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Hi guys,
I am thinking about buying the TC15 kit. I emailed Stephen a few days ago but am yet to receive a reply and figure this forum is perhaps a more appropriate place to ask some pertinent questions.

I have had a 15W Westlabs transformer set for about 4 years waiting for me to have some spare time to try to build an amp of significance. Spare time simply does not exist, but my son is now 14 years old and loves the idea of working together with me to build an amp. The TC 15 sounds like an exceptional proposition because of its 2 channels.

So why am I a "lucky bloke" .... well, I already have a Ceri@tone DC30 and a 15W amp made in Broken Hill Australia by some Vox enthusiast that can only be described as freakishly amazing (3 channels, EF86, Normal + Top Boost). I rate both of these amps very highly.

My concern in building a TC15 is that it will tread heavily on these areas described above. Although it will be fun "treading".

My question is really aimed at whether the TC15 will provide any sonic departure from these amps I already have. And whether I can use the Westlabs transformers for any other suitable project here.

Your advice and suggestions are appreciated.

cheers
Chris

Chris, email must have got spammed. 2nd in one day so I'm worried about that. I Have resent:

I expect you could make them work but you will need to modify the chassis to accommodate them as they are quite large. Our head chassis size is 20" X 6.5" X 2.5"

As to whether the TC15 will provide any sonic departure from your amps is hard to say, but I would say it will sound close to your DC30 on half power.
I guess you could make an AC15 but the OT from Westlabs is only 4k so it will be a pretty crunchy AC15. Our trannies have dual impedance 8K & 5K so we can do it all.

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

Thanks Stephen,
I definitely received the responses in (both) my email addresses today.

I will assume a semi-retarded person like me can modify the chassis to accommodate the larger transformers.

A DC30 on half power is not a horrible thought at all! And I think I am 95% there as far as decisions go.

Is there anything provided by Trinity (utilising my Westlabs transformers) that might send me a little closer to Marshall territory? Mind you, it is very hard to go past the dual channel options on the TC15.

I guess you could change the PI into a Marshall design (affects both channels) or voice the V1 into Marshall territory (0.68 uf). , remove the parallel triode on V1, and add a ground strap to the Tone circuit so it's not interactive like the Vox affecting the second channel only.

But the TC15 can get you into Marshallesque territory on it's own with the correct settings too!

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

I actually answered this question in a different thread a few months back. Here's what you need to do, referring to the schematic on www.trinityamps.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=859 :

C1 = 0.01uF
C2 = 1uF
C3 (180pF) removed
R7 = 820 ohms
C4 (25uF) remove, or replace with 1uF or 2uF if you want more gain
R15 = 820 ohms
R18, R19 = 330k (increase to 470k for more Marshally power tube distortion)
R20, R22 = 8.2k
R25 = 2.2k (don't use the choke option)
Set the OT for 8k operation. With the West Labs' OT this means running an 8 ohm speaker on the 4 ohm output or a 16 ohm speaker on the 8 ohms output. This is very important.

At this point it still has the Vox style tone stack, and you could optionally put these more Marshall-like component values into the tone stack if you wanted:

VR2 (treble) = 220k
C5 (treble) = 470pf
R34 (slope) = 33k
C6 (mid) = 0.01uF
R10 (mid) =15k
VR3 (bass) = 500k
Connect pins 2 & 3 of VR3 together.
Disconnect junction of C6 & R10 from Pin 2 (wiper) of VR3
Remove connection between VR3 Pin 1 and Ground
Connect junction of C6 and R10 to VR3 Pin 1 (so pin 1 path to ground is via R10)

And that's it!

BTW this will give you an amp with a Vox meets Marshall vibe, that's actually very close to a 65 Amps' Soho.

_________________
Great tones come in small glass jars!

Hey, thanks for that guys.

I would be inclined to build it in accordance with the original specifications, then possibly tinker afterward.

I just got back from Vegas so will assess my financial damage(s) before deciding whether to buy this excellent value kit this month or next month!

cheers
Chris

So, are you able to offer any suggestions about how to go about incorporating the b**p circuit on a foot switch? The SOHO really covers all the sounds I'm going after...

Sheesh - aren't you ever satisfiedl!!

Actually the "B*mp" control is real easy to do, and several Trinity amps already have that, but under a different name. You simply increase R7 on the cathode of the 2nd preamp stage to 2.7k and disconnect C4. Then you place C4 (1uF) with an additional resistor (anything between 1.2k and 2.7k) on a switch in parallel with R7. You can see this kind of arrangement in the sIII schematic - www.trinityamps.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=689 Trinity has push-pull-switched volume pots you could use for the switch so that it's on the Gain or Volume control, and you wouldn't need an extra hole in the front panel. Stephen could probably also sell you a footswitch with a relay and power supply board, if you wanted it foot-switchable as well.

_________________
Great tones come in small glass jars!

Well, I do know that I want my next major build to be a soho styled amp.

Hi all,
I took delivery of my TC-15 kit a couple of days ago. The big lesson is not to order its delivery by surface mail ... it took almost 3 months to swim over to Australia!

On another more functional note, the lamp that came with the kit is rated for 120V, is this going to be fine under a 240V build?

cheers
Chris

Yes, hook up notes should be in manual, basically you put it across the 120/240 primaries, but check the manual or email me.

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