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Hi all,

I new to the Trinity Forum and am looking for a vox style amp. I am looking for am amp that can cover the early to mid '60 Beatles tone. (Songe like Day Tripper, Paperback Writer etc,)

I am considering a TC 15 kit.

I have listen to the clips that are posted here and though they all sound very good, I haven't heard any that sound like the tone I am looking for. Most of the clips highlight the overdrive of the amp rather that the clear tones.

My question are...

Will the TC 15 cover the tone that I am after. If not, would a Lightning or Spitfire clone get me closer?

Also, In going back and reading the post in Lightning Strikes section from several years ago, Is the TC15 an update version of the Lightning and the Trinity 15 that are referred to ?

Is the original Lightning circuit a clone of the AC30 top boost channel?

And lastly (for now)
Has anyone ever designed or tried an TC15 with el34 instead of el84 power tubes. Besides the PT, different tubes/sockets and different bias settings, would this require any changes in the rest of the circuit?

Thanks all for your help.

Most of the clips here are with Fender, Gibson and some modern type guitars. If you try a TC-15 with an old Gretsch you'll hear the sound you're looking for. It's exactly what I was looking for.

Seth

Not exactly but very close. The first tube 2 triodes are paralled for increased gain and sensitivity. You can switch out the cathode cap or use only 1 triode to clean it up and you'd practically be there.

Yes, the TC-15 is an updated 15. The 15 channel remains the same and we added the EF86 channel.

In the TC-15, the second channel is basically an AC-15 VOX circuit with a contour control instead of tone control similar to the Matchless DC-30.

Using EL34 is possible but you'd probably have to change the drive to them. Nope, havent tried that yet.

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

I can attest to the clean sounds of this amp. I'm not an expert on getting the Beatles sound, but I can attest to the clean sound which is stunning! There is a jangly sound in the clean tones on the 15 channel, which would likely fit the bill.

I find the amp is quite sensitive to the type of guitar used, so I can see the Gretch being key to that sound as mentioned.

J.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Coco, instead of changing the circuit, what about changing to a 5751 or a 12at7 in V! to lower the gain. My thinking is that if you wanted to add the extra gain a simple tube swap would get you there.

Just an idea.

Chuck

Chuck, I subbed a 5751 in my TC-15 for the first channel two 12AX7, and it does further clean up the sound a bit. I also tried a 12AY7 but lost more overall volume than I was happy about. With a Tele and the 5751 I'm finding great cleans up to about 12:00 on both preamp and master volumes, then it starts to gradually get dirtier (but a subtle increase - see lbet's comments on this in the forum - great sounding overdrive with lots of separation and richness). I like this arrangement a lot, and have not wanted to keep changing the tube at all - I just leave the 5751 in circuit, then if I want more overdrive, I use a tube-based pedal. Adding the switch to take the cathode cap out of circuit, as Coco mentions, is also very helpful in moving the amp more in the clean direction.

Best,
Jim

A LOT of the Beatles tone was how those guitars were recorded. And yes, and old Gretsch or Ric with big strings would help too.

The TC will produce those sounds

My son plays alot of Beatles and using a Tele with 11"s, produced some great sounds.
She's a great amp

Sounds great! I'm sold!

I guess It's time to contact Stephen and get the ball rolling.

I'm looking forward to this build. I have built several amps in the past but this one looks a little bit more involved which keeps it interesting for me personaly.

Thanks again for all the advise guys.

Chuck

I agree. I currently have a RIC 6 and 12 string as well as a Gretsch Tennessean all strung with nickel flatwounds. The RIC 's are all stock but on the Gretsch I changed the pickups to TV Jones. They were a nice upgrade for sure.

I'd like to get a set of those TV Jones pickups
Too many potatoes growing in the garden right now though
I giggle myself

Would like to try them though, one of these days.