Tone is everything and when you find it nothing is the same again.
My Dogs Bollocks is all the things that might help you get your tone or put a smile on your face.
Don't know what tone is, then this page is just a load of BOLLOCKS.
You can now follow My Dog's Bollocks on Twatter.... https://twitter.com/KeithJayJohns
Evil Robot mod for C30 model.
1. Power attenuator cold/hot
2. Second channel cleaner, less distortion with more jangle and stacked tone POT for full channel separation
3. Heat reduction include fan, front plate and hood.
4. Speaker change
5. Output Transformer change
6. Effects loop switch on front panel and send return volume
7. 5W limiter
8. Conversion to 6L6 or EL34 with mod for safe use
9. Upgrade Vibrato fuller richer sounding and works with effects loop
Videos
of each mod coming next week.
Just
specify the mod, country and address, and I will send you a quote
including shipping.
Pricing is available through my Contact Page
Will
be starting a new technical blog on amps, pedals and various things.
Keep EVR alive, it is one of a kind amp and the new mods will blow you
away.
Here’s the new video with the modified C30....
https://youtu.be/8AddSMX-_qA
This C30 has the following mods: Mercury transformer upgrade Weber custom speaker New low noise fan and hood to reduce heat up to 12 degrees cooler. Stock C30 will run at 105 degrees, new mod runs at 95 degrees on the front panel. Upgraded vibrato that works while the effects are engaged Power attenuator to adjust power level making the amp tone tighter and wider on demand. Allows you to use EL34 and 6L6 tubes for long term use. Extended overall tube life circuitry designed for class A amps New clean channel that chimes and jangles with stacked tone pot for wider frequency sweep and will not effect Ch 1 distortion tone (original Magnatone vibe). Overall, the amp has more bark, better bass and high response, tubes will last longer, reduced heat, more versatile clean channel, effects that work while vibrato is on and the ability to tighten or loosen the overall tone using the power attenuator.
John Kasha....the man behind Evil Robot has read My Dog's Bollocks....and has given it a big thumbs up....but....and there is always a but isn't there....I have got the tube layout wrong....
The tube layout should read....
V1 - Front End Driver
V2 - A Side - Second Driver
V2 - B Side - Phase Inverter
"remember a tube is made up of 2 identical sides....I have gone over this in another post"
V3 - Mixer
"I have no idea what the V3 - Mixer Tube does - I will tell you when I figure it out"
V4 - loop
V5 - Vibrato
Mr Kasha has also designed a Up-Grade Mod for the C30 Evil Robots that brings these amps up to US standard 30w amp specs....John say's the mod will give "major improvements to the electronics with extended tube life and a warmer edge"....this up-grade is going to be only available from Kasha Amps and I'm asuming will be more of a amp techs job than a plug and play sort of job....He also told me that a new line of Evil Robot amps are coming out soon....
"this is not me talking to Mr Kasha by the way"
Below is the emails of our conversation....read into it what you will....
V6 is the Vibrato tube, V5 is the Effects loop... Nice writeup by the way...
I have a new mod for the C30 that changes it into more of the USA standard 30W version. If you want to know more, email me at jkasha@kashaamplifiers.com
***
Me - I thought V6 was the Phase Inverter….so would that make V3 the Loop and V4 the Vibrato….and not the other way round as I thought. Yes your Mod would be awesome and I will change the tube info on my blog as soon as you can confirm the layout….just goes to prove you can never trust the internet.
Do you think you’ll ever do another Evil Robot or was it an awesome one off.
***
John Kasha - The EVR has a unique phase inverter using one side of V2. V1 front end driver, V2 second driver (1/2), V3 Mixer, V4 loop, V5 Vibrato. A very unique design, that’s why it is so different...
Yes, I have a new version and a new line of amps coming out soon. Stay tuned...
My C30 mod is killer with major improvements to the electronics with extended tube life and a warmer edge.
***
Me - Can I be a pain….V3 Mixer….What does the mixer do in the amp….then I can put it all in the blog and how do you get the new mod….is it only in the US from you and what is the cost.
***
John Kasha - that’s as far as I can elaborate on the design to the public. There’s some secret sauce in this design which is my signature. The vibrato is my design in the C30, not Magnatone. I have a new Vibrato design coming out in the new line that is awesome.
The mod is only available through me. I have worked out a special shipping price for International customers.
***
All this made my day....I can't wait to get my hands on the new Evil Robot Amps....I have had more fun with my C30 than any other amp I have....and when you do email John please mention my bollocks....k.j.
I've had my Evil Robot for a while now....so what have I found playing it over that time....
It's
a aggressive S-O-B in Phil X mode that benefits from a reduction in
gain that comes from changing the V1 12AX7 tube for a 12AU7. I have also
placed a modded BOSS GE-7
in the C-30's loop to allow me to tweak the EQ....the C-30 has a very
focused tone that sounds great with a drummer....but on its own can be a
little too much....the GE-7 lets you take the edge off....and that the
Vibrato only works with a 12AU7 tube....oh and that the footswitch is
rather piss poor....
The
C-30's cab is very tightly packed on the inside....changing the speaker
for something else is going to be a challenge....I found that the
magnet on a Vintage 30 too big to fit in-front of the transforms....To
make the fan work better it needs something to channel the air flow
upwards....
....and
that White Knobs look way more cooler than the standard black
one's....in the dark....black on black is really hard to see....
....not that my C-30 needs to stand out more....
My
C-30 is mainly for home use and is the best small amp I've ever
owned....I have played better amps....but they have all cost 5 times as
much so should be better....for the money the C-30 is an outstanding
little amp....
Over the weekend I started to hear a
harshness in the C-30's tone....the tell tail signs that the power tubes
were on their way out....I have been giving the 6L6's in the amp a real
pounding and decided to try out EL34's but then found a set of 5881's I
have had for years and had never used. 5881 tubes are lower powered
6L6's....6L6's give out a maximum of 30watts....24watts for the
5881....more importantly 5881's will break up earlier than 6L6's. I
found that with the 5881 tubes....the C-30 became very clean....too
clean with a 12AU7 in the V1 position....
With
my C-30 now back in Phil X mode with a 12AX7 in V1 and with the 5881's I
found I could drop the gain in the Pre Amp Channels and crank up the
Master Volumes giving as near as perfect home low volume tones....the
6L6's staying clean with louder Master Volume levels you have turn up
the gain in the Channels thus making standard Evil Robot tones too much
for my talents....but with the 5881 power tubes I seem to have found a
balance that I can work with....the C-30 still gets loud when you need
loud....and now runs a lot cooler than with the 6L6's....which is cool
also....k.j.
Unfortunately
new Sovtek 5881's are not the same as the old ones I had and the
Tung-Sol's that I hoped were going to be similar to the old
Sovtek's...."Sovtek and Tung-Sol are the same company....Tung-Sol is the
name given to their up market tubes"....were a bit disappointing so I
have gone back to 6L6's....
I thought I would give a full set of Tung-Sol's a go in the Evil Robot and again a bit disappointing....
Too warm....all the bite had gone....a very nice tone....but not enough top end for my liking....
For
the power tubes I have gone for a set of TAD 6L6's....these being the
best so far....After a lot of messing again with the tubes I have gone
with Tung-Sol's for the channel tubes and JJ's for the rest of the pre
amp tubes....the Tung-Sols warmth keeping all the harshness under check
with the JJ's keeping the presence and the bite from desapering through
the Loop and Phase tubes....
In
the Evil's V1 tube I have settled on a Tung-Sol EEC803S Gold Pin
12AX7....now before you say "gold pin bullshit"....the EEC803S has to be
the best sounding tube I have ever played through and all of my amps
are going to have one fitted....before you buy any other pre amp or
power tubes try one of these....this one little tube could very well
save you a load of cash....
I'm
still using a EQ pedal last inline in the loop to help shape the
overall tone....I not boosting or cutting any frequencies
massively....just tweaking the EQ more to what I think is sweet
sounding....
I have also found using a clean
boost....I'm using a Rothwell Atomic Boost....in the loop helps give you
a big sounding tone at home friendly volumes....you can get the same
tone from using the amps master volume but by the time you have dialed
in the same punch and power you have also turned up the amps overall
volume and are now playing at a home unfriendly volume....The Clean
boost also helps to keep the Evil Robot clean sounding....as you turn up
the gain in the pre amp your going to get more break up....more volume
and your tone is going to get fuller....using a clean boost your just
tuning up the volume and also end up having more control over keeping
the amp in the sweet spot at home lowwer volumes....I have always played
too loudly at home but with this set up I'm surprised at how quiet I
can play and still keep the amp in the sweet spot....
This
video is not the best sounding but you can hear what the EQ and Boost
pedals are doing....I will re-do the video first chance I get....For
home use this set-up is killer....
Remember....I'm
using this amp at home....If your going to want to Jam and do Gigs with
yours....I would stick to using a quad set of 6V6's....and get yourself
an EQ pedal for some extra tone shaping....but before anything else try
a Tung-Sol ECC803S Gold Pin tube in V1....Hope this helps....k.j.
I've had my Evil Robot for a while now....so what have I found playing it over that time....
It's a aggressive S-O-B in Phil X mode that benefits from a reduction in gain that comes from changing the V1 12AX7 tube for a 12AU7. I have also placed a modded BOSS GE-7 in the C-30's loop to allow me to tweak the EQ....the C-30 has a very focused tone that sounds great with a drummer....but on its own can be a little too much....the GE-7 lets you take the edge off....and that the Vibrato only works with a 12AU7 tube....oh and that the footswitch is rather piss poor....
The C-30's cab is very tightly packed on the inside....changing the speaker for something else is going to be a challenge....I found that the magnet on a Vintage 30 too big to fit in-front of the transforms....To make the fan work better it needs something to channel the air flow upwards....
....and that White Knobs look way more cooler than the standard black one's....in the dark....black on black is really hard to see....
....not that my C-30 needs to stand out more....
My C-30 is mainly for home use and is the best small amp I've ever owned....I have played better amps....but they have all cost 5 times as much so should be better....for the money the C-30 is an outstanding little amp....
Over the weekend I started to hear a harshness in the C-30's tone....the tell tail signs that the power tubes were on their way out....I have been giving the 6L6's in the amp a real pounding and decided to try out EL34's but then found a set of 5881's I have had for years and had never used. 5881 tubes are lower powered 6L6's....6L6's give out a maximum of 30watts....24watts for the 5881....more importantly 5881's will break up earlier than 6L6's. I found that with the 5881 tubes....the C-30 became very clean....too clean with a 12AU7 in the V1 position....
With my C-30 now back in Phil X mode with a 12AX7 in V1 and with the 5881's I found I could drop the gain in the Pre Amp Channels and crank up the Master Volumes giving as near as perfect home low volume tones....the 6L6's staying clean with louder Master Volume levels you have turn up the gain in the Channels thus making standard Evil Robot tones too much for my talents....but with the 5881 power tubes I seem to have found a balance that I can work with....the C-30 still gets loud when you need loud....and now runs a lot cooler than with the 6L6's....which is cool also....k.j.
This new Air Duct works better than the bigger one....It directs the flow of air up and over the tubes more....I made one that moved the fan to the bottom of the duct....blowing the air directly up onto the tubes....While this cooled the tubes very well....it was very noisy....too noisy....Just need to make the duct out of wood now....I will post the measurements if anybody wants them....
I dropped the rear cover down to make a wider gap....Helps vent the hot air away from the amp....and also reduced the fan noise....
I have also been suffering with tube rattle....I put it down to the combos size or a bad tube....But when I was fitting the new air duct I noticed that the amps metal chassis was rubbing on the speakers metal frame....The speakers vibrations were traveling into the amps chassis and cursing the tubes to rattle....Not Good....I have glued some 2mm thick strips of rubber...."pond liner" onto the amps wooden chassis mounts to lift the chassis away from the speakers frame....No more annoying tube rattles....and yes I did try and shift the speaker down on their bolts but they were as low as they would go....the rubber strips were the best and easiest fix....
Sorry to everyone that's moaned....it's
been ages since my last post....I had wanted to do some vids for this
post before I posted it....Summer and doin stuff...you know how it
is....I will add the vids as soon as I get round to doing them....Honest....
So I've had my Evil Robot EVR-C30 for a
bit now...I still don't like the footswitch (F/S)....I know it's
meant to look retro like the amp it's self....but it's nasty and way
to big to fit on my pedal board and in my view not up to gigging and
that is after all what this amp is all about....Your first tube amp
for your first band swaray....The amp itself is built as good as
anything with the vinyl covering applied expertly....No flaky seems
coming unstuck....The chunky handle is a nice touch....I
really....really like the black stove enamel paint on the
chassis....very classy....It would have been nice if the front name
plate was the same black stove enamel....but I guess the matt black
finish looks better on stage....
Apart from the F/S the only cost saving
measure I can see is the metal back plate that caries the ohm
selector switch and F/S input....it's a flat plate that is secured
from the back and would have looked so much better if they had kept
the one from the prototype amp....it looks a bit ugly....oh and the 3
pin power cable input is under the back cover sandwiched between the
transformers making it nearly impossible to plug back in without
removing the back cover....Why not a hard-wired power cable....it
would have been better and saved a few penny’s....
It's a class A amp so it gets hot and
the tiny fan in the back helps to cool things down....but could be
better....One of the first things I did was make up a box to channel
cool air more directly over the tubes....very easy to do and works
100 times better....
The speaker in the C30 is specially
designed to sound like the very worn in speaker in Phil X's Magnatone Tonemaster
that the Evil Robot's are all based on....Apparently the speaker in
Phil's amp could fail at any moment and John Kasha went to great
lengths to match the tone of this nearly dead speaker.... The amp
has a speaker out so that it can be used with a extension cabinet and
act as a head unit....
The Vibrato and Loop is one or the
other....not both....the Vibrato is very nice....but I'm going to
ignore it as I use the tube buffered loop constantly for my delays
and reverb....The loop seems to be very transparent and does what its
supposed to do perfectly....
The High and Low inputs are awesome and
I have been using them more than switching between the A and B
channels....If they could be switched via the footswitch together
with the channels the amp would be as near to perfect as you could
ask for....
The 3-Way Tone Switch together with the
Tone Control is again all you need if your playing live with a
band....The C30's tone is very in your face and up front
sounding....In the Bright position you get a small volume boost that
adds some grit which is nice....things never get spiky or
harsh....But for home use I have to admit I would prefer a 3 band
“bass, middle, treble” EQ.... Don't get me wrong
I'm not saying the EQ is the Evil Robot's achilles' heel....but
because the C30 will work with so many different tubes and is therefor
capable of so many different tones it does scream out for a 3 way
tone control....I use a modded Boss GE-7 in the loop that let me
tweak the tone....nothing stupidly boosted....just shaped more to my
liking....
The Loudness A and B works by adding an
extra tube into the channel....giving you a nice kick between the two
channels....This works really well together with the High and Low
inputs....giving you the same tone but one is hotter than the
other....It's all you need and never leaves you wanting more....
I have to admit when I first played
through the amp I said to myself....”OMG....THIS IS SHIT....” It
sounded raw and not the amazing sounding tone machine that I was
expecting....I put this down to the very nasty looking tubes that the
amp came with....I changed the 6V6's for 6L6's then for EL34's and
was again very unimpressed....but when I changed the pre amp tubes
for 12AU7's the C30 came alive for me....
If I was Fretted Americana, I would
ship the amps without tubes....then leave it up to the dealers to
show how the amp can sound with different tubes....or at least ship
the amps with AU7's instead of AX7's....
When I bought the C30 I knew I wanted
it to have EL34's for a British rock tone....I was completely
off....I have now gone for 6L6's and ended up with THE best Fender
amp....Fender has “never” made....With 6L6's it's tone is
unmistakeably a US Pete Townsend rock tone and together with the
12AU7's you get a very passable John Mayer Strat tone using the Low
input....with EL34's your in British Jimi Page rock amp
territory....I was lucky that I have a large box of old tubes that I
could play around with....If your just starting out it could get very
expensive to find the tone your happiest with....or you could never
find your tone and sell the amp before you find out just how good the
C30 is....
When you first get the amp....it's in
Phil X mode....it's loud, brash and awesome....Then you plug into
it....and your not loud, brash and awesome....you are in-fact a worst
guitarist than even YOU thought you were....Loaded with AU7's instead
of AX7's....the amp becomes more forgiving of the less talented....it
still gets dirty as you crank the gain and takes boost pedals
beautifully....But I do think that 70% of people who try the amp
would prefer the “calmed the fuck down” 12AU7 version.
******************************
The tubes I'm now using in my Evil Robot are....
V1 - 12AU7
V2 - 12AX7
These are the Channel Tubes....V1 drives Loudness B....V2 then gets added to V1 to drive the Loudness A into giving more gain....
V3 - 12AU7
This is the tube that the Vibrato runs through....A big Thank You goes out to Guillaume Clapeau for this next bit....The Vibrato doesn't work with a 12AX7....it needs a 12AU7....I don't use the Vibrato so have to admit to mising that....I do recall first getting the amp with just one 12AU7 and I assumed it was from the loop after I had messed with the tubes....I usually note things like that down for future reference....Again....Thanks to Guillaume for getting in touch and querying this....I had it down as a 12AX7....Never Trust the Internet....
V4 - 12AU7
This is the tube for the FX Loop....If you use the Loop you need to watch the volumes of any Delay and Reverb pedals you use as these need to be set up to not effect the amps volume....Too Low and you will reduce the amps overall volume....Too High and you will drive the Phase Inverter tube giving you more power tube break up but also more compression when the amp gets loud....You need to keep the loop at unity gain....
V5 - 12AX7
This is the Phase Inverter tube....This tube drives your Power Amp Tubes and is responsible for your Power Amp Distortion....If you want to know more about Phase Inverters read this article....HERE....over at Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting . com....
My Power Tubes are 6L6's for a more US tone....
V1 and V2 are both Tung-Sol's....All other tubes are JJ's....
******************************
Because of the amp's up front
tone....being able to scoop the mids with a 3 band EQ
would maybe tame the feeling of nowhere to hide when your playing the
amp....”I could be talking crap”....but in Phil X mode the amp
was too much for my heavy handed....sloppy playing “style”....The
in your face nature of the C30....over time will be a good thing as
I'm going to have to become a better player....
I'm not saying that the Evil Robot is
the best amp in the world....If your about to buy a Marshall because
you want to sound like Angus Young or a Fender because you want that
Fender twang....then the Evil Robot is not for you....But the tones
you can get with the C30 are some of the best rock guitar tones
ever....and that alone makes the C30 worth the asking price....But
you also get an amp that sounds and feels like an expensive hand
wired tube amp....and I wasn't expecting that from what is after all
a cheap circuit board amp....Even at quiet bedroom levels it never
looses the dynamics’s and feeling of a loud tube amp....Your
playing jumps out of this amp....You have sustain in your fingers and
you find out that you are in-fact a better player than you thought
you were.... and in the process that puts a big smile on your
face....
As yet I have not had a chance to play
the C30 properly LIVE....but as it is set up now....this is without a
doubt the best sounding amp I have ever owned....It's a ballsy
sounding amp that managers to stay sounding ballsy as you drop the
volume....”I have never played so quietly and yet still been happy
with my tone”....It has the feel and dynamics’s of a hand wired
amp three times it's price....The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe is a good amp
but it ain't a Evil Robot....the 65 Deluxe Reverb is a better amp and
again it ain't no Evil Robot....
Fender....Marshall....Blackstar....ETC....are
all going to have to drop their prices or redesign some of their amps
because the Evil Robot EVR-C30....has no right being this good....But
it is....k.j.
The rather cheap looking footswitch that comes with the EVR-C30 is actually on the inside very well put together....
All the solder joints were perfectly done....
I contacted John Kasha who gave me a few things to look for, everything checked out OK and the problem with my footswitch was a bad switch....
I just replaced the bad switch with one that I pulled out of a old Marshall footswitch I had and the Evil Robot is back up and working perfectly....no point in sending it back to Andertons....cheaper and faster to sort it out myself....funny thing is that I will probably stop using the footswitch altogether....or maybe mod another one up to work a little better...?....WTF....k.j.
The footswitch has stopped working....it's stuck on channel A....so the cheapness is more than skin deep....I think Andertons are going to love me....
The other thing is when they say it gets hot....they mean HOT....but the little fan in this Class A amp is doing nothing....time for a mod I think....
I have turned the fan round, so instead of sucking air out of the combo....it's blowing air in.....
I have made up a temporary air duct out of card to channel the flow of air up and over the tubes to remove the heat better....it has worked really well....I had the amp on full blast today for about 6 hours and the amp chassis got nothing worse than warm....yesterday the chassis was alarmingly hot only after a couple of hours of being on....
Just as soon I get the air duct design right I'll make one out of wood, paint it matt black and post up the plans for it here if anybody wants it....
So far the Evil Robot sounds great....the Vibrato is really sweet sounding....and in 30watt mode with 4 6V6 tubes installed, this amp is loud....real F**king LOUD....more to come....k.j.
Evil Robot number 2 is here....BIG Thank You to Karis Chandler from Andertons for looking after me....
no holes in this box....always a good sign....
and it works....thank god for that....here at Bollocks Towers, we very nearly gave up on this amp, got a refund and put a deposit on a GigRig G2....we like GigRig stuff....
who else thinks that this has to be the cheapest looking footswitch in the world....ever....but throwing caution to the wind we asked for a replacement amp and put a deposit down on a G2 as well....
the G2 should be with us sometime in August....we will be putting the Evil Robot under the microscope, posting some vids and posting what we all think of it over the next couple of weeks....k.j.
....ooooh baby....k.j.