There are different quality PCB’s. If they’re designed with thick enough traces and double sided through hole pads that don’t tip off easily they’re generally fine. They can also help a lot with noise reduction. But their main purpose is cost reduction. Without them ,every tube amp would be $3000 dollars. So they definitely have their place. Without them, tubes probably wouldn’t even be manufactured anymore.
@@williambock1821 i know. Better! U keep sayin that to yourself. There is NOTHING LIKE G10 hand wired. I have been in many 3000 dollar pcb heads and they most certainly skimp out
@@JDStone20 back 15 years ago I was a semi-pro cyclist (I know, hard to believe). But there was a new and upcoming bicycle brand. When asked why nobody has really heard of them, they said they spend their budget on new and innovative designs instead of marketing dollars. Now they are once of the best bikes out there.
For the passed year i have been researching to build my first poin to point tube amp. You have know idea how many questions you've answered from just this. I have subscribed and looking forward to you being ablpart of my first build. My long term goal is to design my amp, but realize this is a hell of a learning curve and love it. I appreciate you being there and not BSing
@@lobodiablo9971 he’s helped me a ton! As long as I thanked him and gave him a shout out he’s a great person no matter what those haters say! My terminology still has a ways to go though!
I used to be a corporate plant engineer overseeing manufacturing and production engineering for one of the largest circuit board manufactures in the United States back in 80’s & 90’s. Typical PCB design utilizes 1/2, 1 or 2 ounce of copper per square foot. Most PCB’s are made of paper based laminate since UL gave the UL ratings. FR2, FR4, CEM1 are of course G10 laminate is a lot more expensive. Traces are designed based current as its primary design criteria. Many times they will make ground planes wide to provide additional shielding. Additionally circuit trace proximity to other traces can have a huge impact on a circuit as even though the primary believe is that the electrons flow through the conductor, the truth is the majority of the flow is via the magnetic field which radiates radially around the conductor which can induce crosstalk or EMI. Traces are measured by circular mils which equates to current capacity. Use to use OrCAD for circuit design.
I totally agree with you 110%, price have to measure up to build-quality, if I’m paying 3k for an 50-100 watt amp head, 1: it has to be all tube, 2: it has to be handwired, 3: it has to have high quality components, 4: the tubes needs to be high quality. With that said, forget about Soldanos, forget about Bogner, Forget about Marshall, forget about Mesa, forget about most brands out there because its BS. The way to go is to buy an amp from someone like you.. or me for that matter, there is not question about thats a better buy, even if it costs 3k its still a better buy. I have some Marshalls and Laneys and some other amp heads, some with PCB, they sound great in my opinion and they did cost some money back in the day, I’m not going that route again, nope, no way. Im building my own shit now with expensive good components. People are obsessed with brand-names, Marshall, Soldano and bla bla bla. Prices of those amps needs to come down quite a bit to be appealing to me, because I have to take in consideration that if it fails (Which it will do) I need to feel like spending the money to repair it, as for me I can do it my self with the most common guitar player can not do it, he/she have to hire someone to repair it. Thanks for the video, you know what you are talking about, I appreciate that. Cheers.
@@HearGear from where I sit, all these people complain about prices. $3k is too much it should be $2999. How are the younger generation going to afford one? It’s like people expect to have them given to them for free. It’s called hard work, goals, and dedication. If you truly care about being a great guitar player, you’ll have the gear you need one day. If you aren’t getting paid to play, you need to work to play.
I totally agree. So many cheap ass pcb amps out there and people keep buying them up . At least you can pick up some cheap and or fried hot rod fenders or marshall pcb amps etc. Tear out the pcb and build your own amp on a turret board. Ive done a hr deluxe, a deville, a blackheart little giant, a crate v5, and I've got a few waiting to be converted , a marshall origin 50 ( soon to be a 1987 plexi) and I picked up a tweed bassman reissue to hand wire. But I do feel bad for people who don't build and don't realize they're buying trash from large corporations...
@@carnovector6396 I think most people aren’t knowledgeable enough and afraid to get hated on every little detail, and they’re too lazy. And then you have the people of this generation that want to learn, but only if it takes 5 minutes or less. Heck even I’m getting into that trap of just watching those “shorts” and it turns into endless hours of watching Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson highlights from their prime lol. A good KO never gets old lol
All my amps are tube amps. I typically play through early 90s classic 50 4-10s. I hate the tube sockets mounted on the pcb. I was changing out tubes a few yrs ago and I ended up cracking a trace which took out the phase inverter tube and the secondary on the transformer. They say they are flex boards, and they are, however, cracking traces are bad news. Great info on you videos. I enjoy your videos and love the insight. Thank you for making them.
I appreciate your knowledge. Would you recommend the Marshall 1959 Handwired reissue. Its hard to know whats pcb and whats Handwired. Thank you man for honesty
Thank you so much. How can get on touch with you. I have Mesa Mrk v90 and older Nomad 45. And man I m kindness worried they won't last. I like Mrk v sound a lot, but I dont think it's very reliable. Mine is still and very new, maybe 5 hours on it. I didn't have all the info I have , thanks to your videos.
@lederman1976 I agree, have definitely played a couple of tube amps that blew me away. One was a real old Laney 100 watt, probably had the better components. Keep spreading the good info man, sure changed my perspective. Can't say it's surprising though, corporations are always charging more for less
use the resistors in series and you can double your volt insulation , use low watt resistors were they can work as fuse for safety , i really like your channel because you are critical to what is accepted by cheap manufacturs ,
@@lederman1976 but its a question about cost , we all want quality for nothing , unfortenly i dont have alot to spend on amps , so i like el 84 SE (Radios) and turret boards , highgain 4 stage and a CF with irf 820 , ,and i like russian M84 (can take a ot of abuse and cheap)
Andy, bro - first off, thank you for your insightful content and the incredible work you’re doing. I’ve been a hobby guitarist for around 20 years, with my fair share of tone obsession (and the inevitable pitfalls of pseudo-bullshit along the way)-and I still absolutely love a great sound. Fun fact: A while back, I was at a guitar shop with a friend of mine (who’s not a guitarist), and I wanted to show him the magic of a real tube amp. I plugged into a Marshall head-or something similarly high-end-and, of course, it was noisy as hell. My friend immediately went, “Why is this POS making all that noise?” and shared a story about being in a Russian boy-scout-style camp in the early ’90s, where he took a sound engineering class. The first thing they taught him was how to make amps silent. I laughed and told him, “Dude, this is a top-of-the-line legendary tube guitar amp-it’s supposed to sound like that. There’s no way around it.” Fast forward to today, and here you are, single-handedly annihilating probably 98% of those “legendary” amps with your designs. Man, it’s brilliant-you’re clearly one of a kind. From your style, I can tell you might not be all that into business-building, but I’m convinced that, if you wanted to, you could elevate your brand into a unique amp manufacturing powerhouse rolling in cash. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your work. Oh, and holy shit, the Stitches amp is phenomenal! If I’m buying a new amp, it’s coming from you. Thanks again for everything you do, and take care, brother.
@@PeanutButterFender bro stitches sounds like nothing u can buy. A unicorn and i am glad a worthy person got it😉. I appreciate you watchin. I try to teach and inspire. There will be may more vids. Thank you
@@PeanutButterFender i suck at promoting myself and i seem to put my foot in my mouth often. I would have no clue as of how to properly promote. I feel the world is against me at times trying to silence me so i do not get a chance to expose the truth
@@donniejean I didn’t buy the amp-someone else did, lucky for them! But if I were in the market, I’d definitely consider it-or, for that matter, anything made by Andy.
@@lederman1976 Bro, hope you don’t mind a bit of semi-unsolicited advice here. Listen, the world you’re up against? It has an insanely high tolerance for any individual trying to expose the truth-it just absorbs it without flinching. The key is this: figure out your core values and your goals. If exposing the truth matters to you, but you also want to reach more people, it might be worth trying a slightly different approach. Focus on how cool your amps are. Skip the negativity for now and shine a light on what makes them amazing. Showcase how they sound with different settings, effects, and styles-rock, blues, metal, whatever-and record short, punchy videos for reels/shorts. Or better yet, hire someone to cut these snippets from your longer videos for a couple hundred bucks. Sharp, bite-sized content will grab more attention and highlight what sets your amps apart. Add practical info too: prices, available mods, custom options-everything potential buyers want to know. Then, between the lines, that’s where you can slip in the truth. Subtly point out how your amps challenge the BS status quo that other manufacturers stick to because no one’s been there to compete-until now. Leave the long-format, in-depth rants for the small minority who love that kind of content. For everyone else, double down on short, easy-to-digest videos that radiate coolness, passion, and killer sound-peppered with those truth-exposing jabs that hit home. This isn’t me telling you what to do-just tossing out some ideas that might help grow your business online and get your amps into more hands. Whatever path you choose, I’m rooting for you. You’ve got talent, and the world needs to hear it!
Hi Andy - Here is the ugly truth - ALL tube guitar amplifiers are built crappily. The most legendary Marshal, Fender or Mesa - Cheaply built. Hand wiring? In the '60s and before they did it because that was what they perceived to be the cheapest. The only reason to hand wire a production amp today is because it make people think it is legit. The sins I will list below trump hand wiring and were universally committed by every manufacturer even on their flagship products. Electrolytic capacitors? Total crap! Carbon Composition resistors of yesteryear? Total crap! Lazy circuit design to not consistently bias tubes over a variety of operating conditions (and over individual tubes)? Total crap! Circuit designs that sound different depending on which manufacturer's tube you insert? Mostly crap! Non-Reed relays used in ANY audio application? Total Crap! Front panel switches that are not gold contact? Total crap, and switches should have access to clean the contacts with cleaner because ALL plastics outgas and coat the contacts. Control panels that are hard to read the knob labels in dim lighting? Total crap.... Amp panels should have backlit lettering on all knob labels; it is not expensive and the high end amps should have a panel dimmer. ANY silicon that passes audio? Total crap! The customer wants a TUBE AMP and I am not gonna cheat him (or her). Stuff we can't fix..... Tubes and Sockets where the pins and contacts are not both gold plated? Total crap! Pots are a guaranteed problem and will be a maintenance problem needing occasional contact cleaner, and anything but the very best? Total crap! I listed some of the things that make an amp into crap.... Modeling amps are way worse than crap and deserve their own section.... They can be dog Sht. I KNOW I can do a pretty good job matching any legendary amp with a DSP for a couple of dollars, but that aint what the customer wants in a field that needs luxury to be healthy. Back to printed circuit boards - I LIKE printed circuit boards because done right (Thick, good clearances, appropriately thick traces with tons of margin), they bring consistency, quality and lower cost to an heirloom amplifier intended to last more than a hundred years. I am done with my rant, but I just opened a fourth beer... ABOUT SPEAKERS, where to begin: Speakers are built to be cheap, but road speakers have special needs: Cheap vinal alligator patterned (alligator pattern seems popular) is the worst; it is fragile. Felt is also fragile. Why not pickup bed liner spray? That stuff holds up pretty well. Why the heavy wood construction? I care about the back of the people moving this stuff! Why not welded aluminum frame and light plywood with internal sound damping? It ain't the acoustics that cause today's designs, it is laziness. Some speakers are housed in particle-board, which is even heavier and crappier. These speakers could way less than half what they do. Have a great evening! PP - Analog circuit designer comfortable with any technology from Tubes to the most modern electronics used in implanted medical devices.
Great video. What if the traces on the PCBs were doubled or tripled in size? Another commenter brought this up. I'm sure that, by doing this, they may have to double or triple the number of boards in the amp to accommodate the greater size, but couldn't this reduce the risk of failure without increasing manufacturing costs much? Handwired amps are the most reparable and therefore the best long-term investment if you plan on keeping it forever, but for resale value, the big names are hard to beat, even if their quality is "garbage". But even if the market is smaller, handwired amps can still be sold to educated buyers like yourself. The problem with the market seems to be consumer education. I've heard about these issues before, but thanks for reminding me and for doing your part to teach these fundamentals. Again, great video.
@@underground_man what happens when a tube fails???? No matter the size or how many the heat will disintegrate all traces and the board will be fucked!
@ good point. I’m not an electronics expert, but it sounds like PCB technology is just incompatible with vacuum tube tech for long-term heavy use. I imagine this would be the case whether it’s a guitar amp, Hi-fi, or anything else. Sounds like the manufacturers only get away with it because tubes don’t fail immediately and most players are not playing their amps enough to wear them out that quickly. Would you agree?
@@underground_man that is a accurate way of saying it man. My problem is that they knowingly do it without regard. I hate to be abrasive but they need to be called the fuck out for their misdeeds.
@@lederman1976 by the way I wanted to tell you I used a 1930s wind organ tube amplifier and turned it into a guitar amplifier all the wind organ effects are there. And I use the Black widow Peavey speaker to drive the output of the tube amp it sounds very unique and different using wind organ effects 😂 it sounds really good though
@lederman1976 well maybe sometime I'll play it here on TH-cam now you know recordings don't do any amplifier Justice but it does sound really awesome believe it or not those wind organ tube amps are really loud it's about 40 watts of true tube power
The green is solder resist, stops solder going were you don't want it, i think if amps hadn't gone PCB most valve amp companies would have gone bust as average joe couldn't afford them, what i hate is regressive penny pinching like marshall did with the jvm putting bias pots and ht fuses on the main pcb instead of the chasiss, also some traces are so thin now you daren't put a soldering iron on them
PCBs, in tube amps or otherwise, aren't bad perse. The fundamental issue isn't really PCBs, it's about accountants and arguably even more essentially capitalism. Whether a PCB is good or bad or of suitable weight/capacity for the purpose is a function of the weight of the copper traces and solder pads they're made with. They're too often minimally spec'd crap, but they DO NOT have to be made that way--the cheap ones are bean counter decisions, not engineering decisions. Time is relative and forever is beyond our time or comprehension. If amps worked without fail forever, then there would be no employed amp repair techs. BTW, this is what I think of lifetime guarantees: They're nice gestures, but whose lifetime? To put this in perspective another way, even 250/300-watt Ampeg SVTs that were made in 1969 have PCBs. The pads can get burned eventually, that's relatively common. What to do about those situations depends on the amp and their condition. Would anyone with any sense throw out a '69 SVT because of burnt pads? No.
@@lederman1976 Some have been made better than others, and some have been more profitable to produce than others. Virtually all amps have been produced with the intent to make a monetary profit from the outset, including when Leo and K&F started making them circa 1945/'46. Making anything for a financial loss is either a business mistake or a person doing something for the love of a hobby or the ones they make or do the thing for. Investors and accountants care the least about producing quality products. We don't make this system. I don't like it personally, but here we are nonetheless.
@@YTPartyTonight look i do not take criticism well so please excuse me if i went off the deep end. I do have a-lot of. Passion and it is hard to tell what people really mean on the other end sometimes
I like to build my own amps anymore hand wired turret boards with better components and I agree with you on all this. The quality is lowered everyday on everything they make. They build land fill stuff today just to get richer! I learned so much in the last year building my own amps , MoJo Tone , Tube Depot just to name a few. Hand wire is the way to go if you one an amp that will last. PCB boards with cold solder joints from cost cutting and as I believe built in failures for replacement for future sales!!!! Companies and job security! They had a towel on 😂🤣
@@monkofwar so 4years ago i bought a mkiii. The reviews were outstanding . The forums bragged it up. I had a silver jubilee and a jcm 900 at the time. I needed more gain. Slipknot used it so it hat to be epic right. 2400 bucks and its at my door. Clean channel sterile crunch channel was good. Gain channel was weak and noiseless. I tried to love it! Sold it a month later. The person i sold it to brought it here for a retube 2 years ago. I looked inside and guess what i found. The cheapest parts EVER! So did u get ripped off? We i did but if you like that tone then the answer is no. I tell you this. In my opinion tone can be 70% better than what that thing has to offer
@@lederman1976 Thanks brother, you will be hearing from me. I do love the Rockerverb tone at about 60% gain max, anymore than that and it turns into a fizz monster. I appreciate you bud.
@@lederman1976 Not all Friedman amps are good, but some of them are better than others. A lot of people use ENGL, and never seem to have a problem with them. I heard they are not easy to work on, because they mount the boards component side down.
@@lederman1976 That's why you use effects with it, to create your own sound. The player is more important than the gear. The gear all does the same thing, the artist is the unique element. Remember when Nuno Bettencourt got to play Eddie Van Halens rig at Eddies studio? Nuno was excited, because he wanted to sound like Eddie, and now he was getting the chance to play on Eddies personal rig. But when he played on Eddies rig, he sounded exactly like himself. He was kinda disappointed. But he learned something that day. It's not the gear, it's the player.
As I said recently, it's all in the tolerances. I've been saying that for god knows how long. I'm glad that I'm not crazy. But those points about traces and hand wiring, dude, perfect! Also, corporate greed is insane, but that's what capitalism is. Minimizing investments, maximizing profits, and they rely on their brand, and people just eat it up. Also, thank you for making these video. Please don't stop.
Im definately not a expert but I want quality when I buy a amp ,but I have watching alot of builders and techs and yes alot of PCB boards are crap ,but it you use a thicker board and bigger traces and designed right they are better than point to point wiring ,I think the main reason for good PCB boards versus point to point wiring is Cost to build ,the other problem they say is finding tubes that will last ,im just relaying what I have learned so far ,so when im ready I will probably buy a Friedman or maybe a Shur ,I have some old vintage amps that are awesome but not all of them are point to point ,my 70 ampeg has PCB boards but it dosnt fail, its the inferior muilti caps that do ,but the Tubes are not on top of the board ,I watch these tech guys and learn which ones your talking about and agree with you
@@joemcgraw5529 not to be rude but you have substandard opinions of what quality is. Go buy a fried- man. Bummer bro to say the least. There are those that follow and those that lead.
I am not insulting you i am saying you are watching the wrong creators if you think fried-man amps are any good. Marketing ploy at best. Plus i think he is a sellout thief!
@@joemcgraw5529 I bought A YDNA amp and even was able to design it. It has a 1930’s Ampeg handle on it :) But the proof is there in person. He makes them so articulate it’s crazy. And I own the Fortins, the Evil pumpkin, all the high end amps, and playing next to his is just night and day. I wish I would have met him $thousands of dollars ago! But people don’t apply “you get what you pay for “ sadly. They want the Bugatti on a 1985 Honda budget. I have clients like that all the time. It’s frustrating to say the least.
There are different quality PCB’s. If they’re designed with thick enough traces and double sided through hole pads that don’t tip off easily they’re generally fine. They can also help a lot with noise reduction. But their main purpose is cost reduction. Without them ,every tube amp would be $3000 dollars. So they definitely have their place. Without them, tubes probably wouldn’t even be manufactured anymore.
@@williambock1821 i know. Better! U keep sayin that to yourself. There is NOTHING LIKE G10 hand wired. I have been in many 3000 dollar pcb heads and they most certainly skimp out
I agree %100. Big corporations keep cutting costs to increase profits instead of innovating and coming out with new, good, well-built products.
@@JDStone20 back 15 years ago I was a semi-pro cyclist (I know, hard to believe). But there was a new and upcoming bicycle brand. When asked why nobody has really heard of them, they said they spend their budget on new and innovative designs instead of marketing dollars. Now they are once of the best bikes out there.
@@JDStone20 watch me telefunken series i am doing. 100% real and full of innovation
It’s also about consistency of tolerances over large runs that hand wired can’t maintain.
@@gasstationjunkfoodie the fuck kind of drugs u on
@@gasstationjunkfoodie well if layout is correct and thought about you will have no fucking long runs
For the passed year i have been researching to build my first poin to point tube amp. You have know idea how many questions you've answered from just this. I have subscribed and looking forward to you being ablpart of my first build. My long term goal is to design my amp, but realize this is a hell of a learning curve and love it. I appreciate you being there and not BSing
@@lobodiablo9971 ty man i will try to help if u need it
Appreciate you bro @@lederman1976
@@lobodiablo9971 he’s helped me a ton! As long as I thanked him and gave him a shout out he’s a great person no matter what those haters say! My terminology still has a ways to go though!
Thanks for the input. I'm slowly gathering parts and studying. @@donniejean
@ slow is fast and fast is slow! Keep at it!
I used to be a corporate plant engineer overseeing manufacturing and production engineering for one of the largest circuit board manufactures in the United States back in 80’s & 90’s.
Typical PCB design utilizes 1/2, 1 or 2 ounce of copper per square foot.
Most PCB’s are made of paper based laminate since UL gave the UL ratings. FR2, FR4, CEM1 are of course G10 laminate is a lot more expensive.
Traces are designed based current as its primary design criteria. Many times they will make ground planes wide to provide additional shielding.
Additionally circuit trace proximity to other traces can have a huge impact on a circuit as even though the primary believe is that the electrons flow through the conductor, the truth is the majority of the flow is via the magnetic field which radiates radially around the conductor which can induce crosstalk or EMI.
Traces are measured by circular mils which equates to current capacity. Use to use OrCAD for circuit design.
@@MikeW-u4z i love this comment for some reason
I totally agree with you 110%, price have to measure up to build-quality, if I’m paying 3k for an 50-100 watt amp head, 1: it has to be all tube, 2: it has to be handwired, 3: it has to have high quality components, 4: the tubes needs to be high quality. With that said, forget about Soldanos, forget about Bogner, Forget about Marshall, forget about Mesa, forget about most brands out there because its BS. The way to go is to buy an amp from someone like you.. or me for that matter, there is not question about thats a better buy, even if it costs 3k its still a better buy. I have some Marshalls and Laneys and some other amp heads, some with PCB, they sound great in my opinion and they did cost some money back in the day, I’m not going that route again, nope, no way. Im building my own shit now with expensive good components. People are obsessed with brand-names, Marshall, Soldano and bla bla bla. Prices of those amps needs to come down quite a bit to be appealing to me, because I have to take in consideration that if it fails (Which it will do) I need to feel like spending the money to repair it, as for me I can do it my self with the most common guitar player can not do it, he/she have to hire someone to repair it. Thanks for the video, you know what you are talking about, I appreciate that. Cheers.
@@HearGear right on brother
@@HearGear from where I sit, all these people complain about prices. $3k is too much it should be $2999. How are the younger generation going to afford one? It’s like people expect to have them given to them for free. It’s called hard work, goals, and dedication. If you truly care about being a great guitar player, you’ll have the gear you need one day. If you aren’t getting paid to play, you need to work to play.
I totally agree. So many cheap ass pcb amps out there and people keep buying them up . At least you can pick up some cheap and or fried hot rod fenders or marshall pcb amps etc. Tear out the pcb and build your own amp on a turret board.
Ive done a hr deluxe, a deville, a blackheart little giant, a crate v5, and I've got a few waiting to be converted , a marshall origin 50 ( soon to be a 1987 plexi) and I picked up a tweed bassman reissue to hand wire.
But I do feel bad for people who don't build and don't realize they're buying trash from large corporations...
@@soapboxearth2 hell yes!!!
@@soapboxearth2 i feel bad too
damn thanks for the lesson lol nobody here on youtube ever really takes the time to explain these things to people
@@carnovector6396 I think most people aren’t knowledgeable enough and afraid to get hated on every little detail, and they’re too lazy. And then you have the people of this generation that want to learn, but only if it takes 5 minutes or less. Heck even I’m getting into that trap of just watching those “shorts” and it turns into endless hours of watching Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson highlights from their prime lol. A good KO never gets old lol
All my amps are tube amps. I typically play through early 90s classic 50 4-10s. I hate the tube sockets mounted on the pcb. I was changing out tubes a few yrs ago and I ended up cracking a trace which took out the phase inverter tube and the secondary on the transformer. They say they are flex boards, and they are, however, cracking traces are bad news. Great info on you videos. I enjoy your videos and love the insight. Thank you for making them.
@@keithcornett thank for watching
Hello Andy, what amp would you recommend. I would love to get a good reliable amp. I have a mess mrk v and nomad. But i worried about reliability.
I appreciate your knowledge. Would you recommend the Marshall 1959 Handwired reissue. Its hard to know whats pcb and whats Handwired. Thank you man for honesty
@@armenchiloyan5723 i recommend this reverb.com/item/86123671-marshall-jcm-800-hand-rebuilt-1981-black
Thank you man
@@armenchiloyan5723 as far as reproduction nooooo get the original and have a tech go through it. Or just have me make u one custom
Thank you so much. How can get on touch with you. I have Mesa Mrk v90 and older Nomad 45. And man I m kindness worried they won't last. I like Mrk v sound a lot, but I dont think it's very reliable. Mine is still and very new, maybe 5 hours on it. I didn't have all the info I have , thanks to your videos.
@ call anytime 607 703 9331
Man, very very usefull information you are putting here. Thanks
@@dicastro394 lol
Killer video man, I was very dissolutioned with tube amps and ended up buying a quilter solid state. Got any thoughts on those at all?
@@tysonmnia i like solid state. But they are nothing like a fine tuned tube am designed properly. I have 2 solid state ams here i will never sell.
@lederman1976 I agree, have definitely played a couple of tube amps that blew me away. One was a real old Laney 100 watt, probably had the better components. Keep spreading the good info man, sure changed my perspective. Can't say it's surprising though, corporations are always charging more for less
@ im building a high gain amp on here now
Thanks bro. Not into guitar amps but I’m getting back into the hifi hobby and this was very informative. Thx!
ah the old electrons are like water analogy
use the resistors in series and you can double your volt insulation , use low watt resistors were they can work as fuse for safety , i really like your channel because you are critical to what is accepted by cheap manufacturs ,
@@breakfastbuddy5 yeah we all had to learn the hard way unfortunately.
@@lederman1976 but its a question about cost , we all want quality for nothing , unfortenly i dont have alot to spend on amps , so i like el 84 SE (Radios) and turret boards , highgain 4 stage and a CF with irf 820 , ,and i like russian M84 (can take a ot of abuse and cheap)
@ yeah quality does cost. Sux. I loose on almost every amp i build
Andy, bro - first off, thank you for your insightful content and the incredible work you’re doing. I’ve been a hobby guitarist for around 20 years, with my fair share of tone obsession (and the inevitable pitfalls of pseudo-bullshit along the way)-and I still absolutely love a great sound.
Fun fact: A while back, I was at a guitar shop with a friend of mine (who’s not a guitarist), and I wanted to show him the magic of a real tube amp. I plugged into a Marshall head-or something similarly high-end-and, of course, it was noisy as hell. My friend immediately went, “Why is this POS making all that noise?” and shared a story about being in a Russian boy-scout-style camp in the early ’90s, where he took a sound engineering class. The first thing they taught him was how to make amps silent. I laughed and told him, “Dude, this is a top-of-the-line legendary tube guitar amp-it’s supposed to sound like that. There’s no way around it.”
Fast forward to today, and here you are, single-handedly annihilating probably 98% of those “legendary” amps with your designs. Man, it’s brilliant-you’re clearly one of a kind. From your style, I can tell you might not be all that into business-building, but I’m convinced that, if you wanted to, you could elevate your brand into a unique amp manufacturing powerhouse rolling in cash.
I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your work. Oh, and holy shit, the Stitches amp is phenomenal! If I’m buying a new amp, it’s coming from you. Thanks again for everything you do, and take care, brother.
@@PeanutButterFender bro stitches sounds like nothing u can buy. A unicorn and i am glad a worthy person got it😉. I appreciate you watchin. I try to teach and inspire. There will be may more vids. Thank you
Aw man you got stitches! I heard a sound clip and it’s AMAZING! I like these informational vids you’re doing @ydnaamplification
@@PeanutButterFender i suck at promoting myself and i seem to put my foot in my mouth often. I would have no clue as of how to properly promote. I feel the world is against me at times trying to silence me so i do not get a chance to expose the truth
@@donniejean I didn’t buy the amp-someone else did, lucky for them! But if I were in the market, I’d definitely consider it-or, for that matter, anything made by Andy.
@@lederman1976 Bro, hope you don’t mind a bit of semi-unsolicited advice here. Listen, the world you’re up against? It has an insanely high tolerance for any individual trying to expose the truth-it just absorbs it without flinching. The key is this: figure out your core values and your goals. If exposing the truth matters to you, but you also want to reach more people, it might be worth trying a slightly different approach.
Focus on how cool your amps are. Skip the negativity for now and shine a light on what makes them amazing. Showcase how they sound with different settings, effects, and styles-rock, blues, metal, whatever-and record short, punchy videos for reels/shorts. Or better yet, hire someone to cut these snippets from your longer videos for a couple hundred bucks. Sharp, bite-sized content will grab more attention and highlight what sets your amps apart.
Add practical info too: prices, available mods, custom options-everything potential buyers want to know. Then, between the lines, that’s where you can slip in the truth. Subtly point out how your amps challenge the BS status quo that other manufacturers stick to because no one’s been there to compete-until now.
Leave the long-format, in-depth rants for the small minority who love that kind of content. For everyone else, double down on short, easy-to-digest videos that radiate coolness, passion, and killer sound-peppered with those truth-exposing jabs that hit home.
This isn’t me telling you what to do-just tossing out some ideas that might help grow your business online and get your amps into more hands. Whatever path you choose, I’m rooting for you. You’ve got talent, and the world needs to hear it!
Hi Andy - Here is the ugly truth - ALL tube guitar amplifiers are built crappily. The most legendary Marshal, Fender or Mesa - Cheaply built. Hand wiring? In the '60s and before they did it because that was what they perceived to be the cheapest. The only reason to hand wire a production amp today is because it make people think it is legit. The sins I will list below trump hand wiring and were universally committed by every manufacturer even on their flagship products.
Electrolytic capacitors? Total crap! Carbon Composition resistors of yesteryear? Total crap! Lazy circuit design to not consistently bias tubes over a variety of operating conditions (and over individual tubes)? Total crap! Circuit designs that sound different depending on which manufacturer's tube you insert? Mostly crap! Non-Reed relays used in ANY audio application? Total Crap! Front panel switches that are not gold contact? Total crap, and switches should have access to clean the contacts with cleaner because ALL plastics outgas and coat the contacts. Control panels that are hard to read the knob labels in dim lighting? Total crap.... Amp panels should have backlit lettering on all knob labels; it is not expensive and the high end amps should have a panel dimmer. ANY silicon that passes audio? Total crap! The customer wants a TUBE AMP and I am not gonna cheat him (or her).
Stuff we can't fix..... Tubes and Sockets where the pins and contacts are not both gold plated? Total crap! Pots are a guaranteed problem and will be a maintenance problem needing occasional contact cleaner, and anything but the very best? Total crap!
I listed some of the things that make an amp into crap.... Modeling amps are way worse than crap and deserve their own section.... They can be dog Sht. I KNOW I can do a pretty good job matching any legendary amp with a DSP for a couple of dollars, but that aint what the customer wants in a field that needs luxury to be healthy.
Back to printed circuit boards - I LIKE printed circuit boards because done right (Thick, good clearances, appropriately thick traces with tons of margin), they bring consistency, quality and lower cost to an heirloom amplifier intended to last more than a hundred years.
I am done with my rant, but I just opened a fourth beer... ABOUT SPEAKERS, where to begin:
Speakers are built to be cheap, but road speakers have special needs:
Cheap vinal alligator patterned (alligator pattern seems popular) is the worst; it is fragile. Felt is also fragile. Why not pickup bed liner spray? That stuff holds up pretty well.
Why the heavy wood construction? I care about the back of the people moving this stuff! Why not welded aluminum frame and light plywood with internal sound damping? It ain't the acoustics that cause today's designs, it is laziness. Some speakers are housed in particle-board, which is even heavier and crappier. These speakers could way less than half what they do.
Have a great evening!
PP - Analog circuit designer comfortable with any technology from Tubes to the most modern electronics used in implanted medical devices.
@petepeterson5337 - I liked your rant
I think what you actually mean is low current density not necessarily low voltage.
@@TheSquaredM probably i get cruisin sometimes and mash words
Great video. What if the traces on the PCBs were doubled or tripled in size? Another commenter brought this up. I'm sure that, by doing this, they may have to double or triple the number of boards in the amp to accommodate the greater size, but couldn't this reduce the risk of failure without increasing manufacturing costs much? Handwired amps are the most reparable and therefore the best long-term investment if you plan on keeping it forever, but for resale value, the big names are hard to beat, even if their quality is "garbage". But even if the market is smaller, handwired amps can still be sold to educated buyers like yourself. The problem with the market seems to be consumer education. I've heard about these issues before, but thanks for reminding me and for doing your part to teach these fundamentals. Again, great video.
@@underground_man what happens when a tube fails???? No matter the size or how many the heat will disintegrate all traces and the board will be fucked!
@ good point. I’m not an electronics expert, but it sounds like PCB technology is just incompatible with vacuum tube tech for long-term heavy use. I imagine this would be the case whether it’s a guitar amp, Hi-fi, or anything else. Sounds like the manufacturers only get away with it because tubes don’t fail immediately and most players are not playing their amps enough to wear them out that quickly. Would you agree?
@@underground_man that is a accurate way of saying it man. My problem is that they knowingly do it without regard. I hate to be abrasive but they need to be called the fuck out for their misdeeds.
100 % agree keep up the great work happy holidays 💯🎅✌️😎
@@SS-mj2mq thanks
@lederman1976 you're very much welcome happy holidays are point of views are the same when it comes to this matter once again thanks for sharing ✌️😃
@@lederman1976 by the way I wanted to tell you I used a 1930s wind organ tube amplifier and turned it into a guitar amplifier all the wind organ effects are there. And I use the Black widow Peavey speaker to drive the output of the tube amp it sounds very unique and different using wind organ effects 😂 it sounds really good though
@ that is cool. I would love to hear it
@lederman1976 well maybe sometime I'll play it here on TH-cam now you know recordings don't do any amplifier Justice but it does sound really awesome believe it or not those wind organ tube amps are really loud it's about 40 watts of true tube power
The green is solder resist, stops solder going were you don't want it, i think if amps hadn't gone PCB most valve amp companies would have gone bust as average joe couldn't afford them, what i hate is regressive penny pinching like marshall did with the jvm putting bias pots and ht fuses on the main pcb instead of the chasiss, also some traces are so thin now you daren't put a soldering iron on them
FYI ---> Buy a Victoria amp...new or used...and it will last you all of your life. Everything in the amp is easily repairable. You are welcome.
@@johnbrown4568 now why the fuck would i do that??? I design amps
@@johnbrown4568 what are the price on those? Is that what you play? I haven’t heard of them.
PCBs, in tube amps or otherwise, aren't bad perse. The fundamental issue isn't really PCBs, it's about accountants and arguably even more essentially capitalism. Whether a PCB is good or bad or of suitable weight/capacity for the purpose is a function of the weight of the copper traces and solder pads they're made with. They're too often minimally spec'd crap, but they DO NOT have to be made that way--the cheap ones are bean counter decisions, not engineering decisions. Time is relative and forever is beyond our time or comprehension. If amps worked without fail forever, then there would be no employed amp repair techs. BTW, this is what I think of lifetime guarantees: They're nice gestures, but whose lifetime? To put this in perspective another way, even 250/300-watt Ampeg SVTs that were made in 1969 have PCBs. The pads can get burned eventually, that's relatively common. What to do about those situations depends on the amp and their condition. Would anyone with any sense throw out a '69 SVT because of burnt pads? No.
@@YTPartyTonightmost amps made today are made for profit. They could not care less about quality.
@@lederman1976 Some have been made better than others, and some have been more profitable to produce than others. Virtually all amps have been produced with the intent to make a monetary profit from the outset, including when Leo and K&F started making them circa 1945/'46. Making anything for a financial loss is either a business mistake or a person doing something for the love of a hobby or the ones they make or do the thing for. Investors and accountants care the least about producing quality products. We don't make this system. I don't like it personally, but here we are nonetheless.
@ i put my heart and soul in every amp profit or not
@@lederman1976 That's honorable. I respect that. I'd never say otherwise.
@@YTPartyTonight look i do not take criticism well so please excuse me if i went off the deep end. I do have a-lot of. Passion and it is hard to tell what people really mean on the other end sometimes
I like to build my own amps anymore hand wired turret boards with better components and I agree with you on all this. The quality is lowered everyday on everything they make. They build land fill stuff today just to get richer! I learned so much in the last year building my own amps , MoJo Tone , Tube Depot just to name a few. Hand wire is the way to go if you one an amp that will last. PCB boards with cold solder joints from cost cutting and as I believe built in failures for replacement for future sales!!!! Companies and job security! They had a towel on 😂🤣
I recently bought an Orange Rockerverb 50 MKiii Combo made in the UK, did I get ripped off? Also, I want to buy an amp from you, talk to me. Thanks
@@monkofwar so 4years ago i bought a mkiii. The reviews were outstanding . The forums bragged it up. I had a silver jubilee and a jcm 900 at the time. I needed more gain. Slipknot used it so it hat to be epic right. 2400 bucks and its at my door. Clean channel sterile crunch channel was good. Gain channel was weak and noiseless. I tried to love it! Sold it a month later. The person i sold it to brought it here for a retube 2 years ago. I looked inside and guess what i found. The cheapest parts EVER! So did u get ripped off? We i did but if you like that tone then the answer is no. I tell you this. In my opinion tone can be 70% better than what that thing has to offer
@@monkofwar and if you want to talk call me. 6077039331
@@lederman1976 Thanks brother, you will be hearing from me. I do love the Rockerverb tone at about 60% gain max, anymore than that and it turns into a fizz monster. I appreciate you bud.
@ Is it possible to take out the cheap bits and replace them with quality parts, or is the whole thing a total shit show and not worth the effort?
@ pcb fries
so how can i reach you if i want an amp?
@@carnovector6396 6077039331 call anytime
@@lederman1976oh im in canada actually, you have a facebook i could reach you on?
The B in PCB is Board. It’s PCB or PC Board
Mezzabarba amps are high quality. A lot of Friedman amps are also good. ENGL is pretty good.
MESA is bad. EVH is not good.
@@TheCyberMantis mezzabarba are great friedman and engl are trash imo! Sellouts!
@@lederman1976 Not all Friedman amps are good, but some of them are better than others. A lot of people use ENGL, and never seem to have a problem with them. I heard they are not easy to work on, because they mount the boards component side down.
@ most of them just are made to be mass produced nothing special about having a factory amp that everyone else has man
@@lederman1976 That's why you use effects with it, to create your own sound. The player is more important than the gear. The gear all does the same thing, the artist is the unique element. Remember when Nuno Bettencourt got to play Eddie Van Halens rig at Eddies studio? Nuno was excited, because he wanted to sound like Eddie, and now he was getting the chance to play on Eddies personal rig. But when he played on Eddies rig, he sounded exactly like himself. He was kinda disappointed. But he learned something that day. It's not the gear, it's the player.
@ bullshit! Yes a artist is an instrument in itself but gear has a huge impact on tone and feel so i disagree.
i love pterodactyl voices
As I said recently, it's all in the tolerances. I've been saying that for god knows how long. I'm glad that I'm not crazy. But those points about traces and hand wiring, dude, perfect! Also, corporate greed is insane, but that's what capitalism is. Minimizing investments, maximizing profits, and they rely on their brand, and people just eat it up.
Also, thank you for making these video. Please don't stop.
Fuckin subbed. GREAT content.
Im definately not a expert but I want quality when I buy a amp ,but I have watching alot of builders and techs and yes alot of PCB boards are crap ,but it you use a thicker board and bigger traces and designed right they are better than point to point wiring ,I think the main reason for good PCB boards versus point to point wiring is Cost to build ,the other problem they say is finding tubes that will last ,im just relaying what I have learned so far ,so when im ready I will probably buy a Friedman or maybe a Shur ,I have some old vintage amps that are awesome but not all of them are point to point ,my 70 ampeg has PCB boards but it dosnt fail, its the inferior muilti caps that do ,but the Tubes are not on top of the board ,I watch these tech guys and learn which ones your talking about and agree with you
@@joemcgraw5529 not to be rude but you have substandard opinions of what quality is. Go buy a fried- man. Bummer bro to say the least. There are those that follow and those that lead.
I am not insulting you i am saying you are watching the wrong creators if you think fried-man amps are any good. Marketing ploy at best. Plus i think he is a sellout thief!
@@joemcgraw5529 I bought A YDNA amp and even was able to design it. It has a 1930’s Ampeg handle on it :)
But the proof is there in person. He makes them so articulate it’s crazy. And I own the Fortins, the Evil pumpkin, all the high end amps, and playing next to his is just night and day. I wish I would have met him $thousands of dollars ago! But people don’t apply “you get what you pay for “ sadly. They want the Bugatti on a 1985 Honda budget. I have clients like that all the time. It’s frustrating to say the least.
@@donniejean thats right don u did design it!!!!! It was made specifically for you and i am glad you let me build it!
@@JMichaelRox water is just a comparison to current for people who do not know and can understand it in a easy way to get them learning!
buy more junk you're a victim of your self lol