Anyone else turned off by PCBs?

[Devin]

I'm turned on by them actually

 

[stephen sawall]

I left the airport when I found out the planes have PCB. This might explain the Bermuda Triangle.

I think my phone and TV might have PCB too.

 

[SoooRad]

I get the sentiment. Not that I'm turned off by them exactly, but rather that if I'm going to spend significant money on an amp, its not going to be a PCB amp. I would rather pay for something that has been put together by hands with care, than just slapped together on an assembly line, effectively.

That being said, even handwired takes on seemingly fool-proof circuits done by "big names" can be uninspiring.

 

[anomaly]

Don't care.

 

[Findthetone1]

I'm turned on by them actually

Yep, put 'em in a short skirt and add alcohol. Game on.

Wait.....what are we talking about?

 

[Findthetone1]

I left the airport when I found out the planes have PCB. This might explain the Bermuda Triangle.

I think my phone and TV might have PCB too.

I've always been afraid of that area. I look horrible in the shorts.

 

[bhuard75]

I’m sure @Techdeth has had a lot of PCB experience

Where has Nickie "ToeNails" been?

 

[thegame]

Where has Nickie "ToeNails" been?

He got sliced up pretty bad when he tried to do a barefoot somersault

 

[MadAsAHatter]

It depends.

In production amp I'm fine with PCB overall as long as the board is thick and good quality. Not the biggest fan of PCB mounted pots and tube sockets. Though I haven't had any issues with the amps I have where they are board mounted. I do like seeing a nicely done turret board. that looks a lot more sexy than a PCB.

Now If I'm building something I lean towards preferring PCB's. I have a couple amp builds under my belt. I've done terminal strips, turret board, and PCB. I absolutely hate terminal strips pain in the ass and looks messy. Turret board are fine, but can look a little messy sometimes with the leads. PCB is by far the easiest and cleanest to populate.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

I'm no amp expert, but ...

If the amp circuit is simple, my preference is a turret board. I think many modern amps with more complex circuits make PCBs the preferred method due to the complexity...even if hand wired turret boards could be used, it would probably make the cost even higher.

That said, it still pisses me off that my JTM-45 reissue, a simple circuit, still made in England, isn't hand wired with a turret board; it uses a PCB, but the price is still high for what it is....still cheaper than vintage JTM 45 I found when I was looking.

IMO

This is it exactly. I don't ever like complex circuits. They never sound as good as a single channel that tries to just nail one thing well.

For a simple path, I don't see the point of a pcb

 

[njshred]

 

[DanTravis62]

Its not really PCB vs turret, to me the gap is more serviceable vs unserviceable

If an amp has a well sorted, thick PCB and the tubes, the jacks and pots arent mounted to it, I don't think its that big of a deal

It's just with a turret board or similar youre guaranteed to be able to service it

 

[Code001]

"Simple PTP"

"Complex PCB"

I know which one I'd rather work on.

 

[rstites]

A good PCB is in all ways superior to any kind of hand-wired circuit. Even the dreaded preamp tubes mounted on a PCB aren't any kind of real issue on a decent (read: thick) PCB. The tension on the PCB in a guitar amp is nowhere what PCB's in a lot of other more mission critical circuits experience. Of course PCB's are far less expensive to manufacture so all the cheap amplifiers out there have them, so people conflate the issue.

I build one-off amps as ptp on terminal strips because laying out a PCB just isn't worth it for that but if I was going into production I'd be professional enough about it to put together a decent PCB, or heck just pay someone who does it for a living to lay one out. Guitar amplifiers are very simple circuits in the big scheme so not particularly difficult to do layouts for.

 

[FourT6and2]

There are good PCB designs/layouts and there are bad. There's good PTP and there's bad. There's good turret board and there's bad.

A good PCB = smart, noise-free layout, with quality board material, thick sturdy traces, and double-sided thru-plating. Chassis-mounted pots and tube sockets with flying leads is my preference.

There's also Printed Turret Board. But that's a bit overkill, although very sexy.

BTW, I just saw gut shots of Marshall's 2555x reissue and I was actually impressed. Their best built amp by far.

 

[shredi knight]

I hate PCBs and think they are an abomination! ...

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

There are good PCB designs/layouts and there are bad. There's good PTP and there's bad. There's good turret board and there's bad.

A good PCB = smart, noise-free layout, with quality board material, thick sturdy traces, and double-sided thru-plating. Chassis-mounted pots and tube sockets with flying leads is my preference.

There's also Printed Turret Board. But that's a bit overkill, although very sexy.

BTW, I just saw gut shots of Marshall's 2555x reissue and I was actually impressed. Their best built amp by far.

Printed turret board does sound badass. Very easy to change components without destroying traces. And less wire runs

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

"Simple PTP"
View attachment 460238

"Complex PCB"
View attachment 460239

I know which one I'd rather work on.

Point to point is often a rats nest. But point to point isn't really what I am talking about being superior. I was talking about turret board

 

[valve]

This is it exactly. I don't ever like complex circuits. They never sound as good as a single channel that tries to just nail one thing well.

For a simple path, I don't see the point of a pcb

Good luck with the synergy stuff

 

[Eazy-ESP]

Yep, put 'em in a short skirt and add alcohol. Game on.

Wait.....what are we talking about?

There are good PCB designs/layouts and there are bad. There's good PTP and there's bad. There's good turret board and there's bad.

A good PCB = smart, noise-free layout, with quality board material, thick sturdy traces, and double-sided thru-plating. Chassis-mounted pots and tube sockets with flying leads is my preference.

There's also Printed Turret Board. But that's a bit overkill, although very sexy.

BTW, I just saw gut shots of Marshall's 2555x reissue and I was actually impressed. Their best built amp by far.

Didn’t they change it though? I think I remember people saying they changed later versions compared to when they were rereleased in 2015.