trinityamps.com

Hi,

I am new to the forum and new to amplification.

I have a classical guitar background looking to move into the electrified world of the "Fender" (Trinity Kit Build) Tweed Deluxe via the "Trinity Tweed Kit", for personal use, apartment.

My interest in Trinity Amps is that I live in Ottawa (Canadian), they seem to provide a quality kit, active customers (this forum), and hand-on responsive leadership (Stephen: good email interaction).

There are many mods/combination/permutations to the 5E3 circuit I've seen, but deciding is difficult for someone with no previous amplification experience (I bought a Fender Champ 600 last month as a start...I like it, but started upgrading tubes, speaker, ...)).

What do I want? That's the problem.

Because of my background (nothing electric or distorted), clarity of notes & tone is important to me (or familiar) so I lean to music, whether it's blues, rock, or country, with that in mind, so a lot of finger picking tunes.

I do like a variety of things, so heavy metal and even some Marilyn Manson, etc..., but I want a configuration I will be happy with for what I regularly play.

From what I've seem so far, I'll be happy with the "Trinity Tweed Kit", with the VRM and Volume/Tone mod, which seem to make sense for me.

I'd appreciate any assistance/advice for someone new to amplification you can provide.

Michael

Michael,

You picked a very versatile amp for your first build. When you play clean for country or jazz it sounds fantastic. You can twist up the volume and overdrive it nicely. If you overdrive the input volume with a pedal, it can feedback forever. It's loud enough, but won't break any windows. The best part is, you can pick it up and place it in the driveway, your living room or where ever, because it's small and light. I'd start out with the original Trinity layout and see how you like it before doing any tone mods. I play humbuckers, P90's and strat pickups through it and it sounds great with all. I typically use only the bright channel, so if I did any mods, I'd consider messing with the normal channel. So far, I'm not motivated to touch it. Probably like you, I play clean mostly, but I like dirty blues once in a while.

The schematic with the modified grounding is going to give you a very quiet amp (when it's supposed to be). Remember to twist the wires where recommended and keep the wires short (within reason).

Great kit.

Have fun,
Steve LV

Thanks for the advice Steve.

It does seem like the perfect size and it's nice and portable. I will probably start by ordering the kit with the Volume/Tone mod & VRM, doing a stock build, familiarize myself with the sound and then start with one of the mods to the normal channel as you suggest.

The Trinity Tramp also seems very interesting, just so many great choices.

Michael

From reading the type of sound you're after, I think you've made the right choice.

The deluxes are famous for their breakup at higher volumes, but at lower volumes they have the classic Fender clean sound that it seems like you're after. The deluxe is very sensitive to pick attack, so I think you'll be right at home from playing mainly acoustic. You can fingerpick with it too! Fingerpicking results in a nice, bright, resonant, acoustic-sounding tone.

Good idea on the VRM, my neighbours love it!

Well, I was pretty much sold on getting the Trinity Tweed to start and told Stephen I was just going to check out the forums to get more familiar, but now I've also spent time looking at the Trinity Tramp forum and now my decision is more difficult.

The Tramp would be a great fit as well and judging by the the feedback and testimonials, it definitely is very highly thought of, so now what do I do?

Trinity Tramp: Go from Tweed to 'Tune mode, tube flexibility, built-in VRM, portability, etc...

Aside from the additional power, why else would someone prefer a Tweed over the Tramp?

I will be looking at those threads again that compare the two but any insight would be appreciated, because like I said, I am new to amplifiers.

...and by the way, these forums are excellent.

Michael

Hello Michael

Tweed or Tramp, I had to make the same decision about 2 years ago and finally opted for the Tramp.

I have never played with a Tweed but I didn't need all the volume it can give.

So the Tramp seemed to me a lower powered more versatile amp with the tweed and tude modes it offers.

However, if you like clean tones, you don't have the headroom of the Tweed with a Tramp which enters in breakup mode easily.

I see you live in Ottawa and I live in Gatineau, not very far from you.

If you would like to see and hear a Tramp leave me a message and maybe we can arrange something.

Hi Gotie,

I really appreciate the input, especially since you're local and had the same decision to make.

Thanks and I'll definitely take you up on your offer to see and hear the Tramp. This is perfect.

PM on the way...

Michael

If you want more clean, bump up to the 6L6 and you've got it. With that tube, it becomes a really good option with a lot of versatility.

And kudos to gotie for inviting you to hear his tramp. That makes me really happy to see!

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

Thank you Stephen.

It's a pleasure to be able to help and, anyway, i'm glad to show my amp.

The 6L6 is a great option to get more headroom.

Thank you gotie!

Gotie graciously let me drop by to see and hear his Tramp, so I would like to express my thanks to him on the forum.

He did a really nice build and I liked his cabinet finish and grill cloth combination.

He had a perfect test setup for me as well, which included his single coil Fender Strat and Tele with a humberbucker pickup (I was hoping he would turn around for a few minutes so I could sneak out the door with the lot... ). Also on hand was the complete build documentation, with gotie's notations and tracking of his build time.

I was really impressed with the sound in Tweed & 'Tude mode, tube choice and the VRM control. Lots of built-in flexibility.

My self-imposed deadline for a decision and placing an order was this weekend, so although I started my search with an expectation of selecting a Tweed Deluxe (5E3 type), which prompted this board post, I've decided on the Tramp.

I'm sure I'd be happy with either one, but since I could see and hear the Tramp and really felt comfortable that it was a good fit for my needs, my decision was made.

Order is on the way Stephen. Now I have to decide on a speaker, prepare a work area and pickup the build tools.


Michael

It's great to hear that you guys were able to get together and you could try out gotie's Tramp. That's another example of what a great and supportive community we have here.

As for deciding on the Tramp, I'm sure you'll really enjoy it. It seems like a very versatile amp that will give you the best of both worlds.

And heck, if you get the urge to build another amp, you might end up also going after a 5e3 later on down the road!

Best of luck on your build and I look forward to reading about it. You'll have a blast!

Thank you for your favorable comments mmcginn.

Is it my Tramp or my playing on it that convinced you?

Concerning the amp, I think you made the right choice.

You heard how it sounds with a 6L6 tube, a good choice to get clean headroom and gorgeous breakup tones.

Good luck with the other choices you will make. Like speaker choice for example.

SPAM!!