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You’ll usually see the most change by swapping out V1, but you could also lower the gain at V1 and V2 and see what you think. When the gain gets too low it can start to suck all-around. I ended up getting rid of it because it was just too dark for my tastes. I dug the tone, but I don’t play dark metal anymore. My main amp for the last year or so has been my SLO30.

@oldguyjammin9732 Lowering the gain on your amp seemed to brighten the sound to me. If lowering gain darkens the sound, how do you brighten it, add more 12ax7s/gain? Besides an EQ (in front of the amp) and pedals can also brighten the sound, no?

OCD \m/

It’s a common house hold extension cord where the two wires are held side by side inside the rubberized insulation - even larger, multi-wire extension cords have all the wires contained inside one external coating.

Hmmm… don’t think so, but I could be wrong. The TP voltage is labeled on the schematic, so… I’d trust it.

You are correct and in fact, this 4B switch will work on Engl and Victory also. Good luck with your build.

@oldguyjammin9732 thanks. I also got a brother label maker with white letters on black tape to label each switch. So far so good!

Yep, still here ;-) whatcha got?

Nice! Pretty amazing right!?!? Happy New Year \m/

I really don’t even consider Blackstar amps an ALL TUBE deal, but rather hybrids. They sound okay and are fun to play with but the difference becomes pretty apparent as the volume goes up and/or you start pushing them with pedals. I thought it ridiculous that the marketing tag was “Hey, pick me up” rather than how great it may sound, lol.

Great little amp! Thanks for chiming in \m/

I suppose it could, I wouldn’t have minded a bit more spacious layout, but still not nearly as tight as a Mesa… you’re lucky to even get a probe between the components!

Yes, I still have this amp and LOVE it. The 12” is still in there and living large. A 5W amp has no problem driving a 1x12 or even a 2x12, the resistive load is the same regardless of 1, 2, or 4 speakers. It’s an amazing little amp imo. I own other more expensive amps like Stealth, SLO30, Invective but if they made this DSL5 in a head version, I’d have one of those as well - awesome.

I’ve since gotten rid of the beast but it seems I do remember that there was, almost like it didn’t switch until the button came back up. Annoying if you need to switch on a dime.

Yes, it’s the “send” part of the effects loop.

Well… for the money you could get a Tweaker 15 to cover the AC/DC stuff (Surprising how much it sounds like the Little Sister) and a 6L6 Stealth to cover the VH tones, but if you’re sold on Friedman I’d probably side with the JEL, it’s just got more tonal variety imo. The Little Sister does have 3 gain levels but it’s all for the same, singularly voiced channel. I went as far as adding a V2 Hot Mod to my Sister but it still wasn’t quite right for Dio, VH, 80’s metal type stuff. It was also a bit ‘woofy’ which prompted a bright cap/bass cut mod. The LS is very much a classic rock and blues machine. Good luck

@@oldguyjammin9732 thank you for your insight. I actually just may take a look at the Egnator amps. Always seen th around but never gave them a look

@@AntmanFelix - I’ve had a few Rebels and Tweakers, I’d sell them then miss them and pick up another… currently on my 3rd Tweaker 15 but won’t be selling this one. Choices like you’re having to make are sometimes really hard. With the money you’r talking about it may be best to get both and pay to return ship the one you decide not to keep. Happy New Year!!

I’d probably go Spark 2, they are super fun and absolutely great for practicing or small jams. The only real benefit of the Katana head is that you can plug it into a big cab and crank it… if that’s not desired than Spark all the way.

The Engl is a really nice amp, beautifully built with support people that get back in touch with you. It wouldn’t quite get hairy enough for me so I parted ways with it, the Kraken and Stealth have a certain aggression that I really like. Good luck \m/

You’re right, I noticed on playback that the ‘red’ channel on the Kraken was more mid present… probably nothing an EQ adj wouldn’t eve out. Super nice amp and ‘dfferent’ but the Stealth still reigns supreme imo.

Probably pretty darn close… check it out though, the DSL 5 and DSL 40s were markedly different from the latest models. The older 40C was really brittle and harsh on the Ultra channel unlike the 40CR.

that’s a good idea, figuring they’re both “Marshall styled” amps I figured they’d both operate about the same way. The struggle I had with the PT was the need to re-EQ between channel changes, where as with the SLO I seem pretty happy from tone to tone to tone, needing only to adjust the presence knob and hitting the bright switch as I move from a Strat to a much darker EVH Wolfgang. Appreciate the input though - think we’ll put a pin in it 🙂

I currently own an SLO100 that I use live in a metal band. I thought about getting an ox box or suhr reactive load to use for home studio recordings in my rock band. I have the opportunity to trade a guitar for an ox box and pt15 but unsure if i'd really "need" the pt15 since I have the SLO. I realize they are different amps but what tonal advantages do you think they would be for me to have the pt15 along w/ my SLO? Thanks for your time

Probably why I kept it. Appreciate your two cents \m/

Well said! Thanks for the well wishes and you as well.

Marshall in particular, others like Engl or Soldano don’t have as many. Doesn’t seem to hurt the reliability however \m/ Marshalls have a unique tone imo that make them a great addition.

Thanks for chiming in Diego… So many people “drop in” without saying ‘hello’ \m/ see you soon! And Merry Christmas!!

Not enough of a difference to my ears to bother buying the Victory, especially when you've also got the Soldano. The differences in all these amps are so minute that unless you're getting an awesome deal on it it's just a waste of money imo.

DUDE! Yes... the 'burn through' speaks to the law of familiarity and how we get "something different" just because it's different, rather than because it is GOOD, or Better. The Kraken is really good, but the king of amps is still the Stealth... imho ;-)

Yes, the Fireball is a really nice, Marshall type amp that sounds great at lower volumes. While the Fireball just didn’t quite have enough hair for me, this Victory amp has plenty. My comparison of the Victory to the Stealth really surprised me cause they are pretty much identical!! Just a few very subtle differences.

it’s one of my favorites for sure, thanks for chiming in \m/

Perhaps, I didn’t engage it because the Friedman doesn’t have a resonance. And I’m not sure what it is about the Marshall resonance, but I really prefer to have it off…? Maybe because the amp is not particularly ‘tight’ anyway and adding resonance just makes more ‘flarppy’… not sure.

Time Shmime! Rip into that thing and get it done, lol you’ll never get rid of this amp anyway cause you’re gonna love it. Absolute BEST low wattage amp out there… seriously though, I appreciate your comments :-) you happy with the result?

​​@@oldguyjammin9732hey thanks for your reply, i was looking to swap out tubes but didnt know which one to use. Which tube did you end up using again on this amp that had good results? I was considering a 12ax7 EH. Im not into heavy metal but more classic overdriven tones. I still love the way it sounds regardless when I cant crank my DSL40C

@@solderbuddy - 90% sure that I went with a JJ 12AY7, love that tube cause it allows you to crank the Master and helps get rid of a bit of the fizz factor. Makes the gain way more useable imo \m/

The 6505 has a lot more ‘fizz’ or upper end sizzle than the Invective, where as the Invective is tight, tight, tight. The Invective has lots of great tonal features as well like the gate, boost and tight function that are all switchable - NICE! Using the tight allows for a great crunch to hard rock tone and when you switch it off you end up with a great lead tone. It’s a very cool amp. The clean is ‘meh’ and there are certainly better options out there for blues and classic rock but for tight metal type tones, it’s a banger!

Yes, in this case the bright cap(s) go across the pre-amp volume pot. I’m thinking back to my Friedman Little Sister bright cap mod and I believe in that case the cap went across the master volume. A person can try both and see what works best for them, the principle is the same. The Friedman had separate pots NOT mounted to the PCB which made experimenting very easy cause all the lugs were exposed and easily accessible with alligator clips :-)

Great, thanks for that fast reply. BTW, the "sick" sound comes across great on this end and I actually listened to the guitar playing (instead of skipping over it) and enjoyed it. I'll experiment with these bright cap mods on this JCM 800 2204 kit I'm building.

Hopefully HEAR of course, but because so much is lost in TH-cam, you may not… see what I mean?

Haha, know what you mean, I’m on my third Tweaker 15 and am NOT selling this one :-)

I was disappointed with the pots, but everything else is nice.

Well said \m/

It’s very similar to using an overdrive through the front of the amp. For example, if you like this amp (or your amp) but always use an OD to boost it, you could use this and free up space on your pedal board.

I do all right, but thanks

I know that more speakers always ‘sound’ louder :-) but you’re right.

I supposed you’re right, from what I read a comparator normalizes variable inputs, so good call there. I hadn’t noticed lead free in US amps like Friedman, etc but did read that because of the higher melting point, lead free solder actually produces stronger connections. Funny comment about “lead free soldering tips”… go back to using leaded :-) Stay tuned!

You got it! Happy tube rolling \m/

Kind of hate to take advantage of it, but YES THEY ARE. Sure beats $300 for the same thing.

I’d think you’d be able to just look them up based on Voltage and Ampere rating. Mouser Electronics, Digikey, Amplified Parts, etc.

Floyds are easy enough, especially if you block them out. I’d totally recommend the EVH Standards over the Specials however. Same electronics and much more comfortable.

Of course everyone is entitled… Marshall has used similar PCBs for decades, even in flagship models like the JVM410 and 205. They’re pretty darn dependable.