Foot Switch for a Peavey Delta Blues 115
Peavey Delta Blues 115
- Thread starter ReginaldBisquet
- Start date
- #81
- #82
Is anyone else getting tube rattle from this amp on low notes? I have noticed the amps volume does not even have to be that loud to get the rattle. Any thoughts on how to fix it?
Yeah, I noticed that too. I have been told:
- EL84 type amps tend to experience tube rattle more than other types
- Sovtek's tend to rattle more so than JJs
- After 30 minutes of warming up, most of the tube rattle goes away
So it could be a number of things. I have found some truth in all three points. Anyone else want to chime in?
- #83
I did notice that as I played the rattle did seem to go away. When I first started playing the amp had been on for about 5 min. When I finished about an hour and a half later it had pretty much gone away.
So this is normal.
- #85
I unplugged the combo's speaker and plugged my 2x12 into the extension cabinet outlet. Cranked up the amp and it sounded perfectly fine. No rattle. When I placed the ext cabinet against the combo and struck a chord, the rattle came back. Placed my hand on the bell of the speaker again and struck another chord. Rattle went away.
Going to call Antique Electronic Supply tomorrow - this is where I purchased the Jensen - to see what they have to say about the potential speaker issue.
In the meantime, I have emailed Weber to see if they have a head cabinet that I could stick the Delta Blues chassis into. That would solve a lot of issues such as tube rattle, reverb feedback, and this new weird rattle.
Man, if it isn't one thing, it's another.
- #86
- #87
I mentioned in my previous post that I was hearing a rattle coming from the speaker - not the tubes. So I called up Antique Electronic Supply and mentioned the issue. They offer a 3 year warranty on Jensen speakers! So all I have to do is send it back to them for either a credit, replacement or refund. Sweet! Luckily, I still have the box the speaker came in, so I just need to pack it back up. Simple, right?
I went home to unload the speaker from the Delta Blues cabinet, test it one more time, and then pack it up. The problem is: I've installed the Tube Guard - so I can't easily slip the speaker out. Normally, I would need to take out the power tubes to get the speaker out, but the tube guard also needs to be removed because it's drilled into the cabinet. The Peavey Tube Guard has a hinge that you can open to remove tubes and the speaker if needed.
Also, if you need to remove the chassis for any reason, you will need to remove the Tube Guard because it blocks the tube socket and tube wires as well as the two transformers.
Sigh.
So I end up taking the tube guard, the chassis and the tubes out just to get the stupid speaker out! CRAP! Tested the amp once again with a 2x12 and it sounded fantastic. Tested the 15" Jensen again and yup... there's a definite buzzing coming from the magnet bell.
Will update once I hear back from AES on the speaker. In the meantime, I'm putting the stock Blue Marvel back in. Oh yeah... I ordered the footswitch for this amp from Peavey and it should be here in two days!
- #88
Input from another forum. What do you guys think?:
As for making it into a head unit, what I'd do is remove the speaker & the face fabric. Take a circular saw with a very fine blade. Then cut the middle of the box out, just below the amp section and about an inch above the bottom. Use HD masking tape along the cutting lines to keep the tolex from tearing up too much (that's why you use a fine blade). Then attach the top & bottom to each other. You'll have to figure some way to mend the tolex seam. Maybe that iron-on vinyl repair stuff they sell for car seats? Just an idea, do this at your own risk, cause it might not come-out so well the first time....good luck!
- #90
I was pretty hep to the idea of converting the combo into a head, but then realized how much I've sunk into this thing.
$375 - amp (used)
$150 - neo speaker to replace stock
$80 - fresh set of tubes
$25 - Tube Guard
$24 - Tube Tamer
$80 - repair for blowing amp
$35 - foot switch
$175 - head cabinet conversion
That's over $800! Man... I feel like such a chump.
Anyway, I'll post photos once I get the converted head back.
- #91
I don't have nearly the range, experience, or ability he has. I'm a hobby player, and mostly classic rock, southern rock, and blues. What I CAN do is electronics (12 years of avionics in the Air Force) and I'm reasonably good with tools and woodworking.
I bought the Delta blues used for $125 (yeah, I was excited too). It played ok, but I wanted to change the tubes and make some changes, and when I took it apart, R66 was blown. No big deal, just replace it. Swapped the 12AX7 tubes out with RCA NOS tubes that I got in trade, and bought a matched set of JJ EL84's. While I have it out, what the hell, let's make some other changes. Wooh boy....little did I realize what I was getting into.
So... I bought some quilted maple, and made a new cabinet with lots of sexy dovetail joining at pretty much every single joint. I also put a six inch piece across the back to help give it a split back sound, and also to create a 'wind tunnel', as well as installing a tube guard. I tapped into the -15V at the end of the voltage divider and wired it into a molex connector like you find in computers. I could have put another set of resistor and capacitors in to drop it to 12V, but computer fans aren't that sensitive. I then drilled a 4" hole in the back board with a hole saw, and installed a 120mm computer fan to pull air in at the bottom, and blow it up and out through the tube guard, thereby going past and cooling the tubes. This automatically turns the fan on any time I turn the amp on. The fan is rated at 39 cubic feet per minute of air, and 16db of noise. Without measuring, I'll say it's 25% higher on both since it's 15 instead of 12 volts.
I changed the dimensions of the cabinet so it is square. It was 22"w X 18"h, Now it's 22" X 22". I made the new cabinet because I replaced the speakers, and have Eminence Red Fang 10 and 12" speakers installed diagonally, similar to a Gibson GA-30 RV, and I need the extra space for the new speakers. I also installed a 1/4" jack on the underside for the internal speakers rather than hard wiring it like Peavey does. I also installed Weber beam blockers to tame the spiky highs the Red Fangs can put out. I bought both speakers used, and the 10" came with one. I liked it so much, I got one for the 12" also.
I took a power socket from an old server power supply at work, and replaced the cord with it. This allows me to use any normal computer three prong power cord in it, and the assembly also has a built in surge suppressor and power conditioner.
I used a relay board from Weber https://taweber.powweb.com/store/chansw.htm to add another 1/4" TRS jack to add footswitches for Reverb and Boost. This combined with an Ibanez IFS4 four button foot switch gives me switchable Tremelo, Boost, Channel, and Reverb. Boost was pretty easy, leave the button off for the footswitch to work, and just wire the relay into the boost switch contacts, easy peasy. For reverb, remove R22 and put it in series with the relay that is wired back to R22 contacts. This will defeat reverb when activated.
I replaced the power switch with a DPDT on/on/on switch to make it off/standby/on. Lots of people say EL84's don't need standby as much, but I like it anyway.
I borrowed heavily from the Classic 30 mods at http://blueguitar.org These are for the Classic 30, but the circuits are very close, and many of the mods can be used.
I've drilled some holes in the chassis, and the problem is to find a place to put things. I put a bias trim in, R63 and 64 were removed, and a 10k linear resistance bias pot was added with 22k and 39k resistors with a hole in the bottom of the chassis to get to the pot. I figure if I'm replacing the tubes, I'll have the tube guard off anyway. C18, 19, 31, 32, 33, and 35 were replaced with orange drop caps. C9 was replaced with a .001 microfarad Orange drop cap. C7 was replaced with a 680pF cap to help with OD harshness. C2 was replaced with a Sprague type 418P, C1 with a 390K resistor and C2 with a 390pF cap. R13 was replaced with an 8.2k resistor.
I added a master volume pot on the back by replacing R48 with a 1M audio pot with a 100k resistor between the wiper and pin 2 of V3. I considered doing something to take two of the tubes out of the circuit to cut power in half, but they are wired in series on the circuit board. This would only drop 3db from the volume, and I felt that with a master volume control, it wasn't necessary anyway. You can get the same resut by cutting all the pins off except 4 and 5 from V4 and V7, you just can't switch between the two on the fly. I decided that it would be too painful to put a switch in and hack up the circuit board to do that.
I put a presence control in by replacing R56 with a 330k resistor, and putting a 150ohm resistor inline with C53 & C54. I removed R70 and ran a wire from it to a 10k audio pot mounted on the back of the chassis.
I also installed a switch underneath the chassis, and wired it up to switch between pentode and triode mode. Another one that I figured would only be used occaisonally, and not in the middle of a song, probably not in a set either.
All in all, I've probably got about $500 into this, but it's definitely unique.
I've thought about building an extension cabinet that this amp could sit on, and put an Eminence Big Ben 15" 16 ohm speaker in the cabinet. It might take a while for me to get that motivated though.
- #92
+1 on the Toms Tube Tamer. I had a DB 115 for quite some time. It was a much better amp after switching to JJ's and even better once I installed the tube tamer. I hear it works the same for that issue on the Classic 30 as well. It worked like a charm. Tube rattle gone. Basically if the rattle goes away when you put your finger on the very tips of the tubes, the tamer will work for you.
Member 20177
- #93
I noticed a cracking / rattling sound out of the amp when pushed at higher volumes and playing in drop D. I’m not sure what's going on, but backing off the guitar’s volume seemed to lessen the effect. I presume this is the “mechanical noise” I’ve been reading about with tubes? I have read about Tom's Tube Tamer specifically for the Delta Blues and Classic 30. Has anyone installed one of these yet?
I had the tube guard by the same guy who builds the tube tamer...very nice.. However I just got tube guard direct from Peavey for my old C30. It has a strip of rubber that you attach to dampen the tube rattle... works very well , simpler and cheaper....
- #94
- #95
Yes, as sacrilegious as my actions may appear to few, they are nonetheless complete. The Delta Blues has been chopped up and turned into a head unit. A few minor adjusts still need to be made in regards to the electronics - but it's quite the tone machine as it stands.
Take a look as a lot of little details were adhered to including saving the product ID stickers found inside the original cabinet. I used the baffle grill cloth from the combo as a grill cloth on the face of the head and used the combo's leather handle.
Here's a better view:
The tubes get plenty of air and the extra large rubber feet provide some clearance for top handled cabinets like the 2x10 pictured above.
So I can now use the amp with any combination 16 ohm speaker set up. At this point, the 2x10 Jensen Mods are a great complement to the amp's blues tones. My 2x12 (with Tonkerlites) seems to get bass frequency heavy.
The carpenter who converted the combo into a head for me was reasonable with his price and (I think) did an outstanding job with all the overall construction. It's a solid piece of equipment! The only minor adjustment I'd like to make it adding a standby switch. And I sure wish I could use an 8 ohm extension with this thing as I have a 4x12 that I would like to try out with this head.
I think I'll send these photos to Peavey - maybe they'll get the hint?
- #96
I can't decide whether to upgrade the 4 10s in my classic 50, or just make a new baffle for a 15. I guess you wouldn't recommend the NEO?
How to you like the MOD 10s?
- #97
And yes, I would still highly recommend the Jensen Neo 15 as it was a great speaker until the amp tech dropped it and bent the frame.
- #98
If you are looking to dedicate the external speaker jack for 16 ohms instead of the variable 8/16 ohms - you will need to (of course) remove the head from the cabinet and then unscrew the nuts for the external jack & foot switch. What pops out is this little board:
For those reading the schematics, this board contains the connection J7. The black marked wire on the ribbon at far right is the wire for Pin 1 on the schem. Thus, Pin 1 on this board is at the far bottom right. Switch the connections for pin1 and pin 2 and you'll have a dedicated 16 ohm external speaker.
Amazingly simple mod!
- #99
- #100
Just finished reading the whole thread and love the info. I'm looking for a DB 1x15 and found one at a local pawn. They have it priced at $450. Does this sound like a good, current price?
Seems like a good price. I wouldn't sell mine for less than that.
williamspundsovers.blogspot.com
Source: https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/peavey-delta-blues-115.559646/page-5
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