Ceriatone Forum

I just completed my DZ30 build and thought I'd share a few notes:

1) The 1/4" Cliff jack's washers were too thick to permit inserted 1/4" cables to fully engage the tip once they're mounted on the chassis. If you insert a cable into the unmounted jacks, you can clearly see how the cable tip should be firmly captured by the jack. Using only one of the washers and mounting the jack through the chassis and front (or rear) aluminum faceplates, the Cliff jacks won't be able to completely snag the tip of the connector. Use no washers, and the Cliff jack can't be tightened all the way down. I had to Dremel sand the washers to a little less than 1mm thickness for the jacks to work properly when mounted on the chassis. I used one modified washer per jack, and they now capture a 1/4" plug properly. (The Cliff jacks will work with no modification to the washers, but I prefer to have inserted cables fit fully snug into the jacks.)

2) The 6-way tone switch wiring was a bit confusing; an earlier forum post incorrectly ID'd the sequence. By comparing Nik's circuit board to the "real" schematic, I wired the switch with this sequence: L, K, J, I, N, M — it works as expected. Nik's layout shows the front panel switch wired this way, but if you're only looking at the circuit board, you may get thrown off track.

3) I installed the Hall Amplification VVR board on the back of the chassis between the fuse and the speaker phase switch. This lets me keep the PPIMV master volume functional, and it locates the VVR board right where all the necessary connections are. I took the "Y" connection (as designated on the layout) from pin 8 of the rectifier as my B+ input to the VVR board and sent the B+ output of the board to the standby switch "Y" connection. This way I didn't have to unsolder the output transformer primary center tap or choke connections. See my attached pictures — there's even an existing chassis hole for mounting the MOSFET, and the star ground connections are also conveniently located for the VVR board's ground wiring.

4) The supplied indicator lamp socket was dodgy; the lamp was very difficult to remove and insert. Radio Shack had a nice substitute for a couple of bucks; they also had replacement #47 lamps. The stock red jewel lens fit the Radio Shack lamp assembly perfectly.

5) I'm using Nik's stock transformers for this amp, and so far I'm impressed with the amp's tone — I may try a TDS output transformer just for kicks. If so, I'll do a shootout with clips to see how the two OT's compare.

All in all, this is a killer amp. I also have a BadCat Hot Cat 30R, an Overtone HRM, and a 1975 Marshall JMP Mark II Lead 50w Master Volume — this amp is a fantastic addition to the stable! Highly recommended.

psamm

You did a nice job.
That has always been my gripe with "Cliff" jacks. They basically "tighten" from the back side via the washers.
I worked on a few Soldanos and I noticed they used a metal shim under the Cliff Jacks so that either just one or no washers were required.
But I prefer those to the Switchcraft jacks in most cases.
best

Beautiful build. I just finished mine recently with West Labs trannies. I absolutely love this baby. I posted regarding the 6 way tone. I think you and I started on opposite ends of the rotation, but our order is the same. I found this when reading the manual from Matchless for the c30. They have suggested settings and their tone switch info has position 1 as full counter clockwise rotation. Position 6 should have your chicken head at noon and the fattest sound (if you want it like they build it, any who).

I'm just sourcing parts for the Lar Mar MV and notice the layout on Ceriatone now shows that. I guess that is a recent addition from Nik. I ordered my kit about 3 months ago and It came with the original pull master.

Between the LarMar master vol and the vvr, if you had to have only one of them which would you choose? I'm trying to decide between the two.

On the TDS trannies. I tried for two months to contact them at every number and email they have with no response. I finally gave up and ordered the West trannies andd couldn't be more pleased.

thanks for sharing.  8)

Purpleharmonix,

Thanks for the note. I thought I'd read a much earlier posting during my build about the 6-way tone switch that was questionable; your posting was far more recent. Sorry, didn't mean to imply that yours was incorrect.  ;)  You're right — my switch goes from fat to thin as I go clockwise. (I noticed that my BadCat's clean channel 5-way tone switch goes from "thin" to "fat" as it rotates clockwise; just as the Matchless manual indicates for the C-30. All in the family, hehh...)

I've got to say the PPIMV works very well. I used it for about a week by itself before installing the VVR. I really like using both the master and the VVR together; I set the master at 9-12 o'clock and use the VVR to knock the overall level down to where I need it. Using just the VVR gets me too much output stage saturation; at least with the stock OT. It just doesn't sound sweet and smooth to my ear. I'd recommend that you try to have both installed. There's really no penalty involved; my VVR rear mount is easy enough to get to. I tend to set it once and leave it, and the MV gets to stay on the front panel.

Also, by using the VVR control at only 0-80% range along with the MV, I avoid the scratchy pot syndrome. I've not bothered to install the 1 meg resistor(s) and caps that Dave Hall recommends to avoid this problem because I don't suffer it in my application. If I had to choose just one option at this point I think I'd go with the PPIMV. Unless you're turning it down ridiculously low, the tone really stays there.

I too have had no luck contacting TDS. Their phone number is disconnected, and I got no response to messages left on their web site. I gave up and ordered a WestLabs OT. Will report on the differences, if any. I really have no particular complaint about the stock OT; it's really pretty sweet on the clean and overdriven channels. Maybe I notice some small non-linear artifacts when I really drive the output stage hard using the VVR. I'm mostly just curious about any possible differences . . . . (A $180 worth of curious!  :P)

Glad you're digging your amp — wait till you do those PPIMV/VVR mods; there's even more fun to be had!

psamm

I'm just in the process of putting one together myself and also noticed the issues with the jacks and with the thickness of the chassis and faceplate, you cant use the insulating washers, but only the decorative outter washer plus cgrome threaded nut..i''m just wondering rather than tediously sand the thickness of a washer down for every jack, could I not just file the length of the threaded nut down instead so it wouldn't bottom out and things still not be snug? thank you

I was just over at the bench, took one of those fibre washers and with a razor blade as the fibre washer seem to be laminated as sliced the washer in half which was very easy to do, and now the jacks tighten up perfectly..

hope this help out any new builders

very nice looking build too Psamm and thank you for your thoughts and I didn't mean to hijack your post

I have recently embarked on my DC30 quest. With many thanks to all the good info on this site.  Built a Ceria tone DZ30 kit with TDS trannies, jupiter caps and Trinity amps VVR installed after the first filter cap.  Still working on getting the VVR to do its thing.  I had originally mounted the VVR pot in a new hole i drilled between the IEC power connector and fuse and had the mosfet attached only to the pot and had some overheating issues with the mosfet being only aircooled.  now the mosfet is getting mounted to the chassis so aid in heat transfer.  still waiting on new mosfets after heat killing the original one.  have some NOS tubes to roll into this bad chicken as well, but man i am impressed with this circuit and the LarMar master volume.  really has an incredible range of tones with a great low volume sound.  havnt been able to crank it up yet but im sure it will sing!  I am pairing with a G12M 16ohm green back and Eminence Reignmaker with the attenuating voice coil.  also using a stereo jack plate from amplified parts to be able to run the the speakers in different configurations in a similarily sized matchless type 2x12 cab.  the two speakers really complement each other and with the green back sounding brighter and the Emeinence sounding better and fuller in the clean territory.  the ability to cut9db of the Emi speaker by rotating a dial on the back of the speaker further adds to the different tones being able to be used at lower volumes which sadly is a reality for most of us.  I was able to find a number on the Web for TDS transfomer supply and talked to bob or bill wood for about an hour or so while ordering the OEM matchless trannys. After playing around a little last night i noticed some funky stuff with the cliff jacks squeling untili wiggled the input cable just right. i presume this because my use of only one fibre washer i installed so that may need the help posted by gearjunky. All in all a gorgeous circuit that has a tone for everybody in side of it.