Awesome little amp. Trying to decide between this and the 20r. Have a dsl40 already so drawn to this as a light compact grab and go for jam seasions etc. The 20r seems a bit more flexible and therefore usable? Its obviously built to a budget so what do i need to concider to ensure its not on the councio clean up pile in the coming years (hate waste). Should the resisters caps be upgraded? How is it biased? Cheers
Thank you, Peter. I am very proud of this little powerhouse. Yes, the TweedTone 20R is more versatile than the Tweed Tone 12. If versatility is your criterion, then that is your answer. The TT20 has reverb and a switchable gain circuit. I was after the famous Class A touch sensitivity with those luscious second order harmonics, but coming through a 12" speaker instead of the 8" speakers people associate with sengle-ended amps. With the switch in NFD mode, it has no negative feedback. It’s a bit more raw with that Vox-like compression in the upper mids and highs. Its my favourite setting. I reckon Blues players would love it. Both amps use the same Celestion 70/80 speaker. I was very precise about biasing this amp. One of my pet hates, which you will see on most of my other videos, is that manufacturers intentionally bias their amps way too hot. Not so with the TT12. Why? I designed this amp for me! The amp represents insane value at around $450 so some budget decisions had to be made. The components are all fine. I wouldn’t change them unless they fail. If you wanted to upgrade it, the only thing I could suggest is to upgrade the speaker. The stock Celestion 70/80 is very good, but I reckon you’d appreciate Celestion Creamback. If you decide to purchase either amp, could you please do me the favour and purchase it through this link to the Artist Guitars site? alnk.to/eZESRCK That’s the only way Artist Guitars can pass a small commission my way.
Thanks Chris for your detailed response. I'm really drawn to this amp and already having the DSL40, this likely makes a bit more sense.. given the 20r is a lot closer to what I have. I'll be sure to use the link. Thanks again Chris. Congrats on your design and thanks for taking care of the Bias... unlike some other well-known brands!
@theguitaramptech Hey Chris, I've just pulled the trigger on your amp now using your link. Looking forward to taking it for a spin. Was surprised to see the input current at 120 watts while the 20r is only about 80? Anyway thanks for your input, I'm sure it'll work for my needs.
@@petercummins1097 yep. That's Class A for you. There is a price to pay for that tone. I did a video just before the release of the TT12A about Class A. Have a refresher. I am very much looking forward to your review.
Thanks for making this. Shane on you tube and lives near you reviewed this amp recently and that's how I found you and now that I know where to buy a great tube amp instead of a Monoprice 5w/1w tube amp, I'll be in touch, great video, I laughed with you guys, lol.
Thanks for the comment, Douglas. Sadly, Shane @intheblues is in Melbourne. I'm in the lesser-known- Sydney Carlton, but we get to speak occasionally. I always trust his reviews. He has a great ear.
Bob is an Aussie living legend! He got my attention back in the Skyhooks days and I loved his work in the Angels. If Bob says this is a great amp then it's a great amp and I've put my preorder in with Artist.
Bob sure is an Aussie legend. I first knew him with Finch, that he left to join Skyhooks in around '77. (If Bob's watching this, he can correct it). I am sure you will love the amp.
Chris, I am very happy to see that you have designed an amp and are working with a company that will produce them!!! The design is awesome and sounds Really Good. It has a simple audio path and a single ended Class A power stage. I have come to respect simple amps that don't have lots of switching, loads of gain stages and tone controls, etc. They sound more immediate and have better touch sensitivity. And as you explained in your last video, this amp has lots of pleasing 2nd order harmonics. I would love to see you create more designs. Maybe something with a 20 W rating next time? Congratulations on joining the Guitar Amp Designer Pantheon :)
Thank you John, It's 5:30am in Sydney and you have made my day already!! It is impossible for me to consider making such an amp without the power of Artist Guitars making it real. Its easy for some to bag out Chinese manufacturing, but we have to put those days behind us. Yes, some of the component choices can defy logic, but if you are very specific in your requirements, as Artist CEO (Ian Bush is) the value for money that we, the consumer, receives is staggering. I used to be a brand snob too, but no more. I bought that Brownburst 58X (Arty) that Bob is playing last with my hard earned money. I can't get over how good that thing plays and sounds. I will find some time between repairs to set it up to my tastes, but it played beautifully out of the box.
@@theguitaramptechI have that guitar set up with D’Addario 12-52 Chromes and tuned down to open C for Joni Mitchell tunes (‘Amelia’ from Hejira) and it is magnificent. I had to get a new nut put in as alignment was out (high E string was almost off the fretboard) but it is now a great sounding and playing guitar.
@@MikeWh I'm not sure which guitar you were referring to, Mike. I nearly freaked when you said 12's but then I saw you were in C. Hejira is my favourite Joni album, and Coyote my favourite tune. Have you seen the "Shadows and Light" DVD? Extra goodness because it has Jaco and Pat Metheny in the band. A bit of a pain for me to play as I could only get a NTSC DVD, but worth the effort in setting up my cheapie NTSC player. I am very keen to try flats on my Epiphone Sorrento (with mini humbuckers), only I'll do 10-52. Thanks for the reminder.
@@theguitaramptech the guitar I mentioned is the Brownburst58X. Yes, Hejira is magnificent. You may have seen this clip of Coyote when she was still getting it together. Not a bad lot of other players either ua-cam.com/video/zeaO5UZ5OcI/v-deo.html
Fabulous! And well done for making such a cool amp, did you happen to design the Tweed Tone 20R as well? I hope so. I might be lucky enough to score one soon. Great to see Bob again, I met him, at the bar in the ~Tivoli, Sydney in the late 80s, he'd just done a blistering set with the Angels and I was patting his sweat filled shirt to tell him how good they were rocking, he was really cool, humble and friendly...just like in the video!
@@theguitaramptech Hope you guys sell a ton of them! I loved the demo with the wide range of sounds demonstrated (w/various guitars) and thanks for slipping in the Intro to The Ocean... Phil
People have been building amps like this for years as a hobby. It takes a good ear and a bit of artistic touch to get them to sound good enough to actually make it into production. 12 watts is no joke! Especially with a high efficiency 12” speaker(like a modern Celestion). Congratulations!!
Loved this. Great presentation and explanation. Even went back and did some homework with the previous video then came back. May be just the amp I’m looking for.
Great stuff Chris, I’m very proud of you being proud of your design , sounds like a fantastic buy . I just spent my $ on an American Special Tele and I have the BJ4 you modded for me plus the Vox 10 I upgraded to your specs. However I will be recommending it some friends. The hair looks good .
The neg feedback switch is a good idea. 👍👍 I built a tweed Champ copy along these lines about 10 years ago, with a 6L6 and a smaller bypass cap on the preamp. Initially, I had it in a tweed Princeton size cab with a 10" Weber AlNiCo. It was glorious. A few years later I made a tweed Deluxe size cab with a 12" for it. It's a mean little beast. And it's not quiet at all. At all. In other words, I reckon there's a place in the world for a singled-ended 6L6 amp with a 12" speaker, so I think you've hit it out of the park, Chris. Cool!😎😎
We obviously have similar tastes and loves, Bladder...even down to the Weber Alnicos. All of my amps have Webers except for my drip edge Princeton which has a majestic Celestion Blue. One of my favourite stories relates to the late great Ted Weber. I had just bought may 1963 Fender Concert. Some vandal had replaced the original Jensens with the horrid MOD speakers. I called Ted and asked which of his speakers would sound better than these MODs. Ted replied, "Any of my speakers would sound better, Chris". So I shipped over four Weber Alnico 10s 30 years ago, and they're still in that Concert.
@@theguitaramptech I put four of his 10"s in my late 60s Super Reverb. Two AlNiCo 10A125s up the top, and a pair of 10F150s down the bottom for more definition in the bass. I had a 4x10 Bassman combo with new Jensens in it at the time, so I could run the Super into either cab for comparison. The comparison? There just was no comparison. The Webers were (are) just so much better. I was like Bowman from the end of 2001: "Oh my God! It's full of Hendrix!" 🤣😂
I agree, Power, but when you have the volume knob below half and the NF engaged, this amp becomes a very sweet jazz/funk machine, too. I will do another video with that voice once the production model arrives.
I'm calling you today. I was going to put a link to your website in this video because "Doug" (Les Paul Custom) uses the Slider's PAFs you made me. Then I saw your message on your home page that worried me. Coffee time!!!
Absolutely looks like the ticket. I've been in and out of work, keeping my eyes open for a little valve amp with a 12 inch for bugger all money. Perfect. Hopefully it's basic enough inside to be maintained long term.
Yep, its a simple design, which is why it sounds so good. A few flexibility tweaks thrown in to match your taste. There is NO WAY I could ever have built this amp for the dollars that Artist are asking. I never fail to be amazed at their quality to price ratio.
I 1st saw bob in the middish 70s with Finch in some "dance" venue/hall. I next saw him on Skyhook's Guilty tour - the tour and album that had The Hooks actually rocking for a change. Fab player and a very cool presence on social media. Cool amp. I've used Artist guitars for a few things and they are a decent company. Designing an amp in Australia is an huge leap of faith and credibility for the brand. Fingers corssed for success.
Me too, Ray. I've been a Bob fan since Fich. You probably recognised my plea for "The Ocean". The amp turned out fantastic. It should fly. That sound for those dollars is a great recipie.
Congratulations with your design and the commercialisation of it! Maybe a good idea to mention at Artist that they find a good dealer/importer in Europe.
@@theguitaramptech This is a very good amp. Played a set with it last night, a small club, the amp had plenty of volume for that venue. I didn't go above 9 o'clock on the volume knob. Settings I used: Bright / Normal switch set to Bright, NFD/Normal switch set to Normal, Presence around 11 o'clock, volume 9o'clock. It took pedals well. A very good clean sound at the volumes I used it. Recommended!
That is excellent feedback, Mike. Thank you for the update. I would really appreciate you putting that comment on the Artist TT12A page: www.artistguitars.com.au/buy/artist-tweedtone12a-tube-guitar-amp
In comparison to what, David? I haven't heard anything better in a Single Ended combo at any price, let alone at AUD450, but am happy to be enlightened.
Great video...bob Spencer wonderful..I am also an old 'Finch' fan. Is there a schematic available to view and consider. Many thanks love your work. Regards Tony
Thanks for your comment, Tony. I am also an old Finch fan. It's where I first met Bob. I reckon you would have been cheering like I was to hear Bob play The Ocean, one of my favourite Finch songs. Even though I designed the amp, Artist Guitars own that design, so I can't release the schematic. Sorry.
what a great sounding amp, I'm definitely going to pick one up at that price point. love what Artist are doing: affordable gear that performs way above its pricepoint. I got their Jazz bass recently and it has no right to sound & play as good as it does.
I agree 100%. How Artis can build and ship an amp of this quality at this price is astounding. May I ask a favour of you? Can you please order the amp using the LINK in the description? This way Artist knows to send me a small commission (at their cost, not yours) in thanks for my work on the TT12A. Let me know what you think when you plug in your guitar.
If you've seen any of my other videos, you know I make no secret of my coffee addiction. It's when your Cardiologist says, "Chris, you really have to cut back a bit", that you realise you have a problem. Well, I've made some real inroads, but that first double shot hits the blood at 5:30am every day.
Thank you Power. Bob has been one of my guitar playing idols since we were 17. I'm not sure if you are in Australia, but he has always been in some of the most popular bands here. He is a great showman as well as guitarist.
Thank you! I am so happy that you liked it. I am not sure about USA sales, Tim. You could you drop a line to Artist's CEO Ian Bush on sales@artistguitars.com.au . Please tell him you saw this video. 😀
G'day Chris. I always fancied a 1 x 6L6CG amp to go with my 1 x 6V6 5F2A tweed Princeton clone so I gave your Tweedtone 12A a go. At that price it was hard not to. I've made some modifications for my own personal taste. I play rootsy blues and country and love vintage Fender tones. Not so keen on blues rock and rock sounds for my own playing. I've never liked closed back cabs, so I converted it to an open back like most old Fenders. Modern Chinese tubes don't do it for me either, so I replaced them with some nice NOS tubes i already had stashed away. Both of these changes were big improvements to my ear (perhaps not to some-one else's) but I still wasn't enjoying the 70/80 speaker. I ended up making a conversion ring for a 10 inch speaker (just because that's what I had available) and it ended up with a McKenzie 10 inch. My 5F2A also has a 10 inch (Eminence alnico blue frame). Now the 12A has more clarity than before and is a much better fit for my personal tastes and music style. I can switch between the 2 amps and I'm just as happy with either. They are subtly different but with the bright switch off and the NFD defeated (my usual settings), they have a similar feel. Of course the 12A is significantly louder, whereas the Princeton can get into power tube overdrive at lower volume. You've done a great job, especially with having to meet Artist's price point. You've clearly got the circuit right.
Very cool. I think the tube upgrade would have been worthwhile. One day, try replacing V1 with a 5751 and please tell me what you think. I don’t think any of my amps have a 12AX7 in V1. But, a good NOS 12AX7 would not sound as fizzy as modern versions. Personally, I prefer a 12” speaker, which is one reason why the TT12A was developed, but I am very much enoying the 10” Weber in my AC10. Thank you for sharing your improvements. I love the way you have used it as a platform to find your sound. Well done!
@@theguitaramptech Cheers Chris. I would have used a 12 inch speaker if I had one that I like and I might still go down that road if the right one comes along at the right price and the right time. I seem to gravitate towards 10s though. That's just me. I do have some GE 5751s somewhere. I might pop one in later. As you know the 50s Tweed circuits were classics, so the fact this amp holds its own against a 5E2A says a lot.
Hi Chris does this pack more punch than the 20r? Just reading the spec this is 20w rms same as the 20r. This consumes 120w and the 20r consumes 85w. Yes it's confusing , I've already purchased the 12a. Love that sound !
That’s an excellent question kiwi. Please go back and watch my video on class A and class AB. The. TT12A uses more power, and runs hotter than the TT 20 while putting out less output power. That’s true Class A. But what a tone it rewards you with! Don’t get me wrong. I really like the TT20, but I love the TT 12A tone and it’s dynamic responsiveness.
@theguitaramptech I cannot wait to recieve it. Currently running an ibanez tsA5 through a fender 4x12 cab. But just through 2 of them . Should be a nice step in in the world of tube amps I'm hoping . Thanks for your expertise
THANK YOU! Hmmm.. Speakers. I have a few options for you. If you are in the USA, its a no-brainer: Get the Weber Alnico Blue Dog. Its a bit pricey if you are in Australia because of shipping. In Australia, I would look at for a second hand Celestion Blue (good luck with that, because you'll have to beat me!). I have recently installed a Celestion Creamback, and I am very happy with that speaker. If you are in the USA, call CJ Sutton at Weber, and tell I recommended the Blue Dog, and ask if he has a better suggestion. If he does, PLEASE let me know.
Thank you for your comment, Alan. What aspects of a SE do you not like? Tone? Power? Speaker size? It would actually be a help for me to hear constructive criticism. I love the sound of a properly set up SE amp with a decent-sized speaker. Sure they get hot, but that's the price we have to pay to get THAT tone.
I love these personal tastes in music, Alan! I enjoy the rich sounds of a good Class A. The even order harmonics. I agree with you that they can also sound crappy and cheap, but I believe that to be mainly the shitty tiny speakers they used. If you still have an SE amp, plug it into a 12" speaker. I am sure you'll be surprised....maybe not a convert, but surprised. Thank you for expressing your opinion.
Congratulations Chris, working with as many “variables” as you had, this is a major accomplishment working with an amp manufacturer. The next stop for your improvements…..Mesa/Boogie…? Or perhaps Fender lol..kudos 😂
I’ve owned a Pro Junior in the past and still own an AC10. Both of those use two EL84s but have a 10” speaker that holds them back. I’d put them at a similar volume to the Tweed Tone 12A. The AC10 is a great little amp, especially with its cleans. You need to see my video on the Vox AC10 to get he best out of it. The overdrive sound on the Tweed Tone 12 is way better than either the Fender or the Vox, and you can get great clean tones. A big difference is the 12” Celestion in the Tweed Tone. I need to do a video on the clean sounds of the 12A. To my taste in tone: I rank them 1. Tweed Tone 12A 2. Vox AC10 3. Pro Junior, but I am biased as I did a lot of the design work on the 12A. In looks, I think the Vox is tops.
@@theguitaramptech Hey thanks heaps for the quick reply and good info! I actually just ordered the TweedTone 12A this morning here in NZ so looking forward to getting it. I already have the Pro Junior and will also pull the trigger on the VoxAC10. I’m mainly interested in Clean tones but have a penchant for small loud amps that can “potentially” gig small venues. I believe the VoxAC10 also has the ability to plug into a Cab if louder volumes are needed? I would get the AC15 but can’t handle amps on the heavier side these days (I realise they’re not that heavy compared to some others though). Lastly, just wondered out of curiosity if you’ve ever had any experience with the Two Rock pro22 or 35? Many thanks for your help and advice. 🤘🎸😎
@@stratslinger3921 Thank you for ordering the TT12A. Please let me know how you like it and if it fills a gap in your sounds. The AC10 can be made to sound noticeably better. You may not be able to do the bias part yourself, but please replace the Phase Inverter (the one closest to the power tubes) with a 12AT7 and the other preamp tube with a 5751. You will love the change. You can then release the ProJunior back into the wild.
@@theguitaramptech haha ok thanks for the great tip, I’ll let you know. Will also watch your vid on the VoxAC10 later today. I thought the Tweed Tone may be louder than the PR and Vx due to the 12inch?
@@stratslinger3921 It would be easy enough to test with my dB Meter, but I'd like to get hold of one of the Production TT12As to compare with my (modified) AC10. The TT12A may be louder, but they would be in the same ballpark. It definitely sounds fuller than than the ProJr and the AC10.
It really cuts down that “clangy” sound. Of course, it does that by reducing the gain and extended high frequencies. You should try lifting or dramatically reducing the negative feedback in a relatively clean amp, like a Twin or something. Loads of fun!
Congrats on this achievement Chris. If there are revision down the track, is a head variant viable and a separate question, is the damage to an SE amp running without a speaker any different to the other tube amp classes?
Hi Julian. Artist haven’t made a head version yet. I guess it will depend on the sales of the combo. Yes, it is the same risk of damaging tubes and transformer if there’s no load. This is one reason why has not been ahead yet.
A Solution may be to have the speaker socket wired to a dummy load that is disconnected when the connection is broken on a speaker being plugged into the socket, .... that may work. All the best , Neil@@theguitaramptech
@@ourcommonwealth6719 That's a good suggestion Neil. The only issue I can think of is the cost of an adequate dummy load without a heatsink. Even just a shorting socket like Fenders is better than O/C. I would not want to muddy the warranty waters at the price point. At AUD450 you can imagine how tight the margins are so I'll play it safe and stick with hardwiring the speaker.Thank you for your knowledge.
Thanks, .... if I may,....... could two birds be hit with one stone? Imagine a 30mm bobbin wound with a copper wire to the value of 20w at 8ohm be the dummy load wired in a way when the speaker jack is plugged in would allow for another switch to engage it in and out of series to provide a greater resistance load to the amp for a lower power. output at the same time sharing the power with the speaker to reduce the speaker power again as an attenuator should it be desired? Another advantage for quite practice?@@theguitaramptech
Thank you. We used the same speaker that is in the Tweed Tone 20. Its the Celestion 70/80. It worked great in this amp. Artist decided that this speaker was good for the price point, and they're right. Its an obvious place for a tone upgrade. I will try my personal TT12A with a Celestion Creamback. I can hear it in my head!
@@RdamplificationUk1 Great call! I am pretty sure that I have a Fane (not sure if its an A60) in my speaker collection. I'll have a mooch through tomorrow.
@@theguitaramptech the A60 is an Alnico. Part of FANEs Ascension range. The cones are a bit less stiff than the Celestions. They are a bit expensive tho.
Is a nice breakup tone achievable at lower volumes with this? I'm thinking to purchase but I'm worried it might be a bit much for everyone in the house to bear if I want to get a bit of grunt out of this thing.
Good question with a borderline answer because everyone's "too loud" is different. With the switch in the NFD (Boost) position, it will breakup a little earlier, but it doesn't have a master volume (which only gives you preamp distortion). To avoid unpacking my pedal board I just use a dedicated overdrive (Nux Horseman, which I got from the Artist Guitars website) in front of my home amp. Its a great setup.
If you’re in Sydney Rob, head out to the Artist warehouse. The first shipment should land within the month. It should be a breeze to service. I am keen to see the production PCB. The Artist factory in China does a great job on the other valve amp.
@@theguitaramptech Great, thanks for the reply. I am a bit sick of the current throw away guitar tech, and really want to support gear that can be serviced for life.
@@Margarinethebutterlover I agree 100%, Rob. Basically anything that uses DSP modelling, or even most semiconductor technology fits that bill. People want cheap amps that sound "good enough". So manufacturers meet that demand...until that DSP chip with proprietary software fails. That once-beloved amp becomes landfill. In 10 years, the Katana's and Tonemasters will be dumped as Boss or Fender move on to the next cheapest or shiniest technology. It's sad. In contrast, the 60 year old Fender will go for another 60 years. The Catch 22 is that nobody can afford the 60 year old Fender or the handwired Matchless. (Did you notice how skillfully I avoided dumping sh*t on Mesa. Damn. Damn. Damn. I just did! )
Great idea. I have one in the "Waiting Room". As you know the difference in volume between 15w or 20w is more a matter of speaker efficiency than watts. It will be an interesting repair, regardless.
@@theguitaramptech yeah I know, but it is 1.2 dB. Swap the speaker with another 2 dB in efficiency. And that becomes noticeable clean headroom improvement.
Im struggling with this amp. I find it best with a distortion pedal reverb and delay with the volume and tone at 10 0'clock Im using it in a soundproof music room playing at higher volumes and wearing music earplugs sounds great Has a great smooth growl But take the ear plugs out to hear it as the audience would.. not so good Its tone is too bright or kind of brassy not pleasing Im currently swapping the distortion pedals around to see what improvements I can get Currently I find a friedman be100 seems to work best as it has tone controls and a tight knob Now Im wondering if a better speaker might help. But once you get to speaker swap outs your really struggling Using a fender strat custom shop have tried les pauls richenbacher and custom tele with humbuckers. I find the strat works best because there are more pickup combinations
Hi Peter. Thank you for taking the time to comment on the TweedTone 12. When I was designing and prototyping it, it went back’n’forward to Artist many times for opinions I trust. Obviously, you have used the Bright Switch and the Presence (Tone) pot to take off the top end. I can only suggest that you must like a darker tone. A Strat on the bridge pickup can be a dangerous weapon! Can a speaker swap help? Sure, but do your research. Maybe a hemp cone. I must have missed the point of your comparison of this $450 12w amp to a 100w $7,000 Fiedman BE-100. Sorry.
The point I was making was that I found the amp fine without pedals but does not take pedals well except reverb and delay. The be100 I referenced is a stomp pedal not an amp. So unfortunately I think you missed my point
@@peterdempsey9153 thanks for clarifying that Peter. It’s great that we have different tastes. I designed it specifically to work with pedals or without.
I often battle with that question, Guy. In the end, I decided to stick to just the amp and guitar. If I introduce a pedal, you may think, "Am I hearing the pedal or the amp". I am often tempted as its an excellent pedal platform, but I like to be honest with my Subscribers. Believe it or not, I get criticised because I compress my audio before UA-cam mashes it. Imagine what those trolls would say if I used a pedal!
Hi the be100 I was referring to is a pedal not a amp and what I was making as a point is that the tweed tone amp sounds good enough in its own right as evidenced in some of the videos but its a real struggle adding pedals. Interesting that the artist own videos all demo the amp without pedals.
Okay, thanks. That’s not bad considering the price point for this amp. Hence why I asked about a head version, so I can use whatever cab and speaker I prefer.
@@peter-0200 I understand Peter. This is a confusing pricepoint. It has professional quality sound, but at a beginner pricepoint. I know you would never forget to plug in a speaker, but the 12yo kid might. You can easily put an external speaker jack if you are OK about losing warranty.
Awesome amp! Should be a perfect contrast to my Princeton. I’m ordering one. As an aside I’m the same age as Bob but alas I never saw the Angels or Skyhooks, how I have the nerve to call myself Australian I don’t know, but I did see the La De Da’s in 1973 so hopefully that atones!
Very cool Calypso!. Kevin Borich is Da Man! I got to play with him TWICE. Once with the Kevin Borich Express and once in one of my shows where he made a stunning cameo. Did you ever get to see Finch? That was where I first got to know Bob Spencer. I've been a fan ever since. I don't seem to have a problem separating the "idol" from the "mate". I have also been great mates with Shane Pacey (Bondi Cigars) for 30 years, but when I'm in the audience I scream like any fan. I am SO HAPPY that you like TT12A! I love the Princeton for it Fender cleans (if you have a reissue, you may need to bring it in to me), and you love the TT12A for its throaty Class A voice.
Yeah. I seem to have regular problems with clipping my Zoom H4n recorder. I need to not be scared of using a much lower recording level. Its my curse of coming through the "recording-to-tape" era.
Not to blow smoke but i was considering this when it came available and the fact that you had a big hand in this helps me along on the decision. The speaker size was a draw card ,only chanced a look on the website and discovered the new offering. All the best
Spot on, Bruce. I was firm on the speaker size being 12" and, man, what a difference it makes. Even running a 5w Champ into a 12" opens up a whole new sound.
@@theguitaramptech I myself have experienced this with the little joyo 5 watt,Ive managed to squeeze a 10 inch into one ( crudely) but have been most impressed with the tweedtone 20. Less so with a little tweed 5 watt from Artist that was a returned item I took a punt on and had ,I found,a replacement valve that rubbed against the speaker and shards of glass inside the cabinet. I've tried a new valve but it needs technical help due to a popping noise / fault. A shame as it's a pretty sweet sounding amp. One day...... regardless, I look forward to another unnecessary purchase, got to have a hobby
Hi Bruce. I do the amp repairs for Artist and yes, we did have a run of smashed tubes. It looked like a shipping container must have been dropped. I also have the (black) Joyo 5w. Its a great little practice amp. It sounded a bit dark for me, so I put a 500pF bright cap across the volume pot. Perfect...for me. I can't believe you got a 10" to fit in there. Bravo!!
@@theguitaramptech good morning, this amp has been with me a while and yes,I retained the info about you being the repair tech for Artist. This one's just waiting for me to get serious,far too many toys to play with. My dream would be to re-house the 5 watt tweedtone into a bigger and more shapely cabinet,only to impress myself. Having invested so little initially I feel obligated to get it repaired, it was taking a while for the problem to rear it's head but it's now much more prevalent. In the fullness of time. Have a fulfilling day,catch you on the next one
Sounds sweet. Best of luck with Quality Control - Artist couldn't get me a 20R that worked properly after 3 deliveries across the country. To their credit they did refund completely, but it was a couple of months of wasted time for nothing for me. Shame, was really liking the sound of it when it worked...
I am really sorry to hear of your experience with the TT20. As you probably know, I do all their tube amp repairs. They had one PCB issue at some stage which was resolved once I pointed it out to the factory (2 tracks were too close). Early ones had a transformer issue. That's because the factory believed the1983 Standards Australia 20 year plan to convert Australia from 240 volts to 230 volt, so a batch of transformers came out with this voltage and consequently the filament was too high. That's also been resolved. I haven't had a TT20 cross my bench for months now. I'm glad Artist looked after you. Ian Bush (CEO) is a stickler for Customer support. The TT20 is still one of my favourite amps under a $1500...and its only $650.
@theguitaramptech This was all 6 months ago - they will have it all documented in emails with vids of issues. I'm pretty sure the first amp didn't even see you - I spoke to someone with another name, and they said they played it for an hour and couldn't replicate. Said it was prob a globe. Sent it back to me, straight out of the box it did it. Sent a new one, new problem, sent it back for a refund. Bought a diff amp, it had a problem, the company had it repaired here in Perth in two weeks and now awesome. The flight to Perth is not kind! :) Had a speaker show up from another co. couple months ago - had clearly been dropped.
@@theguitaramptech def mate. I loved the clean channel. Fantastic pedal platform. Would love to have one, and I'm sure that your new amp will be awesome, also.
I have a question to you Chris . I have heard that Vox Amps are general biased up to 140% and that this is a normal bias setting for them , what do you think or/and know about that . Her on UA-cam is Chanel more specialized in repairing Vox amps the statement comes from him. Have a great day , best of luck o you all.
Hi there Power. I think we lost a few words in your 3rd sentence. No. 140% dissipation is definitely not a good thing. All sorts of unpleasant things happen when the grid is so positive. I prefer 95-100%, maybe even 110%, but no more. I'm curious as to who would make such a statement. You may ask how can a tube go above 100% dissipation? Isn't 100% the limit? Not quite. When the plate dissipation is set at 100% at idle, the tube can still allow more electrons to flow, so the saturation current can be more than the 100% plate dissipation?
@@theguitaramptech sorry some words missing on that . Maybe that is while Brian May kill a lot of tubes/valves while pushing them very hard. Btw: All his vintage amps have now solid state Rectifiers and some other modifications , all that is making the amps more reliable. he don't bother with amp settings all on full , that is also my kind of thing
@@powertothebauer296 I had the great privilege of working on one of Brian's amps a few years ago. I still don't know if it was one of his personal touring amps, or one from the Queen Show. It was definitely one of the BM modded ones. It sounded like no other AC30 I have ever worked on. And yes, it had solid-state recitification. Triple 1N4007 if I recall. It was a tough decision but I decided to not reverse-engineer the mods. Brian May and the Engineer who designed that circuit own it, and I was not about to steal their work. I agree with your settings. A Vox with Bass and Treble on full sounds horrible. My favourite setting is Bass at 10 o'clock and Treble at 1 o'clock for a Top Boost. What's yours, Power? (Or should I call you Bauer, or Farmer).
@@theguitaramptech Brian has meded Amps the same ones for the WWR Shows if I am correct made by Greg Fryer, some other mods made by Nigel Knight . I Use the normal Chanel only ,without tone controls ,and a treble booster , boost is about 15 db if is it possible Master Volume on full , Chanel volume at about 10-11 Volume control via the Guitar , only other pedals are chorus or Delay . I have to go in front so I don't like to much effects , it makes a mess with the tone. If I had someone like you where I live ,I would get rid of the reverb and tremolo circuits , they are bleeding in to the signal and I hate it.
@@theguitaramptech You can call me short power. The Tone Controls on Vox Amps are counter productive in my opinion if you turn up the bass you turn down the treble and vice versa so the only option is flat out the tone controls but than the amps get very noisy without a noise gate , so I not use them.
@@theguitaramptech Chris, I have to be honest and say that a large part of the reasons I bought the TTV-5w was curiosity at how anyone could sell a tube amp for $249 (including freight to Melbourne!). As such, it's incredible value. My main amp is a 65 Princeton Reverb reissue which I absolutely love, but living in an apartment, even the little 12W PRI is too loud to use any time after early evening. I'm using the TTV mostly for guitar lessons as it's ultra portable (make the Princeton feel like a giant in comparison). It sounds best with a touch of reverb from my pedalboard but for lessons it's just plug straight in and play. Don't use the Boost position for Telecaster but might for ES-335 which seems counterintuitive. Can get a bit 'harsh' above 3/4 volume, but I'm not gigging with it. Pulled the back off to check speaker mounting (needed slight tightening). Straightened up the power tube which was pushed into the socket at a bit of an angle. The mounting of the board seems less rigid than I'd like but overall it's amazing value. To put comparison with Fender in perspective, the PRRI cost more than 6.5 times as much as the TTV I'm hoping you do "suggest a couple of mods" Thanks
@@MrStevehunter33 the best thing you can do for the TTV, or any other of these small amps, is to plug it into an external larger speaker. Even a 10 inch will open it up. This is why I went with a 12 inch speaker for the TT 12A.
@@theguitaramptech Might try that (plug into larger speaker) just for curiosity's sake. I have the Princeton (Jensen C-10R) and one of the early hand-wired Blackstar Artisan 15 amps (Celestion G12M Greenback). All the best, and thank you for your YT channel videos. Do you do mods on the Princeton reissues? Cap upgrades, heater wiring etc.? I don't know who does that kind of work here in Melbourne
I hope there's a schematic available to modify one to your prototype with extra switches? LOL. @Bob Spencer - tweed tone amplificator 😂🤣. I can almost imagine this isn't that dissimilar to what Bob and Rick used on Beyond Salvation by the sounds? Love how Bob names his guitars. I've named my guitars very similarly after the inspired player. 116db for a 12W amp? LOL. Fantastic! But it's all about the efficiency of the speaker a lot of time and doubling the power only gets 3db increase anyway. Its a wonderful sounding amp anyway and one I think I'll have to try out when I get the chance.
Hi Peter. The design officially belongs to Artist so I doubt it. It just proves how a performers tone is in his fingers. It didn’t sound like that when I played the amplificator. Even though they were my guitars (which you can see on my other videos) Bob and I are the hugest Doug Ford fans. Bob owns an Ivan Richards amp called the “Spencer Ford”. It sounds amazing. Bobs even had dinner with Doug!!! Me so envious.
I have a dB meter on the wall in my workshop which you can see in my more recent repair videos. I know it does not meet the standards of orientation and distance for a true decibel reading, nor do I know if it’s calibrated, but near enough, right? Hand on heart, I saw it flash 116 dB at one point.
@@theguitaramptech I was only kidding about the schematic and I believe you about the sound levels. I was just saying that between 6W and 12W you're only getting a 3dB increase (like turning your volume up a notch). Same with 12W to 24W - 3dB. Still very impressive for a tiny amp!
If you saw the internals now, you would shriek with horror. This is my prototype and there are wires, cut tracks, and components doing air acrobatics. I can't wait to see how the factory tidied up my work in the production PCB.
@@theguitaramptech Thanks If I get one I'll leave a comment. I feel like there's a good chance it would be really good. Especially as it isn't too hot.
@@ThomasMurray-White Please let me know what you think of the TT12A as a harmonica amp. DOn't forget you can tailor the sound even more with a speaker change. If you decide to buy one, can I please ask you to go to the Artist site via this link: alnk.to/eZESRCK . It will earn me a small commission for the design work at no extra cost to you.
Of course they are made in China, Sonia. It’s no secret. How else could you buy an amp that sounds that good for under $700? As you probably know, many Vox and Fender amps are made in China. Have a look at the rear label. You may be surprised. I agree Chinese products once had a bad reputation, but no more. But failures happen, and I am sure that Artist Guitars looked after you. Have you seen the TweedTone12A amp that I designed for Artist guitars? Artist are selling it for $450! If I was to make and sell this, it would be over $2,000. And so far there have been ZERO failures!
I have recently bought the 12A, and was a bit apprehensive, as I have previously had to return the 20R and the Tweedtone 5 due to faults. So far the 12A sounds great, and the 70/80 Celestion which has received some negative reviews, sounds surprisingly good. I have the 12A paired with a Tone King Gremlin thru an ABY switcher, and with both Amps blended together, the result is tone for days. I can't understand however, why the Amp does not have a speaker out Jack?. Surely the small cost involved would greatly improve the appeal for those players who would like to hear the Amp through different Cabinets.
Thank you for your kind words, Norder, and for purchasing the TT12A. The Celestion 70/80 is an excellent speaker for the money. We discussed other more expensive speaker options, but I always bow down to Ian Bush's (Artist CEO) knowledge of the market and his price point. He was right as usual. The TT12A and the Tone King would sound regal together. I had thought about a speaker jack and you are spot-on: it was not a decision based on $5 worth of a plug and socket. The reason is that I have repaired too many amps (heads mainly) where the owner forgot to plug in a speaker, then cranked the volume to get some sound and cooked the output transformer. It's even riskier on a combo because the speaker jack would be out of sight under the chassis. I was torn. Reliability vs Flexibility. You can see which way I leaned....but I do like your idea. I might do it on my TT12A. It's an easy Mod, but it would absolutely blow your warranty. Just don't use that shit jack that Fender use. Its starting to become a problem as the jacks go open circuit. Cooked Fender transformers ahead.
HAHAHAHA! You slay me, Bladder! I haven't seen the Production model yet, and my Prototype would rightly scare off any potential customers, with a number of components doing acrobatics above the first generation PCB.
The guitars all sound a little out of tune ---- either that or you've got some kind of trailing-note oscillation going on. Insufficient decoupling between power supply nodes or a grounding/layout problem perhaps? I think you'll need to check the 1st generation PCB prototypes very carefully.......
Thanks goodun'. I very much appreciate a good set of ears. I have a small confession to make, which Bob did mention in the video....I forgot to tune the guitars before recording the video. A Peterson strobe tuner works best when not left on the shelf. But on to your suggestions: I am pretty OCD when it comes to filtering. You may have seen in my other videos that not only do I tend to over-filter but I often add a 0.1uF across the decoupling caps to extend the effective frequency range. You can guarantee that I will be going over the first lot of PCBs with a fine tooth comb to make sure all of my requests have made it to production. Thanks again for your ears and experience.
I wanted to show a range of different pickups more so than guitars.The guitars are mine. I also wanted to demonstrate how good the amp sounds with my Artist 58X guitar. I am sure Artist would have lent me a range of their guitars for the video, but that almost defeats the purpose. What you are saying would make a great topic for another video. maybe how good is the Artist guitar compared to the original! What do you think?
Gibson, not my thing why nobody plays a strat with humm SS to premire a "new" amp is beyond me best of both worlds of tone, floyd rose trem would not hurt either, ha ha, best of Three worlds of playability, gibson, stop bar tailpiece with a tune-o- matic bridge lol, limiting much and dual hummuckers to boot, just not my thing and to me silly.
I agree. The Strauss looks much better on the outside than the inside. The TweedTone 12A should be quite reliable...because I designed it with reliability in mind. Of course, a Class A amp will always run hotter than Class AB. See my video ua-cam.com/video/-cEn1zT3N2k/v-deo.htmlsi=Xn7RPihzClfABt63
Awesome little amp. Trying to decide between this and the 20r. Have a dsl40 already so drawn to this as a light compact grab and go for jam seasions etc. The 20r seems a bit more flexible and therefore usable?
Its obviously built to a budget so what do i need to concider to ensure its not on the councio clean up pile in the coming years (hate waste). Should the resisters caps be upgraded? How is it biased?
Cheers
Thank you, Peter. I am very proud of this little powerhouse. Yes, the TweedTone 20R is more versatile than the Tweed Tone 12. If versatility is your criterion, then that is your answer. The TT20 has reverb and a switchable gain circuit.
I was after the famous Class A touch sensitivity with those luscious second order harmonics, but coming through a 12" speaker instead of the 8" speakers people associate with sengle-ended amps. With the switch in NFD mode, it has no negative feedback. It’s a bit more raw with that Vox-like compression in the upper mids and highs. Its my favourite setting. I reckon Blues players would love it.
Both amps use the same Celestion 70/80 speaker.
I was very precise about biasing this amp. One of my pet hates, which you will see on most of my other videos, is that manufacturers intentionally bias their amps way too hot. Not so with the TT12. Why? I designed this amp for me!
The amp represents insane value at around $450 so some budget decisions had to be made. The components are all fine. I wouldn’t change them unless they fail. If you wanted to upgrade it, the only thing I could suggest is to upgrade the speaker. The stock Celestion 70/80 is very good, but I reckon you’d appreciate Celestion Creamback.
If you decide to purchase either amp, could you please do me the favour and purchase it through this link to the Artist Guitars site? alnk.to/eZESRCK
That’s the only way Artist Guitars can pass a small commission my way.
Thanks Chris for your detailed response. I'm really drawn to this amp and already having the DSL40, this likely makes a bit more sense.. given the 20r is a lot closer to what I have.
I'll be sure to use the link. Thanks again Chris. Congrats on your design and thanks for taking care of the Bias... unlike some other well-known brands!
@@petercummins1097 I really like it. I hope it will be what you're looking for.
@theguitaramptech Hey Chris, I've just pulled the trigger on your amp now using your link. Looking forward to taking it for a spin. Was surprised to see the input current at 120 watts while the 20r is only about 80? Anyway thanks for your input, I'm sure it'll work for my needs.
@@petercummins1097 yep. That's Class A for you. There is a price to pay for that tone. I did a video just before the release of the TT12A about Class A. Have a refresher. I am very much looking forward to your review.
Thanks for making this. Shane on you tube and lives near you reviewed this amp recently and that's how I found you and now that I know where to buy a great tube amp instead of a Monoprice 5w/1w tube amp, I'll be in touch, great video, I laughed with you guys, lol.
Thanks for the comment, Douglas. Sadly, Shane @intheblues is in Melbourne. I'm in the lesser-known- Sydney Carlton, but we get to speak occasionally. I always trust his reviews. He has a great ear.
Bob is an Aussie living legend! He got my attention back in the Skyhooks days and I loved his work in the Angels. If Bob says this is a great amp then it's a great amp and I've put my preorder in with Artist.
Bob sure is an Aussie legend. I first knew him with Finch, that he left to join Skyhooks in around '77. (If Bob's watching this, he can correct it). I am sure you will love the amp.
Fabulous. The Valve Amp lives to fight another day! Always worth celebrating when someone in the know creates a new design.
Thanks mate!
great fun clip Chris, thanks Bob. Very cool amp
Thanks Rod. I am so blessed to have met The Greats in the music business. People like Bob Spencer and Rod McQeen.
Chris, I am very happy to see that you have designed an amp and are working with a company that will produce them!!! The design is awesome and sounds Really Good. It has a simple audio path and a single ended Class A power stage. I have come to respect simple amps that don't have lots of switching, loads of gain stages and tone controls, etc. They sound more immediate and have better touch sensitivity. And as you explained in your last video, this amp has lots of pleasing 2nd order harmonics. I would love to see you create more designs. Maybe something with a 20 W rating next time? Congratulations on joining the Guitar Amp Designer Pantheon :)
Thank you John, It's 5:30am in Sydney and you have made my day already!! It is impossible for me to consider making such an amp without the power of Artist Guitars making it real.
Its easy for some to bag out Chinese manufacturing, but we have to put those days behind us. Yes, some of the component choices can defy logic, but if you are very specific in your requirements, as Artist CEO (Ian Bush is) the value for money that we, the consumer, receives is staggering. I used to be a brand snob too, but no more. I bought that Brownburst 58X (Arty) that Bob is playing last with my hard earned money. I can't get over how good that thing plays and sounds. I will find some time between repairs to set it up to my tastes, but it played beautifully out of the box.
@@theguitaramptechI have that guitar set up with D’Addario 12-52 Chromes and tuned down to open C for Joni Mitchell tunes (‘Amelia’ from Hejira) and it is magnificent. I had to get a new nut put in as alignment was out (high E string was almost off the fretboard) but it is now a great sounding and playing guitar.
@@MikeWh I'm not sure which guitar you were referring to, Mike. I nearly freaked when you said 12's but then I saw you were in C.
Hejira is my favourite Joni album, and Coyote my favourite tune. Have you seen the "Shadows and Light" DVD? Extra goodness because it has Jaco and Pat Metheny in the band. A bit of a pain for me to play as I could only get a NTSC DVD, but worth the effort in setting up my cheapie NTSC player.
I am very keen to try flats on my Epiphone Sorrento (with mini humbuckers), only I'll do 10-52. Thanks for the reminder.
@@theguitaramptech the guitar I mentioned is the Brownburst58X. Yes, Hejira is magnificent. You may have seen this clip of Coyote when she was still getting it together. Not a bad lot of other players either ua-cam.com/video/zeaO5UZ5OcI/v-deo.html
@@MikeWh No, I haven't seen that clip Mike. What a room full of legends! Thanks for that link. Thank you.
Fabulous! And well done for making such a cool amp, did you happen to design the Tweed Tone 20R as well? I hope so. I might be lucky enough to score one soon. Great to see Bob again, I met him, at the bar in the ~Tivoli, Sydney in the late 80s, he'd just done a blistering set with the Angels and I was patting his sweat filled shirt to tell him how good they were rocking, he was really cool, humble and friendly...just like in the video!
Awesome! Great video as always, and what a massive achievement this is! Congratulations!
Thank you Lexi. I know you have been surrounded by great guitar tones your whole life, so your words of support mean a lot to me.
Congrats on your new amp design Chris. Sounds like a very cool amp. Got to love tubes! All the best from the NYC (Jersey Shore) area.
Phil
Hi Phil. Great to hear from you again. Thank you for your kind words.
@@theguitaramptech Hope you guys sell a ton of them! I loved the demo with the wide range of sounds demonstrated (w/various guitars) and thanks for slipping in the Intro to The Ocean...
Phil
@@uptownphotography Thank you, Phil
Hi Chris, congratulations on this great achievement!
Thank you Geoff. I am very happy with the way it turned out. Looking forward to the first production moel.
People have been building amps like this for years as a hobby. It takes a good ear and a bit of artistic touch to get them to sound good enough to actually make it into production.
12 watts is no joke! Especially with a high efficiency 12” speaker(like a modern Celestion).
Congratulations!!
Thanks Matthew. Yes, it beats me why nobody has produced an amp like this before.
Loved this. Great presentation and explanation. Even went back and did some homework with the previous video then came back.
May be just the amp I’m looking for.
Very Cool, Thankyou. Nice Work. Will Definitely be getting one of these Amps. Cheers
I so much appreciate your words, GRB. I am sure you will love it.
Great stuff Chris, I’m very proud of you being proud of your design , sounds like a fantastic buy . I just spent my $ on an American Special Tele and I have the BJ4 you modded for me plus the Vox 10 I upgraded to your specs. However I will be recommending it some friends. The hair looks good .
Oh Adam. You know just what to say to make me smile. I'm happy to hear that the BJr and the AC10 still brings a smile to your ears.
Well done sirs Chris and Bob
Thank you so much, Abijag.
It's like a mini-Marshall! Love it.
Its so cool Matt. Thanks for yur comment.
The neg feedback switch is a good idea. 👍👍
I built a tweed Champ copy along these lines about 10 years ago, with a 6L6 and a smaller bypass cap on the preamp. Initially, I had it in a tweed Princeton size cab with a 10" Weber AlNiCo. It was glorious. A few years later I made a tweed Deluxe size cab with a 12" for it. It's a mean little beast. And it's not quiet at all. At all. In other words, I reckon there's a place in the world for a singled-ended 6L6 amp with a 12" speaker, so I think you've hit it out of the park, Chris. Cool!😎😎
We obviously have similar tastes and loves, Bladder...even down to the Weber Alnicos. All of my amps have Webers except for my drip edge Princeton which has a majestic Celestion Blue.
One of my favourite stories relates to the late great Ted Weber. I had just bought may 1963 Fender Concert. Some vandal had replaced the original Jensens with the horrid MOD speakers. I called Ted and asked which of his speakers would sound better than these MODs. Ted replied, "Any of my speakers would sound better, Chris". So I shipped over four Weber Alnico 10s 30 years ago, and they're still in that Concert.
@@theguitaramptech I put four of his 10"s in my late 60s Super Reverb. Two AlNiCo 10A125s up the top, and a pair of 10F150s down the bottom for more definition in the bass. I had a 4x10 Bassman combo with new Jensens in it at the time, so I could run the Super into either cab for comparison. The comparison? There just was no comparison. The Webers were (are) just so much better. I was like Bowman from the end of 2001: "Oh my God! It's full of Hendrix!" 🤣😂
Love the Brian May settings, very good sounding Amp looking good too , bu I prefer the lack of a negative feedback loop
I agree, Power, but when you have the volume knob below half and the NF engaged, this amp becomes a very sweet jazz/funk machine, too. I will do another video with that voice once the production model arrives.
awesome Chris and great fun video, cool to see Bob too (yes I'm a bit od an Angles Fan boy)
I'm calling you today. I was going to put a link to your website in this video because "Doug" (Les Paul Custom) uses the Slider's PAFs you made me. Then I saw your message on your home page that worried me. Coffee time!!!
Absolutely looks like the ticket. I've been in and out of work, keeping my eyes open for a little valve amp with a 12 inch for bugger all money. Perfect. Hopefully it's basic enough inside to be maintained long term.
Yep, its a simple design, which is why it sounds so good. A few flexibility tweaks thrown in to match your taste. There is NO WAY I could ever have built this amp for the dollars that Artist are asking. I never fail to be amazed at their quality to price ratio.
I 1st saw bob in the middish 70s with Finch in some "dance" venue/hall. I next saw him on Skyhook's Guilty tour - the tour and album that had The Hooks actually rocking for a change. Fab player and a very cool presence on social media. Cool amp. I've used Artist guitars for a few things and they are a decent company. Designing an amp in Australia is an huge leap of faith and credibility for the brand. Fingers corssed for success.
Me too, Ray. I've been a Bob fan since Fich. You probably recognised my plea for "The Ocean". The amp turned out fantastic. It should fly. That sound for those dollars is a great recipie.
Congratulations with your design and the commercialisation of it! Maybe a good idea to mention at Artist that they find a good dealer/importer in Europe.
Yes. An excellent suggestion, William. I will raise it with the CEO.
Came for the amp. Left with the idea that I need a Les Paul Junior/ Special with P90s
Correct! Everone needs a Junior
Just purchased, picking it up tomorrow, plan on playing a set with it on Saturday….🎉
Fantastic, Mike. I am confident that you will love it, but please let me know how you went with t.
@@theguitaramptech This is a very good amp. Played a set with it last night, a small club, the amp had plenty of volume for that venue. I didn't go above 9 o'clock on the volume knob.
Settings I used: Bright / Normal switch set to Bright, NFD/Normal switch set to Normal, Presence around 11 o'clock, volume 9o'clock.
It took pedals well.
A very good clean sound at the volumes I used it. Recommended!
That is excellent feedback, Mike. Thank you for the update. I would really appreciate you putting that comment on the Artist TT12A page: www.artistguitars.com.au/buy/artist-tweedtone12a-tube-guitar-amp
@@theguitaramptech No problem, just posted the review, can take up to 24 hours for it to appear. Cheers🎸
@@MikeWh thanks Mike 😊
"Not better or worse. Just different." 🤗
In comparison to what, David? I haven't heard anything better in a Single Ended combo at any price, let alone at AUD450, but am happy to be enlightened.
the topology in the last video was a walk in the park
Sorry mate. I'm not sure what you mean, Ian.
Great video...bob Spencer wonderful..I am also an old 'Finch' fan.
Is there a schematic available to view and consider. Many thanks love your work. Regards Tony
Thanks for your comment, Tony. I am also an old Finch fan. It's where I first met Bob. I reckon you would have been cheering like I was to hear Bob play The Ocean, one of my favourite Finch songs.
Even though I designed the amp, Artist Guitars own that design, so I can't release the schematic. Sorry.
what a great sounding amp, I'm definitely going to pick one up at that price point. love what Artist are doing: affordable gear that performs way above its pricepoint. I got their Jazz bass recently and it has no right to sound & play as good as it does.
I agree 100%. How Artis can build and ship an amp of this quality at this price is astounding. May I ask a favour of you? Can you please order the amp using the LINK in the description? This way Artist knows to send me a small commission (at their cost, not yours) in thanks for my work on the TT12A. Let me know what you think when you plug in your guitar.
Awesome ! Would love to try that amp here in Europe ! ( Prost ! from a ROSE TATTOO -Bob Spencer fan !! ) 😉👍
I know Bob did many tours in Europe with Rose Tattoo. I agree. He's a legend of world stature.
That was a lot of fun and I did wonder if there were any other stimulants apart from the gear.....coffee !!!!
If you've seen any of my other videos, you know I make no secret of my coffee addiction. It's when your Cardiologist says, "Chris, you really have to cut back a bit", that you realise you have a problem. Well, I've made some real inroads, but that first double shot hits the blood at 5:30am every day.
Oh, I forget very good review and playing .
Thank you Power. Bob has been one of my guitar playing idols since we were 17. I'm not sure if you are in Australia, but he has always been in some of the most popular bands here. He is a great showman as well as guitarist.
@@theguitaramptech No i am not from down under, so I don't know him , but what I have seen he is a cool guy and I am sure I want have a beer with him
@@powertothebauer296 I'll let Bob know about his new drinking buddy!! ;)
Good job!!!😊👍👍🙏
Thanks, mate!!
Great video first time watching amp sounds great but do they sell them in the USA
Thank you! I am so happy that you liked it.
I am not sure about USA sales, Tim. You could you drop a line to Artist's CEO Ian Bush on sales@artistguitars.com.au . Please tell him you saw this video. 😀
G'day Chris. I always fancied a 1 x 6L6CG amp to go with my 1 x 6V6 5F2A tweed Princeton clone so I gave your Tweedtone 12A a go. At that price it was hard not to. I've made some modifications for my own personal taste. I play rootsy blues and country and love vintage Fender tones. Not so keen on blues rock and rock sounds for my own playing. I've never liked closed back cabs, so I converted it to an open back like most old Fenders. Modern Chinese tubes don't do it for me either, so I replaced them with some nice NOS tubes i already had stashed away.
Both of these changes were big improvements to my ear (perhaps not to some-one else's) but I still wasn't enjoying the 70/80 speaker. I ended up making a conversion ring for a 10 inch speaker (just because that's what I had available) and it ended up with a McKenzie 10 inch. My 5F2A also has a 10 inch (Eminence alnico blue frame).
Now the 12A has more clarity than before and is a much better fit for my personal tastes and music style. I can switch between the 2 amps and I'm just as happy with either. They are subtly different but with the bright switch off and the NFD defeated (my usual settings), they have a similar feel. Of course the 12A is significantly louder, whereas the Princeton can get into power tube overdrive at lower volume. You've done a great job, especially with having to meet Artist's price point. You've clearly got the circuit right.
Very cool. I think the tube upgrade would have been worthwhile. One day, try replacing V1 with a 5751 and please tell me what you think. I don’t think any of my amps have a 12AX7 in V1. But, a good NOS 12AX7 would not sound as fizzy as modern versions. Personally, I prefer a 12” speaker, which is one reason why the TT12A was developed, but I am very much enoying the 10” Weber in my AC10.
Thank you for sharing your improvements. I love the way you have used it as a platform to find your sound. Well done!
@@theguitaramptech Cheers Chris. I would have used a 12 inch speaker if I had one that I like and I might still go down that road if the right one comes along at the right price and the right time. I seem to gravitate towards 10s though. That's just me. I do have some GE 5751s somewhere. I might pop one in later. As you know the 50s Tweed circuits were classics, so the fact this amp holds its own against a 5E2A says a lot.
Congratulations, what a cracker of an amp! The perfect Fathers Day gift! Hint hint, offspring! 😉
Thanks Michael. I reckon it would be the perfect gift idea.
Hi Chris does this pack more punch than the 20r? Just reading the spec this is 20w rms same as the 20r. This consumes 120w and the 20r consumes 85w. Yes it's confusing , I've already purchased the 12a. Love that sound !
That’s an excellent question kiwi. Please go back and watch my video on class A and class AB. The. TT12A uses more power, and runs hotter than the TT 20 while putting out less output power. That’s true Class A. But what a tone it rewards you with!
Don’t get me wrong. I really like the TT20, but I love the TT 12A tone and it’s dynamic responsiveness.
@theguitaramptech I cannot wait to recieve it.
Currently running an ibanez tsA5 through a fender 4x12 cab. But just through 2 of them .
Should be a nice step in in the world of tube amps I'm hoping .
Thanks for your expertise
I reckon you will love it. Let me know what you think.
G'day Chris...amazing work...just wondering what speaker you would use in this unit if cost wasn't an issue? Regards....
THANK YOU!
Hmmm.. Speakers. I have a few options for you. If you are in the USA, its a no-brainer: Get the Weber Alnico Blue Dog. Its a bit pricey if you are in Australia because of shipping. In Australia, I would look at for a second hand Celestion Blue (good luck with that, because you'll have to beat me!). I have recently installed a Celestion Creamback, and I am very happy with that speaker. If you are in the USA, call CJ Sutton at Weber, and tell I recommended the Blue Dog, and ask if he has a better suggestion. If he does, PLEASE let me know.
I've never been a fan of SE amps. I would love to try one of these out.
Thank you for your comment, Alan. What aspects of a SE do you not like? Tone? Power? Speaker size? It would actually be a help for me to hear constructive criticism. I love the sound of a properly set up SE amp with a decent-sized speaker. Sure they get hot, but that's the price we have to pay to get THAT tone.
@@theguitaramptech I always found them to be a bit one-dimensional.
I love these personal tastes in music, Alan! I enjoy the rich sounds of a good Class A. The even order harmonics. I agree with you that they can also sound crappy and cheap, but I believe that to be mainly the shitty tiny speakers they used. If you still have an SE amp, plug it into a 12" speaker. I am sure you'll be surprised....maybe not a convert, but surprised. Thank you for expressing your opinion.
@@theguitaramptech I will try it for sure, thanks.
This amp, and a Slick guitars '59, and youve got a world class top tier rig for under $1,000.00
How do these amps sound with archtops for a warm and clean jazzy tone?
Sounds great, nice job. My only question is if I can get a schematic ? Thanks.
Thank you hardball. Unfortunately, it's a "no" on the schematic. The IP owner is Artist Guitars.
Congratulations Chris, working with as many “variables” as you had, this is a major accomplishment working with an amp manufacturer. The next stop for your improvements…..Mesa/Boogie…? Or perhaps Fender lol..kudos 😂
HAHAHA! Thank you. My best recommendation for Mesa is one litre of 98 octane petrol and a match!!
@@theguitaramptech Mine too brother. Shit engineering.
@@fiddlix Better said, mate. Tone taste is a matter for the individual, but shit engineering is universal.
How would it compare in volume to the VoxAC10 or Fender Pro Junior?
I’ve owned a Pro Junior in the past and still own an AC10. Both of those use two EL84s but have a 10” speaker that holds them back. I’d put them at a similar volume to the Tweed Tone 12A. The AC10 is a great little amp, especially with its cleans. You need to see my video on the Vox AC10 to get he best out of it. The overdrive sound on the Tweed Tone 12 is way better than either the Fender or the Vox, and you can get great clean tones. A big difference is the 12” Celestion in the Tweed Tone.
I need to do a video on the clean sounds of the 12A.
To my taste in tone: I rank them 1. Tweed Tone 12A 2. Vox AC10 3. Pro Junior, but I am biased as I did a lot of the design work on the 12A. In looks, I think the Vox is tops.
@@theguitaramptech Hey thanks heaps for the quick reply and good info! I actually just ordered the TweedTone 12A this morning here in NZ so looking forward to getting it. I already have the Pro Junior and will also pull the trigger on the VoxAC10. I’m mainly interested in Clean tones but have a penchant for small loud amps that can “potentially” gig small venues.
I believe the VoxAC10 also has the ability to plug into a Cab if louder volumes are needed? I would get the AC15 but can’t handle amps on the heavier side these days (I realise they’re not that heavy compared to some others though).
Lastly, just wondered out of curiosity if you’ve ever had any experience with the Two Rock pro22 or 35?
Many thanks for your help and advice. 🤘🎸😎
@@stratslinger3921 Thank you for ordering the TT12A. Please let me know how you like it and if it fills a gap in your sounds.
The AC10 can be made to sound noticeably better. You may not be able to do the bias part yourself, but please replace the Phase Inverter (the one closest to the power tubes) with a 12AT7 and the other preamp tube with a 5751. You will love the change. You can then release the ProJunior back into the wild.
@@theguitaramptech haha ok thanks for the great tip, I’ll let you know. Will also watch your vid on the VoxAC10 later today. I thought the Tweed Tone may be louder than the PR and Vx due to the 12inch?
@@stratslinger3921 It would be easy enough to test with my dB Meter, but I'd like to get hold of one of the Production TT12As to compare with my (modified) AC10. The TT12A may be louder, but they would be in the same ballpark. It definitely sounds fuller than than the ProJr and the AC10.
"Shut up and take my money"
Hilarious, Les. Yep. Its finger lickin' good.
No standby switch....Yeah!
Who needs one, ginger, even with a solid state rectifier.
Most single ended amps don't use negative feedback loop. Ive never in my builds. I also wondered, might try it. Sounds good
You’re right Wes. Most SE amps don’t use NFB. I brought it back to the triode before the 6L6. It works beautifully. Let me know how you get on.
It really cuts down that “clangy” sound. Of course, it does that by reducing the gain and extended high frequencies.
You should try lifting or dramatically reducing the negative feedback in a relatively clean amp, like a Twin or something. Loads of fun!
Congrats on this achievement Chris. If there are revision down the track, is a head variant viable and a separate question, is the damage to an SE amp running without a speaker any different to the other tube amp classes?
Hi Julian. Artist haven’t made a head version yet. I guess it will depend on the sales of the combo.
Yes, it is the same risk of damaging tubes and transformer if there’s no load. This is one reason why has not been ahead yet.
A Solution may be to have the speaker socket wired to a dummy load that is disconnected when the connection is broken on a speaker being plugged into the socket, .... that may work. All the best , Neil@@theguitaramptech
@@ourcommonwealth6719 That's a good suggestion Neil. The only issue I can think of is the cost of an adequate dummy load without a heatsink. Even just a shorting socket like Fenders is better than O/C. I would not want to muddy the warranty waters at the price point. At AUD450 you can imagine how tight the margins are so I'll play it safe and stick with hardwiring the speaker.Thank you for your knowledge.
Thanks, .... if I may,....... could two birds be hit with one stone?
Imagine a 30mm bobbin wound with a copper wire to the value of 20w at 8ohm be the dummy load wired in a way when the speaker jack is plugged in would allow for another switch to engage it in and out of series to provide a greater resistance load to the amp for a lower power. output at the same time sharing the power with the speaker to reduce the speaker power again as an attenuator should it be desired?
Another advantage for quite practice?@@theguitaramptech
@@ourcommonwealth6719 Sure. That would work. Thank you.
Well done you. Which speaker did you use?
Thank you. We used the same speaker that is in the Tweed Tone 20. Its the Celestion 70/80. It worked great in this amp. Artist decided that this speaker was good for the price point, and they're right. Its an obvious place for a tone upgrade. I will try my personal TT12A with a Celestion Creamback. I can hear it in my head!
@@theguitaramptech don't know if you can get them.... But you need to try the FANE A60.
@@RdamplificationUk1 Great call! I am pretty sure that I have a Fane (not sure if its an A60) in my speaker collection. I'll have a mooch through tomorrow.
@@theguitaramptech the A60 is an Alnico. Part of FANEs Ascension range. The cones are a bit less stiff than the Celestions. They are a bit expensive tho.
@@RdamplificationUk1 the Fanes I have are definitely ceramic, but they still sounds great.
Is a nice breakup tone achievable at lower volumes with this? I'm thinking to purchase but I'm worried it might be a bit much for everyone in the house to bear if I want to get a bit of grunt out of this thing.
Good question with a borderline answer because everyone's "too loud" is different. With the switch in the NFD (Boost) position, it will breakup a little earlier, but it doesn't have a master volume (which only gives you preamp distortion). To avoid unpacking my pedal board I just use a dedicated overdrive (Nux Horseman, which I got from the Artist Guitars website) in front of my home amp. Its a great setup.
Great sounding Amp, I will have to check one out. What is the serviceability of this amp?
If you’re in Sydney Rob, head out to the Artist warehouse. The first shipment should land within the month.
It should be a breeze to service. I am keen to see the production PCB. The Artist factory in China does a great job on the other valve amp.
@@theguitaramptech Great, thanks for the reply. I am a bit sick of the current throw away guitar tech, and really want to support gear that can be serviced for life.
@@Margarinethebutterlover I agree 100%, Rob. Basically anything that uses DSP modelling, or even most semiconductor technology fits that bill. People want cheap amps that sound "good enough". So manufacturers meet that demand...until that DSP chip with proprietary software fails. That once-beloved amp becomes landfill. In 10 years, the Katana's and Tonemasters will be dumped as Boss or Fender move on to the next cheapest or shiniest technology. It's sad. In contrast, the 60 year old Fender will go for another 60 years. The Catch 22 is that nobody can afford the 60 year old Fender or the handwired Matchless. (Did you notice how skillfully I avoided dumping sh*t on Mesa. Damn. Damn. Damn. I just did! )
Can you put a tweedtone 20R on your bench and test the output to see if it really puts out 20 watts?
Great idea. I have one in the "Waiting Room". As you know the difference in volume between 15w or 20w is more a matter of speaker efficiency than watts. It will be an interesting repair, regardless.
@@theguitaramptech yeah I know, but it is 1.2 dB. Swap the speaker with another 2 dB in efficiency. And that becomes noticeable clean headroom improvement.
Im struggling with this amp. I find it best with a distortion pedal reverb and delay with the volume and tone at 10 0'clock
Im using it in a soundproof music room playing at higher volumes and wearing music earplugs sounds great
Has a great smooth growl
But take the ear plugs out to hear it as the audience would.. not so good
Its tone is too bright or kind of brassy not pleasing
Im currently swapping the distortion pedals around to see what improvements I can get
Currently I find a friedman be100 seems to work best as it has tone controls and a tight knob
Now Im wondering if a better speaker might help. But once you get to speaker swap outs your really struggling
Using a fender strat custom shop have tried les pauls richenbacher and custom tele with humbuckers. I find the strat works best because there are more pickup combinations
Hi Peter. Thank you for taking the time to comment on the TweedTone 12. When I was designing and prototyping it, it went back’n’forward to Artist many times for opinions I trust. Obviously, you have used the Bright Switch and the Presence (Tone) pot to take off the top end. I can only suggest that you must like a darker tone. A Strat on the bridge pickup can be a dangerous weapon!
Can a speaker swap help? Sure, but do your research. Maybe a hemp cone.
I must have missed the point of your comparison of this $450 12w amp to a 100w $7,000 Fiedman BE-100. Sorry.
The point I was making was that I found the amp fine without pedals but does not take pedals well except reverb and delay. The be100 I referenced is a stomp pedal not an amp.
So unfortunately I think you missed my point
@@peterdempsey9153 thanks for clarifying that Peter. It’s great that we have different tastes. I designed it specifically to work with pedals or without.
Like to here a multy effects unit or a distortion pedal
I often battle with that question, Guy. In the end, I decided to stick to just the amp and guitar. If I introduce a pedal, you may think, "Am I hearing the pedal or the amp". I am often tempted as its an excellent pedal platform, but I like to be honest with my Subscribers. Believe it or not, I get criticised because I compress my audio before UA-cam mashes it. Imagine what those trolls would say if I used a pedal!
Hi the be100 I was referring to is a pedal not a amp and what I was making as a point is that the tweed tone amp sounds good enough in its own right as evidenced in some of the videos but its a real struggle adding pedals. Interesting that the artist own videos all demo the amp without pedals.
Sounds good. What Celestion speaker are you using? Also is a head version on the cards?
Thanks Peter. Its a Celestion 70/80. There's no talk of a head as yet.
Okay, thanks. That’s not bad considering the price point for this amp. Hence why I asked about a head version, so I can use whatever cab and speaker I prefer.
@@peter-0200 I understand Peter. This is a confusing pricepoint. It has professional quality sound, but at a beginner pricepoint. I know you would never forget to plug in a speaker, but the 12yo kid might. You can easily put an external speaker jack if you are OK about losing warranty.
Awesome amp! Should be a perfect contrast to my Princeton. I’m ordering one. As an aside I’m the same age as Bob but alas I never saw the Angels or Skyhooks, how I have the nerve to call myself Australian I don’t know, but I did see the La De Da’s in 1973 so hopefully that atones!
Very cool Calypso!. Kevin Borich is Da Man! I got to play with him TWICE. Once with the Kevin Borich Express and once in one of my shows where he made a stunning cameo. Did you ever get to see Finch? That was where I first got to know Bob Spencer. I've been a fan ever since. I don't seem to have a problem separating the "idol" from the "mate". I have also been great mates with Shane Pacey (Bondi Cigars) for 30 years, but when I'm in the audience I scream like any fan. I am SO HAPPY that you like TT12A! I love the Princeton for it Fender cleans (if you have a reissue, you may need to bring it in to me), and you love the TT12A for its throaty Class A voice.
Demo it with a multy effect board. The way to sell is make the product sound the best it can sound with very good playing just as a thumbs up
sounds good but also like it might be clipping on the way in.
Yeah. I seem to have regular problems with clipping my Zoom H4n recorder. I need to not be scared of using a much lower recording level. Its my curse of coming through the "recording-to-tape" era.
Not to blow smoke but i was considering this when it came available and the fact that you had a big hand in this helps me along on the decision. The speaker size was a draw card ,only chanced a look on the website and discovered the new offering. All the best
Spot on, Bruce. I was firm on the speaker size being 12" and, man, what a difference it makes. Even running a 5w Champ into a 12" opens up a whole new sound.
@@theguitaramptech I myself have experienced this with the little joyo 5 watt,Ive managed to squeeze a 10 inch into one ( crudely) but have been most impressed with the tweedtone 20. Less so with a little tweed 5 watt from Artist that was a returned item I took a punt on and had ,I found,a replacement valve that rubbed against the speaker and shards of glass inside the cabinet. I've tried a new valve but it needs technical help due to a popping noise / fault. A shame as it's a pretty sweet sounding amp. One day...... regardless, I look forward to another unnecessary purchase, got to have a hobby
Hi Bruce. I do the amp repairs for Artist and yes, we did have a run of smashed tubes. It looked like a shipping container must have been dropped.
I also have the (black) Joyo 5w. Its a great little practice amp. It sounded a bit dark for me, so I put a 500pF bright cap across the volume pot. Perfect...for me. I can't believe you got a 10" to fit in there. Bravo!!
@@theguitaramptech good morning, this amp has been with me a while and yes,I retained the info about you being the repair tech for Artist. This one's just waiting for me to get serious,far too many toys to play with. My dream would be to re-house the 5 watt tweedtone into a bigger and more shapely cabinet,only to impress myself. Having invested so little initially I feel obligated to get it repaired, it was taking a while for the problem to rear it's head but it's now much more prevalent. In the fullness of time. Have a fulfilling day,catch you on the next one
@@brucehayes7251 I'd love to see your re-housed TTV. All the best Bruce
Its a little ripper for dollars.Thanks Chris & Bob.
I don’t know how Artist can do it for $450. It was a real team effort
Sounds sweet. Best of luck with Quality Control - Artist couldn't get me a 20R that worked properly after 3 deliveries across the country. To their credit they did refund completely, but it was a couple of months of wasted time for nothing for me. Shame, was really liking the sound of it when it worked...
I am really sorry to hear of your experience with the TT20. As you probably know, I do all their tube amp repairs. They had one PCB issue at some stage which was resolved once I pointed it out to the factory (2 tracks were too close).
Early ones had a transformer issue. That's because the factory believed the1983 Standards Australia 20 year plan to convert Australia from 240 volts to 230 volt, so a batch of transformers came out with this voltage and consequently the filament was too high. That's also been resolved. I haven't had a TT20 cross my bench for months now.
I'm glad Artist looked after you. Ian Bush (CEO) is a stickler for Customer support. The TT20 is still one of my favourite amps under a $1500...and its only $650.
@theguitaramptech This was all 6 months ago - they will have it all documented in emails with vids of issues. I'm pretty sure the first amp didn't even see you - I spoke to someone with another name, and they said they played it for an hour and couldn't replicate. Said it was prob a globe. Sent it back to me, straight out of the box it did it. Sent a new one, new problem, sent it back for a refund. Bought a diff amp, it had a problem, the company had it repaired here in Perth in two weeks and now awesome. The flight to Perth is not kind! :) Had a speaker show up from another co. couple months ago - had clearly been dropped.
@@JulioMacarena it’s hard to say without seeing it. did you get to hear the TT20 at any stage? Great tone.
@@theguitaramptech def mate. I loved the clean channel. Fantastic pedal platform. Would love to have one, and I'm sure that your new amp will be awesome, also.
I have a question to you Chris . I have heard that Vox Amps are general biased up to 140% and that this is a normal bias setting for them , what do you think or/and know about that . Her on UA-cam is Chanel more specialized in repairing Vox amps the statement comes from him. Have a great day , best of luck o you all.
Hi there Power. I think we lost a few words in your 3rd sentence. No. 140% dissipation is definitely not a good thing. All sorts of unpleasant things happen when the grid is so positive. I prefer 95-100%, maybe even 110%, but no more. I'm curious as to who would make such a statement.
You may ask how can a tube go above 100% dissipation? Isn't 100% the limit? Not quite. When the plate dissipation is set at 100% at idle, the tube can still allow more electrons to flow, so the saturation current can be more than the 100% plate dissipation?
@@theguitaramptech sorry some words missing on that . Maybe that is while Brian May kill a lot of tubes/valves while pushing them very hard. Btw: All his vintage amps have now solid state Rectifiers and some other modifications , all that is making the amps more reliable. he don't bother with amp settings all on full , that is also my kind of thing
@@powertothebauer296 I had the great privilege of working on one of Brian's amps a few years ago. I still don't know if it was one of his personal touring amps, or one from the Queen Show. It was definitely one of the BM modded ones. It sounded like no other AC30 I have ever worked on. And yes, it had solid-state recitification. Triple 1N4007 if I recall. It was a tough decision but I decided to not reverse-engineer the mods. Brian May and the Engineer who designed that circuit own it, and I was not about to steal their work.
I agree with your settings. A Vox with Bass and Treble on full sounds horrible. My favourite setting is Bass at 10 o'clock and Treble at 1 o'clock for a Top Boost. What's yours, Power? (Or should I call you Bauer, or Farmer).
@@theguitaramptech Brian has meded Amps the same ones for the WWR Shows if I am correct made by Greg Fryer, some other mods made by Nigel Knight . I Use the normal Chanel only ,without tone controls ,and a treble booster , boost is about 15 db if is it possible Master Volume on full , Chanel volume at about 10-11 Volume control via the Guitar , only other pedals are chorus or Delay . I have to go in front so I don't like to much effects , it makes a mess with the tone. If I had someone like you where I live ,I would get rid of the reverb and tremolo circuits , they are bleeding in to the signal and I hate it.
@@theguitaramptech You can call me short power. The Tone Controls on Vox Amps are counter productive in my opinion if you turn up the bass you turn down the treble and vice versa so the only option is flat out the tone controls but than the amps get very noisy without a noise gate , so I not use them.
Did you have anything to do with the design of their 5 watt Tweed Tone V amp?
No, Steve. Depending on how the TT12A flies, I would love to suggest a couple of mods. What was your take on the TTV?
@@theguitaramptech Chris, I have to be honest and say that a large part of the reasons I bought the TTV-5w was curiosity at how anyone could sell a tube amp for $249 (including freight to Melbourne!). As such, it's incredible value.
My main amp is a 65 Princeton Reverb reissue which I absolutely love, but living in an apartment, even the little 12W PRI is too loud to use any time after early evening.
I'm using the TTV mostly for guitar lessons as it's ultra portable (make the Princeton feel like a giant in comparison). It sounds best with a touch of reverb from my pedalboard but for lessons it's just plug straight in and play.
Don't use the Boost position for Telecaster but might for ES-335 which seems counterintuitive.
Can get a bit 'harsh' above 3/4 volume, but I'm not gigging with it.
Pulled the back off to check speaker mounting (needed slight tightening). Straightened up the power tube which was pushed into the socket at a bit of an angle.
The mounting of the board seems less rigid than I'd like but overall it's amazing value. To put comparison with Fender in perspective, the PRRI cost more than 6.5 times as much as the TTV
I'm hoping you do "suggest a couple of mods" Thanks
@@MrStevehunter33 the best thing you can do for the TTV, or any other of these small amps, is to plug it into an external larger speaker. Even a 10 inch will open it up. This is why I went with a 12 inch speaker for the TT 12A.
@@theguitaramptech Might try that (plug into larger speaker) just for curiosity's sake.
I have the Princeton (Jensen C-10R) and one of the early hand-wired Blackstar Artisan 15 amps (Celestion G12M Greenback).
All the best, and thank you for your YT channel videos.
Do you do mods on the Princeton reissues? Cap upgrades, heater wiring etc.? I don't know who does that kind of work here in Melbourne
@@theguitaramptech great idea......but won't that void the warranty?
Does it have a headphone jack. Cheers
Damn! I knew I forgot something. If this model sells then I am sure Artist will commission a Mk2 ... which will have a headphone jack.
I hope there's a schematic available to modify one to your prototype with extra switches? LOL.
@Bob Spencer - tweed tone amplificator 😂🤣. I can almost imagine this isn't that dissimilar to what Bob and Rick used on Beyond Salvation by the sounds? Love how Bob names his guitars. I've named my guitars very similarly after the inspired player.
116db for a 12W amp? LOL. Fantastic! But it's all about the efficiency of the speaker a lot of time and doubling the power only gets 3db increase anyway. Its a wonderful sounding amp anyway and one I think I'll have to try out when I get the chance.
Hi Peter. The design officially belongs to Artist so I doubt it.
It just proves how a performers tone is in his fingers. It didn’t sound like that when I played the amplificator.
Even though they were my guitars (which you can see on my other videos) Bob and I are the hugest Doug Ford fans. Bob owns an Ivan Richards amp called the “Spencer Ford”. It sounds amazing. Bobs even had dinner with Doug!!! Me so envious.
I have a dB meter on the wall in my workshop which you can see in my more recent repair videos. I know it does not meet the standards of orientation and distance for a true decibel reading, nor do I know if it’s calibrated, but near enough, right? Hand on heart, I saw it flash 116 dB at one point.
@@theguitaramptech I was only kidding about the schematic and I believe you about the sound levels. I was just saying that between 6W and 12W you're only getting a 3dB increase (like turning your volume up a notch). Same with 12W to 24W - 3dB. Still very impressive for a tiny amp!
Can you pull the chassis and give us a tour of the guts? Wow. I can't believe the price is under $500 bucks.
If you saw the internals now, you would shriek with horror. This is my prototype and there are wires, cut tracks, and components doing air acrobatics. I can't wait to see how the factory tidied up my work in the production PCB.
Oh, ok and that makes sense. Excellent job my friend and I know you must be proud of this amp.
Any harmonica players using this? I play all styles, not just blues, but love a bit of break up / fuzzy warmth / slightly compressed sound etc. Cheers
No yet, Thomas. I have a great hamonica mate who hasn't tried it out yet.
@@theguitaramptech Thanks If I get one I'll leave a comment. I feel like there's a good chance it would be really good. Especially as it isn't too hot.
@@ThomasMurray-White Please let me know what you think of the TT12A as a harmonica amp. DOn't forget you can tailor the sound even more with a speaker change.
If you decide to buy one, can I please ask you to go to the Artist site via this link: alnk.to/eZESRCK . It will earn me a small commission for the design work at no extra cost to you.
I buy the artsist tweed 20 and blew up in the fisrt 4 monrhs. Then i found out they made in china
Of course they are made in China, Sonia. It’s no secret. How else could you buy an amp that sounds that good for under $700? As you probably know, many Vox and Fender amps are made in China. Have a look at the rear label. You may be surprised. I agree Chinese products once had a bad reputation, but no more. But failures happen, and I am sure that Artist Guitars looked after you.
Have you seen the TweedTone12A amp that I designed for Artist guitars? Artist are selling it for $450! If I was to make and sell this, it would be over $2,000. And so far there have been ZERO failures!
No gut shots?
Come ON, man!
HAHAHA! Soon. Soon.
I have recently bought the 12A, and was a bit apprehensive, as I have previously had to return the 20R and the Tweedtone 5 due to faults.
So far the 12A sounds great, and the 70/80 Celestion which has received some negative reviews, sounds surprisingly good. I have the 12A paired with a Tone King Gremlin thru an ABY switcher, and with both Amps blended together, the result is tone for days. I can't understand however, why the Amp does not have a speaker out Jack?. Surely the small cost involved would greatly improve the appeal for those players who would like to hear the Amp through different Cabinets.
Thank you for your kind words, Norder, and for purchasing the TT12A. The Celestion 70/80 is an excellent speaker for the money. We discussed other more expensive speaker options, but I always bow down to Ian Bush's (Artist CEO) knowledge of the market and his price point. He was right as usual.
The TT12A and the Tone King would sound regal together.
I had thought about a speaker jack and you are spot-on: it was not a decision based on $5 worth of a plug and socket. The reason is that I have repaired too many amps (heads mainly) where the owner forgot to plug in a speaker, then cranked the volume to get some sound and cooked the output transformer. It's even riskier on a combo because the speaker jack would be out of sight under the chassis. I was torn. Reliability vs Flexibility. You can see which way I leaned....but I do like your idea. I might do it on my TT12A. It's an easy Mod, but it would absolutely blow your warranty. Just don't use that shit jack that Fender use. Its starting to become a problem as the jacks go open circuit. Cooked Fender transformers ahead.
Oi!!! Where's the gut shot?! Pants off!
HAHAHAHA! You slay me, Bladder! I haven't seen the Production model yet, and my Prototype would rightly scare off any potential customers, with a number of components doing acrobatics above the first generation PCB.
The guitars all sound a little out of tune ---- either that or you've got some kind of trailing-note oscillation going on. Insufficient decoupling between power supply nodes or a grounding/layout problem perhaps? I think you'll need to check the 1st generation PCB prototypes very carefully.......
Thanks goodun'. I very much appreciate a good set of ears. I have a small confession to make, which Bob did mention in the video....I forgot to tune the guitars before recording the video. A Peterson strobe tuner works best when not left on the shelf. But on to your suggestions:
I am pretty OCD when it comes to filtering. You may have seen in my other videos that not only do I tend to over-filter but I often add a 0.1uF across the decoupling caps to extend the effective frequency range. You can guarantee that I will be going over the first lot of PCBs with a fine tooth comb to make sure all of my requests have made it to production. Thanks again for your ears and experience.
Should of used a few artists guitars
I wanted to show a range of different pickups more so than guitars.The guitars are mine. I also wanted to demonstrate how good the amp sounds with my Artist 58X guitar. I am sure Artist would have lent me a range of their guitars for the video, but that almost defeats the purpose.
What you are saying would make a great topic for another video. maybe how good is the Artist guitar compared to the original! What do you think?
Gibson, not my thing why nobody plays a strat with humm SS to premire a "new" amp is beyond me best of both worlds of tone, floyd rose trem would not hurt either, ha ha, best of Three worlds of playability, gibson, stop bar tailpiece with a tune-o- matic bridge lol, limiting much and dual hummuckers to boot, just not my thing and to me silly.
Thank you, Noel. You have reminded me how beautiful this world of diversity in taste really is. Vive la difference, my friend
I hope they last longer than the 15 watt Strauss i own i got about 4 months out of it piece of shit
I agree. The Strauss looks much better on the outside than the inside. The TweedTone 12A should be quite reliable...because I designed it with reliability in mind. Of course, a Class A amp will always run hotter than Class AB. See my video ua-cam.com/video/-cEn1zT3N2k/v-deo.htmlsi=Xn7RPihzClfABt63
@@theguitaramptech yes mate I'm getting your amp next week I should have got it in the first place 😔 sounds very nice thx