LOW TECH ELECTRONICS            

No integrated circuit has the warm glow of a vacuum tube.

Nor does it have the warm tone!

                                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                                              

Try as they may,

The designers of solid state circuits just can't seem to equal

the tone that is the result of analog circuitry!

Or, Low Tech, as some call it.

Their High Tech Devices will keep trying to emulate these tones,

You, can produce them!

                                                     “The only thing that sounds like a tube amp, is a tube amp”

 Here at ,  I use the same parts, technology and assembly methods that ‘fathered’ the sounds that we grew up with. Every component that I build is designed and built to order. I listen to the wants of the client and then tailor the circuit to suit their needs. “The only thing that sounds like a tube amp is a tube amp” Even solid state amps using tubes in their preamp don’t have the ‘grind’ of power tube saturation. Some things just can't be copied.

No "Tweed Disease" Here!!!

Vintage amplifiers used a 1/16" compressed fiber circuit board. This was the the standard of the day. Over time these boards warp and absorb  moisture causing false capacitance, hissing and popping. This adversely effects the performance and the TONE of the amp. This condition is known as "Tweed Disease".

 Sadly enough, many amplifier builders still use this board material today. Many in the name of "Accurate Vintage Reproduction."

I recently looked at a "Boutique" amp that was only a month old. It had less than twenty hours of play and the compressed fiber board was already warped!  What will it look like in twenty years? What will it sound like?     

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~////~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

auricaps on a SIMPLEX tone stack.

For the ultimate in tonality, upgrade to auricaps brand polyester/foil capacitors. These are handmade, very high resolution and sonically transparent. Well worth the extra cost.

Here at I use 1/8" thick military spec. G-10 Garolite solid epoxy board. This material  is impervious to heat, moisture and warpage. The eyelets and turret lugs are brass and the wire is cloth covered solid core. This is a good example of the marriage of old and new technologies. 

I make all tag boards myself, often moving noise causing components off to the side. And often to their own isolated board.

All components are the highest quality. The leads are cleaned with  #0000 steel wool to remove all corrosion prior to installation. This makes better solder connections. Then they are rolled between two hard surfaces, making them absolutely straight. Most are then bent with a precision centering device to line them up "soldier style" on the board. All resistors and capacitors are read with a digital meter to verify that they are within tolerances. 

Because aluminum is a better conductor than steel, and all signals return through ground, Aluminum chassis are used. This gives faster response and better high end clarity. Plus, an aluminum chassis will never rust.

             When possible the chassis is mounted upright, with the tubes on top. This allows better cooling and keeps the heat of the tubes from entering the chassis. Have you ever played an amp that sounded 'different' after 30 minutes or so? Chances are that the chassis was inverted, and the build up of heat within has changed the efficiency of the capacitors and the values of all of the resistors.

TUBES:

Only the very best of current production tubes.  

Featuring:  JJ Electronics, Svetlana, Sovtek, Electro Harmonix. 

Also the finest of the classic NOS Treasures.

PARTS SOURCES:

There is no 'one stop shopping' for tube amp supplies. 

For the average project, I purchase parts from 4 to 7 different suppliers to get the high caliber of parts that I demand. 

Quality is the first priority, not the price of the part. 

You only get what you pay for!

SPEAKERS:

Proudly Offering Weber VST, Celestion, and Tone Tubby speakers.

Back To Home Page