DirtySteve
Ambassador of Hold My Beer
I built this amp in late 2013 if memory serves me right. I'm not an amp guy and barely understand how an amp works. I built this amp to prove a point and out a hack. I couldn't have done it without a lot of help from a couple of guys, Terry (@T-Rex) mostly. Without him stepping up to help me out I don't think I could have ever pulled it off, I didn't ask him, I didn't really even know him at the time, but right from the start he was there and just took charge. Though I've tried, I could never thank him enough, He didn't have to do that and I'll never forget his generosity.
What is it? Well, it's an 18watt Cameron/Jose High Gain "Plexi". I dubbed it the "Lil' Devil" after the Cult song, the first song I learned to play on electric guitar back around '89. As far as I know it's one of a kind. It used to be an EL84 amp, but I had Terry change out the power section (several years ago) and now it runs (2) 6V6 power tubes. It has (3) 12ax7 pres. Controls on the front are Presence, Bass, Mids, Treb, MV, Gain 1 and Gain 2, it has a 3-way switch for Cameron/off/Freidman HG clipping and a resonance knob on the back.
I played it exclusively up until sometime in 2022 when "I thought" I was just getting bored with it and bought an SC20 and basically just kicked this one to the curb. My SC20 was sounding so much better with a Mr Scary hot mod in it and a boost up front. It had turned really bright and fizzy and didn't seem to have the gain it used to. I really thought something was wrong with it, like something failed or fried, it's full of NOS resisters and caps so that's what I was thinking. I was going thru some bad times at the time and was really down and I just didn't know what to do with it, was frustrated and really didn't want to mess with it with all that was on my mind.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I decided to give it another try. I removed it from the headbox so I could roll some tubes, thinking maybe I had a bad preamp tube or something, before I started prodding around in it. I never imagined a bad power tube, I thought if a power tube went it would take the fuse, but I noticed right off that in standby one of the power tubes was glowing brighter than the other one and when I took it out of standby that tube lit up with a blue glow. AaaaHA!!!
So I swapped out the power tubes for the backup set I had (JJ 6V6S) and it was sounding better, but something still wasn't right. I started rolling preamp tubes one at a time and found that my V1 tube was also bad. Now we're talking, she's back!!!
So since then I've been rolling tubes in the preamp and I ordered a set of old, but good tested Raytheon black glass 6V6s that came yesterday. I never really realized it before, but this amp is really sensitive to tube choice. Every position is finicky, I had a stash of old used and NOS preamp tubes that I've collected over the years and none of them sound good in it. I recently ordered a stash of 3 NOS Vintage German RFT tubes. I have one of those in V1, I tried all 3 of them in it, that didn't sound very good, but just one in V1 is great. I just have Marshall Gold labels in V2 and V3 for now, but they sound good.
I can't tell you how awesome this amp sounds, anything I think to try it's in there. Even the 112 cab that I had all but given up on sounds killer with a Creamback 65 in it, but that's another story. I'm blown away by it "again", but it's never sounded as good as it does right now. I got so wound up excited playing it today that I sent myself into a full blown anxiety attack, no joke! (I have service connected chronic anxiety disorder so yeah...even good things bring it on)
I wish one of you that has a way to record lived close enough to me that I could bring it over to get a recording. I really wish I could get it in @Headache 's hands!
Anyway, I am so unworthy, this thing is miles above my pay grade! It's an absolutely badass amp and right now sounds better than it ever has, I'm so stoked I had to post about it!
What is it? Well, it's an 18watt Cameron/Jose High Gain "Plexi". I dubbed it the "Lil' Devil" after the Cult song, the first song I learned to play on electric guitar back around '89. As far as I know it's one of a kind. It used to be an EL84 amp, but I had Terry change out the power section (several years ago) and now it runs (2) 6V6 power tubes. It has (3) 12ax7 pres. Controls on the front are Presence, Bass, Mids, Treb, MV, Gain 1 and Gain 2, it has a 3-way switch for Cameron/off/Freidman HG clipping and a resonance knob on the back.
I played it exclusively up until sometime in 2022 when "I thought" I was just getting bored with it and bought an SC20 and basically just kicked this one to the curb. My SC20 was sounding so much better with a Mr Scary hot mod in it and a boost up front. It had turned really bright and fizzy and didn't seem to have the gain it used to. I really thought something was wrong with it, like something failed or fried, it's full of NOS resisters and caps so that's what I was thinking. I was going thru some bad times at the time and was really down and I just didn't know what to do with it, was frustrated and really didn't want to mess with it with all that was on my mind.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I decided to give it another try. I removed it from the headbox so I could roll some tubes, thinking maybe I had a bad preamp tube or something, before I started prodding around in it. I never imagined a bad power tube, I thought if a power tube went it would take the fuse, but I noticed right off that in standby one of the power tubes was glowing brighter than the other one and when I took it out of standby that tube lit up with a blue glow. AaaaHA!!!
So I swapped out the power tubes for the backup set I had (JJ 6V6S) and it was sounding better, but something still wasn't right. I started rolling preamp tubes one at a time and found that my V1 tube was also bad. Now we're talking, she's back!!!
So since then I've been rolling tubes in the preamp and I ordered a set of old, but good tested Raytheon black glass 6V6s that came yesterday. I never really realized it before, but this amp is really sensitive to tube choice. Every position is finicky, I had a stash of old used and NOS preamp tubes that I've collected over the years and none of them sound good in it. I recently ordered a stash of 3 NOS Vintage German RFT tubes. I have one of those in V1, I tried all 3 of them in it, that didn't sound very good, but just one in V1 is great. I just have Marshall Gold labels in V2 and V3 for now, but they sound good.
I can't tell you how awesome this amp sounds, anything I think to try it's in there. Even the 112 cab that I had all but given up on sounds killer with a Creamback 65 in it, but that's another story. I'm blown away by it "again", but it's never sounded as good as it does right now. I got so wound up excited playing it today that I sent myself into a full blown anxiety attack, no joke! (I have service connected chronic anxiety disorder so yeah...even good things bring it on)
I wish one of you that has a way to record lived close enough to me that I could bring it over to get a recording. I really wish I could get it in @Headache 's hands!
Anyway, I am so unworthy, this thing is miles above my pay grade! It's an absolutely badass amp and right now sounds better than it ever has, I'm so stoked I had to post about it!
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. And yeah, Terry/T-Rex is pretty cool and definitely has a good grasp on amp circuits.