Half the Weight = Half the Tone? 20W High Gain Amp Prototype

[EddyLenz]

Hi Everyone,

I recently finished a prototype build that I've been interested in for a while.
It's a 20W High Gain Amp with EL84. After hearing the Friedman JJ Jr. when it came out, I was really impressed by the sound for its size. That's basically what made me consider this project.
That said, this amp doesn't have anything in common with the JJ Jr., except for the EL84, as the preamp circuit is completely different and mine is fixed bias, unlike the Jr., which is cathode bias.

I really like how this amp turned out. Comparing it to my 50w and 100w Amps (my 2ch Prototype has the same circuit in the lead channel), it still has a nice punch and great articulation and clarity. If anything, it sounds slightly more compressed and slightly looser, which I might try to adjust in the future.



What do you think about small 20W vs 50/100W amps?

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Sounds great...like really great! Assuming that is boosted?

 

[EddyLenz]

Sounds great...like really great! Assuming that is boosted?

Thanks! Nope, that's straight in with a bit of reverb in the DAW

 

[Racerxrated]

Sounds killer!

 

[EddyLenz]

Sounds killer!

Thanks, mate!

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Thanks! Nope, that's straight in with a bit of reverb in the DAW

Wow...impressive!

 

[japetus]

That amp sounds great. All of the tones are useable and I really like the mid gain tones around the 11 min mark. Great job!

 

[EddyLenz]

That amp sounds great. All of the tones are useable and I really like the mid gain tones around the 11 min mark. Great job!

Thank you!

 

[glpg80]

Sounds absolutely stellar and is especially impressive without a boost in front. Great job man. I finished mine but it needs a boost to get to that level which for my own needs I have nothing against!

 

[EddyLenz]

Sounds absolutely stellar and is especially impressive without a boost in front. Great job man. I finished mine but it needs a boost to get to that level which for my own needs I have nothing against!

Thanks!
Nice, man!

 

[Beyond Black]

Wow! That sounds killer man. All your vids and mods/builds consistently sound killer.

 

[EddyLenz]

Wow! That sounds killer man. All your vids and mods/builds consistently sound killer.

Thank you!

 

[harddriver]

Nice job there Eddy. I normally don't care for anything with EL84's but it seems your attack knobs mitigates the lack of punch and fuzzy, greasy, less defined low end response EL84's seem to suffer from.

Love the crunchy, clankiness of your preamp response in all of your amps seems to cover great plexi tones to modern higher gain quite well.

 

[Donnie B.]

Sounds great!

 

[EddyLenz]

Nice job there Eddy. I normally don't care for anything with EL84's but it seems your attack knobs mitigates the lack of punch and fuzzy, greasy, less defined low end response EL84's seem to suffer from.

Love the crunchy, clankiness of your preamp response in all of your amps seems to cover great plexi tones to modern higher gain quite well.

Thanks! I might play around with the filtering and voltages some more to get it even closer to my 100W.

 

[EddyLenz]

Sounds great!

Thanks!

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

Sounds nasty as fuck. I never liked any EL84 amps; not balls or oomph. Never played the JJ Jr. But if you could get it to punch or at least throw a Resonance knob to help fill it out or something, then that would help. Or maybe this one doesn't need; hard to tell without being in the room.

I gig regularly and love tubes, so I've opted for 50w these days in a mini headshell. I got tired of lugging 100watters to gigs, although they sounded great.

My Splawn mini Comp is a beast; very happy with it, downsizing from a JJ100, which was my favorite Friedman.

This amp Eddy developed would be a great addition. I love these tones.

 

[RedPlated]

You're doing a great job on these. The voicing is done really well. Impressive.

 

[EddyLenz]

Sounds nasty as fuck. I never liked any EL84 amps; not balls or oomph. Never played the JJ Jr. But if you could get it to punch or at least throw a Resonance knob to help fill it out or something, then that would help. Or maybe this one doesn't need; hard to tell without being in the room.

I gig regularly and love tubes, so I've opted for 50w these days in a mini headshell. I got tired of lugging 100watters to gigs, although they sounded great.

My Splawn mini Comp is a beast; very happy with it, downsizing from a JJ100, which was my favorite Friedman.

This amp Eddy developed would be a great addition. I love these tones.

Thank you! This one has a Depth knob on the left, which helps a lot. Comparing it to my 50 and 100w Amps at bedroom volume, the punch is pretty similar, cranked it would probably be different though haha.

I'll add some room recordings in the next video

 

[EddyLenz]

You're doing a great job on these. The voicing is done really well. Impressive.

Thank you!