Archive for the ‘Tube Amplifiers’ Category
Monday, August 16th, 2010
Tired Pony, the supergroup featuring Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody and REM’’s Peter Buck, played their first LIVE gig with the help of an Audio Kitchen base amp fitted with TubeSync.
Tired Pony was formed by Gary Lightbody (of Snow Patrol), who had a “long-term ambition” of making a country album. He revealed the project’s existence in May 2009. In the interview, he expressed his love for country music, which he said he had loved for a long time: “I always thought I had a country album in me and it turns out I did.” The rest of Snow Patrol expressed excitement for their band-mate, “delighted that [Lightbody was] getting to exorcise all his crazy ideas.”In October 2009, Lightbody in his blog on Snow Patrol’s website revealed the members of the group to be Richard Colburn (of Belle & Sebastian), Iain Archer, singer Miriam Kaufmann (Archer’s wife), and Jacknife Lee. He talked about two more members whom he was very excited about, but didn’t name them. He also stated that the album won’t be country as was being reported, but would be “country-tinged”. In January 2010, Hot Press reported Peter Buck (of R.E.M.) to be a member of the group. Lightbody described Buck as one of his “all-time heroes” and admired his talent for playing a variety of instruments. Lightbody looks at the project as something he has “wanted to get out of his system”, and said that “he doesn’t know whether people will dig it or not.”He has expressed doubts about the commercial viability of the group’s work, mainly in the United States.
Tired Pony played their first ever live show at London’s Forum venue in Kentish Town on July 14th 2010 with the help of an Audio Kitchen Base Chopper fitted with TubeSync!!
For further information regarding TubeSync Audio Kitchen Amps please email info@tubesync.co.uk or steve@mutronics.co.uk
Tags: 6v6, Audio Kitchen, Belle & Sebastian, Custom, Gary Lightbody, gig, guitar, how to, Iain Archer, Kentish Town on July 14th 2010, live music, London, Miriam Kaufmann, mutronics, Output transformer, REM, Richard Colbur, Snow Patrol, technician, Tired Pony, TubeSync, UK, valves
Posted in Tube Amplifiers | No Comments »
Thursday, July 1st, 2010
An interesting phenomenon that some ‘leaky’ tubes, removed from conventionally biased amps, appear to improve when run with TubeSync. The reason may be that when the tube gets hot, g1/cathode leak causes a current increase, but it is automatically biased ‘back’ to compensate, which allows the tube to cool down again and thus reduce leakage et al. After a while the leak sometimes reduces or disappears completely – we surmise that the getter gets a chance to mop up stray gas molecules or the metallic deposit gets ‘boiled off’ the mica supports. This type of fault in a conventional amp would normally blow the HT fuse, however TubeSync can avoid is and rectify the problem! Cool eh?
Tags: 100W, 50W, AD 200, amp, Base Head, bias, bias problems, current, Custom, DR103, EL34, fuse, gain, hi, Higain, hiwatt, Hiwatt at Musikmesse, HT, Huiwa, JC900, JCM800, JCM900, KT88, Laney, Marshall, orange, Output transformer, Pacemaker 100, Problem, PV5150, Rockerverb 50 Combo, Thunderverb, Thunderverb 200, tube failures, TubeSync Bias Engine, valve, valve failure modes
Posted in Tube Amplifiers | 3 Comments »
Sunday, June 13th, 2010
After extensive testing, Duesenberg Boutique Amps select TubeSync as a standard part of their high quality boutique amplifier range.
Duesenberg is better known for their high quality guitars. In a unique way Dieter Goelsdorf´s Duesenberg design consolidates guitar construction, features and sounds which have written music history. The art deco style design of headstock, pickguard and metal components gives Duesenberg its own eye-catching look, while the body design bases on the old traditional Jazz guitars like being built from the 40s in Europe and in the USA.
These design elements are combined with the best possible electric guitar construction values of the 50s: Grand Vintage Alnico pickups, classical Fender scale length plus a Gibson-like fingerboard radius. Most of the vintage-style tailpieces, bridges, tremolos, pickups and controls come with greatly improved details.
The Duesenberg Doozy Two amp as pictured above is hand-wired and built in Germany, It is equipped with EL34 power tubes at 110 watts, but with the capabilities of also switching to 55 watts. This all around two channel amp comes with a switchable gain stage for the drive channel as well as serial loops for each channel. Duesenberg are proud to announce that TubeSync technology will be fitted as standard on new models manufactured after July 2010. ‘’TubeSync enhances reliability without changing the tone of the amp’’ More exciting TubeSync features will be announced shortly!
For more information visit :
http://www.tubesync.co.uk
http://www.duesenberg.de
Tags: 12AX7, 6v6, amp, anode, Bob Dylan, Boutique, Curt Smith, Custom, Doozy One, Doozy two, Duesenberg, Duesenberg USA, EL34, Eric Bazilian, Frankfurt, Gaby & Claudia, Germany, guitar, hi end, Hiwatt custom amp, Jörg Weisselberg, KBO Dynamics, Musikmesse, Musikmesse 2010, Output transformer, Randy Kohrs, technician, tube amp, TubeSync, USA, valve amp, valve matching, valves, vintage, Yogi Lonich
Posted in Tube Amplifiers | No Comments »
Friday, June 11th, 2010
Bulldog Amplification builds handcrafted tube amps in Germany to meet the ever demanding needs of musicians in terms of tone and reliability. Years of experience in repairing and modifying tube amps has lead to an exclusive line of guitar amplifiers. These instruments are built to produce the best possible tone. Most of today’s amps offer many different sounds and functions, but the guitar signal has to pass through various paths of electronic circuitry until it reaches the speaker, consequently the tone is weakened. Tone and bullet proof reliability are the most important things for Bulldog Amplification and that’s why Bulldog is delighted to announce that TubeSync will become standard within their The Jack 66, Jack 18, Black Bert 1, and Den Lachs amplifier models.
The ‘’Jack 66’’
‘’The combination of TubeSync with short signal paths and other high quality components make our amplifiers world class and due to this, Bulldog Amplification is becoming a preferred choice by professional artists and serious guitar players’’.
The TubeSync ‘’Bias Engine’’
‘’ Robust, bomb proof reliability, with enhanced functionality and perfect tone is what we want’’ – says Ingo Bührmann from Bulldog Amplification. Ingo goes on to say…
‘’Cheap poorly designed products from China are fast becoming unacceptable to guitar players especially within Germany, where high quality engineering is embedded within our culture’’ You would buy a car if the drive was terrible and it broke down when you needed it the most, well would you? ‘’ I believe the same philosophy applies to guitar amplifiers, high performance and reliability is paramount’’.
Bulldog Amps are currently used by a number of high profile bands such as the massively popular German band Guano Apes and Livingston. Bulldog amps with TubeSync will soon be appearing on a stage near you!
 Guano Apes  Livingston
For more information on TubeSync email:
UK: info@tubesync.co.uk
Germany: info@bulldog-amps.com
Tags: amp, anode, backliners, bass, bias, Bias Engine, bias problems, Broken, Bulldog, Bulldog amplification, Bulldog amps, Duesenberg, Duesenberg Amp, EL34, Frankfurt, gain, German, Germany, Guano Apes, guitar, Göldo, Ingo Bührmann, Kluson, Livingston, Musikmesse, Musikmesse 2010, Roger Mayer, Sound, technician, tube, TubeSync, TubeSync Bias Engine, UK, valve matching
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Thursday, April 1st, 2010
IT TAKES more than sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll to make a guitarist sound great. John Hill meets North East amplifier makers at the cutting edge of technology.
ANDY Fallon and Colin Arrowsmith are not guit- arists. Their affair with the valve amplifier isn’t born of a youth spent practising solos or arguing over kit specifications next to the counter of their local guitar store.
In fact, Andy’s experience lies in automotive and military engineering, while Colin is an expert in microelectronics.
However, their contribution to a piece of kit beloved of the White Stripes, The Who and Black Sabbath has attracted the attention of major international amp-makers.
Andy and Colin are co-founders of KBO Dynamics, a Consett company created to market technology designed to improve audio and guitar amplification.
They are the men behind TubeSync, a “tube management system” which monitors the performance of valve amplifiers to avoid meltdowns while maintaining sound.
The product won the innovation award in the Durham and Wearside heat of the nebusinessawards 2009, run by The Journal and Evening Gazette.
KBO co-founder Andy said: “We were looking for a niche market. Neither of us plays the guitar, but we did a lot of brainstorming.
“Colin worked with microelectronics, but he’s also an expert with valve technology. We realised very quickly that the biggest application for valves was inside guitar amps.”
The valve amp isn’t exactly a rapidly advancing technological product. The technology was developed between the world wars and uses a series of vacuum tubes to regulate a signal. It was present in items from TVs to radios, but fell out of favour in the 70s.
The resurgence of such equipment has been prompted by high-end users in the audio and guitar amp market, who praise its natural sound.
Andy said: “There’s a warmer, more rounded tone to it. Anyone who’s serious about playing a guitar would only use a valve amp.”
When they developed TubeSync, the pair didn’t set out to change the sound. Instead, they set their sights on the downside, the problems that plague valve amp users looking for that special sound.
He said: “The closest you can compare it to is an engine management system on a car. It’s like having a maintenance technician looking after your amp 24/7 without you noticing it. It’s continuously monitoring the circuit, looking for faults.
“We got a market research report from Think M in Newcastle. It conducted a series of live interviews with OEM companies and guitarists.
“We looked at the problems people were talking about, but we didn’t change the sound.
“It can detect faults. It can disconnect a pair of valves if it finds one is faulty. You normally have to buy valves in matched pairs and you need to take the amp to a technician to tweak it, but with TubeSync you only need to buy one valve if one fails and it can tweak the system for you.
“One faulty valve can blow up the output transformer. TubeSync can detect this and prevent catastrophic damage.”
KBO had support from a number of North East backers. It won £90,000 from NorthStar Equity Investors’ Proof of Concept fund, developed its prototype with help from Business Link and got £20,000 from the North East England Investment Centre. The process was then advanced by a grant of £20,000 from One North East.
In all, Andy estimates the product has taken 18 months and around £200,000 to develop.
He said: “We built and developed it from the bottom up. We tried to use components that were available in the marketplace and we created our own unique algorithm.
“We don’t think there’s a similar product to this on the market and we’re hoping to receive a patent in the next couple of months.”
Right now, KBO is on the hunt for buyers. The team has just returned from the international Musikmesse instrument trade show in Frankfurt, where they saw a live band perform using TubeSync technology for the first time.
He said: “It was being used by a band playing Pinball Wizard by The Who. We’re expecting to see the technology on stage properly some time this year.
“The lead time on the product is about eight weeks so it could well be appearing in the summer.”
British amp manufacturer Hiwatt, whose users include Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and The Kooks, has incorporated TubeSync into its amps and Andy says that others, such as fellow Brits Orange, are keen.
The company is talking to manufacturers about fitting it in amps this year and down the line it may create variants of the product that could be fitted by amp technicians or even end users.
Tags: 100, amp, Bias Engine, current, Frankfurt, hiwatt, Hiwatt at Musikmesse, Hiwatt custom amp, how to, KBO Dynamics, Musikmesse, Musikmesse 2010, orange, Output transformer, tube failures, Tubes, TubeSync, TubeSync Bias Engine, valve, valve failure modes, valve matching, valves
Posted in Tube Amplifiers, TubeSync | 3 Comments »
Thursday, April 1st, 2010
Famed for their legendary reliability and tone, Hiwatt have gone one step further in the reliability stakes by employing TubeSync® technology in their already bulletproof amplifiers.
Over the last year, Hiwatt and Durham-based KBO Dynamics have developed their own version of a pioneering technology called TubeSync®, which Hiwatt will launch at Frankfurt Musikmesse 2010 in March. The technology has been developed in order to overcome problems associated with conventional tube amplification such as biasing, tube longevity and overall reliability. What the collaboration has achieved is to improve amplifier design without changing the fundamental amplification process yet retaining the classic Hiwatt tone and sound.
Although not an integral part of the amplification process, Tubesync® is connected to the heart of the amp’s circuitry, constantly testing and monitoring; it’s like having an amp technician working full time inside the box every time the amp is powered up. This technology eliminates the need for tube bias current matching, increases tube life by micro-adjusting the bias on each tube, predicts tube failure and can, in the event of a catastrophic tube failure, even run the amp at half power. The result is the eradication of many of the problems hampering conventional tube amplifiers and peace of mind for the musician wise enough to have taken this route.
KBO Dynamics Chief Exec Andy Fallon: “It has been a pleasure working with Hiwatt who have been extremely receptive to change and have embraced the new technology. They have seen the benefits it can bring to them and of course, their customers, and we are looking forward to further exciting collaborations. This technology genuinely has raised the bar concerning reliability and classic tube amps, and what’s more. It’s been developed exclusively in the UK.”
Tags: anode, bias, Bias Engine, bias problems, Frankfurt, gain, guitar, Hiwatt at Musikmesse, Hiwatt custom amp, how to, Musikmesse, Musikmesse 2010, Tube Amp Doctor, tube failures, Tubes, TubeSync, TubeSync Bias Engine, valve, valve matching, valves
Posted in Tube Amplifiers, TubeSync | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
Hayden amps launch the new MoFo 100 with TubeSync during Messe Frankfurt 2010
The new Hayden MoFo 100 with TubeSync
Tags: amp, Ashdown, Ashdown Engineering, Bias Engine, cathode, EL34, Frankfurt, Hayden, Hayden Amps, Mofo, Mofo 100, Musikmesse, Musikmesse 2010, Output transformer, pacemaker, Pacemaker 100, Sound, TubeSync, TubeSync Bias Engine, valves
Posted in Tube Amplifiers | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 29th, 2010
All materials used in the JJ tube manufacturing process must comply with the most stringent quality requirements. In tube manufacturing, the fundamental requisite for the best production results is to maintain as high mechanical precision for assembly as possible. JJ Electronic uses assembly precision of no more than ± 0.02 mm.
Before tubes are assembled, they are thoroughly cleaned using such methods as the ultrasonic bath, chemical cleaning or annealing in an inert gas atmosphere (hydrogen, nitrogen).
 JJ EL34 A thorough inspection is performed on every component of the tube internal system before assembly. Assembled systems are then sent to sealing in a glass envelope. During the sealing procedure, the temperature of the glass pass-through joints must be controlled and joints are gradually tempered to relieve the inherent thermal stress.
Next, the assembled glass envelopes are evacuated by mechanical and diffusion vacuum pumps. During this process, the cathode emission coating is activated. All internal parts are heated by a high frequency heater and any spurious dust particles are evacuated. Finally, the getter rings are activated, while they absorb any residual gas inside the glass envelope of the tube.
Every tube is then electrically tested for all parameters which are the key to a flawless operation and a great sound. Specifically, these parameters include: leakage characteristics, internal vacuum level, cathode emission capability, filament voltage and current, anode current saturation level, microphony and others.
Every month, random samples are taken from the production line in order to perform a life time test of 5000 hours under nominal conditions or 1000 hours at maximum specified ratings.
Tube Types
12AX7, 5U4G Rectifier Tube, 5Y3GT, 6v6, ECC82, ECC83S, EL34, EL34 tube, EL34 Valve, EL34L, EL84, guitar, GZ34 S JJ, KT88, TAD, The JJ 12AU7 ECC82,
Tags: 12AX7, 5U4G Rectifier Tube, 5Y3GT, 6v6, ECC82, ECC83S, EL34, EL34 tube, EL34 Valve, EL34L, EL84, guitar, GZ34 S JJ, JJ ELECTRONICS, JJ KT88, JJ RED LABEL, KT88, Laney, MULLARD, Output transformer, TAD, The JJ 12AU7 ECC82, Tube Amp Doctor, UK, valve matching, valves
Posted in Tube Amplifiers | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Orange amps test out TubeSync within Orange’s Thunderverb all-valve “flagship” amp head, during Messe Frankfurt 2010
The History Of Orange Amps
Orange was founded in 1968 by Clifford Cooper of London, and started as a recording studio. The studio featured an IBC mixing console originally owned by Joe Meek of the The Millionaires.
In autumn 1968, Cliff placed an order with the Huddersfield-based company Matamp (named after founder Mat Mathias) to make some 100-watt`valve amps for Orange to Cooper’s design. The manufacturing plant in the United States signifies that only the US-distributed Oranges cabinets are made in the States; currently, valve amps are manufactured in England, Korea and China.
Orange amplifiers are primarily mid to low-gain valve/vacuum tube amp heads, designed to be coupled with a matching speaker cabinet. Their most popular guitar amplifiers were the OR120, usually referred to as the “pics only” model for its use of pictures instead of text to indicate each knob’s function, and the later OD120 overdrive model which was equipped with a master volume control. Most Orange guitar amps were based on output circuitry which used EL34 tubes (as did other popular British amp makers such as Marshall and Hiwatt), and were available in the separate amp head and speaker cabinet format.
In the 1970s, Orange also made ‘hybrid’ PA amps that coupled a solid state mixer stage with a tube (valve) power stage. In recent years, Orange has also produced guitar combo amps (speaker and amplifier in one assembly), as well as amplifiers for bass guitar and other audio products.
In the late 90’s and early 00’s, Orange also made a range of very successful all-tube combos, such as the AD 15/12 and the AD 30R. The AD 15/12, a Class A, single speaker 15 watt model, is now out of production and highly sought after.
Orange introduced the Solid State ‘Crush’ series in 2001, and in 2004 they introduced the new Rocker series. This series consists of five different amp models. These are the Rocker 30, which features a classic British rock sound, 2x EL34 power tubes working in Class A and today being the only amp available as a 1×12 combo. The Rockerverb uses similar circuitry, but has an extra gain stage and much more modern voicing. They also feature a reverb. The Rockerverb comes as a 50 watt head (featuring 4x 6V6 power tubes) and a 100 watt head (featuring 4x EL34 power tubes, but these can be switched to 6L6 or 6550 power tubes). In 2006 Orange introduced two new amps- the small and portable Tiny Terror, which has received big popularity for its ease of use, excellent tone and low price and the Thunderverb 200, which is a guitar/ bass amp with 200 watts of power (6 x 6550 power tubes) and an inbuilt attenuator, aimed more at modern sounds. Orange also revealed a smaller version, the Thunderverb 50, which has a 50 watt output.
In 2008 Orange released a re-make of the ‘Pics only’ head. There were 40 of the custom shop OR50’s to be released, each with a different circuit and girls name instead of a serial number. There is also a non-custom shop version of the OR50 which is in full sale, and not limited amounts.
In 2009, Orange unveiled the two channel Dual Terror at the NAMM Convention in Anaheim, Ca. The first “Tiny Terror” channel features the same circuitry as the Tiny Terror amp. The second “Fat” channel has a similar sound but with more gain and a more prominent low end. The Dual Terror features 30 watts of power delivered by four 12AX7 preamp tubes and four EL-84 power tubes. The amp is switchable down to 15 watts and 7 watts via a half/full power switch on the front of the amp and a 4 power tube/ 2 power tube switch on the back. The Dual Terror is also physically larger than the Tiny Terror.
Tags: 6v6, AD200B Head, AD30 Twin Channel Head, amp, Crush 10, EL34, Frankfurt, gain, guitar, Musikmesse, Rockerverb 100 Head, Rockerverb 50 Combo, Rockerverb 50 Head, technician, Tiny Terror, Tiny Terror Combo, Tiny Terror HardWired Edition, Tube Amp Doctor, tube failures, TubeSync Bias Engine, valve failure modes, valves
Posted in Tube Amplifiers | No Comments »
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Never hang your guitar tubes upside down as many horrible things may happen!!!
The heat from the electrodes will go directly to the base pins and cause problems with oxidization. The heat will also cause micro-cracks on the pins of the tube / valve, which could result in failures.
 So don’t do it !!…….
Tags: amp, anode, Ashdown, Bias Engine, biasing, cathode, current, hiwatt, Hiwatt custom amp, KBO Dynamics, Marshall, Musikmesse, orange, technician, Technology, Tube Amp Doctor, tube failures, TubeSync Bias Engine, UK
Posted in Tube Amplifiers | No Comments »
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