"Hlep" requested w/Amp Electronics

[Zipslack]

Sooooo, trying to do the EVH thing, eh?

Keep in mind, he lied about it for years and said he used it to increase voltage to the amps....don't do that.

[PsychoCid]

Sooooo, trying to do the EVH thing, eh?

Keep in mind, he lied about it for years and said he used it to increase voltage to the amps....don't do that.

Yeah, definitely don't do that.

My experience so far has been doing this with a Friedman BE OD pedal. I bought a little tiny wall plug variac thing, and turn it down from 9v to either 6 or 4.5v. It makes a glorious sound, a la Van Halen 1. Delicious!

The Fender Champ 12 is a different animal though. If I understand correctly, it is designed so that the power valves are always hot. So it gives me great cream and crunch. However, the volume knob basically controls the preamp. Having this amp for some 20 years, I have never once heard it with volume over 3. Over 1 is painful loud, and literally I play it completely on Zero (but again, power valves are hot, so it crunches).

Really I just want to see what happens when I ramp up the preamp...

[PsychoCid]

This is the fender champ 12, the one with a single 6L6 output tube right? They have a speaker driven reverb and headphone output. They’re a bit of an oddity in some regards but a cool amp all the same.

Ya I agree with @mozz. A 1 amp or greater would probably be fine. These do exist but you would be searching on eBay for a used unit. I’ve seen as small as 1.25 and 1.75 amp units by Staco that look fairly compact. I’ve also seen 300va Chinese made units that claim 3 amps but if you work the math out at the 130 volts they can work to, it’s really 2.3 amps. The Chinese manufacturers fudge the ratings. If you take a look at the old school variacs; when they say 0-140 at 10 amps, they can handle 1400va.

Here’s an idea for you but make sure you read the listing and agree to the terms. Ymmv.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333650037646


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The seller replied that it's tested and it works, so out came the credit card. Will share results!

[JimyTheAssassin]

Awesome! Staco made good quality Variacs. Just a reminder; Double check the fuse value. I always check things I buy used to make sure someone didn’t put the wrong value in. Keep in mind you can accidentally turn the voltage up to 130 if you it gets bumped. Hopefully you have a meter on hand to check the output voltage. Cheers and let us know how it goes.

This is my Staco. It’s a bit larger

[PsychoCid]

Awesome! Staco made good quality Variacs. Just a reminder; Double check the fuse value. I always check things I buy used to make sure someone didn’t put the wrong value in. Keep in mind you can accidentally turn the voltage up to 130 if you it gets bumped. Hopefully you have a meter on hand to check the output voltage. Cheers and let us know how it goes.

This is my Staco. It’s a bit larger

Unfortunately this one is busted. I messaged the seller before buying and he said it's tested and works.

Well, that is clearly false. The cord is frayed, it turns on but has no power, and it immediately fried the fuse.

Sent in a refund request and can escalate to eBay if not response by Friday

[Milkman]

Three pronged PMUD (Power Mad Useless Drummer)

[JimyTheAssassin]

Major bummer! Well you asked before buying. SMART! Maybe you’ll get lucky and be issued a refund without needing to return it. That happened to me with a defective Fluke multimeter this past winter. When a seller knows they sold you a broken item, why lose more money on the return shipping . You can always attempt fixing it if that happens


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[Rollin Hand]

Three pronged PMUD (Power Mad Useless Drummer)

I don't want to know what the third prong is....

[Milkman]

Three pronged PMUD (Power Mad Useless Drummer)

I don't want to know what the third prong is....

If he was 4 pronged, he’d be on time for a change!