GONZO-X
Well-known member
haven't got it yet....
still waiting...
but soon.
small Class A tube amps have become quite popular for several good reasons, but especially for what is often described as a "sweeter" overdrive—the vintage sound of the Vox AC-30, for example. First, a definition: Class A circuitry output tubes handle the complete 360° cycle of the guitar signal. This is compared to a Class AB amplifier (used by a majority of guitar amps such as Fender and Marshall) in which output tubes trade-off handling part of the 360° cycle. Sharing the load between output tubes means Class AB operates more efficiently, resulting in longer tube life. On the other hand, because Class A operates in a more linear fashion than AB, it emphasizes more of the desirable harmonics in the guitar signal that result in that great vintage sound. Because this Class A amp is only required to pump out five watts at the most, the inefficiency of the design is not as critical.
the MINI---a single-ended amp with true Class A circuitry. The preamp has one 12AX7 tube and the power amp uses one self-biasing EL84 tube. Both are handmade by JJ/Tesla at their factory in the Slovak Republic.
Peavey offered an old analog tremolo circuit. When he heard it, Joe raved about the deep, rich tremolo from the opto-electronic circuit. The 8" C8R-type speaker (based on the Jensen C Series ) is specially voiced. Peavey engineers tell me it took a little tweaking to get the right speaker sound. Joe was aiming for a tonality between two well-known mini-amps. Peavey took the same C8R 8" speaker used in both mini-amps and re-voiced it to better handle the amplifier’s output stage and not peak out. The re-voiced speaker handles the tonal transition from smooth to "grindy" with a full-bodied, less-airy tonality and tighter bass response.
You can hear how Joe used the microphone-simulated XLR direct output of the Mini Colossal to capture the actual sound of the amp when he recorded the song "Just Like Lightnin’" on the new Super Colossal album.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/docu...olossal_amp?doc_id=101869&g=home&src=3SOSWXXA
i'm of the opinion, that i like both vintage and modern tones.
with my boogie, i'm kinda planted right in the middle of the the vintage/modern thing...
what i'd really like, is a mini amp that has a vintage vibe (hopefully this one) and a mini that is completely modern (either a Cornford Harlequin, or perhaps a custom built FAB amp at 2 watts)
the experiment continues.
if you go to peavey's home page, on the bottom right, there's a button that says 'radio peavey'
if you play it, and forward to the next song, it's a demo from satriani, using the mini amp.
http://www.peavey.com/flashHome.cfm
