You are doing much of what I would hope the future of TH-cam demos offer: demos with more practical details and honest critique, rather than the most marketing BS. Well done, sir!
Really nice demo. I've been playing higher wattage Laney GH100Ls and GH50Ls for a while now but there's something super cool about the less skin-flaying attack of a lower watt circuit like a Marshall 18w... food for thought.
I agree wholeheartedly. My main amp is a DSL100 I've had for 16 years now and whilst I love it, It can be a bit too much. Something 15 to 30 watts is definitely on the cards.
It's nice to have a little of everything. I'll be journeying out into higher watt territory in the not too distant future! I plan on building a Hey What 504 - a Hiwatt DR504 style amp.
that is a wonderful amp,reminds me of my top hat club royal,that uses the same tube configuration,except is solid state rectified. by the way,love the shirt!
I have built many 18 watt Lite IIb amps, which is just the normal channel. I really like them with 6CM6 power tubes, which are an 9-pin version of a 6V6.
Thanks for putting the 18 Watt Lite IIB on my radar Gay Rambo! That's a tactical rig - it's everything I use regularly on the 18 Watt without any of the frills. Those 6CM6s are still really affordable too. I might have to put one of these together!
Appreciate that Captain Ron! Is the $300 shipping for a unit that includes the head cabinet? I usually source my own cabinets domestically since the shipping costs for those can be pretty high. Might be worth looking into!
Marvelous video, great presentation too. Does the wax from the Candles smoothe out the sound ? Your right though 15-20 watts with a valve rectifier does wonders for the suststain and it cuts off the horrid brittle treble that makes the audience whince in pain. More demos please...with candles.
if you want the tremolo channel to be more usable the tube to swap is v3 (v2 is the pi) i suggest a nos GE 12ax7wa for maximum versatility and a great clean tone more clean headroom later breakup, or if you want to go vintage spec a mullard i63 .
I picked up a pair of Mullard i63s. They sound pretty great! Very quiet tubes with excellent low freq response. The high is nice and smooth too. Thanks for the recommendation!
The Marshall 18-watt is the stuff of legends-pure tube power at its finest. After all my research, I decided to pick up a Sound City Studio 20 since it’s said to be pretty similar. I’ve got a video up on my channel if you’re interested! The cleans are solid, but it’s the overdrive that really takes it to another level. Let me know what you think!
That Sound City sounds pretty great! You've got some nice riffs going over there. Here is a link to the Sound City vid for those who are curioius: th-cam.com/video/poI7u_zQMnw/w-d-xo.html
they are not practice amps they were built for recording! vox ac 4, marshall class 5 and blues jr are crappy i mean practice amps. the 1974/1973/1958 were always expensive and built with no compromises there is no higher class marshall only bigger marshalls .the circuit is actually a copy of a watkins dominator amp from the late 50's. i have the 1974x +cx cab with nos mullard tubes and it sounds much better at 8 ohms with 2 speakers also if you want a better tone swap the first tube to a vintage mullard i63 it will make the tone smoother and a little less bright at the normal channel. enjoy!
Hi Yaniv! When I said practice I meant practicing with a band, but your point about recording is accurate. I appreciate the tube suggestions - I'm always on the lookout for new flavors to try. I had no idea about the Dominator! That's a very stylish amp! Here's an article on it for those who are interested: www.guitarplayer.com/gear/how-the-watkins-dominator-pointed-the-way-forward-to-marshalls-famed-18-watters
@@shoetiquemusic the tubes i suggested mullard i63 were on all marshalls 1965-1974 they are quite expensive and in a few years time will be fewer and much more expensive getem while you can even used
@@shoetiquemusic maybe you can do a before and after video. i work on live gigs and ive put i63's on twin reverbs to tame the fizz and i see jaws dropping every time a guitar player plays it for the first time ,it's a sound they don't expect from a fender and it's perfect for strats and teles. it's also the best tube for a gain channel if you have one or a gain pedal like my tube driver.
@@shoetiquemusic Thanks for the kind words, man. It's a long time since I have uploaded something nice. Wish I could go back to do more of it. Hope to see your channel with more of these nice videos, buddy! 🤘🏼
Hi Peter! I wasn't able to confirm this one way or another. I found this TDPRI thread where folks were talking about it, but there wasn't anything conclusive: www.tdpri.com/threads/ss-rectifier-with-standby-switch.1087427/ Let me know if you are able to find anything one way or the other!
@@shoetiquemusic it is so because of the fact that there is a chance that the CF will arc between the grid and the cathode when the amp is first started. Valve wizard specifies a method to fix this by sticking in a diode between the grid and the cathode (or lamp). Having a standby switch for this seems wrong to me, since arc'ing is definitely happening every time you switch it and it is a flawed design overall. When you have a tube rectifier, it removes the strain from the CF because it takes some time to heat up itself, whereas rectifying diodes start conducting right away. I personally never use the standby switch. CF arc'ing is also quite rare, however I installed the diode there in my plexi just for fun.
@@MagyHimself Thanks for the added detail! You would want the stand by switch in the event that you were not using a diode or neon lamp to prevent arcing in direct-coupled valves, correct? My understanding is that you could do both but you would really only need one or the other - with the diode or neon lamp being the preferred method.
@@shoetiquemusic yes exactly! I spoke with a very well known amp builder in my country and he has had thousands of amps on his bench. He has seen quite a few melted standby switches but no melted CF contacts. So in his opinion, there is no need for the diode even.
Excellent video, no waste, no fuss. The distorted rhythm chords sound excellent, but are not THAT distorted, and WHERE is the GUITAR SOLOING tone(s), the LEAD tone??
I'm about to build an 18 watt tmb using the ceriatone layout. Looking forward to it. I'm not sure what type of master vol to use.. I think I'll end up putting a lar mar or vvr power scale
I wasn't familiar with Lar/Mar or VVR - thanks for bringing these to my attention! This is a very cool idea I might have to try out. These are each methods to achieve master volume on an amp. Here's some details for anyone else who is interested. Lar/Mar: a type of PPIV (Post Phase Inverter) Master Volume which includes two 2.2 meg resistors as a safety feature. The two resistors prevent bias run off in the event the master volume pot fails. [Credit to John I here: www.marshallforum.com/threads/lar-mar-ppimv.72046/] VVR Power Scaling: Variable Voltage Regulator which works by reducing the voltage supply to an amplification stage in an amplifier. [Credit to Emprize Amps here: www.emprizeamps.com/post_powerscaling.html] Let me know if I missed anything soapboxearth!
@shoetiquemusic, sorry I missed your reply. What I've found out about this circuit is that master.volume circuits don't work well with this design. It gets most of its overdrive from the power tubes. So you pretty much need an attenuator. I haven't tried the vvr in it, personally. I built the tmb version of this amp and love it. I've built all my dream amps in the last year and this one is one of my favorites for sure
Cool amp! I am thinking about building an amp after doing about 45 pedals. Maybe this is not the best first amp build though. Maybe the 2nd if the first one goes well. Is that the head cabinet that came from Ceriatone?
Hey JoJo! I think with that many pedals under your belt you're ready for an amp build! The 18W was the second amp I built. The head for this one is from MojoTone. It tends to be cheaper to order the kit including transformers from Ceriatone and to source the cabinet from the country you live in. If you're looking for a simpler build with more documentation to get your feet wet, the MojoTone 5F1 might be a good pick. That was the first one I built. It has a printed build guide included and is well documented across the internet. Just make sure you read up on safety procedures before working on tube amps. The 5F1 won't break the bank and the build itself is pretty straight forward. It will get you acquainted with wiring power transformers, tube sockets, heaters and everything else you need to know about tube amps. After that you'll be in good shape for the 18W! I made a video on the 5F1 here if you're interested: th-cam.com/video/CE3nrM2K2cQ/w-d-xo.html If you have any questions about either build shoot me a comment and I'll try to lend a hand!
@@shoetiquemusic Thank you for your reply! I like the head cabinet you have because it doesn't have the Ceriatone logo on it, which I assume getting one from them would. But maybe not. For a while I was assuming I would start with the 5F1, but after looking more into it, the 5E3 doesn't seem that much more complicated, and I would get may more use out of it. IDK
@@goldenboy8167 That's a good pick! I felt like the 5E3 was more useful overall when I built one a few years after my 5F1. I've got a full video on that one here: th-cam.com/video/p0zhlKJWGH8/w-d-xo.html As for the Ceriatone cab having their name badge - I would reach out to them to see if they would be willing to ship you one without it. Ceriatone is a really cool group of people and they're always willing to answer questions. Let me know if you have any questions during your build! Happy to help a fellow builder!
You're incorrect about 1 case for a standby switch: grid biased amps that use a tap off of the HVT for the bias network source. This arch takes time for the bias to stabilize to the set voltage. 30 seconds is not an unusual amount of time for it to reach its operating voltage.
Hi Peter! I originally thought that as well until I saw their videos on their TH-cam page. Here is an example from the folks at Ceriatone pronouncing it 'Cha-Ree-Uh' themselves: th-cam.com/video/KmCE69KIxq4/w-d-xo.html
@@peterprice5896 I'm having a hard time understanding this concept. Could you please upload an example of you saying Ceriatone very slowly so that I can practice?
You are doing much of what I would hope the future of TH-cam demos offer: demos with more practical details and honest critique, rather than the most marketing BS. Well done, sir!
Much appreciated RhombusZero! My plan is to continuously escalate these videos until someone gives me a cease and desist letter.
Tremelo is very "Born on the Bayou" Nice video Thanks.
Thanks Bill! You're right - Those trems sound very similar! From what I can tell Fogerty used a Kustom, but the feel is VERY close.
This is my new favorite channel. Keep it up!
Thanks Rafael! If I don't do a good job you can bully me in the comments!
This was awesome. I also built a ceriatone 18watter as my 2nd build many moons ago, I went with the TMB EF86. Fantastic amp. Great video
Thanks for the kind words Dan! What are you building next?
@@shoetiquemusic you’re welcome, I can’t decide there are too many to choose from maybe the Son of Yeti 🤘
@@Dan-hp1fj A hot rodded plexi! That will be a fun build! I've got two in my crosshairs - a Trinity OSD and the Ceriatone Hey What.
Great vid, to the point, no wasted time.
Right on Unc! Glad you liked it!
Really nice demo. I've been playing higher wattage Laney GH100Ls and GH50Ls for a while now but there's something super cool about the less skin-flaying attack of a lower watt circuit like a Marshall 18w... food for thought.
I agree wholeheartedly. My main amp is a DSL100 I've had for 16 years now and whilst I love it, It can be a bit too much. Something 15 to 30 watts is definitely on the cards.
It's nice to have a little of everything. I'll be journeying out into higher watt territory in the not too distant future! I plan on building a Hey What 504 - a Hiwatt DR504 style amp.
that is a wonderful amp,reminds me of my top hat club royal,that uses the same tube configuration,except is solid state rectified. by the way,love the shirt!
Thanks Joel! I had never heard of Top Hat Amps - cool stuff!
I have built many 18 watt Lite IIb amps, which is just the normal channel. I really like them with 6CM6 power tubes, which are an 9-pin version of a 6V6.
Thanks for putting the 18 Watt Lite IIB on my radar Gay Rambo! That's a tactical rig - it's everything I use regularly on the 18 Watt without any of the frills. Those 6CM6s are still really affordable too. I might have to put one of these together!
A friend of mine had the 1974 combo and it sounds awesome. I don’t like combo, so I always wanted a head version of this 1974…
You should go for it Phil! Build or buy you won't be disappointed!
Dude you deserve more subscribers.
Thanks Le Solak! I'm happy to know you're digging it!
Big time - I agree!
4:07 😂 hilarious and relatable!
4:54 🎸nailed both the audio and visuals!
Thanks Alina! My camera skills have gone from weiner to dufus.
I like your videos because you’re a real chowderhead like me. Nice work guy!
Thanks angrymechanic!
Great clear and concise review of the 18w... Although, $300 shipping kind of kills off the deal
Appreciate that Captain Ron! Is the $300 shipping for a unit that includes the head cabinet? I usually source my own cabinets domestically since the shipping costs for those can be pretty high. Might be worth looking into!
Ditto!!
Marvelous video, great presentation too. Does the wax from the Candles smoothe out the sound ? Your right though 15-20 watts with a valve rectifier does wonders for the suststain and it cuts off the horrid brittle treble that makes the audience whince in pain. More demos please...with candles.
Much appreciated Giulio! The wax adds mojo as long as it doesn't get into the input jacks. I'll try to drop a new demo each month!
if you want the tremolo channel to be more usable the tube to swap is v3 (v2 is the pi) i suggest a nos GE 12ax7wa for maximum versatility and a great clean tone more clean headroom later breakup, or if you want to go vintage spec a mullard i63 .
I picked up a pair of Mullard i63s. They sound pretty great! Very quiet tubes with excellent low freq response. The high is nice and smooth too. Thanks for the recommendation!
@@shoetiquemusic great to hear! enjoy
yes well done!
Thanks Rik!
The Marshall 18-watt is the stuff of legends-pure tube power at its finest. After all my research, I decided to pick up a Sound City Studio 20 since it’s said to be pretty similar. I’ve got a video up on my channel if you’re interested! The cleans are solid, but it’s the overdrive that really takes it to another level. Let me know what you think!
That Sound City sounds pretty great! You've got some nice riffs going over there. Here is a link to the Sound City vid for those who are curioius: th-cam.com/video/poI7u_zQMnw/w-d-xo.html
@@shoetiquemusic aw thanks, I didn't expect such nice feedback
they are not practice amps they were built for recording! vox ac 4, marshall class 5 and blues jr are crappy i mean practice amps. the 1974/1973/1958 were always expensive and built with no compromises there is no higher class marshall only bigger marshalls .the circuit is actually a copy of a watkins dominator amp from the late 50's. i have the 1974x +cx cab with nos mullard tubes and it sounds much better at 8 ohms with 2 speakers also if you want a better tone swap the first tube to a vintage mullard i63 it will make the tone smoother and a little less bright at the normal channel. enjoy!
Hi Yaniv! When I said practice I meant practicing with a band, but your point about recording is accurate. I appreciate the tube suggestions - I'm always on the lookout for new flavors to try.
I had no idea about the Dominator! That's a very stylish amp! Here's an article on it for those who are interested: www.guitarplayer.com/gear/how-the-watkins-dominator-pointed-the-way-forward-to-marshalls-famed-18-watters
@@shoetiquemusic the tubes i suggested mullard i63 were on all marshalls 1965-1974 they are quite expensive and in a few years time will be fewer and much more expensive getem while you can even used
@@yaniv-nos-tubes If your goal was to get me to buy more tubes you've achieved it. I've got a set of Mullard i63s incoming.
@@shoetiquemusic maybe you can do a before and after video. i work on live gigs and ive put i63's on twin reverbs to tame the fizz and i see jaws dropping every time a guitar player plays it for the first time ,it's a sound they don't expect from a fender and it's perfect for strats and teles. it's also the best tube for a gain channel if you have one or a gain pedal like my tube driver.
Fuck yeah! Sounds awesome!!
Hell yeah buddy! You've got a ton of really great videos on your page! Very stylish and the recordings are excellent!!
@@shoetiquemusic
Thanks for the kind words, man.
It's a long time since I have uploaded something nice. Wish I could go back to do more of it.
Hope to see your channel with more of these nice videos, buddy! 🤘🏼
The amps that really require the standby switch are those that have silicon diode rectifiers and any cathode follower stages.
Hi Peter! I wasn't able to confirm this one way or another. I found this TDPRI thread where folks were talking about it, but there wasn't anything conclusive: www.tdpri.com/threads/ss-rectifier-with-standby-switch.1087427/
Let me know if you are able to find anything one way or the other!
@@shoetiquemusic it is so because of the fact that there is a chance that the CF will arc between the grid and the cathode when the amp is first started. Valve wizard specifies a method to fix this by sticking in a diode between the grid and the cathode (or lamp). Having a standby switch for this seems wrong to me, since arc'ing is definitely happening every time you switch it and it is a flawed design overall. When you have a tube rectifier, it removes the strain from the CF because it takes some time to heat up itself, whereas rectifying diodes start conducting right away. I personally never use the standby switch. CF arc'ing is also quite rare, however I installed the diode there in my plexi just for fun.
@@MagyHimself Thanks for the added detail! You would want the stand by switch in the event that you were not using a diode or neon lamp to prevent arcing in direct-coupled valves, correct? My understanding is that you could do both but you would really only need one or the other - with the diode or neon lamp being the preferred method.
@@shoetiquemusic yes exactly! I spoke with a very well known amp builder in my country and he has had thousands of amps on his bench. He has seen quite a few melted standby switches but no melted CF contacts. So in his opinion, there is no need for the diode even.
Excellent video, no waste, no fuss. The distorted rhythm chords sound excellent, but are not THAT distorted, and WHERE is the GUITAR SOLOING tone(s), the LEAD tone??
Thanks Flip! I’m a rhythm guy through and through. I’ll have to practice my lead work and make a follow up!
i used to eat acid by the sheet,but it was in the 80s thru until about 2010,i cant figure out why i think so differently from most people!
I like that about you Joel!
I'm about to build an 18 watt tmb using the ceriatone layout. Looking forward to it. I'm not sure what type of master vol to use.. I think I'll end up putting a lar mar or vvr power scale
I wasn't familiar with Lar/Mar or VVR - thanks for bringing these to my attention! This is a very cool idea I might have to try out. These are each methods to achieve master volume on an amp. Here's some details for anyone else who is interested.
Lar/Mar: a type of PPIV (Post Phase Inverter) Master Volume which includes two 2.2 meg resistors as a safety feature. The two resistors prevent bias run off in the event the master volume pot fails. [Credit to John I here: www.marshallforum.com/threads/lar-mar-ppimv.72046/]
VVR Power Scaling: Variable Voltage Regulator which works by reducing the voltage supply to an amplification stage in an amplifier. [Credit to Emprize Amps here: www.emprizeamps.com/post_powerscaling.html]
Let me know if I missed anything soapboxearth!
@shoetiquemusic, sorry I missed your reply.
What I've found out about this circuit is that master.volume circuits don't work well with this design. It gets most of its overdrive from the power tubes. So you pretty much need an attenuator.
I haven't tried the vvr in it, personally.
I built the tmb version of this amp and love it. I've built all my dream amps in the last year and this one is one of my favorites for sure
Cool amp! I am thinking about building an amp after doing about 45 pedals. Maybe this is not the best first amp build though. Maybe the 2nd if the first one goes well. Is that the head cabinet that came from Ceriatone?
Hey JoJo! I think with that many pedals under your belt you're ready for an amp build!
The 18W was the second amp I built. The head for this one is from MojoTone. It tends to be cheaper to order the kit including transformers from Ceriatone and to source the cabinet from the country you live in.
If you're looking for a simpler build with more documentation to get your feet wet, the MojoTone 5F1 might be a good pick. That was the first one I built. It has a printed build guide included and is well documented across the internet. Just make sure you read up on safety procedures before working on tube amps.
The 5F1 won't break the bank and the build itself is pretty straight forward. It will get you acquainted with wiring power transformers, tube sockets, heaters and everything else you need to know about tube amps. After that you'll be in good shape for the 18W!
I made a video on the 5F1 here if you're interested: th-cam.com/video/CE3nrM2K2cQ/w-d-xo.html
If you have any questions about either build shoot me a comment and I'll try to lend a hand!
@@shoetiquemusic Thank you for your reply! I like the head cabinet you have because it doesn't have the Ceriatone logo on it, which I assume getting one from them would. But maybe not.
For a while I was assuming I would start with the 5F1, but after looking more into it, the 5E3 doesn't seem that much more complicated, and I would get may more use out of it. IDK
@@goldenboy8167 That's a good pick! I felt like the 5E3 was more useful overall when I built one a few years after my 5F1. I've got a full video on that one here: th-cam.com/video/p0zhlKJWGH8/w-d-xo.html
As for the Ceriatone cab having their name badge - I would reach out to them to see if they would be willing to ship you one without it. Ceriatone is a really cool group of people and they're always willing to answer questions.
Let me know if you have any questions during your build! Happy to help a fellow builder!
@@shoetiquemusic Thank you. I will watch your 5E3 video now. I have read good things about Ceriatoine.
You're incorrect about 1 case for a standby switch: grid biased amps that use a tap off of the HVT for the bias network source. This arch takes time for the bias to stabilize to the set voltage. 30 seconds is not an unusual amount of time for it to reach its operating voltage.
Hi Jamie! Do you have any examples of amps with this kind of set up? I'm not familiar with this topic and I would be interested in learning more.
The tracks are very enjoyable. Normally when I watch amp demos, the playing kinda just doesn't help.
Thanks Bourne! I feel ya on that one. Its usually either noise or playing that's way too technical for me to get into.
Not so rich and beautiful - just like your headband!
Sound and style are subjective things Cazzie. Thanks for watching dingus!
It’s pronounced “seriatone” 👍
Hi Peter! I originally thought that as well until I saw their videos on their TH-cam page. Here is an example from the folks at Ceriatone pronouncing it 'Cha-Ree-Uh' themselves: th-cam.com/video/KmCE69KIxq4/w-d-xo.html
@@shoetiquemusic im going by Gary moore,Rick beato,Tim pierce,and Steve stevens.
Also he has a kuala lumpa accent in English speaking countries we say seriatone……..unless you live in Kuala Lumpur.
@@peterprice5896 I'm having a hard time understanding this concept. Could you please upload an example of you saying Ceriatone very slowly so that I can practice?