messenger
Well-known member
Anyone play one? Doesn't seem to be a whole lot of info out there and even less clips. How much gain do they have?
R
RockyStar
Well-known member
A ton of amp without a ton of gain. JCM 800 type amount of gain. Very full sounding, nothing thin about it. Louder than you would suspect. Build quality is superb. If you are looking for detuned, saturated, modern metal it is not that kind of amp. If you want a rock type amp that cuts like a red hot machete through a warm stack of butter then you found it.
messenger
Well-known member
I lean more towards hard rock up to 80s hair metal. I don't like to use pedals. My jubilee had enough gain on tap for me and my 50w plexi clone with LarMar PPIMV was just shy in the gain dept.
V2a
Active member
Pretty flexible to mod to get what you want. Here are my suggestions. Try one at a time. (and yes, I did own one
- Replace the linear master pot with an log/audio pot
- maybe add 2 or 3 resistors around master to improve low-setting performance. One would be a 100-220k resistor off wiper.
- consider adding PPIMV on back panel. Lar/Mar would do. The dual-master set up is killer.
- increase plate resistor for first gain stage (and maybe others). 220k
- replace unbypassed 10k cathode resistor on second gain stage with something else (for more gain; e.g., 3k/680uF combo)
- Replace the linear master pot with an log/audio pot
- maybe add 2 or 3 resistors around master to improve low-setting performance. One would be a 100-220k resistor off wiper.
- consider adding PPIMV on back panel. Lar/Mar would do. The dual-master set up is killer.
- increase plate resistor for first gain stage (and maybe others). 220k
- replace unbypassed 10k cathode resistor on second gain stage with something else (for more gain; e.g., 3k/680uF combo)
messenger
Well-known member
How does it differ from the 40?
V2a
Active member
messenger":h3r9ai6c said:
I don't know about the custom 40, but the 30 had a power supply that could run either a pair of EL34s or a quad of 6V6s. I think the 40 and 80 were based on plexi models rather than the 800.
Here is a shot inside the head cab. Notice the unused octal sockets, which would be used in the 4x6V6 mode.
Here is a gut shot. Neat and tidy. Solid. Pots feel great. There are some negative aspects of the build, but that's just nit-picking, because it sounded good.
mikey
Active member
I have a Custom 40, it has a pair of EL34s only. Probably same preamp between the 30 & 40 but I don't know for sure. I can confirm the above posts that it's got a Hiwatt/Marshall vibe and similar to a JCM800 level of gain.
