NAD - Ceriatone Yeti 100

napalmdeath

napalmdeath

Well-known member
Got it yesterday, and spent a couple hours with it. I gotta say, I'm disappointed. It has way too much gain! I get best useable tones in 60's mode, 70's mode I can't jive with, and modern mode is just way over the top. I don't find it as easy to find tones as a Splawn, I just find too much going on with all the switches.

And, what I was told was a half-power switch is actually an FX loop bypass. So, I'm disappointed with that too. At first I was pissed at the seller, because he was incorrect in his discription, but it is what it is, I can't really make him take it back.

Anybody buy a Yeti only to be disappointed, then work things out? There's something going on between gain 1 and gain 2 that I can't seem to find a happy medium. Some owners with some first-hand experiences, I'd love to hear your thoughts, as I may just flip it.

I will say, a 5751 in V2 worked very well. But, as it stands, I'm not as impressed as I think I should be. I don't really get a Marshall vibe from it. Now, I'm kicking myself for selling my 2525H. That amp rocked.

Any recommendations on an attenuator? A Fryette PS-2 is out of the question, GOOD LUCK finding one. That's the other issue. For those who claim to get great lower volume tones, I say B.S. This amp needs massive volume to open up.
 
I hear ya...I've tried a few Ceriatone amps at Music Go Rounds in Mpls a few yrs back and they were just OK, but I didn't spend too much time with them. Give it a good week before you flip it, maybe do some tube rolling and see if that helps. Lots of guys really love these amps....
Can you check the bias? I was hearing some congestion if you will in my Wizard, one of my Winged Cs is going bad so I replaced it and all is well after a rebias.....
 
Racerxrated":55k6au2x said:
I hear ya...I've tried a few Ceriatone amps at Music Go Rounds in Mpls a few yrs back and they were just OK, but I didn't spend too much time with them. Give it a good week before you flip it, maybe do some tube rolling and see if that helps. Lots of guys really love these amps....
Can you check the bias? I was hearing some congestion if you will in my Wizard, one of my Winged Cs is going bad so I replaced it and all is well after a rebias.....
Click to expand...


It has new Mullard EL34's in it, and bias is on the money. I rolled some tubes, put a Tungsol in V1, NOS GE 5751 in V2, and Mullard CV4004 in V3.
 
slaveunit":1uh878pj said:
How are your bright switches set? How much have you played with those?
Click to expand...

Currently, both far left. Both in 60's, and 80's. I've trued several variations, and I think middle on the 2nd switch bypasses that side.
 
I've never played a Yeti, but looking at the schem it looks like just another jose marshal with a few different values.

If you are handy with a soldering iron, I can tell you what to change to probably get it where you like it.

First thing I would try, is change v1a load resister from 390k to 330k, and change the slope resistor from 47k to 39k, or even 33k for more marshally mids.

See how that sounds, then next I would change the cathode resistors from 3k to 2.7k, and the bypass caps from 1uf to .68uf
 
CrazyNutz":uudcpy12 said:
I've never played a Yeti, but looking at the schem it looks like just another jose marshal with a few different values.

If you are handy with a soldering iron, I can tell you what to change to probably get it where you like it.

First thing I would try, is change v1a load resister from 390k to 330k, and change the slope resistor from 47k to 39k, or even 33k for more marshally mids.

See how that sounds, then next I would change the cathode resistors from 3k to 2.7k, and the bypass caps from 1uf to .68uf
Click to expand...

Should I replace the flux capacitor?
 
napalmdeath":2191esfx said:
Racerxrated":2191esfx said:
I hear ya...I've tried a few Ceriatone amps at Music Go Rounds in Mpls a few yrs back and they were just OK, but I didn't spend too much time with them. Give it a good week before you flip it, maybe do some tube rolling and see if that helps. Lots of guys really love these amps....
Can you check the bias? I was hearing some congestion if you will in my Wizard, one of my Winged Cs is going bad so I replaced it and all is well after a rebias.....[/quo

It has new Mullard EL34's in it, and bias is on the money. I rolled some tubes, put a Tungsol in V1, NOS GE 5751 in V2, and Mullard CV4004 in V3.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Try the Mullard in V1...I find that V1 is sometimes the most important spot for the best Pre tube.
 
Racerxrated":3josr263 said:
napalmdeath":3josr263 said:
Racerxrated":3josr263 said:
I hear ya...I've tried a few Ceriatone amps at Music Go Rounds in Mpls a few yrs back and they were just OK, but I didn't spend too much time with them. Give it a good week before you flip it, maybe do some tube rolling and see if that helps. Lots of guys really love these amps....
Can you check the bias? I was hearing some congestion if you will in my Wizard, one of my Winged Cs is going bad so I replaced it and all is well after a rebias.....[/quo

It has new Mullard EL34's in it, and bias is on the money. I rolled some tubes, put a Tungsol in V1, NOS GE 5751 in V2, and Mullard CV4004 in V3.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Try the Mullard in V1...I find that V1 is sometimes the most important spot for the best Pre tube.
Click to expand...

The Tungsol is no slouch! The Mullard is a RI, but I'll do some more testing. I have some Ruby Chinese and a GE 12AX7 to try.
 
or try 5751's in both V1 and V2. Might make it more usable for you on all modes. I have 5751 in both V1 and V2 of a Splawn mod Marshall. That thing was Hairy Mary and uncontrollable with 12ax7's. Now with 2 x 5751's it is way more controllable and musical sounding.
 
thenine":xl806zy2 said:
or try 5751's in both V1 and V2. Might make it more usable for you on all modes. I have 5751 in both V1 and V2 of a Splawn mod Marshall. That thing was Hairy Mary and uncontrollable with 12ax7's. Now with 2 x 5751's it is way more controllable and musical sounding.
Click to expand...

Harry Mary is about right. 5150 amounts of gain on the Yeti.
 
napalmdeath":6f2466c9 said:
CrazyNutz":6f2466c9 said:
I've never played a Yeti, but looking at the schem it looks like just another jose marshal with a few different values.

If you are handy with a soldering iron, I can tell you what to change to probably get it where you like it.

First thing I would try, is change v1a load resister from 390k to 330k, and change the slope resistor from 47k to 39k, or even 33k for more marshally mids.

See how that sounds, then next I would change the cathode resistors from 3k to 2.7k, and the bypass caps from 1uf to .68uf
Click to expand...

Should I replace the flux capacitor?
Click to expand...


Only if you're trying to reduce the power down from 1.21 gigawatts.
 
Don't own one,
but I am familiar with the circuit and copied the preamp on my 5W Marshall.

Have you tried FOCUS switch, You will lose gain and bass with it on.
(amp becoms tighter, with less gain),

or Pussy trimmer (it controls how much gain passes on 3rd stage, frequencies below 800Hz).
Normally it would be set on half, to form a 470k/470k voltage divider which many hot rodded marshalls use for later stages.

Usually I like gain2 on full and gain1 to taste.

If you engage bright switches it can become too bright and gainy also.
 
Turn down the pussy trimmer. But I tend to agree. The stock circuit isn’t very good. Way too much gain.
 
I will offer you $600 for the amp since it doesn't sound very good. :LOL: :LOL:

Eh I hope you find some good tones in there, nothing worse that having your expectations crushed...
 
I find that when you turn the gains down on the front of the amp to acceptable levels, the amp gets thin and overly tight. I like to leave those higher and lower the pussy trimmer on the back. Lowers gain and retains a fat tone.
 
CrazyNutz":1re64b8d said:
I've never played a Yeti, but looking at the schem it looks like just another jose marshal with a few different values.

If you are handy with a soldering iron, I can tell you what to change to probably get it where you like it.

First thing I would try, is change v1a load resister from 390k to 330k, and change the slope resistor from 47k to 39k, or even 33k for more marshally mids.

See how that sounds, then next I would change the cathode resistors from 3k to 2.7k, and the bypass caps from 1uf to .68uf
Click to expand...

I’d go even lower on that V1a resistor... I like 220k with a 47pf snubber (I use a 47pf snubber on the 100k of my JCA20 as well).. I agree with the 39k slope. Cathode resistors 2.7 to 3k is cool and I like 1uf.
 
Should have bought my Surreal LC100 :doh:


Try the Rivera Rockcrusher Power Attenuator. I used one with my 5150 but just sold both.
 
motorboy1":3ce99ri0 said:
I will offer you $600 for the amp since it has a hole in the back and doesn't sound very good. :LOL: :LOL:

Eh I hope you find some good tones in there, nothing worse that having your expectations crushed...
Click to expand...

Hole in the back?
 
napalmdeath":24esmtas said:
Got it yesterday, and spent a couple hours with it. I gotta say, I'm disappointed. It has way too much gain! I get best useable tones in 60's mode, 70's mode I can't jive with, and modern mode is just way over the top. I don't find it as easy to find tones as a Splawn, I just find too much going on with all the switches.

And, what I was told was a half-power switch is actually an FX loop bypass. So, I'm disappointed with that too. At first I was pissed at the seller, because he was incorrect in his discription, but it is what it is, I can't really make him take it back.

Anybody buy a Yeti only to be disappointed, then work things out? There's something going on between gain 1 and gain 2 that I can't seem to find a happy medium. Some owners with some first-hand experiences, I'd love to hear your thoughts, as I may just flip it.

I will say, a 5751 in V2 worked very well. But, as it stands, I'm not as impressed as I think I should be. I don't really get a Marshall vibe from it. Now, I'm kicking myself for selling my 2525H. That amp rocked.

Any recommendations on an attenuator? A Fryette PS-2 is out of the question, GOOD LUCK finding one. That's the other issue. For those who claim to get great lower volume tones, I say B.S. This amp needs massive volume to open up.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you might need to spend more time figuring out how all the controls work together. Have you spent much time with a Jose-modded amp before?

napalmdeath":24esmtas said:
It has new Mullard EL34's in it, and bias is on the money. I rolled some tubes, put a Tungsol in V1, NOS GE 5751 in V2, and Mullard CV4004 in V3.
Click to expand...

Tungsol reissue will be too bright and gainy in these amps, as you've discovered.

napalmdeath":24esmtas said:
slaveunit":24esmtas said:
How are your bright switches set? How much have you played with those?
Click to expand...

Currently, both far left. Both in 60's, and 80's. I've trued several variations, and I think middle on the 2nd switch bypasses that side.
Click to expand...

Using both bright switches is one of the problems. Too much gain. Try Gain 1 switch to the left with Gain one at or below 12:00. Pull out the pot to engage the feel control. Then use Gain 2 as your main gain control. As you reduce Gain 1, it will reduce a bit of gain, but also make the bright cap you engaged with the switch more apparent. As you increase Gain 1, the cap will have less and less effect. If the amp with the zeners OFF has too much gain, though, you bought the wrong amp. These are high-gain amps, not really meant for AC/DC levels of gain even though they can do that. Ok, well not high-gain, because it's all diode clipping. But same thing.

If '80s mode (Era to the right) has too much compression and gain, you can try changing the zeners from 20v to 24v. But 20v zeners really don't have what most would consider an overabundance of clipping... The other mods suggested above are good. Reduce V1a plate load to 330K or even lower. Decrease slope resistor from 47K to 39K – 33K. And you can even try changing the 82K feel resistor off Gain 1 wiper to 68K.

Also these amps like a colder, mismatched bias. Bias to around 60%. Maybe a little higher. And then intentionally mismatch the bias by 3-5mA for each half of the output section (Outer tubes are one half, inner tubes are the other).

And set the pussy trimmer to about 470K-500K to get the typical voltage divider values. It's a 1MA pot, so that would be about 3:00 on the dial.

Go easy on the Presence and Treble. Push the mids.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top