Jason Tong / Headfirst Amplification

2dor said:
@Burger so cool to see you on the forum! Love your channel! I hope one day I'll own an Alta :D

Some time ago you did a vid on loadboxes; any plans to do a Headfirst Reactive Load ?
Click to expand...

It's possible, just down to time! What features would you like to see?
 
Burger said:
It's possible, just down to time! What features would you like to see?
Click to expand...
Caught me off-guard there :)) but let's see:
- no fancy IR loader - maybe just a compensated cab EQ (on/off) switch like the one on the Synergy SYN-1 for instance; the loadbox should work without having to be plugged in
- handle a 100W head without frying itself (or the amp lol)
- "through" port (just in case you want to capture the amp with a real cab's load - think this is good to have) that can interface with a 4, 8 or 16 ohm cab
- ability to flip between the classic "4x12 V30" and "4x12 Greenback" curves (Mesa or Marshall I guess) or somewhat tweak the low/high resonance frequency response
- would love to see cab resonance somewhat mimicked. Some of the graphs people have plotted over here on "frequency response", there was a slight hump at about 620 - 750 Hz. None of the current offerings do this
- lower impedance balanced line outs (the Suhr RL has a higher output impedance)
- volume slider (sounds silly but I saw some loads that don't have a volume pot)
- some flavor of post-EQ (5-band graphic?) just in case some of the high-end needs to be shaved off
- ground lift on the outputs
- saved the best for last: it has to feel good; it should be able to feel good when chugging / riffing away
 
The Jim Root custom build?

Doing a low wattage production Alta at some point would make sense, in a smaller form factor like that amp.
I do see the current Alta 100 covers the 50w market as well, with its 1/2 power switch and smallbox (26”) 50w size head shell. It’s the physical size of a 50w amp, and can run at 50w.

But yeah, something even smaller and lower wattage could happen!

That’s a fair wish list on the RL, thanks for sharing!
 
Burger said:
The Jim Root custom build?

Doing a low wattage production Alta at some point would make sense, in a smaller form factor like that amp.
I do see the current Alta 100 covers the 50w market as well, with its 1/2 power switch and smallbox (26”) 50w size head shell. It’s the physical size of a 50w amp, and can run at 50w.

But yeah, something even smaller and lower wattage could happen!

That’s a fair wish list on the RL, thanks for sharing!
Click to expand...
Sweet. Thanks for being awesome!
 
2dor said:
Caught me off-guard there :)) but let's see:
- no fancy IR loader - maybe just a compensated cab EQ (on/off) switch like the one on the Synergy SYN-1 for instance; the loadbox should work without having to be plugged in
- handle a 100W head without frying itself (or the amp lol)
- "through" port (just in case you want to capture the amp with a real cab's load - think this is good to have) that can interface with a 4, 8 or 16 ohm cab
- ability to flip between the classic "4x12 V30" and "4x12 Greenback" curves (Mesa or Marshall I guess) or somewhat tweak the low/high resonance frequency response
- would love to see cab resonance somewhat mimicked. Some of the graphs people have plotted over here on "frequency response", there was a slight hump at about 620 - 750 Hz. None of the current offerings do this
- lower impedance balanced line outs (the Suhr RL has a higher output impedance)
- volume slider (sounds silly but I saw some loads that don't have a volume pot)
- some flavor of post-EQ (5-band graphic?) just in case some of the high-end needs to be shaved off
- ground lift on the outputs
- saved the best for last: it has to feel good; it should be able to feel good when chugging / riffing away
Click to expand...
Im digging the variable ohm loads, still scratching my head why its not a standard in all reactive loads.

What I would love to see is a hi pass and low pass filtering, another thing that is a most have for all reactive load as this is something that its always done in the recording and or mixing process for guitars.

As of today, the Suhr RL is perhaps the only one that feels right in all the gain range a amp puts out.
 
All amps will benefit from heater elevation, but it might not fix your buzz. First thing is always to establish what frequency the hum or buzz is. You can use a frequency analysis app on your phone. Knowing that frequency will help to pin point the problem.
 
Thank you Jason, I've already elevated to 80vDC but still have 120Hz and its harmonics that sounds like a faint buzz coming from the preamp section, I've also read that Marshall's grounding scheme is the cause of this.
Next I will install a separate the ground lug for the Input jacks, V1+V2 cathodes and their filter cap as the Valve Wizard, Psionic and Larry suggest.

First 5 seconds is silence with guitar volume off, the buzz is about -60dB below signal level.



EDIT:
Followup, it was a dying V2 tube, Marshall branded JJ ECC83 in the cathode follower stage, I guess the 160vDC on the cathode didn't do it well.
I have removed V1 and V2, the amp was quiet without them, then I replaced them with Tung-Sol and Shuguang respectively, the buzz was gone.
Now that the heaters are elevated I don't mind tube rolling and experimenting with any brand, particularly new sensor tubes.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to our great community
Besides Headfirst amp's and or Dill or Sweet

Marshall or Mesa Boogie ?

Cheers
Mike
 
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