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Commodore 64 · April 19th, 2012, 03:58 PM

There's a lot to like about that amp. Chassis mounted sockets, lots of room on the PCB. Any impressions on the OT and PT?

Wally · April 19th, 2012, 04:19 PM

Okay...so $299.99 on the street. Is this amp made in ASia??? Just curious..

Extra Crispy · April 19th, 2012, 04:31 PM

Comes to us from China. Probably assembled by 12 year olds, making $00.10 an hour. It would be interesting to see what a comparable amp built in the USA would cost.

muchxs · April 19th, 2012, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Extra Crispy

Comes to us from China. Probably assembled by 12 year olds, making $00.10 an hour. It would be interesting to see what a comparable amp built in the USA would cost.

Factoid: The average wage in China is $1.36 / hr.

Considering the hours I put in I make less than that.

Wally · April 19th, 2012, 04:43 PM

Well, it has construction similar to the PRo SEries and the Reissues....boards and sockets separate. The construction method is superior to the HRD and Blue Series of Fenders in that respect. So, somewhere bewteen the HRD/Bues and the PRO/REissue prices???
$650--$725???

drdos · April 19th, 2012, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wally

Well, it has construction similar to the PRo SEries and the Reissues....boards and sockets separate. The construction method is superior to the HRD and Blue Series of Fenders in that respect. So, somewhere bewteen the HRD/Bues and the PRO/REissue prices???
$650--$725???

I would have to agree here the amp would be at least twice the current cost... I really think this is going to be a winner for Fender.

telex76 · April 19th, 2012, 04:58 PM

Not too bad.

Billm · April 19th, 2012, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Any impressions on the OT and PT?

The OT is a weak point. Cheap steel, saturates easily. A quick swap with a TO20 yields an audible improvement. It's not surprising, given the price of the amp.

The power transformer stays reasonably cool and doesn't appear undersize. I haven't yet conducted power/sag tests to see how it holds up under heavy load.

Quote:

I find the 12" doesn't quite push enough air for the bass frequencies.

If you're referring specifically to the Blues Junior, the issue is the values in the amp, not the speaker. My modded Blues Juniors go deeper than the stock Excelsior. And a 15-inch speaker creates issues in an amp with no negative feedback -- a degree of "flappy" behavior that the amp can't always control.

Lee Harvey · April 19th, 2012, 07:25 PM

Dumb question..

Why mod a 300 dollar amp?

Maybe illogical, but you'll never get any money back from the mods. If you took the 300 plus the money to mod it, you could get a pretty decent amp..

Not sure anymore but at one time Valvetrain made a affordable all American made low Watt amp, with speaker opitions and tremolo.

celeste · April 19th, 2012, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Harvey

Dumb question..

Why mod a 300 dollar amp?

Maybe illogical, but you'll never get any money back from the mods. If you took the 300 plus the money to mod it, you could get a pretty decent amp..

Not sure anymore but at one time Valvetrain made a affordable all American made low Watt amp, with speaker opitions and tremolo.

Not if you do your own work and enjoy the work enough to discount it. So far the only mod discussed in this thread of any cost is the OT, and that is $55+shipping.

Besides, if you don't enjoy working on amps, you should not do it. If you do enjoy it, then it is entertainment.

Northerntele · April 19th, 2012, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Harvey

Dumb question..

Why mod a 300 dollar amp?

The single best answer I can give you, for me at least, is because it's fun.

celeste · April 19th, 2012, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northerntele

The single best answer I can give you, for me at least, is because it's fun.

And the corollary to that might be modding a $3000 amp is out of most peoples price range

Riffraff12571 · April 19th, 2012, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northerntele

The single best answer I can give you, for me at least, is because it's fun.

Exactly, and when you do it on a $300 amp you consider them "Upgrades".

This is an amp that just begs to be tweaked. I can't wait to see what Bill and others come up with. I'm sure in no time there will be Excelsior upgrade kits all over the internet with an OT, speaker & all the components required to change the gain & voicing per input and the tone shift switch.

RaistMagus · April 20th, 2012, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billm

That's not likely to be my starting point. I'd rather focus on stuff that actually matters to the tone and usability.

Right now, the biggest problem that people seem to have with the Excelsior is that it's too clean -- by the time you get to breakup, your ears are ringing and the neighbors are banging on your door.

Would you describe the headroom close to that of a DRRI?

RedRock · April 20th, 2012, 07:40 AM

Here's a better schematic:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B94M...dlk/edit?pli=1

Commodore 64 · April 20th, 2012, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Harvey

Dumb question..

Why mod a 300 dollar amp?

Because I can. (and people like Billm, celeste, and muchxs are nice enough to share their knowledge with hobbyists like me).

drdos · April 20th, 2012, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billm

I just put up a page with pictures inside both chassis. I like the Excelsior; it's a cool amp with some very usable tones and I think it will benefit from mods. It's well made; good value for the money.

http://billmaudio.com/wp/?page_id=1203

Hey Bill just wanted to say Thanks for tearing this amp apart to look at improving it. I for one really appreciate your expertise. Got a question though. I'm thinking of putting in a matched pair of EH6V6 in to see if that might help to lessen the over the top bright setting. I changed out V1 last night with a Tung Sol 12ax7 which seems to have enriched what was already there. I know that EH tubes can sometimes darken up the sound of an amp a little (maybe not as much as JJ's)so I'm going to give it a try. Your thought's

losergeek · April 20th, 2012, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by celeste

And the corollary to that might be modding a $3000 amp is out of most peoples price range

Not only that, but why would you mod a 3000$ amp - at that price get someone to build exactly what you want. Modding a 300$ amp makes way more sense to be than anything else.

FenderLover · April 20th, 2012, 01:11 PM

Finally, a new amp with an accordion input.

celeste · April 20th, 2012, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FenderLover

Finally, a new amp with an accordion input.

It is all the accordion players that are making it hard to get. They have been waiting for years for this day

April 19th, 2012, 04:31 PM	#23 (permalink)
Extra Crispy TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oregon USA Age: 62 Posts: 18 8 Photos	Comes to us from China. Probably assembled by 12 year olds, making $00.10 an hour. It would be interesting to see what a comparable amp built in the USA would cost. __________________ Crispy Tunes http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...?bandID=606123

April 19th, 2012, 03:58 PM	#21 (permalink)
Commodore 64 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Kent, OH Age: 37 Posts: 1,867	There's a lot to like about that amp. Chassis mounted sockets, lots of room on the PCB. Any impressions on the OT and PT?

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Forum Sponsor Sponsored posting Join Date: March, 2003 Location: Forum HQ Age: Posts: N/A

April 19th, 2012, 04:19 PM	#22 (permalink)
Wally Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Lubbock, TX Posts: 13,740	Okay...so $299.99 on the street. Is this amp made in ASia??? Just curious..

April 19th, 2012, 04:43 PM	#25 (permalink)
Wally Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Lubbock, TX Posts: 13,740	Well, it has construction similar to the PRo SEries and the Reissues....boards and sockets separate. The construction method is superior to the HRD and Blue Series of Fenders in that respect. So, somewhere bewteen the HRD/Bues and the PRO/REissue prices??? $650--$725???

April 19th, 2012, 04:58 PM	#27 (permalink)
telex76 Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Fort Worth,Tx. Age: 62 Posts: 8,830	Not too bad.

April 19th, 2012, 07:25 PM	#29 (permalink)
Lee Harvey Banned Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Chicago Posts: 577	Dumb question.. Why mod a 300 dollar amp? Maybe illogical, but you'll never get any money back from the mods. If you took the 300 plus the money to mod it, you could get a pretty decent amp.. Not sure anymore but at one time Valvetrain made a affordable all American made low Watt amp, with speaker opitions and tremolo.

April 20th, 2012, 07:40 AM	#35 (permalink)
RedRock Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Nevada Posts: 480	Here's a better schematic: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B94M...dlk/edit?pli=1

April 20th, 2012, 01:11 PM	#39 (permalink)
FenderLover Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,008	Finally, a new amp with an accordion input.

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