Ruby Amp Question?

[modsquad]

I built a Ruby amp this weekend and used a 4ohm car speaker.  Is it normal to experience a kind of scratchy sound.  I performed the Bassman mods but didn't notice a big difference.  Even when I turn down the gain and volume it still not as clean as I would like.  Any fix for it or is that just a function of LM386N chip?

Stan

[chieljan]

hey Stan!

My guess is it's just the car speaker you're using. I once used a 4 ohm computer subwoofer, which sounded pretty bad, all flabby and distorted. Yet, with my 8 ohm celestion guitar speaker ruby SHINES.
Ruby's is powerful enough to drive a 4*12 cab, and any speaker with a right frequency response and a 8 ohm impedance should work with it. Give it a try with your old practice amp's speaker or something, it should work (and you're gonna love it, really! The ruby amp is a wonderful invention ^_^).

Chieljan

[rankine]

I've just made the Little Gem using the speaker from a Furby and although it's not the same amp I am experiencing similar tinny sounds. I think it's most probably because the speaker I am using is low quality, not designed for high volumes.
I will probably try using a speaker from my CD player tomorrow and see how the sound changes then.

[phil]

Hi Stan,

I've built both the Ruby and the Little gem and they both sound great throught all of my guitar speakers (a 4 ohm 8" weber, a 4 ohm 10" speaker in my Marshal dfx30, and the 8ohm 12" Celestion in my Marshal 18 lite) - the Little gem has less headroom than the Ruby but breaks up nicely. The Ruby though, should have quite a bit a clean headroom... I suggest that you try it through a guitar speaker to see the difference in sound - I just tried hooking it up to some computer speakers (that's all i have around) and both amps sound pretty bad (tinny and buzzy) through them so I think Chieljan is right - it's probably the speaker you are using ...

[modsquad]

I was afraid of that.  I was trying to get away with building something that sounded good for cheap.  I think it defeats the purpose if you have to use a Weber or Celestion guitar speaker.   I guess I will play around with it.

[Wild Zebra]

I built two with crappy radio/ or computer speakers and I love em.  I guess its what you wanna get out of it.  If you want to use all its potential sound, you need a good speaker.  If you want cheap, portable, well you know the answer.  I use mine for camping or sitting on the couch jamming.  I can get a pretty clean sound.

[Hanglow]

I'm about to make one as well and am going to try it with my 12" celestion in my carlsbro , the speaker in my broken ParkG10 and the speaker in an old tube radio I found in the loft that is ancient, just for kicks

[phil]

I was afraid of that.  I was trying to get away with building something that sounded good for cheap.  I think it defeats the purpose if you have to use a Weber or Celestion guitar speaker. 

Hi Stan,

I think the specific speaker you are using may not work well with the Ruby, but that is not to say that maybe some other type of inexpensive speaker might not work - Here is a quote from the ROG site:

What speakers do you recommend for use with your mini-amp circuits?

While the Ruby, Little Gem, and Little Gem MkII practice amps can be used with any speakers, best results are achieved with full-size speakers intended for use with guitar amps. The amps will work well with an total impedance of 4, 8, or 16 ohms.

We've tried hi-fi speakers, clock-radio speakers, and auto speakers - they just can't cut it. For me, using anything other than a speaker designed for the frequencies of an electric guitar produced sounds more like a toy than an actual amp.

However, you may want to ask at Aron's Stompbox Forum. Many of the members have built one of the aforementioned amps and may be able to suggest a decent-sounding small speaker.

I know a lot of people on this site have built the Ruby, the Little Gem  and the MKII, so maybe someone else on this site can suggest a small speaker that will work well with the Ruby/Little Gem besides a guitar speaker. Anyone found an inexpensive speaker that sounds good with those amps?

Also if you might be interested in using headphones  here's a link to the ROG site that shows how to add a headphone jack to it - good for practicing.
http://www.runoffgroove.com/faq.html

[modsquad]

I actually have the headphone all wired up and ready to solder.  Unfortunately the only other speaker that I have is out of my backup amp and its a 12" which is too big to make a small practice amp to keep in my office.  I will play around and see if I can tweak some things.

[Ge_Whiz]

I've got mine boxed with a little junk 4" or 5" speaker, and it sounds great. Over the years I've filled a box with cheap or junked speakers. Some of the oldest ones have the best tone - car speakers with plastic cones are the hardiest, but sound the worst. But they all have their uses.

[modsquad]

Yippeeee...I found the right speaker.  My son replaced his speakers in his car and I took one that had two connections...One for the tweeter and one for the other speaker.  I connected to the tweeter and it sounded like crap.   However when connecting to the woofer it sounded like pure silk.   So its the frequency response of the speaker.   I'm such an idiot...