deuce42
Well-known member
On a number of guitar forums it seems folklore that any amp that is PCB based is junk and only PTP will get you any cred. The most common piece to be cast off as total "junk" on these forums are fender reissue amps which are PCB based - I find it hard to believe that just because something is PCB based it could be that bad, although I accept that sometimes, such as the case of reissued gear , their choice of components may not be brilliant (microphone manufacturers are guilty of this too). These amps are consistently bashed on the basis that unless you pay some amp tech heaps of cash to completely gut out the entire innards of the amp and start it again as a PTP circuit, the amp is total crap.
Now before I throw a little tantrum about how naive this thinking is, usually predicated by "expert" guitar players whom know nothing about electronics other that you plug a guitar in, I need to clarify that I an not missing something. Is there something to this PTP obsession that I have overlooked?
I mean, my thinking about an amp's sound is that it stems from the quality of its transformers, its filter caps, its tone stack caps, and the valves themselves. I accept that PTP may structurally be stronger than a brittle PCB if such a PCB is a mass produced cheap one. But assuming one has quality iron, nice caps and nice valves, PCB v turret/ PTP shouldn't be an issue.
I expect when it comes to amp techs, a repairer prefers to work on PTP if only because its easier to replace components without damaging a PCB, but other than that I still wonder whether I am missing something
Do quality of pots make that much of a difference? Does wiring in such a small space make really such a difference unless it is total appallingly terrible wiring and so bad it would not pass for a production line amp such as a Fender? I am unsure with that one. I accept that DIY builds can often sound dissappointing because of poor wiring, but presumably these factor mass produced things must have some basic level of wiring. Can this really be that bad? Am I missing something?
Resistors to my ears dont seem to make much difference to tone. Maybe I am just deaf.
I am keen to hear from actual electronics knowledgeable guys like you what your take on it is.
Now before I throw a little tantrum about how naive this thinking is, usually predicated by "expert" guitar players whom know nothing about electronics other that you plug a guitar in, I need to clarify that I an not missing something. Is there something to this PTP obsession that I have overlooked?
I mean, my thinking about an amp's sound is that it stems from the quality of its transformers, its filter caps, its tone stack caps, and the valves themselves. I accept that PTP may structurally be stronger than a brittle PCB if such a PCB is a mass produced cheap one. But assuming one has quality iron, nice caps and nice valves, PCB v turret/ PTP shouldn't be an issue.
I expect when it comes to amp techs, a repairer prefers to work on PTP if only because its easier to replace components without damaging a PCB, but other than that I still wonder whether I am missing something
Do quality of pots make that much of a difference? Does wiring in such a small space make really such a difference unless it is total appallingly terrible wiring and so bad it would not pass for a production line amp such as a Fender? I am unsure with that one. I accept that DIY builds can often sound dissappointing because of poor wiring, but presumably these factor mass produced things must have some basic level of wiring. Can this really be that bad? Am I missing something?
Resistors to my ears dont seem to make much difference to tone. Maybe I am just deaf.
I am keen to hear from actual electronics knowledgeable guys like you what your take on it is.