I have the RC going into the BB.  The Zen is next but in it's own loop.  The Bad Monkey and Blues Devil are in their own loops, too.  There are a lot of great tones with this lineup. 

Yes. Absolutely.  I'd be first in line...right behind you of course Adrian.

Hey guys,

First of all. Great posts.  Sometimes we all need to be put in our place when we get a little "uppity".  A heated discussion every once in while is good for the soul..lol.

My rant on "tone" stemmed in fact from a customer who is interested in an 18 watt TMB and was over to the studio to try it out.  It was one of those "I want to sound like Jimi Page"...Is this the amp for me?  I just rolled my eyes and thought (just thought)...man, there ain't NO amp that's going to make YOU sound like Page.

I'm a strong proponent of tone is just a reflection of your heart and soul spilling out through your hands.  All the greats and not so greats are going to sound like themselves regardless of the gear.

As for the OT, or any of Nik's amps for that matter,  I do stick with what I said in my original post 100%.  Fellas, this isn't about sharing tips on how to do a tweak or two.  I love to help.  In fact, my ravings are because I am concerned with helping .  If anyone asks, "Hey Chris, what's your take on the difference between using a .01uf and .05 uf mid cap?  Sure, you got it.  Great question.
  But if you come along and say, "I just got my Overtone and it seems a little bassy....What can I do? Oh and BTW I've never touched the inside of an amp before." 

NO WAY!  This thing can/will kill you.  If you don't want to do the detailed homework, fine.  You don't want to learn the lingo, fine.  PLEASE! Take it to a tech.  You'll be out and rockin within a week.  If I am coming across as arogant, well, fine then, too.   

And, if you are comfortable inside an amp.  Great.  But an ODS is no champ or 18 watt.  It's baffling to me at times and I've been deep into this circuit for quite a while now.

I just can't comprehend that if you are not learned in electronics nor feel inclined to become so....why on earth would you want to go probing around the innards of an amp as comlex and lethal as the Overtone?  If you had a Bogner or Two Rock would you consider doing the same?

 If you choose to open up the Overtone take a little personal responsibility and get educated.  All it really takes is a evening away from the tele and some concerted concentration and reading to get the gist.

It's late.  Shall we continue tomorrow?

That's pretty spiffy.  Some sort of logo plate and some wheat cloth or basket weave would really make your rig "pop".

Good stuff.

Hey Jack,

Vibro clone??  Do tell!

Hey Folks,

A lot of recent OT threads are kind of getting on my nerves. 

Let's go back a year or so....

I was one of a few who originally asked Nik for an ODS "like" circuit for the purposes of an experimental platform.  I didn't know if it was going to be a non-HRM, HRM or if it would have Skyliner TS or Bluesmaster PI,,,,components and their values, 50 watt or 100 watt..etc.  I didn't even see a layout until a few months after the project got in motion.  Once I did see the layout I knew the build was loosly based on #124 with a bit of Brownnote's D'lite in there, too.   It was kind of a "mutt".  That was cool and Nik built exactly what I wanted.  It took another few months to get the chassis and by that time I had a long list of components to swap.  Remember it was ordered as a basic platform for tweaking.  That is what the amp still is.  Tweaking is the whole premise of the ODS circuit.

All this recent crap... "Can I sound like so and so?  Will it do this tone or that tone?  Aargh!

OK, Let me YELL this to all you guys...

It's ALL in the tweaks.  (Not mods...there are no mods!!  Zucker mod,,,blah blah. Sorry Jack. )

The od is harsh?  Well, of course it is.  Anyone with any experience can assume that just by looking at the original layout.

The ODS circuit in it's many forms and variations was designed with the intention to be able to tweak to each individual players style and tonal preferences.   My god, spend a bit of time at the amp garage forum to see good (really good) builders obsessing and arguing over the finest details on these circuits.
 
My personal opinion is... if anyone buys the OT and is satisfied with the tone right out of the box??.....Eureka!  You've found the needle in the haystack. 

But, I advise you to expect to get your "hands dirty".  It's the nature of the circuit. 

The OT is simply an affordable platform to "build" your own tone. 

So, unless you are completely satisfied with the tone of the amp right out of the box, either roll up your sleeves, study (alot) and tune to get the most out of the circuit or look elsewhere because you are wasting your time and doing the amp a dis-service in saying "the OD is harsh, I don't like it".

Oh and....

Guys like John Mayer could pull a dried up, weather beaten, plank off the side of an old barn, string it with bailing wire, and plug into a pignose and.....still have tone of the gods.  Revel in your own unique tone.

Sorry fellas, It's nasty hot and humid and I'm grumpier than a bear with a sore ass.

Rant done.

Cheers,

ChrisL 

Hey Chris,

  You do realize that you aren't going to have anyone here tell you that the OT isn't THE perfect amp for you.......lol........right?  

If you read here and elsewhere you will find that the Overtone unlike your Mesa has both stellar cleans and an impressive array of gain tones.  The amp's EQ section is comprehensive and allows for an almost infinite range of tone possibilities.  And if that's not enough flexibility for you there are plenty of well documented mods to the various sections of the circuit.  This, in fact, is the true beauty of the ODS circuit.....it begs to be tweaked.  

At only 20 you already have an impressive history with some fine amps.  What's next is something only you can decide.  But in my opinion the Overtone is a very versatile and capable platform for expressing the tones that live within you.

Cheers,

  ChrisL

A well built amp will have the chassis shielded by using a metal sheet of some sort between the chassis and cab.  Just take a look at any old Fender.  Some circuits are more prone to interference than others.

I have a BB, RC Booster, Zendrive, MJM Blues Devil, and a Bad Monkey (seriously) on my board.

The BB boosted with the RC can get pretty nasty in a really good way.

Looks great man.  There is a risk of it getting noisy in some joints from poor lighting but in my experience (my OT has a plexi window) it should be fine.

I've given up on attenuating Fenders.  A good dirt pedal at moderate volumes always sounds better to my ears than their cranked attenuated break up.

Thanks guys,

It's always good to have a fresh and extra set of eyes on a problem.  The Overtone seems to be behaving.

The Traynor is still giving me fits though.  I HATE working on PCB boards.

Cheers,

Chris

Here's a link to one layout Nik has.

http://www.ceriatone.com/images/mods/TMBceriatoneEffect-Loop.jpg

Hey guys,

I pulled the chassis, swapped all the tubes, and all the voltages check out fine.  I'll give it workout tonight and see how it holds up.

Wall voltages here in Japan stay pretty constant...just shy of the prescribed 100V and of course through a surge protector. 

The Traynor was the only amp with non tube related trouble....cold solder on V4. 

Yep, it started doing the typical "valve implosion...spittin, fartin, and burpin" during rehearsal last night.  It was sounding and performing sooo.. good, too.  Kind of like a racecar just before it blows an engine.

Oh well, back to the bench for a little TLC.

It's strange.  I've had my old Super Reverb, a Traynor ycv40wr and my Dlite have troubles in the past month or so....now the Overtone.  Hmmmm.....

No worries though.