jasetbass

Thanks for getting back to me. That kind of confirms what I was thinking tbh. I couldn’t square the schematic instructions with what Leszek said or with what I’d read on the web. I’ll get a bias probe, and see how I get on. Cheers, Jase

Hi All, Handbox WB100 owner here, hoping for a bit of advice from you lovely Basschatters. I finally had the need to replace the output valves in my amp (after over 5 years of faithful service - and I got a UK demo model off wateroftyne - hope you’re well, Michael!), so got myself a nice shiny matched set of JJ 6L6GCs. I’ve put them in and I know I have to re-bias the amp, but that’s about as far as my knowledge goes (other than to be very, very careful!). I found the attached on the Handbox website, which says that I should be reading -32v at the test points. Sounded easy, but first off, was a little surprised that, when I opened up the amp (for the first time since I got it), my bias pot was set fully clockwise. I then noticed that this voltage varied significantly depending on whether the amp was in standby or not. Contacted Leszek who said: by Each quartet of tubes from the same company, purchased on the same day, requires individual tuning. This voltage(32V) is only approximate. BIAS is set only intuitively. The voltage is observed on a multimeter and the behavior of the anodes in the power tubes is observed. The optimal operating point is when the anodes do not yet glow red, but any increase in voltage(BIAS), even the slightest, will cause them to glow. I don't know any other effective method. So I tried adjusting the bias and noticed that, maybe counter-intuitively, that reduction in voltage seemed to cause the valves to run hotter. However I wasn’t really comfortable with what the ‘right’ setting was. So I did a bit of googling and have found myself drowning in information! Please can someone offer a few pointers? Many thanks in advance, Jase

You’re welcome to give mine a blast if you’re ever anywhere near Halifax (not exactly close to Nottingham but closer than Bristol!)

Offer’s there if you want, buddy...

Ha ha, sorry, not sorry 😉

I’d suggest NOT doing this unless you have the cash to get one...because you WILL want one! It’s a couple of hours since my little practice, and I’m still smiling!

Oh, and I meant to say, if anyone wants to have a dabble with it, I’m in Halifax, just drop me a message.

And I’m very happy to say that I’m the very happy new owner. I’ve just given it a blast in the practice room, and it is A-MAZ-ING! It grinds my Genz Benz ShuttleMax 12.2 into the dust. It just has an authority that that the GB cannot get close to. It sounds so alive and the GB just sounds sterile in comparison. And it is loud, I mean really loud, and when I tried to get the same volume and depth out of the GB, it caused the output to clip. The EQ is simple but very usable. The build quality is absolutely impeccable. It looks fantastic, it’s compact, and whilst it isn’t light, it’s certainly very manageable. If this amp wasn’t actually mine, and I’d just borrowed it for the night, I’d be ordering one tomorrow. It might sound ridiculous to say that an amp that probably costs the best part of a grand is bargain, but it’s hand-made, hand-wired by someone who really knows what he’s doing. I cannot speak highly enough of this amp. Anyway, I’ve got a gig on Saturday, and maybe I should’ve waited until after that before I posted this but I’m just gushing! Thanks again Michael for meeting up, really appreciated, and I can so understand why you were sad to see it go. Anyway, here’s a pic:

Hi All, £429 for the PF-50T sounds like a veritable bargain! I think it looks and sounds great, if the demos I’ve seen are anything to go by. Don’t suppose anyone has tried this in a pub-gig environment with no FOH? I’m wondering whether this through a pair of Barefaced Super Compacts might just be a go-er. Cheers, Jase

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1478956112' post='3172938'] Toroidal transformers spread the coil around a donut rather than all wrapped around in the same direction. I guess this results in less noise as the as each wrap of the coil is facing another going the other way so that their electromagnetic fields cancel each other out. But if you put a pedal on top with a coil in it like an old wah pedal, it would still pick up significant noise from a toroidal transformer, just nowhere near as bad as a regular one. Switching supplies don't generate the same kind of electromagnetic disturbance. But if they are poorly designed and not filtered properly they can be noisy, such as generic cheap ones designed for general use like charging your phone rather than for audio applications. I would expect anything made by the likes of Strymon or OneSpot to be well designed though. I was all set to buy a OneSpot CS-7 until I realised it would not fit under my Pedaltrain Metro. [/quote] Thanks for this (and the other replies), so the chameleon's definitely out. Think the ToneTrunk's the board, cos it's bigger and angled. Might have gone for the cs7 but on reflection, I don't think it'll even fit under the tonetrunk so it's looking like the DC5.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1478956112' post='3172938'] Toroidal transformers spread the coil around a donut rather than all wrapped around in the same direction. I guess this results in less noise as the as each wrap of the coil is facing another going the other way so that their electromagnetic fields cancel each other out. But if you put a pedal on top with a coil in it like an old wah pedal, it would still pick up significant noise from a toroidal transformer, just nowhere near as bad as a regular one. Switching supplies don't generate the same kind of electromagnetic disturbance. But if they are poorly designed and not filtered properly they can be noisy, such as generic cheap ones designed for general use like charging your phone rather than for audio applications. I would expect anything made by the likes of Strymon or OneSpot to be well designed though. I was all set to buy a OneSpot CS-7 until I realised it would not fit under my Pedaltrain Metro. [/quote] Thanks for this (and the other replies), so the chameleon's definitely out. Think the ToneTrunk's the board, cos it's bigger and angled. Might have gone for the cs7 but on reflection, I don't think it'll even fit under the tonetrunk so it's looking like the DC5.

[quote name='Wiggybass' timestamp='1478953792' post='3172913'] After years of faffing about with PSUs for pedal boards I discovered this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diago-Micropower9-PS10-universal-supply/dp/B006GOX01A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478953680&sr=8-1&keywords=diago+power I now have a few for various things and they're great - noise-free, cheap as chips, light and reasonably robust. They also provide up to 1000mA at 9v which is enough to drive most pedalboards. Recommended. [/quote] Cheers for the suggestion but I'm after isolated outputs with different voltage options...

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1478857531' post='3172130'] I've got the Metro 20 board (same underside clearance as the nano) and the Coiks DC-5. Works great for me (for now! ). Worth adding that some folks have successfully modified these boards to have taller feet so you get a bit more clearance underneath. See here, it's a older pedaltrain 'mini' in this case but the principal is the same.: - http://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/pedaltrain-mod-part-1-adjustable-feet.1240974/ http://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/pedaltrain-mini-mod-part-2-mounting-a-power-supply-diy.1249528/ [/quote] Thanks for that, so another DC5 vote! Anything that involves me and power tools will inevitably end in disaster, so I don't think I'll be going down that road lol!

[quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1478809436' post='3171876'] the strymon Ojai will fit under and has a lot of power ontap for such an tiny little thing! andy [/quote] Thanks Andy, gives me an alternative to the DC5 if I go Nano/digital switching...