Dave - PT20 board changes look drastic

57Strat777

57Strat777

New member
Hi Dave - I was just watching the Sweetwater PT20 combo video and they showed a shot of the guts (left side pic) and it looks nothing like the guts on my two year old PT20 (right side pic). What is the difference? Why the drastic changes?

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IIRC in late 2014 or early 2015 the entire line moved to the hybrid board style and got elevated DC heaters to improve consistency in the builds and lower the noise floor of the amps. If that is the newer version there is also additional circuitry for S switch.
 
I think the PT20 and DS20 stayed with the red hand-wired boards just until recently. My Dirty Shirley Mini was bought the first of 2016 and has the red board with Synergy Mustard caps. I'm actually impressed on how well the black hybrids look, and wouldn't care which circuit board was in mine.
 
Yeah, It's a hybrid PCB. Also the old style had several components off the turret board, namely the tone stack (was originally soldered directly to the pots), which is now on the hybrid board. The structure switch adds a few resistors.
 
CrazyNutz":2c7tk9cx said:
Yeah, It's a hybrid PCB. Also the old style had several components off the turret board, namely the tone stack (was originally soldered directly to the pots), which is now on the hybrid board.
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Thanks! What is the advantage or disadvantage of one over the other?
 
RACKSYSTEMS":2u84ihhj said:
New one fixes many issue of the old one. More consistent and better layout and tone.
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Thanks Dave - If I were to buy a new PT20 head and want to make sure I get the new board, what should I tell the online retailer? Is there a serial number where the new board started in production?
 
Well thats a good question.. Ill have to look when we started that. Its been awhile, I believe Sweetwater would have new ones.
 
The PT-20 looks like such a sweet amp! How do the EL84's compare to EL34's in tone? I've also heard 84's have a very short lifespan compared to 34's.
 
Not so certain about that these days.. But yes they do. The way we do it it they sound great and big sounding. .. Those tubes are cheap though so it easy to just pop another set in.
 
DragonCrestPC":2ofgf3vg said:
The PT-20 looks like such a sweet amp! How do the EL84's compare to EL34's in tone? I've also heard 84's have a very short lifespan compared to 34's.
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Monster sounding amps for sure. A lot of Rock in a small package.
 
JerEvil":3e419zpd said:
DragonCrestPC":3e419zpd said:
The PT-20 looks like such a sweet amp! How do the EL84's compare to EL34's in tone? I've also heard 84's have a very short lifespan compared to 34's.
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Monster sounding amps for sure. A lot of Rock in a small package.
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Do you think it can do metal? I'm not a huge overdrive fan ( like running guitar straight into amp ) Does it reach those gain levels or is the runt a better bet? I have a friend who has a tight budget and was looking at grabbing one and also isnt a huge OD fan either.
 
DragonCrestPC":1qvrnks1 said:
Do you think it can do metal? I'm not a huge overdrive fan ( like running guitar straight into amp ) Does it reach those gain levels or is the runt a better bet? I have a friend who has a tight budget and was looking at grabbing one and also isnt a huge OD fan either.
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I have a Pink Taco and to me its sounds heavier than the Runts that I have tested (PT seems to have more bottom end) but they both lack gain for thrashy metal stuff. I'm pretty much the same about overdrives or at least I was like that. I just want to plug straight in and have gain for thrash/metal riffs etc which is why I finally ordered a Butterslax ;)

Anyway here is a test recording clip I did with my taco with a Keeley Red dirt in front... I also tried other OD pedals as well and it makes a huge difference if you want to play metal with a taco.

 
I might try to grab a butterslax towards the end of the year to finish off my dream amp list. Off topic, that last sentence was gold if someone read it without know anything about guitar gear :LOL: :LOL:
 
errrrrl":q6e43116 said:
DragonCrestPC":q6e43116 said:
Do you think it can do metal? I'm not a huge overdrive fan ( like running guitar straight into amp ) Does it reach those gain levels or is the runt a better bet? I have a friend who has a tight budget and was looking at grabbing one and also isnt a huge OD fan either.
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I have a Pink Taco and to me its sounds heavier than the Runts that I have tested (PT seems to have more bottom end) but they both lack gain for thrashy metal stuff. I'm pretty much the same about overdrives or at least I was like that. I just want to plug straight in and have gain for thrash/metal riffs etc which is why I finally ordered a Butterslax ;)

Anyway here is a test recording clip I did with my taco with a Keeley Red dirt in front... I also tried other OD pedals as well and it makes a huge difference if you want to play metal with a taco.

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That sounds killer! Was the red dirt set as a clean od or do you have the distortion turned up on the pedal?
 
acidvoodoo":2xe1wb6n said:
errrrrl":2xe1wb6n said:
That sounds killer! Was the red dirt set as a clean od or do you have the distortion turned up on the pedal?
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Thanks. I had the Level maxed, Drive at about 1 o'clock and tone all the way down/off, on the taco I had the gain all the way up. Pretty much any OD I've tried with the taco sounds pretty good.
 
So I just got a 2015 model and I love it! I mean there are features I wish it had but as far as the base tone goes, it's exactly what I've been looking for for a long time. Aside from the S switch, am I really missing out that much not having the newer tone enhancements? Can anyone elaborate as to what exactly was fixed or tweaked?
 
UsrName":3fd4sf1y said:
So I just got a 2015 model and I love it! I mean there are features I wish it had but as far as the base tone goes, it's exactly what I've been looking for for a long time. Aside from the S switch, am I really missing out that much not having the newer tone enhancements? Can anyone elaborate as to what exactly was fixed or tweaked?
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The main thing sound wise would be the the Synergy Royal Mustard caps (clones of the old mustard caps marshall once used) , vs the Mallory 150's in the older model. The Royal Mustard caps are clearer, and a bit brighter. To me it's a personal taste thing, some people like the Royal Mustards better, some don't. Personally
I like a mixture when I do builds.

Might be some other difference going on too, perhaps the man himself will chime in.
 
Ah I see. I'd like to A/B them but wonder if it's something a good eq pedal could make up for. Maybe even one of them fancy programmable ones!
 
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