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Stephen, Thanks!

Last night I swapped the pot for a 1M linear taper - much better .

While I was inside, I pulled the MV pot. I still hadn't found an appropriate push/pull pot, so.... I took the pot apart and cut the trace on the wafer of the pot with an exacto knife. Now, when the pot is all the way up, the MV is out of the circuit. It's very subtle but you can hear a difference when it's out.

On the down side, when I was putting it all back together, I was turning the chassis over on my bench and it slipped out of my hand. Didn't drop it but as it slipped the corner of the faceplate caught my hand. Managed a nice gouge in my palm and snapped the faceplate off at the pilot lamp. Doh!

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Deric®

Chucklehead!!! Should I sign you up for my next Anal Anonymous class??!!

I hope your hand is ok...

Joe G

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How so was it 'Better' . I would have thought the Audio taper would be more in line with our hearing. Half way, half volume etc?

Sorry about your hand. Hope you can still play!

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Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Stephen, I think Deric® means the pot on the VRM, VVR, VROOM, whatever we now call that little board with the MOSFET and the thermal grease

Joe G

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I agree. Now I'd like to know how why it sounds better? or am I missing something.

Re: VRM ... VRM (vroom) is Trinity's version of the VVR circuit. Different components; compact size but same concept. VRM was designed because the VVR had too high voltage drop in our opinion.
I understand that has been corrected in latest VVR design.

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Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Technical Old Men, now available on DVD and Blu-ray™

I think what Deric means is that the amp sounds slightly better when the master volume is fully disengaged (with his modded pot) rather than the MV pot all the way up... Deric?? Deric??? Where is that boy?

Joe G

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I never sais it "sounds" any better at all - the sound is exactly the same. The only thing I changed was the taper of the VVR/VRM pot. The linear taper gives a nice gradual reduction in volume while the audio taper drops drastically the first quarter of a turn.

Also, what I'm calling the "first quarter turn" is starting at MAX and turning down.

Both tapers worked. I just like the linear taper better. This could be partly due to the fact that I have the same thing installed in my 18watter - with a linear pot - so it's what I'm used to. At first, since I allready had the audio taper pot, I figured it was worth a try - after all, I may just like it better. I immediately noticed the drastic change when you first start to turn it down. Swapped the pot and it seemed better "to me".

Not really better - just a preference. If I all you have is a linear pot - use it! It will work fine - and "sound" the same.

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Deric®

Now we're all sorted!! Thanks for the info. I'll try that out in the next one.

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Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Joe,
My previous post was in regard to the VVR/VRM/VVRooM pot.

As for the MV pot, I made the change out of curiousity. I hadn't found an appropriate push/pull pot as suggested in the TC-15 schem/layout. The only pot I had would have the MV engaged when pulled out. I'm not an EE or Master Guitar Player - just and IWSO (Idiot With a Soldering Iron) - so I was concerned about having the MV pot set low and accidentally "bumping/pushing" the pot which would result in a VERY BIG jump in volume...with my luck, at a very inappropriate time.

After I swapped the the VVR/VRM/VVRooM pot, I had a 1M audio taper pot with a switch staring at me. Hmmmm.... How can I make that work for the MV..??? I ran into the same type of problem. The MV would get lower and lower and lower untill zero...then BAMMMM! Wide Open! Not good... So.... I thought about the "no-load" tone pot that Fender sells for guitars. They got the idea when people started taking apart pots and "scratching" off the resistive material on the wiper so when it was "all the way up" - it was out of the circuit. I dug around the garage and found an extra 1M Audio pot so I figured if it didn't work, or I destroyed the pot, no big deal.

The end result: It worked fine. I "can" hear a "difference". I can see why purists say the MV effects tone when in the circuit - hence the reason for the push/pull pot in the first place....

With that said... I'm not sure it's any "better". If I had it to do again.... I'm not sure I'd bother. I CAN here a difference.....barely. I made the change only to satisfy my curiousity. I'm definately NOT convinced it sounds any "better"... BUT...I can hear - the VERY subtle - difference. Either way, it was a fun experiment (gotta learn somehow!!!) ...and now I know....

I hope I didn't ruffle any feathers with the idea that my amp sounds "better" as that was not in any way my intention. The end result is:

-While done differently, I finally got to hear the way the TC-15 is intended to sound... as far as the MV switch is concerned.

-I found a "taper/feel" for the VVR/VRM/VVRooM pot that I "like". Still sounds exactly the same.

Sorry for the long winded reply.

Stephen,
Thanks for a BITCHIN' amp design!!!!!!

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Deric®

VRM works better with a linear pot, got it...



Amp sounds better when the MV is out of the circuit, got it

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To me, it's "different" but not really "better". I can hear a difference - BARELY . To many years of cranked amps .

Speaking of cranked amps... Just spent a couple of hours playing my TC-15 VERY loud. Still gettin used to the tone controls on the normal channel but I like them more and more each time I play it.

The EF86 channel.... WOW! Don't know what else to say!

TC-15 Rocks!!

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Deric®

Nice to hear. Boy, wait till you jump those channels!

Hang on Harvey!!

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Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

How do you jump them? I'm a bass player, we don't do that kind of stuff....

Just might need a new smiley for that!!!

jrmintz - To jump channels - Plug into either channel, then use a short guitar cable to connect the un-used jack of that channel to either jack of the other. Turn up - smile!

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Deric®

Thanks Deric. My cab is in transit. Thats something I definitely want to try as soon as it gets here.