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Contact

Thanks for trying to contact me. Scroll to the bottom of this page to fill out a contact form.

On my old website where I posted my email address, I often received many emails per day asking for advice or for my opinion on what other people should buy. I don’t actually think it’s a good idea to ask one persons opinion, because guitar tone is so subjective. I believe it’s much better to ask subjective questions on forums for many people to answer.

Also I am getting to the point where I cannot answer all the emails I receive, so I have decided that I will remove my email address from the site, and for any contact, users can fill out a comment form at the bottom of this page.

Here are some general links where you can ask questions about the amps and gear I talk about on this site.

For the Line6 forum: http://www.line6.com/community
The official Atomic Forum: http://www.fractalaudio.com/forum/
For the sewatt forum (Blackheart amps forum): http://www.sewatt.com

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  1. June 23, 2009 at 8:54 pm | #1

    Hey Rowbi, just a note to thank you for linking to my Line6 Demo video’s.

    Cheers,

    Glenn

    • rowbinet
      June 24, 2009 at 8:54 am | #2

      No worries, you do a good job with your videos. they’re well worth linking to :-)

      Cheers

      Rowbi

  2. June 25, 2009 at 11:43 pm | #3

    Your How To Bias an Atomic Reactor 112-50 guide, can that also be used for Atomic Amp 112-18w?

    • Rowbi
      June 26, 2009 at 2:47 am | #4

      I don’t know the bias specs for the 18watter.

      Please see the link on this page for the unofficial atomic forum, and ask there. alternatively contact atomic amps at http://www.atomicamps.com and they will tell you the specs you need to know for biasing.

  3. Michael
    July 10, 2009 at 8:20 am | #5

    Just wanted to extend much thanks Rowbi for your very informative response concerning some inquiries posted in the thread, “TonePort DI-Bundled w/GuitarPortOnline” subscription – That pretty much cleared things up for me….and was greatly appreciated !

    • Rowbi
      July 10, 2009 at 8:49 am | #6

      No worries. glad it’s all clear now

  4. gary
    August 3, 2009 at 9:41 pm | #7

    Hi,

    Did I see somewhere your selling your atomic 50 watter?

    Cheers

    Gary

    • Rowbi
      August 5, 2009 at 9:19 pm | #8

      hi

      yes I am selling it, and as I’ve had no offers yet, I’ll probabky put it on ebay this week.

      cheers

      Rowbi

    • Rowbi
      August 11, 2009 at 1:52 pm | #9

      Hi Gary

      if you’re still interested in the Atomic, you can email me on atomicforsale@rowbinet.co.uk

      Cheers

      Rowbi

  5. Paul Haynes
    August 11, 2009 at 1:14 pm | #10

    Hi

    Is the Atomic amp sold? Not seen it on eBay and I’m interested.

    Cheers
    Paul

    • Rowbi
      August 11, 2009 at 1:30 pm | #11

      Hi

      Yes I am selling the atomic. I will probably put it up for sale tonight if I get a chance.

      if anyone is interested in buying it before it goes on ebay, at a good price, please contact me via private message on the line6 community/forum and we can exchange details there.

      Rowbi

    • Rowbi
      August 11, 2009 at 1:52 pm | #12

      i’ve actually done a bit more advertising. so you can email me on atomicforsale@rowbinet.co.uk if you want more info or to make me an offer. etc

      Rowbi

  6. craigtone
    September 30, 2009 at 2:32 pm | #13

    I was wondering if you had any info for the BH15H like you do the BH5H … specifically shematics, mods, etc.

    TIA …

    • Rowbi
      September 30, 2009 at 4:43 pm | #14

      i’ve never owned a BH15H, so I don’t know any mods. Bitmo I think has some mod kits, and their kits are good.

      I do have a BH15H schematic though, so I will try to find it and post it soon.

    • Rowbi
      October 7, 2009 at 9:44 pm | #15

      Hi

      Please check out the blackheart talk mods page for the BH15 schem: http://www.blackhearttalk.com

  7. stéphane
    October 5, 2009 at 9:13 pm | #16

    Hello ,

    I’m looking for PCB file of Blackheart BH5H.
    Eagle or Express PCB ….
    Best regards.

    • Rowbi
      October 7, 2009 at 9:47 pm | #17

      all I have (shcems and PCB layouts) for the BH5H is on the blackheart page of this site. click the blackheart link on the navi bar right at the top.

  8. Andy
    October 27, 2009 at 3:29 pm | #18

    Hey Rowbi,

    Did you make a MIDI to FBV converter? That would sure be helpful for controlling non-MIDI L6 devices. I saw your forum poll on L6.com, but don’t know if you tried to make one.

    Andy

    • Rowbi
      October 27, 2009 at 3:33 pm | #19

      hi

      i wish I had. but I didn’t know enough to be able to do it. it is probably possible to do, but I think you’d have to basically know MIDI inside out to do it, and also you’d need to know communications protocols used for MIDI and RS232 to have any chance.

  9. December 6, 2009 at 9:56 pm | #20

    Hey Rowbi.
    Thanks for the help this afternoon with my Tone Port UX 2 problem. Your reply on the Line6 site was bang on my friend.
    Take it easy.

    Gerry.

  10. Jim
    December 10, 2009 at 5:49 am | #21

    Hi Rowbi, I have a Handsome Devil, but I want more gain, I just watched the clip with the high gain mod, it got me wondering if the 10k resistor would work with a BitMo modded Handsome Devil? If it does, is R2 still the right place to put it? I had a Champion 600 that I modded and I removed the negative resistance resistor and it also seemed to increase the gain, would it work in a Handsome Devil? If it would, were is it located. I may wind up switching to a Little Giant, so I may just wind up working on that. Anyway, great site and info and any help would be appreciated. Thanks for reading.

    • Rowbi
      December 10, 2009 at 7:40 pm | #22

      hey

      they best place to post this is on the blackheart talk forums. http://www.blackhearttalk.com as I don’t actually have a BH15 so I can’t really advise you, but some members of the forum have them so you may get the answer there.

  11. Craig
    January 25, 2010 at 8:30 pm | #23

    Hey, my site is giving away an online mini bass tuner for websites. Can I interest you with it?
    http://www.play-bass.com/online-tuner

    • Rowbi
      January 26, 2010 at 11:01 am | #24

      I’d prefer to just link to your site, as my site is more about guitar then bass.

  12. Taylor
    March 11, 2010 at 9:52 pm | #25

    Rowbi,

    Love your site. Many thanks. I’m a thinking about buying a mint Epi Les Paul Custom 3+ Trans Black same as yours. I CANNOT for the life of me find a retail price on the thing because Ep only made 500 of them!!! Any advice of the price range I should expect to pay??? If you don’t mind, how much did you pick yours up for (no worries if it’s too personal).

    Thanks Mate!

    Taylor

    • Rowbi
      March 11, 2010 at 11:34 pm | #26

      hi

      i’ve no idea what they would sell for. that depends on what anyone is willing to pay for a limited edition.

      i got mine REALLY cheap in a xmas clearout because someone had paid a deposit and then left it in the store for a year. so it was a special order and never been out of the box. it was £200 i think, perhaps 2 years ago at Xmas. that said around the same time, in a rather expensive music store in Cambridge, they had one, and that was on sale for £600. so I guess the true cost of a new one in a reasonable store would have been approx £450-£500.

      That said, it was 2 years ago, and they were rare then, because they were part of the 2005 limited edition collection.

      Hope this helps you.

      Rowbi

  13. Der irre Ire
    May 22, 2010 at 10:57 pm | #27

    Hi,
    I’m searching for a solution to convert the FBV from Line6 to MIDI.
    The only interesting Link from Google was an old threat on the Line6 side, where you and some other guys talked about finding a solution.

    I want to ask: Do you know something about the FBV protocol ?

    I’m very interested in the protocol, to build a converter, because I have a Pod X3 (without Midi) and old PreAmps which need Midi…. so i have a problem.

    I’m looking forward to an answer.

    Sorry for my bad english.

    • Rowbi
      May 24, 2010 at 4:20 pm | #28

      I did do some research, but it turned out that it would be too expensive to get a MIDI design company to produce this… and Line 6 do not seem interested at teh moment.

      There was a person on the forums who did come up with their own circuit, as I guess they had experience of RS232 or some other serial comms protocol work. I don’t, so I can’t help you with the FBV protocols. you could search on the line6 forums as I think he was on there.

      aside from that, you could buy a POD2 and use that to convert between FBV and MIDI, by using Spaceatl’s way os using one FBV pedal to conrtol multiple amps. so use the pedal to control your amp + the POD2, then the POD2′s midi control can control some other midi device if you like.

  14. September 22, 2010 at 6:38 pm | #29

    when will you be selling the amplitude irig for the android market

    • Rowbi
      September 22, 2010 at 8:09 pm | #30

      This blog is an independant blog, featuring news on guitar and recording related articles. I have no affiliation with IK Multimedia at all, so for more information on iRig or the manufacturer of iRig (IK Multimedia) you should really visit their website: http://www.ikmultimedia.com/irig

  15. Adam
    October 20, 2010 at 11:34 pm | #31

    Hi

    I have a little “marshall tone” mod for the Blackheart BH5H. I did these modifications to mine, and it became a “growling” mini-plexi. wow! So… according to your “stock BH5H schematic” here is the mod:

    C1: 10uF
    C3: mallory 150 22nF
    C4: mallory 150 22nF
    R5: 47k
    R8: 220k
    R9: 1M
    C7: 47uF
    R11: 150

    … I measured B+ at 405VDC in my amp. I think it’s way too much for an EL84. It will die really quickly… so I installed a 100ohm 25W resistor between “OT.B+” and C12 (reducing the B+ voltage on the ot. to about 300VDC)

    Also one more trick: I have a 16 ohm cabinet, and i like the sound of it when I plug it into the 4 ohms output. This doesnt damage the amp (not like if I plugged a 4 ohm cabinet into the 16 ohm output… that WOULD damage the amp)… So the sound is a bit smoother and more rounded with creamy highs. I love it! I run my BH5H into a 212 with greenbacks.

    • Adam
      October 20, 2010 at 11:36 pm | #32

      of course every component must have the correct (stock) ratings (voltage for capacitors and W for resistors)

  16. Martin
    January 3, 2011 at 4:20 pm | #33

    Hi, I’ve just upgraded to Pod Farm 2, and I am using a Line6 UX1.

    I’ve found the plug ins in program files, but I cannot open them.

    I would appreciate some advice.

    • January 3, 2011 at 8:40 pm | #34

      My advice is, if you have problems with a Line 6 product, go to the Line 6 forum, and ask a question. I’m a member there and may see your post, but that way others get the benefit of the answers you get, and also many people can answer you, meaning you’ll get things sorted faster… If the users can’t help, then as it’s Line 6′s support forum, the Line 6 tech’s can also help you out.

  17. Franky Lattré
    January 4, 2011 at 9:59 pm | #35

    hello, I want to bye Podfarm. My question is if it works
    with my PODXT Live pedal. I have finded no answer in the normal
    supportsite. Hopely you can help me. Best regards, Franky P.S.:
    sorry for my English but I speak duth en adressed in
    Belgium.

    • January 4, 2011 at 11:53 pm | #36

      Well it will work, but there are different versions and some aren’t compatible. You should post a question (stating what you want to achieve) on the line 6 support community and you will get the full info about whether you can do what you want.

  18. Mark Rowen
    March 25, 2011 at 10:26 am | #37

    Hi Andy. Just a brief thank you for your 4 tutorials on the fx infusion for the Line 6 Spider Valve Mkii. This is a great starting point for me having just acquired the 100w HD and 4 x 12, and have yet to dive into this thing to try and create some sounds before touring.
    I’ve already edited all the manuals in an attempt to simplify everything, but it’s still daunting. I have found the amp incredibly loud, not necessarily a good thing, would you recommend taking all the channel volumes down a few notches or am I likely to lose some response.
    I did get rid of a Fender Cybertwin in an attempt to have a slightly less synthetic sound, but I’m not succeeding just yet.
    Main guitar – Godin LGXSA fitted with Kent Armstrong pick/ups.

    Thanks for your help

    Mark

    • March 25, 2011 at 1:33 pm | #38

      Hey man, thanks for contacting me.

      Welcome to the Spider Valve family. The best place to look for info or to ask questions like this (if you’ve already checked the manuals) is the forum: http://line6.com/community/community/support/amplifiers/spidervalve?view=discussions

      but to get to your points for now. master volume is overall loudness. channel volumes are the master volumes for the amp models, so they may affect tone a little. on the master volume, you’ll get used to it being sensitive…. but just a thought… is a stack really for you if you think it’s too loud?? it’s more about the speakers than the watts, as more speakers move more air.

      Cheers

      Rowbi

  19. Mark Rowen
    April 6, 2011 at 2:14 pm | #39

    Hi Andy. Yep, hindsight is a wonderous thing, and I wish I’d got the 2 x 12, but hey ho, I shall persevere. All the best, Mark

  20. Mike
    May 20, 2011 at 1:18 pm | #40

    Hi!

    I also have Pod HD300. I saw your video ‘POD HD300 Review’. The tone about 1:30 is very cool. Could you send me a patch ?

    Take care, Mike

    • May 20, 2011 at 1:21 pm | #41

      Hey, thanks for your message,

      click the Line 6 tone link at the top of my blog and they are there for download under the POD HD300 section.

      Have fun.

  21. Dan Andersen
    June 9, 2011 at 4:51 am | #42

    I heard that you might have a point to point layout for the Blackheart BH5H Little Giant Amplifier…..Is this true?

    • June 9, 2011 at 9:56 am | #43

      everything I have is on the Blackheart page on my blog. I don’t have a PTP layout, I have the PCB layouts and schematics.

  22. Mark Szabo
    July 21, 2011 at 2:40 pm | #44

    Hey Rowbi, great site full of info on the BH5H. Do you happen to know a part number for the indicator lamp? Mine burned out and I can’t find a flashlight bulb that works. Thanks!

    • July 23, 2011 at 3:45 pm | #45

      Hi Mark,

      No I don’t know the part number, but what I am certain of from looking at the schematic is that the light runs from the 6.3V AC tap which I think is then rectified to DC, and that then feeds the power and preamp tube heaters.

      So I would say you need a 6v bulb. I also know the light fitting on the Blackheart amps is a style of amplifier bulb fitting called a ‘jewel’. Fender use these a lot, as do other amp manufacturers. I also know Watford Valves (google them) stock replacement bulbs for Fender jewels, so its worth getting into contact with Derek from Watford Valves to ask him if that will fit your amp. you could take a measurement of the bulb you have, and check the ones he stocks are teh same physical size as well as it being 6V.

      Cheers

      Rowbi

  23. Andy
    November 2, 2011 at 4:30 pm | #46

    Re treble bleeds: one of the most effective for me is this………

    http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/87/wiringhighpassfalbo1agz0.jpg/

    The advantages of it are it’s simplicity; there is only one component.

    It works on part volume settings ( 0-9) and if you back off the tone control to

    8.5 this cancels it.

    I believe it was originally credited to Frank Falbo @ Seymour Duncan

    http://www.dominocs.com/Gibson/WiringLibrary/wiringHighPassFalbo.htm

    Regards

    Andy

  24. November 10, 2011 at 12:03 am | #48

    Rowbi Hey I have a brand new fvb express MK2 and have never used it its going to a duoverb head, how do I loose the reverb that comes thru mostly on the D channel and how do I equal out the volume between The A B C D channels ?Thanks C. HILL studio city CA.

    • November 10, 2011 at 3:12 pm | #49

      check out on the Line 6 website for the manual for your amp. the reverb and volume levels in the amps presets are where the issue is, so you need to edit those presets. the pedal is just a dump pedal and is controlling the amp, there’s nothing to edit in the pedal.

  25. Peter
    November 22, 2011 at 4:05 pm | #50

    Hi,

    if I want to put a POD HD direct into a stereo power amp, would a HD 500 be okay or would I need the line level output of the Pro?

    cheers

    Pete

    • November 22, 2011 at 4:10 pm | #51

      you have missed the point. The Pro has LIne level ‘Inputs’ which the other POD HD’s don’t have… BUT all POD HD’s have the ability to have line level outputs to seed to a stereo power amp.

      So you could use a POD HD500 with no problems into a stereo power amp. there;s a switch on it to set it to line level outputs.

      For any other POD questions. Pop over to the Line 6 user community, as myself and a load of other helpful chaps can answer your questions.

      Regards

      Rowbi

  26. Luke
    November 27, 2011 at 4:40 pm | #52

    Hi there…

    I saw some pix of a Line6 Spider Valve combo that was converted into a head on your page through google. :)
    I plan the same with mine but of course some advice or experience would be greatly appreciated…
    Could you tell me where I can find out mor about these spider-combo-to-head conversions?

    thx

    • December 1, 2011 at 9:32 am | #53

      HI,

      Sorry I don’t specifically know much more. Check out the Line 6 User community as I think there’s a couple of posts from someone who did it over there.

      Rowbi

  27. December 3, 2011 at 2:24 pm | #54

    I’ve been watching your videos and comments regarding Line 6 products for years (and thank you – btw)

    I’m looking for a link to Line 6 replacement parts. Quite specifically I’m asking you if you have worked with a parts supplier that had Line 6 amp schematics that can send me the specific part I’m looking for.

    I’ve got a Spider Jam amp with some bad front pots (the pots that control the two effect knobs specifically) I’ve already pulled the circuit boards apart and have measured the pots in question and have determined that they have issues. The problem is I have no idea what they are — LOL. There are no printed specs on them at all.

    So if you have a reference that you have used, I’d be much obliged.

    Cheers

    Tom Zachary from Los Angeles California….

    • December 5, 2011 at 5:35 pm | #55

      Hi Tom,

      Sorry I don’t know any specific L6 parts suppliers that will also supply schematics.

      The info I usually give out (which is all I know) is to contact various L6 authorised service centers and see if one of them will sell you parts and perhaps a schematic. BUT what I do know is that L6 try to make as many repairs as cost effective as possible.. So it may be worth calling Line 6 HQ seen as you’re so close to them in California, and they may be able to do you a good deal on the repair… yes it may cost a little more than just the parts cost, if you’re qualified to work on such things… but in the long run they can test everything out and ensure you don’t buy parts and end up wasting your money.

      I know it’s a pain sometimes, but I have often found that cutting corners sometimes ends up costing more, and causing more issues… just my personal opinion though :-)

      let me know if you do find a parts/schem supplier in the US, would be handy to know

      Rowbi

      • Tom Zachary
        December 5, 2011 at 9:06 pm | #56

        Rowbi

        Thanks so much for the reply. I’ve sent emails to all of the service centers in my area and hope to get some information. In the mean time I found a guy in Burbank CA that sells a bunch of parts for Line 6 amps. He has the exact pots that I’m looking for. I’ll pick them up tomorrow, pull the old ones out and solder in the new ones. The Spider Jam amp I’m repairing is used and and not really worth that much, so I don’t have that much to loose if I mess up.

        Tom

  28. Tom Zachary
    December 5, 2011 at 9:07 pm | #57

    Here is the web site where you can buy parts for Line 6 amps. they have pots and knobs and a few other parts. A good resource to have

    Tom Zachary

    http://www.shop.alivesoundcenter.com/Line-6-Potentiometer-for-Spider-112-21-Spider-212-Line-01-48-6103.htm

  29. Frank
    December 9, 2011 at 2:23 pm | #58

    Hi Rowbi,
    I’m going to modify my BH5H….
    Have you the BH15H PCB layout?
    ;)
    Thx

  30. Ray Hunter
    January 16, 2012 at 1:11 pm | #60

    I have a BH5 and I am working on some modifications for this amp. In getting ready, I noticed that the BH5 uses DC heater supply. This is cool; however, when I measured this voltage it seems to be running the heaters at about 7.4Vdc. According to all the specifications that I have found, this is too high. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is this acceptable? I would assume that because of the RMS affect, the actual percentage of DC voltage variation can be greater than that of AC voltage variation. Comments??

    • January 16, 2012 at 1:40 pm | #61

      well there’s a couple of things you could do.

      to start with, check that the voltage coming from the power transformer is 6.3VAC, as it’s a 6.3VAC supply that’s rectified to DC I think. so the DC I’m not 100% sure what the voltage will show, but it should be I would think around 6.3VDC after rectification.

      The 5VDC tap is for a tube rectifer, and isn’t used for the other tubes heater supply.

      Remember that there’s a chance with the load of the tubes on the heater supply, it may pull the voltage down, so if you’re measuring the voltage with no tubes in the amp, then this may be the cause of the higher voltage reading.

      As always though, if in doubt get a qualified amp tech to look at it, or have Crate (who own Blackheart) service the amp for you.

      Cheers

      Rowbi

      • Ray Hunter
        January 16, 2012 at 8:17 pm | #62

        I will check the open circuit AC voltage to make sure that it is 6.3Vac. This may be a meter problem; however, I believe that if the dc heater voltage has very little ripple then the voltage level should be ~(6.3/.707)-1.4. This is obviously a simplified version of the calculations but it will get you very close. If this is correct, then this circuit was designed to produce ~7.5Vdc to the heaters of the tubes. If this is true, then the BH5 will consume tubes faster than if it had true 6.3V heater supply. What do you think?

      • January 18, 2012 at 10:21 am | #63

        I think it should certainly be checked with tubes in, and if the voltage is still too high, fit a resistor to pull down the voltage a little. Just make sure you work out how many watts the resistor needs to be so you get a high enough watt rating. Of course this could be due to over voltage on the mains side so that’s something to think about.

        disclaimer: you work on your amp at your own risk. If in doubt, get a qualified amp tech to service your amp.

        Cheers

        Rowbi

      • Ray Hunter
        January 18, 2012 at 8:02 pm | #64

        I used a series diode between the bridge rectifier and the filter cap. Had to cut the trace to do so but that is easily returned if needed. The diode gives a constant voltage drop. It works great. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to keep there tubes running longer. This voltage is just outside the upper specification for both the 12ax and the 6bq5.

      • January 19, 2012 at 10:48 am | #65

        yep that would work too. usually you get 0.7v forward voltage drop from a silicon diode, so if it’s 0.7V you need to drop, and the diode voltage and current specs will fit the purpose then great. but from your previous message, you had 7.5VAC and obviously you need around 6.0-6.3VDC. If the drop with the diode gives you 6.0-6.3VDC then great, if not then a resistor would be better as you can or course get a resistor with just the right resistance to give you a more accurate voltage drop.

        It sounds like you know what you’re doing though, but for the benefit of anyone else who wants some more info, here’s some things I just thought about:

        The total current draw on that 6.3V heater circuit is just over 1amp, or to be accurate 1.06amps (I’ve looked at the tube specs on JJ Tesla’s website), so you also need to drop 1.2volts. So this should be a simple V/I=R calculation. you want to drop 1.2volts (that’s your V), and the current is 1.06 (that’s your I), and it gives you an R of 1.13 (which is your resistance in ohms).

        So I would use at least a 2 watt resistor to be on the safe side (use 3w if you like), so that it stays nice and cool. to get 1.1 ohms will be a little tricky, but I know you can get 2.2ohm 2 watt power resistors from rapidonline in the UK, so you could run two of those in parallel to give you 1.1ohms capable of 4 watts.

        If once you fit them the voltage drop still isn’t quite enough, then another alternative is a 1ohm resistor in series with 0.22 or 0.33ohm resistor, just to take the voltage down a little bit.

  31. Ray Hunter
    January 19, 2012 at 4:09 pm | #66

    I am in the process of changing the 6bq5 to 6v6 in this amp for the sake of experimenting with the tone. This is the reason that I have been inspecting the voltage values including the heater voltage.

  32. Ray Hunter
    January 19, 2012 at 4:22 pm | #67

    Question: Have you done any experimenting with adding negative feedback to the BH5 circuit. This has a huge affect on the overall tone of most fender amps and I was thinking about experimenting with this.

    • January 19, 2012 at 4:23 pm | #68

      Sorry no I haven’t. If you get good results, please let me know as I’d like to try it out, and maybe post something on the blog about it (I’d obviously give you credit etc).

      • Ray Hunter
        January 19, 2012 at 9:25 pm | #69

        ok . . . I will keep you posted. This is a slow process for me because of my regular job. It gets in the way of my fun stuff, but it keeps the bills paid. I figure that in a week or so I will have some interesting results.

      • Ray Hunter
        February 1, 2012 at 9:30 pm | #70

        Ok . . . I have had some more time for experimenting and tweaking. The negative feedback thing is still pending; however, I did change the output tube to a 6V6 and the sonic character of the amp is much different. “Much more the way I like it.” Also, I have been tweaking the tone stack a bit. Looking for a smoother tone than the stock parts . . . at least with a strat. I used 250p, .1umd, and .047mfd. This gave it more original fender tone. I’m digging it so far. The only mistake I made was using the same hole that the 6BQ5 was in to mount the 6V6. I would not do this again because the wiring makes removing the board to solder a big pain in the ass. Everything else is great so far. I have been testing the amp with several types of speakers . . . the green back wins again!

  33. Mick
    October 9, 2012 at 2:29 pm | #71

    Hi
    Great Site, Im thinking of modding my Marshall Class 5 to a tube rectifier. Do you notice much difference on the Little Giant? Someone told me it was a waste of time on a class A amp but there are guys out there selling the mod. It would be interesting to hear your take on the subject is ‘Tone wise’
    Cheers

    • October 11, 2012 at 4:08 pm | #72

      Not sure about the Class 5, but on the BH5H (Blackheart) it certainly gave a looser feel, and I personally preferred the solid state rectifier so I ended up removing it. BUT for that vintage vibe, and for those not looking for a very tight sound, it may well be preferred. I couldhear the difference though, so perhaps it does make a difference.

  34. mick
    October 30, 2012 at 9:34 pm | #73

    Thanks,
    Might give it a shot if I ever get any spare time.
    Cheers

  35. Brent
    November 30, 2012 at 7:33 am | #74

    *Recording processed and unprocessed simultaneously*

    Hi there Rowbi, I have a POD XT Pro, a Mackie Onyx 820i mixer, and an iMac with Logic Pro.

    I thought I had read somewhere that it is possible to record both an unprocessed guitar AND the processed sound of that guitar at the same time. I can’t seem to find anything in the POD manual addressing this question.

    What I want to wind up with are two separate tracks of the same guitar performance. One track would be the processed guitar (most likely in stereo, taken from the POD), and the other track would be the unprocessed guitar of the same performance (most likely in mono).

    The idea would be that the processed track would have the “committed” sound on it, while the unprocessed track would be open to select a plug-in (from the Logic library) at a later date.

    Just like a guitarist might play through two different amps simultaneously, and send one amp (and its settings) to one track, and the other amp (and its settings) to second track. The two differently treated tracks of the same performance would be blended to taste at mixdown time.

    If this has already been discussed, could someone please direct me to an appropriate link. I’ve tried a search — no luck.

    Thanks in advance.

    • November 30, 2012 at 9:23 am | #75

      Hi,

      It’s been a long time since I’ve done this with an XT. But I think what is actually possible is for you to record an unprocessed signal, but hear it processed while you’re recording. That way you can react to the feel of your playing being processed, but record the unprocessed and re-amp later. All that is over USB. You may also be able to record a processed signal too with some clever cable routing and another sound card. There’s a good paragraph about it in the manual, and how you can record processed and unprocessed signals. If it doesn’t say how to do both togehter using USB, then that isn’t possible. Take a look though, and if you can’t, try doing it with cables from the PODs outputs to capture the processed. Or you could record the unprocessed, and then use the POD to re=amp that, change the settings of the POD driver, and play your unprocessed signal from your DAW and the POD will apply the processing and get your DAW to record that again, without you needing to play it again.

      The way I would record processed and unprocessed together would be to use my POD Studio UX1 or UX2. those can do both, and use the same tones as a POD XT, but may be slightly improved in sample rate… But they’re essentially the same set of base amp models and FX.

  36. Keith
    November 30, 2012 at 3:08 pm | #76

    Hi,

    I’ve been enjoying my Roost amp which I bought on e-bay. I’ve noticed that two of the tubes were glowing bright red, even after replacement. Biasing them back fully, they are dimmer but don’t look like they will survive long. Being semi proficient, I measured the HV at 550 V standby and 490 when running. From the schematics that you have posted I see this figure is meant only to be 454V ish. The ac out of the transformer is at 377 rms for the HT but exactly 6.3 for the filaments for a 245 V mains supply. A couple of the caps seem to have been replaced with 400 uF with plenty of voltage headroom but I can’t see that affecting anything much.

    I cannot figure out why this might be unless it was designed to be so. One solution might be to add the two extra tubes that there is space for but no sockets to drag the HT down a bit through the output transformer, if it can take it.

    Any clues anyone.

    Sounds awesome as it is though but I don’t think EL34 last long like that.

    Regards Keith

    • December 1, 2012 at 10:01 pm | #77

      I assume it’s a 50 watt model from what you’ve said. perhaps someone before you swapped out the power transformer for a 100 or a 150 watt PT, and that’s why it’s giving such high readings.

      I would look for a datasheet for the tubes you have and confirm they will cope with that high voltage, but EL34′s I think should cope with the voltages you’re stating from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EL34. if so, just use the weber bias calculator http://www.webervst.com/tubes1/calcbias.htm and set the bias as it states.

      If they’re still red plating and you’re concerned, it could be that you have a bad pair of tubes, and a replacement is needed.

      If you’re still concerned, the best thing is to have an experienced amp tech service the amp, as they will likely be able to sus out any issue very quickly, or offer some reassurance for the voltages,a nd the colour of the tubes.

      Cheers

      Rowbi

  37. Belov
    January 18, 2013 at 8:13 pm | #78

    Rowbi,

    Long time no hear!

    Hope all is well.

    Best,

    Belov

    • January 18, 2013 at 9:41 pm | #79

      Hi Pyotr

      Good to hear from you. How’s things? Anything new from Belov at NAMM next week?

      Cheers

      Rowbi

  38. pyotr belov
    January 20, 2013 at 8:09 pm | #80

    Hi Rowbi,

    All is well in Austin TX.

    Drop me a line thru e-mail.

    Best,

    Belov

  39. nuno
    May 2, 2013 at 1:15 am | #81

    Hi… i have a spider valve 2×12 combo and i want to convert in head+cabinet. How you did it rowbi? Can you help me to do it to looks like yours? Congrats from Portugal

    • May 4, 2013 at 11:15 am | #82

      I only posted some info about someone else who had done it. I don’t know any more details, so all I can suggest is having a search on google to fine more info.

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