Yup, Another One... Kraken 50 Build: Round II

[scottosan]

Holy shit, guys...

Got the last remaining parts in this morning and fired the amp up to test it. It has WAY more aggression and grind and growl than the first build. It's MEAN as all hell. Like... it actually scares me.

Still doing some testing, but I've NEVER heard something like this before.

The major difference is the B+ right? What did you do for choke and OT on this one? I forgot

 

[paulyc]

CLIPS !!! CLIPS !!! CLIPS !!!

 

[FourT6and2]

The major difference is the B+ right? What did you do for choke and OT on this one? I forgot

The voltages are actually around 15v lower overall. The Classic Tone is spec'd for 325v secondaries but I read 370v at the rectifier right off the HV tap of the transformer.
In this build, the Marstran PT is spec'd higher at 350v secondaries. But I only read 360v at the rectifier.

First build B+ is 490v
This build B+ is 475v

Choke on the first build is Metro-spec Heyboer. Metro says it's 3H, but Heyboer says it's somewhere between 4-5H. Who knows.
Choke on this build is the stock Ceriatone 5H

I'll do some more testing over the weekend with the treble peaking circuit and then the dropping resistor for the preamp voltages. But I'm super happy with this build. And I think going forward, this combination of parts is solid.

 

[Deanmachine]

Yes please clip it up..

 

[FourT6and2]

I'll post clips once I really finalize the amp. The amp's tone is changing as I play it. Will have to put at least 5-10 hours on it.

 

[harddriver]

Holy shit, guys...

Got the last remaining parts in this morning and fired the amp up to test it. It has WAY more aggression and grind and growl than the first build. It's MEAN as all hell. Like... it actually scares me.

Still doing some testing, but I've NEVER heard something like this before.

Excellent! Curious to hear this version versus the first one.

BTW METRO site is down. It says for repairs and maintenance, my guess is... it got hacked again. Eventually I think George is just gonna let the site expire since attendance is way down and he really isn't getting a lot from it business wise anymore. We'll see if it comes back up or not this time.

 

[kurtsstuff2003]

My favorite kind of post!! Excellent work!

 

[SpiderWars]

Anxoius to hear it. You never mentioned what OT? Same Classic Tone as Kraken I?

 

[FourT6and2]

Anxoius to hear it. You never mentioned what OT? Same Classic Tone as Kraken I?

Build 1:
Classic Tone PT
Marstran OT
Metro-spec Heyboer choke

Build 2:
Marstran PT
Marstran OT
Ceriatone choke

 

[Dopethrone]

Big fan of the build threads as well!

 

[IndyWS6]

 

[milkchickenbomb]

Home stretch.

Amazing. Your work looks like it was done in a clean room at a NASA lab. Outstanding.

Can't wait to hear it.

 

[311boogieman]

Big fan of the build threads as well!

+311


This is one of the better ones IMO. Amp looks amazing!

 

[SpiderWars]

I'll post clips once I really finalize the amp. The amp's tone is changing as I play it. Will have to put at least 5-10 hours on it.

Lol, yesterday I broke out my smallbox Jose and tried some different dropping resistors, V1a plate resistors, and a few other tweaks. I could drive myself nuts trying all the combos. Soon as I change the dropper...something else needs to be tweaked...then the NFB needs a tweak...then...ad nauseum. In the end I thought it sounded awesome, but my ears were shot by then. I'll prob hate it today.

 

[FourT6and2]

I'll post clips once I really finalize the amp. The amp's tone is changing as I play it. Will have to put at least 5-10 hours on it.

Lol, yesterday I broke out my smallbox Jose and tried some different dropping resistors, V1a plate resistors, and a few other tweaks. I could drive myself nuts trying all the combos. Soon as I change the dropper...something else needs to be tweaked...then the NFB needs a tweak...then...ad nauseum. In the end I thought it sounded awesome, but my ears were shot by then. I'll prob hate it today.

Yep! Same situation here lol.

I have 12 different combinations of tone stack resistors/caps. Then I gotta mess with the dropper. But that's it

I tried wiring up a pot for the slope resistor, but I've found that the metal film resistors I'm using do sound a little different than the same value on a pot.

 

[bwgintegra]

Great looking builds you've been doing. Are the 20V zeners 1n4747? what's the number on the 12V zeners?

 

[FourT6and2]

Great looking builds you've been doing. Are the 20V zeners 1n4747? what's the number on the 12V zeners?

One side is 12v, the other side is 20v. Not 100% sure though because they were supplied to me covered in heat shrink. I think I can measure across the pot to figure out the clamping voltage though.

 

[peterc52]

I think i'm gonna build one as well. Have a few questions for ya

Have you changed anything about the loop? Heard some not so good things about the loop. Or does it function well?

Do you feel the trannys you used was better than the stock ceriatone ones?

You like the 50 watt more than the 100 watt?

 

[FourT6and2]

I think i'm gonna build one as well. Have a few questions for ya

Have you changed anything about the loop? Heard some not so good things about the loop. Or does it function well?

Do you feel the trannys you used was better than the stock ceriatone ones?

You like the 50 watt more than the 100 watt?

I haven't messed with the loop at all. If you use high-quality shielded coax, you shouldn't have any problems. I recommend Beldon RG-188 A/U. But you can always try the Metro loop.

RE: Transformers... are they better than the stock Ceriatone ones? I can't say. What is "better" anyway? They all work. The power transformers supply power and the output transformer makes guitar sounds lol. If we're talking about "tone" I can't say because I've not swapped a Ceriatone OT with another to hear the difference. What I can say, though, is that I like the Marstran PT because it has solder tags instead of hard-wired leads. Makes for an easier, cleaner build. I can say that the Ceriatone iron is larger and heavier if that matters at all. If you don't mind waiting three months, then go with Marstran or Merren. If you like cool marketing, go with Mercury. If you want fast and cheap, go with Classic Tone. Ceriatone is nice because there are no surprises as far as mounting/fitment issues and voltages.

Yeah, I like the 50 more than 100.

 

[peterc52]

I'm just gonna get the entire kit from ceriatone. Then I can always change/mod it from there. Do you use all the switches when playing? Mostly thinking about the ERA switch?