Ebay: Semi Nano Head Clone

[Fret Wire]

Has anyone heard of this guy? Looks like an oversized Nano Head with 12AU7/12AX7's. Hard to tell from the clips, but it doesn't sound too bad. Can't tell if there's any ventilation or on/off switch. 300v power supply.

 Clone or not, $200 doesn't seem enough for the work involved, assuming it's put together well. Considering the original, he's kinda between a rock and a hard place, price wise. Only four feed-back's, none for this pedal.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3746021978&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1#ebayphotohosting

[Mike Burgundy]

looks more like a firefly to me. Looks like a nice build though.
4W from a *single-ended* 12AU7? I think not.

[cd]

Yeah, that's no Nano Head.  Looks like the power supply has to be in another external box (which isn't pictured) if the transformer on the case is the OT.

[Ansil]

Fret Wire's questions.

"Has anyone heard of this guy? "

Yes he is my business partner.

"Looks like an oversized Nano Head with 12AU7/12AX7's. "


"Hard to tell from the clips, but it doesn't sound too bad. "
Thank you its based on three different amps.

"Can't tell if there's any ventilation or on/off switch. 300v power supply."
THere isn't ventilation as the voltage transformers are outside the amp, and the tubes are on top.  the 300v is aproxiamtely.

"Clone or not, $200 doesn't seem enough for the work involved, assuming it's put together well. "

thanks and yes it is. i did the layout of it for well over 3 months to ensure that it was safe and have shown it to numerous people who build amps for a living and they were quite pleased.

"Considering the original, he's kinda between a rock and a hard place, price wise."

the original ebay auction was pictures of my personal unit. i didnt' do it with an airbrush or anything fancy as i wanted a twisted macobe type surreal plend of the amp names to show in the color scheme.  the aluminum one was the one that i had built as the first prototype. picture run when i was still trying out transfromers.

Mike Burgundys quote:
"looks more like a firefly to me. Looks like a nice build though.
4W from a *single-ended* 12AU7? I think not."

Thanks mike it is based around the Orange amps Plexi's and Fenders.  so there are many variations to play with.  

the 12au7 is a standard output section but we also include a 6cg7 which will drive the output transformer quite nice into the 4watt range which will saturate the output transformer quite nicely.  

Originally the 4watts was a max rating. it does around an average of 1-2watts. depending on how you set it. of course cleaner it is not as loud. but then again i designed it to be versatile to its setting.  

You can change out the tube order and get different tones with it too its all up to the user, and we also make modifications and changes to the design to accomodate the user.

personally i like two 6cg7's as it sounds like a cranked up amp.

CD

"Yeah, that's no Nano Head. Looks like the power supply has to be in another external box (which isn't pictured) if the transformer on the case is the OT."

very good my friend good observation, yes indeed it was not pictured i was solving the transformer problems that day [ie the problem was mouser was too darn slow.] so we didnt' get a pic of that.  actually there was a harmony central thread that Collin had started and linked too some time ago with the original amp.

and we are slowly going up in box size in the future to the C box to have everything inside of it and just one modular computer style plug.


also to be noted on the price. i was told long ago. to take what it takes to make the product counting your time and such and parts and evertyhing down to the last screw and multilply that by three. then thats what you sell it for, so if you come down to 2 times what you have in it you get everything back plus make 100%proffit.  thats what i was told anyway.  i try to live by that with everything i build.  not nesecarly always works. but for the most time it does.

note though if i had charged for the time i spent researching this for when i built my first one for myself it would have to be alot more per amp. but i figured why charge someone for information i was doing to better educate myself.  I got into the mini amp thing on the craze that i wanted a Nano head.  i almost had one too. but then due to music stores in my area sucking butt trumpets, [no name dropping here because i have already talked to Amada about that. and she is very nice and friendly] and a mistake with the IRS i didn't get what i was told i would and couldn't spare the money.

so instead i built my modded firefly into a small box. not quite as small as zvex's as i wasn't trying to do that and i even aske zvex about the output transformers max ratings and such via email as since he was using them and i respect his opinions and well really he'w quite humerous.

When i showed up with two 8 watt amps. my drummer was blown away and asked if he could buy one.  I thought about it and decided that it would be bettter to redesign the whole thing and sell them to my friends who wanted them after more testing and such and to tweak a design of my own that i had been working on instead of a hotrodded diy adventure that i had done already.

{note do not confuse me slamming doug's amp i love the firefly and have done many mods too,  it its what got me into building my own tube amps i had done mods for some time to the boards for people but not anything all the way through like that. but i didnt' want to take credit for his amp so i did my own.}.

SO after many trial and error testing and finding the right combo of tubes and layouts it is done. i am pleased with it, and my business partner is pleased, this says quite a bit to me by him being pleased.

if anyone has any quetsions on the amp then feel free to email me.

Ansil

[Fret Wire]

No kidding Ansil..that's yours!  Don't take offense when I said Nano-Head clone. With 12xx tubes, I didn't think it was, but that was the easiest way to describe a pedal-amp that's for quiet practice/recording.

Once you get your graphics going, as well as some reviews, you should go up to at least $300 for it. Like I said, looks like too much work (well layed out) for $200.

That's what I meant by "rock and a hard place". Ask too much, and you draw direct comparison's with the Nano Head, regardless of the ckt. Asking too little seems a shame with all that work.

It seems to do clean sounds real nice. What cabs have you run it through so far? How's it sound with a 4x12?

[cd]

Pricing things is tough.  A new Nano Head, which has the size and cool factor (and tone) is around $420 (new) discounted, and I've seen them around $350 used (as low as $320!)  Used BF/SF Fender Champs are in the $200-300 range depending on age and condition (I saw an ad for a Rivera-era Champ 12 the other day for $219!!)

[b_rogers]

hey Ansil, how does it like our DIY effects?  any combos that sound really good?  

sorta ot but i ordered a ax84 p1 extreme kit yesterday!
i cant wait!


Brent

[JT]

How Much for the Kit form

[Ansil]

How Much for the Kit form

actually well i am talking to my business partner about that,  i dont' know if he wants to do a kit or not.  but i figured if some business's can sell the boards of there fx and stuff without the shell why couldnt' i do a kit.  of course  you will get the basic schematic.  [ie i include all the parts that i swap out sometimes myself for customer recomondations for tonality ie i need a little more bass response use a larger cathode cap for the mod section ]

multiple parts incase you torch a few.  and a basic suggestion on the layout of the chasis. as well as all your knobs tubes transformer sockets caps resistors pots diodes and wire. everything but solder and decals [decals are still being cut. ]

i am thinking the 150-175 range.  i know its a little cheaper than the completed versions but i was selling mini amp kits through a friend for plexi's and such for 175 so thats not bad.  if anyone is interested in a kit  please contact my business partner.  and tell him you spoke with me on it.



b_rogers
i have tried a few effects with it and had no problems. i tried it with a penguin and i tried it with a delay pedal  and it sounded nice with both of them.   as far as the sound quality i can't hear any difference in this and the fullsize amp that i modded [that was the layout basis for the mini amp make a smaller version of a head i modded.].  althought the fullsize head has a little more gain to it due in part to the extra tube stage. but that is to be expected.

Fret wire
thanks, i didnt' take offense. there was just a long thread some of it slamming me and others, some of it just trying to explain [both zvex and I] that the two weren't the same although his did come first and we had thought about roll bars as an option on the first one.  and the running joke that people were callling it a fake nano, and zach was like "no its huge." lol.. i guess it is compared to the nano. lol.

also i didnt' want to go the mini tube route cause thats zvex territory in my book.  

[Ansil]

also right now i have tested it with a 2*12 fender twin using just the speakers plugged into it and its quite loud.  much louder than my little 2 watt SS amp.

[troubledtom]

Ansil
 what a phucking SLAMDUNK! your reply was PRO.
               rock on  ,
                   - tom

[Peter Snowberg]

Right on Ansil!!!!

Those clips sound great!

I built something along those lines a few years back . In my testing I found two things.... watch out for the bias being too low with 12AX7s in the power position (I got a few that had the plates light up bright red, though I was supplying the circuit from an unload Fender Twin Reverb supply. hehehe...), and the second thing was that I noticed that the larger the internal plate structure of the tubes, the better the tone. (that there is a lot of thes)

Best wishes! I hope you sell thousands!  :twisted:

[Lonestarjohnny]

Some cool sounds Ansil, nice lookin build, i'll be waitin to see the finished version.
Johnny

[Regan]

Ansil,
Very cool. I think in some ways you and I have very similiar tastes. I'm actually planning building in 'c' size boxes, I have a few and have been eying them up for a couple of years now. You get a lot more depth without the box looking that much bigger than with a 'b' size.
The way I'm going for this build is using an external 12vac wallwart I have and then using a small12v transformer for bumping up to plate volts.
If I felt like ordering the parts I would get one of the small hammond transformers that have the dual primaries and secondaries than I would use the second primary for the plate voltage keeping it all within one small transformer.
Regan

[joshwatson]

reagan...how much are your little guys gonna be?   also ansil great work. i may sell my nano and grab one of yours.

[Ansil]

Ansil
 what a phucking SLAMDUNK! your reply was PRO.
               rock on  ,
                   - tom

THanks Tom that means alot coming from you my friend.

Right on Ansil!!!!

Those clips sound great!

I built something along those lines a few years back . In my testing I found two things.... watch out for the bias being too low with 12AX7s in the power position (I got a few that had the plates light up bright red, though I was supplying the circuit from an unload Fender Twin Reverb supply. hehehe...), and the second thing was that I noticed that the larger the internal plate structure of the tubes, the better the tone. (that there is a lot of thes)

Best wishes! I hope you sell thousands!  :twisted:

thank you too peter also that means a lot to me coming from you too.

and of course thanks to everyone here for there help and kindness.  i am trying the hammond that Dough was talking about 269 or something i bleive. i got the no. around here somewhere.  for my B+. but it seems to be only putting out 90v when the tubes are taken out of standby.  i might have to go with the little ehx thing. i had a supplier that said he could find a transformer with my exact needs. and well he failed miserbly.  [local guy in the music store. he tried hard but couldnt' find the ones he though would work.]. i have built the powersupply in a smaller box. an abs plastic one that is tough as nails. its got some vent holes in it to let air through.  however i wont' have to worry about these anymore when we go with a larger box. to put it all in one thing.

so has anyone had any good luck with the ehx things  peter weren't you working with one.??

[gez]

Nice one Ansil, good luck with it!

[Mike Burgundy]

Very cool that more and more stuff is getting unleashed unto the world from here...
That sounds like one heck of a nice tube! Gotta see if I can get one here...
Did you use a Hammond transformer on that?
Best of luck to the both of you (it's pretty hard to actually make a buck doing this), hope you sell lots of these little ones!

[troubledtom]

Ansil
 what a phucking SLAMDUNK! your reply was PRO.
               rock on  ,
                   - tom

THanks Tom that means alot coming from you my friend.



cool!!!!!
  ansil i can have boxes meda for you , brother.
      - tt

[Peter Snowberg]

so has anyone had any good luck with the ehx things  peter weren't you working with one.??

Are you talking abour reverb transformers?

I've built a series of circuits based on Fender reverb transformers and I do like single ended tones, but I also like push-pull since you get so much more out of it.

I tried designs with from 1 to 4 preamp stages in front of a 12AU7, 12AT7, or 5814 with either one plate or both plates in parallel driving a standard Fender replacement transformer and there are some lovely tones in there! Some of the 4 stage stuff is just insane.  :twisted: