Ceriatone Forum

From what I'm reading (non-HRM) amps with 100K plate load resistors and 1.5K cathode resistors have a great clean tone and amps with 220K/150K plate load resistors and 3.3k/2.2K cathode resistors have a better OD tone. I was thinking of trying to have the lower plate load on V1 and the higher load on V2 to try to get the best of both worlds. I'm not sure which is a better side of V1 to mod, or whether to change both sides to a 100K plate resistor going into 10uF//1K5. I'm hoping I'll get an earlier break up in the clean channel, but I don't want to change the OD channel. Would just changing V1A be a wiser choice, or just V1B?

I'd be very interested to know how the change affects the clean tone . I do find the clean channel a bit too 'dry' for my taste, usually juicing it up a little with a mild overdrive pedal (red snapper or BB AC boost). I know that the clean is designed to be clean all the way up and it might be sacrilege to mess with this but I'd be willing to make the change if it gave me just a tad of break-up.

I'm surprised to hear that the clean is supposed to be clean all the way 'round.  I play with the clean volume around 7, & with my Les Paul I can get a really beautiful, warm breakup by digging in.  I don't know if the Kleinulator has anything to do with that, though.

When choosing a 100K plate resisitor your break up will be less than a high plate.
The bypass cap affects the low knee of your clean sound, so 10uF might be very nice for cleans, but you also feed the Od channel with it and it gets fuzzy/buzzy when setting the gain levels higher.

Ic-racer posted some real nice clips with a complete 100k plate amp.(#124)
I would go for a complete 100k amp or a complete 220/150k amp for non-hrm. It's tested and you get a nice clean and od sound when flipping channels without the need to adjust the tone controls.

Erwin_ve, thanks for the reply.

 Just to clarify, when you said the breakup would be less with a 100K plate, did you mean that it would break up at a lower volume than the high plate, or that it just won't break up as much as a high plate will ( using a Strat, I cannot get the clean channel to break up at all with the high plates). Also wanted to know if I just changed V1A and left V1B alone if the OD channel would still be adversely affected.

Thanks again for your time

Hi Pine,

100k plate will not break up as much as a high plate.

Break up is the point where a tube no longer can produce a linear amplification(known as distortion/break up/ crunch). The higher your input signal, more current is flowing from cathode to plate, while the plate voltage is dropping. That break up point is at produced at a lower plate voltage, a high plate resistor creates an earlier breakup point because it's voltage is lower than a low plate ( it's simple calculation ;Ohms law)

Everything you change at V1 is affecting the od channel.
Off course you can give it a try, it isnt a big operation, see if you like it. v1a is the best option for a 100k plate.

OK, I understand,

Thank you!