Hey My Friend - I was making a joke about the old buildings and the pyramid.  Of course your country is perhaps the most beautiful place on earth.  I would love to come to France and see the countryside.  Go to the south and see Bordeaux and many of the other regions that are so well known.  I live in another highly photogenic area here in California.  San Francisco is quite a city, and the surrounding places, like Yosemite Valley and Lake Tahoe are incredible.  And of course the sea coast is breathtaking. 

I do not know the western part of Canada, but from what I understand, it is dramatically different than the east.  I know Montreal, and the small cities and towns in Halifax and New Brunswick.  They have their own charm.  Montreal is a beautiful city. 

I apologize for the misunderstanding.  I was being sarcastic about the churches and the Louvre.  They are amongst the most beautiful places around. 

Take care. 

Joe

Hey Mon Frer,

I have to tell you - that cabinet build is superb.  The two colors are a beautiful match, and the execution of the Tolex application is phenomenal.  Did you apply the Tolex?  If so how did you getit so straight where the colors meet on the sides.  Are they seams? 

And thank you for the photos of your build.  It doesn't do me a lot of good - your mods are pretty extensive.  You have done a great job creating space in the chassis.  The extra terminal board you mounted for the power resistor circuits are great, and the relay board in the center is very creative.  Moving the main terminal board so it sits over the Power transformer is also quite creative - pick up a ton of space with that change.

Can you tell me the purpose of the steel flange at the foot pedal jack end of the chassis?  Hard to see what that is.  I do see the 9v DC jacks at the far right end of the rear of the chassis - fantastic thinking.  Where do you pick up that voltage?  Did you order your transformer with a 9 V tap?  What is the benefit of the Toroidal transformer?  It sure looks impressive.

Last one - what does the "Stage/Hom" switch do?  I assume "HOM" is Home or bedroom levels, but what is the purpose of that when you have a full half level switch? 

My build is progressing well.  I changed out the Output transformer for a Mercury Magnetics, and the choke as well.  I took your advice and removed my filament wiring - it was most assuredly getting in the way of m,any other installs.  Thanks for that advice.  I will be glad to take any other advice you may feel compelled to offer!  I am quite a big guy (6' 10 " and 400 lbs.  I shudder to think what that might be in metric values... :-)  I am a giant.  My point being it is hard to get my clubs of hands into some of these tight spaces.  It isnt a huge issue, but I can tell you that I get frustrated with the small screws.  Especially because in my package from Nik I got all straight edge screws.  I hate working with straight edge screws.  I have eventually ordered replacement phillips and hex head alternatives, but all of those little bitty screws and nuts drive me ...well...nuts!

I have never been to France, but I guess there isnt all that much to see.  Few old buildings, a couple of big churches, and a museum with a glass pyramid.    I am actually French Canadian by heritage.  Apparently way back in the 18th century my ancestors came over to make their fortune in the new world.  Apparently they spent it all, cause I sure didnt get any.  My last name is Beaulieu - just a tad French I think. 

Thanks STK - I hope you are enjoying yourself with that amp as well.  I will be very interested in finding out what it sounds like. 

Joe

Hey Serialtonekiller,

First - I am very embarrassed.  I am usually pretty quick on the uptake, but I just did not make the association between Ceriatone and SerialTtone.  It is obvious now.  My apologies.  Its actually a great name.

Second - Thanks so much for your response - it is filled with very good information.  The relay configuration change makes great sense, and I will make that change.  I am a little unclear on what "wheel diodes" are however.  Any chance you could point me to the source?

This is only my second amp build, but I am voraciously sucking up as much knowledge as I can, and posts like yours are fantastic tidbits for me to understand. 

You seem to have quite an array of changed parts in that build - I know its not a OTS - I believe you said it was a Twin.  I would love to build that next -0 my roster of amps is lacking a Twin - I think I will make that my next endeavor after I finish this OTS.  Any chance you could post or message me additional pics?  I am looking at amp builds the way many folks look at pics of their grandkids.  I will check out your site                       .

Thanks again for your response.  Perhaps you and I can revive this board.  It is filled with good information.

Thanks - and I appreciate the help very much!  Where in France are you?

Joe

Hey SerialToneKiller,

Thanks for the reply.  I agree it seems like you and I are two of the lonely few on this board.  Maybe we need to be patient and see if this Internet fad keeps going.   

I did get the schematic from Nik, as well as some indication of what the wires in the package are to be used for, and some of  what the large variety of screws are used for.  The wires I may be able to determine from the pics - there are a few gut shots on the main web site, and that link you sent on the forum of another user's build is also a great resource.  I had seen it , but thanks so much.  The screws are another issue - it is almost impossible to tell from the pics which screw is used where.  I am going to go with the smallest screw that does the job thinking.  If I make a mistake its not all that difficult to correct.

I started last night by mounting all of the front and back panel components, and then removed most of the components on the rear because its much easier to wire the filaments with them off.  I will start the wiring with the filaments - I think it is best to do it with as little clutter in the amp as possible.  They I can go from there.

Thanks for your help.  What does your name mean BTW?  I don't understand what Serial Tone is?  Am I just old?  And you aren't located in the San Francisco Bay area by any chance are you?

Joe

Hey All,

I just ordered a 50 watt FMME with CLator.  It is coming as a kit.  I even asked Nik to make the eyelet boards up as kits instead of assembling them.  I just like putting this stuff together.

So as a Noob to Ceriatone, what resources are available  for the build?  What do I get for instructions (if any) and what do people normally use for their builds?  Ar you going off of the Layout doc only?  Is there a schematic?  (I hope so) and are there in process pics somewhere I can reference? 

Per Nik - as a kit I should have mine in about two weeks.  (I placed the order last Friday.  I am really psyched.  One - to build the amp, and two - to play with that much tone.  I have an AxeFX II that I play through now - I also have a Mark V, but I haven't turned that on in a year.    I plan on using the AxeFX II effects (they are very high end effects in the AxeFX) in the CLator loop.  Any advice?  Anyone doing anything similar?

Thanks folks.  I will take plenty of in-process pics and try to share them here.  I did donate to the board.  I hope it keeps going! 

Joe