be found on all the larger amplifiers above approximately 25-50W output, where fixed bias is used to provide a low anode current demand in the quiescent periods. The capacitive-input type provides a higher output voltage, other things being equal, but the change in current with voltage is much greater, i.e., the regulation is poorer. It is nearly always used to supply voltages below 450V to amplifiers with cathode bias in which little or no change in anode current occurs. The first capacitor after the rectifier (the reservoir capacitor) is subjected to a peak voltage considerably higher than the dc output voltage and which is approximately equal to ½ the rms voltage supplied by the mains transformer. Consequently, for dc output voltages above 350-400v, it may be necessary to connect two or more electrolytic capacitors in series to obtain the required value of capacitance with the necessary working voltage. Correctly designed, the inductor in an inductance-input filter prevents the high peak voltage from reaching the smoothing capacitor and a single electrolytic capacitor may be used in higher voltage power supplies, but the mains transformer is usually required to provide a higher voltage for the same dc output potential. The resistor and capacitor connected across the first inductor of the common inductance-input circuits suppress parasitic high voltages that would otherwise tend to break down the insulation of the components (and result in hum). Suitable values are 10kohms and .01microF and should not be omitted. The inductance-input filter may be followed by an additional inductor and capacitor when a high degree of smoothing is required, although in larger amplifiers where a small an amount of hum is not objectionable, a single section filter is often used. There is A LOT more to this process than I have begun to mention, and I will repeat that the single most dramatic change to a classic tube amp is to replace the old style PS with a highly regulated solid state unit. This takes advantage of the strengths of each technology for each stage! If a soft start feature is desired, this is easily incorporated. If you want more ideas, may I suggest contacting Audio Research for a copy of several of their PS schematics for use as a general template. Good luck and have fun. And above all, be safe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 The Mesa/Boogie must be good. I just saw it on the Paul Mcartney DVD video "at the some kind of club", I forgot the name. JJK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfyr Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 The Mesa-Boogie amps began as hot rodded Fender amps and eventually took on a life of their own. More details are available at their website at: http://www.mesaboogie.com/US/Smith/our_story.html Wonderful (HEAVY!) amps. But it is interesting to see the studio folks moving to exceptionally clean amps with a SansAmp front end in order to wave shape and create ANY sound (including the Boogie's) without being tied to one amp's sound or having to carry a trailer of gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtaylor Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Wow, what an incredable site, thanks for the link dragonfyr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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