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Title: My Creme Brulee that Nik made me Post by: sixstringsteve on November 28, 2007, 01:57:33 AM Ok, so I had a DC-30 kit from Nik, and I absolutely loved it, but I was running it at half power all the time, and it was still way too loud for the soundman. So I emailed Nik about a million times with a million questions, and he assured me that he could make me an amp that sounds just as good at half power.
Here's what I wanted: the EF86 side of the DC-30 2 el84's (I burn them up too fast, and I'd rather replace 2 than 4) a half power switch, or pentode/triode mode (so I could run it at 15 watts and 7 watts, then run the preamp in pentode and triode) 6-way rotary tone switch selectable impedance 2 inputs a cut knob bypassable master volume Here's what I got: the ef86 side of the DC-30 2 el84's a half power switch a boost switch (I assume this is the pentode/triode switch, but I don't even care what it is because it sounds so good) 6-way rotary tone controls selectable impedance 2 inputs a cut knob bypassable master volume and... a 3- position bright switch an effects loop It may not seem like much, but Nik went above and beyond. I have no clue how many prototypes he had to go through, but the end result is amazing. It's all I imagined and more. I love it just as much as my DC-30. The master volume is far more usable and quiet than the DC-30. The Creme Brulee can get 95% as loud as the DC-30 (which is still too loud for my sound guy). It's just the perfect amp for me, where I needed a biting, voxy, spanky, punchy, in-you-face amp. I'm thrilled. Currently I"m having trouble with one of the pots. As soon as I get that figured out, I'll post videos for everyone to see. I have a feeling Nik will be building quite a few of these once the word gets out. Now I'm wondering if I can justify building Nik's vibro-champ kit. Title: Re: My Creme Brulee that Nik made me Post by: sixstringsteve on January 30, 2008, 05:17:26 AM Here are some clips I made on Youtube:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bHxvLF1lmBM http://youtube.com/watch?v=n-7V8366fZo http://youtube.com/watch?v=5UVSpWY4fIA Nik sent me a replacement switch, and I am thrilled with the tone! Title: Re: My Creme Brulee that Nik made me Post by: ChrisL on January 30, 2008, 05:53:57 AM I like it. Very spanky. I liked the strat match-up the best. I'm going to have to build another ef86 amp one of these days.
Title: Re: My Creme Brulee that Nik made me Post by: sixstringsteve on February 01, 2008, 07:26:53 AM Yes, It's very spanky. The recordings are pretty dry, but i kinda like that sound sometimes. It's a lot like a DC-30, but at a much more manageable volume. I was surprised how much gain it had as well. I love that strat, I think it sounds great. I read somewhere that if you have a matchless amp, and you set the impedance for half of what you should (so, set it at 8 ohms with a 16 ohm cab) that it'll sound more like a vox. I asked Nik if that's okay, and he said the transformers could handle it no problem. I've got to say, it sounds more voxy. I guess it's just a deeper, darker sound that seems more lo-fi. I still can't quite get it to sound like my AC15H1TV, but it gets pretty dang close.
Title: Re: My Creme Brulee that Nik made me Post by: ampkits on October 25, 2008, 04:57:10 PM Hello
Creme Brulee is slotted for release anytime soon! Finally made the faceplates for it. Will fit the same chassis and cab as my AFAL amp. Thanks! Nik Title: Re: My Creme Brulee that Nik made me Post by: lightice on November 06, 2008, 07:04:55 PM What is AFAL?
Is it the new name for the much less lightning? |