TM1
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
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Won't open anymore....
Well, I was talking to one of the UK's best repair guys last week, shooting the breeze as you do. He was a player back in the day, lots of cool memories. Anyway, we started talking about an old Marshall he sold me some time ago, and we get onto Clapton's infamous amp.
This is where is gets interesting. I told him that we'd probably never find out what it was, and he pipes up with......."it's a JTM45 chassis in a 2x12 cabinet, we chatted about it at a gig with maybe 20 people there, Lewisham, 1966".
This chap was an early Marshall user (per the amp he sold me), and remembers specifically discussing his rig. They both played 'bursts at the time.
So.. Not a Tremolo chassis?
Great! Anything about the speakers, one wonders?
I'm seeing him next week, so will get more details.
That is really great! Thanks for sharing! Are you familiar with the article that "Guitar & Bass" magazine did a couple years back on BB combos? It had an interesting theory on EC's amp using an RS output with "Reflective Matching" in the output section to achieve his sound..I'll find out which issues it is as I have it on my ipad.
Cheers!
What is Reflective Matching?
No, running into a lower impedance generally is most harmful to tubes. Running into a higher impedance sets the stage for potential flyback spikes and arcing, which can puncture OT insulation. Most OT are built tough enough to handle a bit of mismatch, however since guitar amps are typically driven into oblivion, if an OT is going to fail it typically manifests in a guitar amp as opposed to a hi-fi amp.
I don't think there is any way of knowing how Claptons amp was wired but I can indeed verify from personal experimentation that running a RS style OT into a 1-step-lower mismatched load does indeed make for a very audible difference. It will with a Drake style OT also.
So maybe Eric's 1962 combo blew up! Losing it's OT.
I very much doubt it, these early RS Deluxe transformers are extremely robust, and are wound like no other.