Hello all: wanted to introduce myself and CEC Amplification

[CECamps]

Hi- late to the thread but just heard the Premier Guitar Summer Namm 2012 Suckerpunch Demo- cool little Amp.

Interesting that you use 5751s and some other tubes in your preamps.

Had a few questions about since there's a 12AT7 in the EFX loop- you could theoretically put a slightly higher gain tube there and turn the loop up- and it would be a Boost whenever engaged- is this correct ?

Also wondering about a kind of 2 channel 30-40 watt Suckerpunch type........maybe 2 KT88s in Parallel so you could yank one out for recording but have more clean headroom at a Gig- would this be very expensive ?

Hey there, and thanks!

On the EFX loop in the Suckerpunch15, it is actually a parallel loop so it would not function as a boost like a serial loop would. I opted not to make the loop serial because it altered the tone of the amp pretty significantly whereas the parallel configuration didn't really affect the core tone at all.

The Suckerpunch could certainly be made into a parallel class A amp. But it would definitely add a pretty significant chunk to the price. The amp runs an SED =C= KT88, so adding another would be kind of pricey. But the more significant factor is the necessary re-designs to the circuit as well as the physical layout. The amp currently runs a rather hefty 25 watt single-ended output transformer. Upping that to accommodate a minimum of 35 watts (single ended trafos are BIG) would require some pretty significant changes to the physical layout.

That said, the SP15 is conservatively rated at 15 watts. It is actually very difficult to break up the single KT88 and probably wouldn't be worth the additional costs to run another in parallel TBH.

Thanks for checking out the vid and popping in the thread!

Welcome to Rig Talk. Will you be at the LA Amp show?

No, I will not be doing the LA Amp Show. My plans are to do Summer NAMM next year and then Winter NAMM 2014. There will most likely be a CEC amp being used at this coming Winter NAMM 2013 in the Artist Series Guitar booth.

I'm a bit late to the party, but hey, brilliant looking workmanship in the above gut shot. Welcome aboard Good Sir, you're in fine company 'round these parts. Great lil' introductory blurb to boot.

Let's see who'll be the first to spring for one of your fine wares

Mo

Thanks, Mo! There are a couple of RT'ers that are proud owners of CEC's.

I have moved to a PCB layout on the Brigand due to the complexity of the circuit, here is a pic of one:

 

[robertkoa]

Thanks for responding Re-2 channel Suckerpunch-wouldn't be a Suckerpunch anymore but....

OK- just thinking for 2 Channels- people would want more clean headroom- would it be possible to do a push pull output section and get a clean channel and a dirty channel- and if people wanted more gain, could 803s ( or another 12AX7 ) be substituted for one or two of the 5751's ?

 

[King Crimson]

Welcome Craig.

Couple quick questions about the Brigade.

Is it midi controllable?
Other than KT88 power tubes will it take other power tubes?
Is the bias adjustable, and if so are the adjustments external or internal?
What is the price for the Brigade? (PM me if this would be more appropriate for this)

Thanks.

 

[Qweklain]

That Brigand with the PCB layout looks a lot less busy on the inside! Seems like it would make it a bit easier to build and troubleshoot too. I appreciate the unique layout also.

 

[CECamps]

Thanks for responding Re-2 channel Suckerpunch-wouldn't be a Suckerpunch anymore but....

OK- just thinking for 2 Channels- people would want more clean headroom- would it be possible to do a push pull output section and get a clean channel and a dirty channel- and if people wanted more gain, could 803s ( or another 12AX7 ) be substituted for one or two of the 5751's ?

Well, I was more addressing the serial effects loop. A custom 2-channel variant of the Suckerpunch could be made without affecting the core tone of the amp really, but the serial effects loop really changed the amp too much.

Regarding a push-pull output section, it is certainly possible. I have not tried it, so I cannot attest to how similar or different it would be from the class A original. My guess is that the feel of the amp would be different, but by how much I wouldn't know until actually trying it. The Suckerpunch15 has a pretty unique feel and response, due in part to the power amp.

Regarding gain, the Suckerpunch15 preamp uses a 5751 in V1 and a 12AX7 in V2. I use NOS JAN-Philips 5751's which generally test out at a gain factor around 95. So essentially, there isn't any noticeable difference in gain when it is swapped for a 12AX7. But it is certainly possible to directly swap them out without any change to the circuit configuration.

Welcome Craig.

Couple quick questions about the Brigade.

Is it midi controllable?

I make an optional programmable MIDI interface that plugs into the footswitch jack. The interface is very compact, and allows Brigand's channel and mode switching to be controlled from any MIDI controller.

Other than KT88 power tubes will it take other power tubes?

The amp was designed to use KT88's as part of an essentially transparent power amp section, so I did not make provisions for other output tubes. The amp can, however, be custom built to run other tubes. It would require a different output transformer design, but these transformers are custom wound for me anyways so it's not an issue.

Is the bias adjustable, and if so are the adjustments external or internal?

Yes, there are external bias check and adjustment points on the rear panel for simplicity. Changing output tubes and rebiasing is a breeze on Brigand.

What is the price for the Brigade? (PM me if this would be more appropriate for this)

Thanks.

Price, tube complement, and more info is available on the Brigand page of the CEC website:
http://www.cecamps.com/main/amplifiers/brigand

Thanks!

That Brigand with the PCB layout looks a lot less busy on the inside! Seems like it would make it a bit easier to build and troubleshoot too. I appreciate the unique layout also.

Thanks! Yeah, the first six were all turret board builds with hand drilled and cut chassis. It was extremely labor intensive, and I honestly could not have continued doing them that way even if I wanted to. The seventh was the first PCB build, but the chassis was still hand drilled and cut. Now the Brigand chassis are CNC'd and laser drilled/cut. It is a much more manageable build process for me now. Still very labor intensive in the final wiring since all pots, switches, sockets, etc. are still chassis mounted for stability/durability, but FAR more manageable. The last one I built was a lot quicker than all previous ones.