FourT6and2
Well-known member
Worth it? Nobody seems to have 'em in stock. Haven't seen them for a while. Are they slowing trickling out or is there some current delay?
Fryette Power Station
- Thread starter FourT6and2
- Start date
N
Nigel
Guest
Everyone loves them and the preference seems to be the 100 water with 6550’s for tone and two switchable settings.
grrr_me_scary
Active member
It seems like they can be a little hard to get a new one towards the end of the year (it was the same last year for me).
I was able to eventually buy a new PS-100 this year but I had to keep looking for them and I was placed on a waiting list.
Also, the used ones rarely come up for sale.
They do sound great and they can really help get that loud amp tone at a lower volume.
I tried it with my JMP-1 as well as with a few amps and it sounded great with all of them.
ZEN Amps
Well-known member
Worth it if you have amps that rely on the output stage working hard to sound good, and you want to use them down to TV volume.
If you want to knock say up to 12dB off, a quality attenuator does the job very well - with less hassle and expense. We did a long and boring video on attenuators vs. the power station if you're feeling masochistic: Attenuator shootout
If you want to knock say up to 12dB off, a quality attenuator does the job very well - with less hassle and expense. We did a long and boring video on attenuators vs. the power station if you're feeling masochistic: Attenuator shootout
ZEN Amps
Well-known member
Yep for sure, a PPIMV is way down my list of effective ways to tame a NMV amp.
FourT6and2
Well-known member
I try not to buy from Reverb. This thing is carried in stores like GC, Musician's Friend, Sweetwater, Zzounds, etc. But I suppose I could call up those stores listing it on Reverb and buy direct.
FourT6and2
Well-known member
My amps all have master volumes that work fairly well, but I live in an apartment. And it'd be nice to get the amps cooking a bit more and then use something like the power station to bring the volume down so I don't piss my neighbors off. One of my amps (Mako Dorado) needs the master to be up fairly high because the tone stack and NFB circuit are a bit interactive. My other amps are Bogner Helios and a Jose mod 800 I built. That said... being able to put time-based effects AFTER the power section would be dope. So the loop on the power station might be worth it.
ZEN Amps
Well-known member
If you're a man of fine tastes and not on a thrifty budget then yeah, a PS sounds like it would be a worthwhile addition.
A thought though - as someone who knows their way around a soldering iron you could always just make a DIY reactive load and then pair it with a decent SS power amp. For low volume playing, another tube amp in the chain is pretty unnecessary IMO. You don't really need a loop for this, your FX go between the load and the power amp.
FourT6and2
Well-known member
The 100 sounds better than the 50? I really don't need a 100w version since I won't be boosting any low-power amps up to 50-100w.
ZEN Amps
Well-known member
No, just different. They both colour the sound a little so it's just a preference thing - besides the added horsepower and features of course.
ROFL, I'd take any of the stores listed over friggin guitar center...
PansyFlowerpot
Member
A buddy of mine has the 100-watt and I haven’t seen him gig without it since getting it
N
Nigel
Guest
Since discovering cathode bias and low B+ grid bias with severe underbias, I don’t think I’ll be needing a PS.
My Rivera M60 is 440v but has a half power switch that knocks it down to 220v B+. I run the bias up to 32 watts at idle (maxed) in Hi power which yields 14 watts per tube in Lo power. This gets that classic addictive EVH tonality even at whisper levels, and the heaters/preamp tubes are all at nominal current/voltages too. Amp still gets plenty loud to jam with a band as well, even in triode mode!
High idle bias seems to be the real key to power amp tone and vibe at any volume. I encourage all my bros here to try this or get a cathode bias amp like an Orange Terror/Rocker 30 and get that resistor value right.
The Rivera even has a resistor padded down lo Z line out from the speaker jack I use to slave it to an old silver stripe Peavey Transtube. It’s the wet amp for delay/modulation.
I swear guys, once you get into low voltage high bias land, there’s no going back.
My Rivera M60 is 440v but has a half power switch that knocks it down to 220v B+. I run the bias up to 32 watts at idle (maxed) in Hi power which yields 14 watts per tube in Lo power. This gets that classic addictive EVH tonality even at whisper levels, and the heaters/preamp tubes are all at nominal current/voltages too. Amp still gets plenty loud to jam with a band as well, even in triode mode!
High idle bias seems to be the real key to power amp tone and vibe at any volume. I encourage all my bros here to try this or get a cathode bias amp like an Orange Terror/Rocker 30 and get that resistor value right.
The Rivera even has a resistor padded down lo Z line out from the speaker jack I use to slave it to an old silver stripe Peavey Transtube. It’s the wet amp for delay/modulation.
I swear guys, once you get into low voltage high bias land, there’s no going back.
I like this idea and I believe it wholeheartedly; but I’m too stupid to understand it. My brain doesn’t work like this. I’m a better plumber than electrician. So when it comes to power, bias, tubes etc , I just use something that sounds good enough to me then fiddle with the preamps that I have for color. Maybe I could get my sound right with 1 power and pre- if I had an electrical/physics mind. Instead I use 2 preamps and 2 power amps all the time and add a 3rd for solos. It works. Probably overkill BUT.
PS-100 is the best piece of equipment i have bought in awhile. Incredible functionality. I have some vintage amps without loops so the fx loop in the 100 was a real treat. I never liked the delay/reverb going through the front end. Redirecting these type of effects out of the amp into the 100 makes your pedals shine. It allows me to push the power section on my Marshalls to the sweet spot then tweak with the Fryette EQ. Having the 2nd channel as a boost solves the age old problem of boosting single channel amps with no loop which are the type of amps I prefer. Research this item and these benefits seem to stand out amongst many users. Old school volume knob rider 50's wiring guitar player here so this unit is a blessing for me. I had to wait 4 months for mine last year and worth the wait. Seems to be some issues surrounding the customer service with Fryette but haven't had to go there myself. Small company with big surge sales so their appear overwhelmed.
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