Best diy box for AC/DC plexi tones?

[brett]

Hi
I am lucky enough to have a Firefly and an 18W (and a JTM60!).  The Firefly is cool, but the 18W has the early ACDC sound.  With about 8/10 on the 18W volume control you get amazing control of your sound.  IMO those controllable dynamics were a big part of early ACDC sound.  Angus seems to have been one of very few top-line guitarists to use the original 18W.
cheers

PS I remember as a 15 year old sitting on my pushbike outside the Aspley football club while ACDC played inside.  At the time (1973?) I figured that no band was worth paying $5 to see, especially if you were jammed in with fifty other people.

[RollingElbow]

Yeah those 18 watt builds are sweet eh? I think that is why that will be my next amp. I really don't like the high octane I built. Really flubby for me.. however it is a tube amp so hopefully it will handle pedals well.

[krister]

I just put together an ROG Eighteen. I plugged it into my Fender Pro Junior with the volume (on the amp) set to 1 3/4 and the tone set to 9. The pedal was cranked up most of the way. What came out of the speaker was a ripping AC/DC type sound that was really loud. Part of the key to AC/DC's sound is you have to make the speakers jump, so it has to be loud. When I turned the master volume down on the pedal a lot of the cool vibe went away.

I also ran the ROG Eighteen through a ROG Little Gem MKII. It is possible to get some real nice distorted tones from this combination too.

The Pro Junior sounded like a Marshall 18 watt with the ROG Eighteen in front of it. I was shocked, since I was thinking about building an 18 watt like the models on 18watt.com. Now I'm thinking it isn't necessary at least an 18 watt with EL-84's. I may still build one with 6v6's for the JTM45 type of tone, which sound really sweet cleanish IMHO.

[brett]

Hi
Glad you've had success.

I may still build one with 6v6's for the JTM45 type of tone, which sound really sweet cleanish IMHO.

You might want to try EL34s.  I've got a JTM60 and have tried 6v6s, 6L6GCs and EL34s in it.  EL34s offer that hard-punching AC/DC rock and roll sound.  It's worthwhile remembering that biasing has a significant affect on tone: I bias all of my tubes a bit cool for longer life (e.g. my EL34s at 30mA to 32mA at 500V in the JTM).

If you can get your hands on an 18W, they are worth a play.  Completely different to the JTMs.  They have a very "closed-up" feeling (much more compression), and lots more distortion at low volume (like you hear on "TNT").
cheers

[pyrop]

PS I remember as a 15 year old sitting on my pushbike outside the Aspley football club while ACDC played inside.  At the time (1973?) I figured that no band was worth paying $5 to see, especially if you were jammed in with fifty other people.

Do you remember if Bon was with them then? If so it would have been '74 on cause they played their first gig with Bon on new years eve '73 at Checkers night club in Sydney. $5! I paid $40 when I was 16 to see them in '88 at Boondall but ended up going to the 2nd show for nix as well as go backstage and meet them as well as go on stage for the opening song Who Made Who. See Momento

BTW you just can't beat that early AC/DC tone

pyrop

[brett]

I'm pretty sure that Bon was with them.  I remember they kept turning up the volume and the feedback was deafening.
Thanks for the info.

[pyrop]

Deafening is the word, after seeing them 2 nights in a row you had to yell at me the next day cause I could barely hear anything and then my ears were ringing for another 2 days!!
They are known for being one of the loudest bands live.

pyrop

[krister]

Hi
Glad you've had success.

I may still build one with 6v6's for the JTM45 type of tone, which sound really sweet cleanish IMHO.

You might want to try EL34s.  I've got a JTM60 and have tried 6v6s, 6L6GCs and EL34s in it.  EL34s offer that hard-punching AC/DC rock and roll sound.  It's worthwhile remembering that biasing has a significant affect on tone: I bias all of my tubes a bit cool for longer life (e.g. my EL34s at 30mA to 32mA at 500V in the JTM).

If you can get your hands on an 18W, they are worth a play.  Completely different to the JTMs.  They have a very "closed-up" feeling (much more compression), and lots more distortion at low volume (like you hear on "TNT").
cheers

I wasn't thinking Hard Rock-AC/DC with the 18 watt with 6v6's. I was thinking Jimi Hendrix cleanish tones . I've never played a real 18 watt but I've listened to a lot of clips on 18watt.com. I have played a Dr. Z. Maz Junior 18, some people call this amp a "magic amp", they instantly sound better than they are