NAB (new amp build) - Introducing the V2 Caldera

[V2a]

Black tweed (with silver piping) + silver faceplate + silver badge + chicken heads = perfection.

The gold Caldera was done before the silver ones. The look (of the faceplate) stemmed from the Caldera's predecessor - the JJM18, which was an obvious nod to Marshall. Pretty quickly, however, I wanted to move away from producing Marshall look-a-likes.

The black tweed cab was ordered before the carbon fibre cabs, but it took a very long time to produce. I might try going back to the supplier/builder if lead times can be cut down by 75%. Until then I will stick with the carbon fibre cabs, which I love.

The gold Caldera also sports an illuminated rocker switch rather than the pairing of toggle switch and pilot light. I am still partial to the mini illuminated rocker, but it takes more finesse to hand-cut and line up a small rectangular hole than to drill a circular hole for a toggle. Carling does make a round illuminated rocker, but none of my usual electronics suppliers carries it in stock.

 

[Dopethrone]

Looks great man!
Get some clips uP!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Beyond Black]

Clips man, clips!!!!!!!!

 

[V2a]

It'll be a while until I can share some clips, as the amp is currently out of my possession. I should be able to make some very crude (i.e., poorly played and equally poorly recorded) within a couple of weeks. The amp might make its way to LA in about 8 weeks for better clippage...

 

[V2a]

Still no clips because I was on vacation. But here's a poorly lit photo of the tweed Caldera with the new black badge from the previous post. The V2 lettering was back-filled with gold paint. I was too lazy to add the feet...

 

[V2a]

I finished another Caldera yesterday. The latest one is currently sporting a Denogginizer faceplate so that I can visually distinguish the two amps in the photo (which differ internally in just one respect). Patiently waiting until I can go grab a couple of shipments of tubes...

 

[PBGas]

These looks great! Nicely done! Looking forward to hearing them!

 

[midnightlaundry]

Not trying yo be a dick...

What separates your design from others? Everyone wants to hear it..

 

[peterc52]

They look great. Lets hear 'em!

 

[V2a]

Thanks All.

Hmm, what separates these designs from others? That's difficult to say because (i) there are many, many exceptionally good amps on the market nowadays, and (ii) the majority of amps are all quite similar, at least on a macro scale. The Caldera circuit is in the mix with many other (great) amps that try to get lots of gain out of three gain stages. But the internal layout is quite unique, the grounding scheme is a very good one, and the build is quite 'rugged'. My goal is to have a great sounding amp that has a low noise floor, is safe to use (which is part of the reason that there is no standby switch), and is as reliable as a tube amp can be. I also want the amps to look classy and at least a little unique.

Some other high-end M*rshall style amps with one channel and no footswitch cost $2499-2699. When I'm ready to let the first few Calderas go, the base price will be roughly half of this.

 

[V2a]

Here's something new (I alluded to it in my 'road map' posted earlier in this thread). This Caldera sports a pair of EL34s (or whatever big-bottle octal tubes you want to plug in) running in push-pull with a transformer set that delivers only 10-15W of power. Kind of like hard-wired power scaling. It weighs considerably less than the 50W Caldera, and I'll probably squeeze it into a smaller chassis in the future (not lunchbox size, but smaller than my current prototypes).

In the photo below, the 15W Caldera is pictured with an 18W Phaez Pasadena (which was in James Lugo's 2013 amp fest). I didn't do a max-volume comparison, but with the master volumes at sane positions, both amps sound great. The 10W Caldera was about 105dB* with gain at 3 o'clock, master at 9, T, M, B all at noon, and Presence at zero, as pictured in the photo (*Engl 212 cab; decibel meter 3 feet in front of speaker).

 

[JerEvil]

Amp looks awesome! Would love to hear some clips as well. I also make videos...

 

[V2a]

Amp looks awesome! Would love to hear some clips as well. I also make videos...

Cool. I've got plans to send out one of my 50W amps for some testing soon. Once it comes back, I might look for some people to make demos (you and Reza have expressed interest; mighty kind of you both).

Cheers, John

 

[V2a]

OK, I just tweaked the power amp a bit after the OT swap. Now the 15W Caldera sounds HUGE. Killer low-end grunt.
I think I'll have to listen to this "little" amp next to some other 2xEL84 amps on the market (that have similar power output).

Anyone in the Vancouver area wanna give this a whirl?

 

[maddnotez]

Want to hear the goods. Especially the Denogg.

Reza and Jer both make good vids. Definitely like the way it looks.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Fuck the eggnog, I want some Denogg for the Holidays. Lets hear it!

Seriously though, they look like nice units. Be interesting to hear them in the future.

 

[V2a]

Super quick snippet of the 15W Caldera recorded with an iPad. Keep in mind that I can't play or record.

https://soundcloud.com/v2-jmcd/caldera-15w

I don't have a Denogginizer on hand at the moment, but I'll build more in the new year...

 

[V2a]

update:
I just finished wiring up a more vintage variant of the Caldera. It can mimic a 2204 but can also go into higher-gain territory with the punch switch.

 

[V2a]