Ceriatone Forum

Hey everybody.  I'm new here to the forum obviously.  I've recently spoken with Nik about jumping in line for either an OTS or a HRM.  I'll end up with a 50 watt model either way.  I do have some questions, of course!!

I'm not too familiar with the D-lator/Kleinulator setups.  What reverbs/delays do you guys recommend?  I just have a Line 6 DD4 now, the floor model.  I could imagine a rack mounted verb and/or delay to go with the d-lator - but I have no idea how I would switch that stuff on the floor at my pedalboard.  Is that even the best idea?  I'm a guy who loves reverb, yet knows surprisingly little about it. 

What speakers/cabs go best with these amps?  I'll want a 2x12 cab. 

That's a good place to start, but I'll definitely have some more questions!

Usually ...

There is a footswitch jack on any rackmount units, to bypass the effect.

If the rackmount unit doens'nt come with a footswitch, you should be able to build one for cheap. Depending on how complex the switching is on the unit of course.

If not footswitches are available to buy for most rackmount units (like a lexicon, TC Electronics, etc)...

This is how it will work :
 
   1.) Match your D-lator's S&R w/your effects loop on your amp
   2.) Put your effects(of choice) in the S&R of the D-Lator
   3.) Then you should be able to midi switch the effects bypass using the footswitch output on your rack unit.

Your Line6 DD-4 should work fine with the D-lator but, I recommend TC Electronic M350" if your dough is on the low then look for deals on any old Lexicon stuff -Try Ebay or Craigslist if your lucky :) Above all you need to look for a rack mount unit that can use a 100% wet signal. I am a reverb addict too!  :o

 For cabs I use and recommend any 2x12 oval ported cab...Some examples (if your not familiar) are AVATAR(for around $150-$200), Thiele (on eBay unfinished for #$100-$120), Two Rock makes a great cab loaded with W.G.S G1265 (Celestion G-12-65 clone) for about $400-$500 used. 

  Here's a list of speakers I have gathered in my experience-

1.) EvM-12-L (This is the most popular as Dumble himself used them!!!)
2.) Celestion G-12-65 (WGS are good clones)
3.) Emminence Tonker, Swamp Thing, ETC.
4.) Scumbacks
5.) Fane (good efficient speaker with 100+ DB rating)
6.) Early Altec Lansing (JBL) -Are good for the 1st gen. NON-HRM based amps.

 
Maybe someone else could add to the ones I forgot  ;D

When it comes to speakers really everyone has their own preference !


If you have any other questions I will do my best to help!

Excellent, thanks so much for your help.

That TC unit seems like a great buy.   

I'm actually thinking about a 1x12 Avatar open back, with Cele G12-65. 

Now I just have to make up my mind - to HRM or not. 

This is pretty much my benchmark for Strat tone:

http://mnjordan.com/files/clips/MayerDumbleTone.mp3

I'm hoping to get in line for my amp at the end of this week!

IMHO, I'd say get a regular OTS, especially if you're using a strat. I found the HRM a bit to trebly even for humbuckers.

Yes, you got to add a treble bleeder after the HRM tone stack. I have a small circuit, consisting of a 1n capacitor in series with a 150k resistor, added trom the input of the OD master to ground. Easy to mount between pot and bus bar.

Wih the treble beleeder added, you can turn up the treble trimmer on the HRM and it will sound nice and full. I learned this trick from Forumites Ayan and Dogears n the Ampgarage.com.

Thats a useful one to know. Could you make it easy for us to find again by posting this mod in the Tweaked layout thread since that is a sticky and I for one will be able to find it again if I buy an HRM.

Done

I wish I could hear some clips of the OTS that were just on the clean side.  Both with a Strat and humbuckers.

Well, here's what I wound up with:

Ceriatone OTS HRM 50
Ceriatone C-Lator
Gabkits Head cab - Black/Black/White Piping
Avatar 1x12 cab - Black/Black/White piping
Celestion G12-65
SED Winged C 6L6G Power tubes
NOS GE 12AX7 Preamp tubes - have a 12AY7
Lexicon MX300 Delay/Reverb
Furman

Only the tubes are here now, but the cabinets should be here any day now, and I'm about a month out on my ODS and C-Lator I think.  Speaker, Lexicon, and Furman will be probably be in next week. 

I am super excited, as I'm totally ampless right now. 

I can only recommend TRY one before you buy , because it is not a super amp or a holy grail or buy a zendrive witch give the same results with any good tube-amp!!!
If you follow this forum you see that a lott of people are searching for a better sound out of these amps
by tweaking,replace little parts ect. ect.
It is a nice,old skool amp,witch needs some effects to sound nice,so try one first.

Well I certainly do not agree on most part of this. I think it's a super amp. Your amp should sound nice even without effects.
What I do agree; it needs a little tweaking and a c-lator for best results. I left mine alone for the past 6 months after doing some tweaks. It has got exactly the tone I was looking for.
On my amp the zendrive hasn't the depth in tone what the OTS od channel has.
The zendrive is a really good pedal for these kind of tones. The od sound is more dynamic, harmonically richer on a OTS.

 The most important thing is to give the amp 3-5 months to break,same with speakers.
You really have to change your whole way of thought process when it comes to this amp, The sound is very detailed and articulate OD. You may even think it sounds bad at first until you figure out all the useful tone/feeling this amp has to offer.

I wouldn't recommend having to try this amp before you buy it. The OTS is a great amp that can be tweaked to taste after break-in from you or an educated builder. Stick with one speaker choice after break-in for a few weeks so you can get the feel for the amp, then after all is said and done you will be stoked!! 

I'm fairly familiar with what these amps are meant to sound like - I have a Two Rock Opal that I love.  I have a Zendrive too, and it sounds great - but I agree its not as dynamic or bloomy as a real OD.  

Trying really isn't an option for me anyway; I live in a rural part of the country where good gear is extremely scarce.  I'm used to buyng before I get to play.  That's why I don't buy much gear - I want until I've asked a ton of questions from guys who own the stuff, browsed forums, listened to clips, watched YouTube, etc, etc.  I've been pretty successful doing it this way.

Like I said, I'm already bought every bit of the gear I listed in my other post, I'm just waiting on it all to come in.  

 :D  Just got notification from Nik that my OtS HRM and CLator are on the way. 

I have Nik's Biasing guide, but I have never biased an amp before in my life.  I'd like to try to do it myself, but if you guys don't think it's a good idea, I'll take it to a professional.

Couple of questions - where are the bias points for this amp?  The amp is obviously not in front of me yet, but I'd like to get an idea so I can know where to look.

Are there pots for each tube, or do I set one pot to 70? 

Any tips on biasing would be greatly appreciated.   

I have an OTS50 coming and I am slao getting a C-lator from Nik. I have read about the Klein and how it is set up.

boldaslove6789 said

1.) Match your D-lator's S&R w/your effects loop on your amp

Noob question. How do you do this?

Thanks

If you want to hear how my 50-watt OTS sounds on Lead Channel with Kleinulator, Reverb and Delay in loop see link below.  No other effect pedals used, just guitar straight into amp with Evidence Audio Cable.  Volume and Master both on 2 only.

Excuse the 1-take noodling sloppiness and silly mix:   http://www.sendspace.com/file/ab727d

P.S. Jeff Beck Strat used between neck and bridge pickups with volume control on guitar throughout.  You should be able to hear the touch sensitiveness, even though I used a $5.00 computer gooseneck mic at about 12" from 1x12 Two Rock Sig Cab with 1265R and another 1x12 cab loaded with EVM12L - mic straight into computer and recorded into Acid Studio ($75) ---pretty hi-tech operation at $80.00 lol. 

Cheers!

My OTS HRM 50w kit arrived today! Shipped Monday, delivered by UPS, after handing over £50 in VAT :'( Oh well.

Boy it was well packed! Took 15 mins to cut the plastic wrap off.

I have started to assemble the chassis and sort out the resistors. I have a Hammond 290 DEX PT and 1760 OT, hope they will be fine and that the relays will be powered OK by the 5V output.

I also bought a VVR for installation at some stage and Nik supplied a tranny for the D'lator I will scratch build when all this lot is up and working. Lots to do.

To be honest it is a little daunting as I have only built one amp before, a 5W SE5a Ampmaker, but it works well and sounds great.

Question is, will I ever use it once the OTS is running ;D

 I was just saying to make sure that you put the d-lator in/out correct to the OTS's send return then put your effects that you wish in the send/return of the d-lator.