does that isolate to avoid ground loop hum?
anyway, although that's a nice cheap solution, I can buy reamp boxes for not too much, the tricky part is getting the splitter,
as I say Guitar to DI + 2-3 amps at once

any thoughts?
I think I tried a cheap rack DI box to no avail, plus a hum remover, but none really intended for going to guitar amps

cheers
Tone

Any recommendations?

I want to record from several amps at the same time, and record a clean signal.
I need to avoid ground loops, and not destroy my hard-won-bought tone
The DI/reamp boxes I have seen are up to £1000 for the well-reviewed ones, which seems crazy.
Being able to reamp would be a welcome bonus

the Radial JD•7 Injector looks great, but is about £1100
http://www.radialeng.com/di-jd7.htm
I need something with the isolating, correct guitar load, and 3-4 outputs

I see quite a few reamp boxes cheap, a Palmer one for £70 looks convincing.

I can't justify $1700 on a splitter box for a home-studio

Did you want to build it yourself, rather than get a used old rack one?
Must be a special project...
I thought about doing this for an FX send, i.e. keep the real amp dry and run a wet slave amp with delay, reverb, etc
Cheers
Tone

Do you mean for the PAB and the SAG?
I'm not certain, but I thought resistors to induce sag were in line with the transformer, and are pretty high-current rating, so a pot version would be less practical.
I have 2 amps with switchable rectifiers: SS/ tube/ tube+ resistor, and that's all I need for variation, in fact SS/tube would be adequate, so I'd assume on/off would be OK for the sag resistor

I'm getting a pot fitted for the PAB this week if I can get to the tech

Cheers
Tone

Last week I tried a Fender Tonemaster (it's a late 90s custom shop model)
It had some very good sounds, but what surprised me was the Lo-Med-Hi switch on the back that completely changes the tonality of the amp

I got the manual online, and the switch is 4/8/16 ohm,
yet this is primarily INTENDED by Fender to be used to change the amp's sound, when used with the matching 16ohm cab, to get different saturation effects, the manual says:
"IMPEDANCE SWITCH - This is labeled LO, MED and HI. This switch serves two functions.
One, to set the output impedance of the amplifier to best match the speaker impedance for maximum
power. Second, to enable the amplifier to better achieve the cranked-up sound at a lower
volume."

Is this technique valid on other amps? Has some extra tolerance been built into the Tonemaster to allow this to be recommended usage?

thanks
Tone

Can I ask what speakers you're using?
You may find that would solve it. Some speakers are very scooped. Perhaps you have ones very suited to the clean tone but not the OD tone

A few ideas:
I also find that the OD character changes a lot with different settings.
Try the OD trim on much higher and back off the front panel OD knobs.
Also, on the front  I find the left OD control adds more darkness than the right hand one, try a diff balance there

Before reworking the amp. first try whacking the OD trim up with the other settings the way you like them. It sounds like you may have the master vol low, and the OD trimmed low to match. I think the preamp needs more scooping when run clean with low master vol. If you run master vol at 3 o'clock, it runs brighter in clean mode (on mine).

btw, I can't tell for certain which set of trimmers/pots are being mentioned in some of these posts,

The half-power is well-done (doesn't add loads of noise), but still sucks tone (triode mode always does), I don't use it. You lose headroom and need to change all your settings. Master vol works better on this amp.

Is the sag resistor switchable?

I think the PAB is too much boost with 68k. I don't know what you 'd use more than that for, it would be more like a heavy metal sound than a blues thing.
I thought most people bought the BM to play blues and bluesy rock
Personal taste I guess, but I always hate it when a player kicks in a boost that changes the sound too much using the same amp (sounds very disjointed to me) - remember you can't tweak the sound with the PAB, it's just middy and very boosted. Not like a separate channel at all.
It's like that demo for the trainwreck Express, where Glen Kuykendall does very clean then dirty
http://www.youtube.com/user/GlenKuykendall#p/a/u/1/Y2_12Ler9B8
it's like you switched channels on the TV, and were listening to something different entirely

here's one where it works for him  (crunchy to distorted - similar tone):


on the HRM bypass idea:
I assume you have been reading that some people prefer to have non-HRM. I am not certain whether simply bypassing some of the HRM circuit will get you the non-HRM tone. Are you sure the remaining active circuit will be the same as the non-HRM circuit? I doubt it.

In any case, you'd need to solder in a switch. The HRM board is near the front. If you put the switch on the back, that would add a cable run to and from the back. This may affect tone even when not in use.

Most people just use the HRM to dial in their preferences for OD. For me that means rolling off the treble. It's set and forget, I will always prefer that sound. On my Fuchs ODS, there is no HRM, but the OD sound is right for me anyway. I am not sure you will be able to get non-HRM tones from a BM, I'd leave it a few months and decide if you think you are missing something.

you will love the bluesmaster. Not quite as clean as my twin (breaks up after 3 with single coils), but proper fendery. Then the OD on top is a treat, but it's personal preference on how to use it - I have both knobs straight up. The PAB boost gives a nice breakup too.
Make sure you use it with Alnico speakers, or turn the presence right up.
And set your HRM trimmers after getting your clean settings right. Don't kill yourself doing it though!

Ask Nik to do it with the Deep switch the right way up
& Ask Nik to put a trimmer on the BM's PAB resistor. The standard boost is too much of a jump, I think it's more usable to be able to set it lower (like a Fuchs ODS), unless you want a dramatically much louder PAB tone

I got a JTM45, and is worth getting in addition to the BM

I've looked at a 70s Princeton that's been modded to replace the phase inverter with a better design (to sweeten the distortion)
Is this likely to be as pleasant as Nik's version?

I plan to not move it for a long time! It must weigh more than me. Not cheap to buy that much oak though, so you couls save by using covered MDF
It is a great alternative to an ISO room if you haven't got the space
I now suspect that a smaller cab with one-12"-driver but still with a double-skin would be more practical for most people.
probably with the driver face up resting on a thicklayer or 2 of auralex and/or hemp, and a mic suspended above it. If necessary, the speaker could be constrained that it won't fall if turned upside down but why bother? It would need reconfiguring at installation time anyway, so probably move it when empty

The secrets that few of these I've seen don't include are:
Double skin with insulation between the skins
Don't couple the speaker to the case (like on most of these things).

The Randall ISO12C has a port, to equalise pressure behind and in front of the driver. Why bother? Just don't build the baffle into the case in an airtight way in the first place.

I recommend building one if you need quiet sometimes or want to record into the mix through the monitors

ahh so the older one 6v6 princetons are like a weaker deluxe? probably no point for me, since I have deluxe covered. A good price though eh?

I have two 5E3 clones/derivatives (tweedy and modernised tweedy) and a Twin II (ultra clean power), so it sounds like a 12w-15w princeton may fit in the middle nicely
I tried a 70s Princeton recently, and it sounded good. Like a less clean, less powerful twin. I wasn't sure f the tweed Princeton was cleaner than the deluxe.
Do all the tweed amps sound similar then?

I wonder would a diff classic fender fit into the gap in my fendery amps better? I really haven't seen the bandmaster, pros, etc around much in England
Something between 12 and 50w, clean but warmer than a twin. Perhaps I should use my BM50 for that
I had a red knob champ 12 once. That sounded very mediocre, I had it modded but even then it wasn't a keeper

I like your analogy with biology

there's a guy in Dublin selling new combos based on the 5F2-A, but with a diff rectifier, for about $300
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Classic-5-hand-wired-5-watt-princeton-5F2-A-Guitar-amp-/320612068813?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item4aa5f7edcd
am I looking a gift horse in the mouth here?
Will it sound poor compared to a Ceriatone 12w model?

someone is selling what seems to be a 5X3 on ebay in the UK for £400.
It's the combo chassis, but they've drilled oversize rough holes in the front, and you can import a new one for £517 incl all taxes.

If anyone wants one in the UK, maybe they'll drop the price?

Is the biggest diff for the HRM mk2 that it's set up for EL34s?

Is the tonestack mostly the same as the old HRM? (I'm in the car, so can't check)
- other than the neg feedback tweak.

I guess an HRM with EL34s would be a nice variation
 

how about the new Ford Mustang?

http://www.ceriatone.com/images/layoutPic/OvertoneLayout/OTSFM100W.jpg

I assume the name is not accidental