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Gotta love a good mystery. Nothing is worse than a poorly written one. You know, the kind that gives the plot away in the first few pages and stumbles on to the conclusion where it is finally put out of its misery. My 3rd daughter and I have a running joke about English mysteries (which I seem to have a knack for grabbing at the library).
Well, I love a good mystery in the amp realm too. Don't get me wrong, I want to right every wrong I possibly can when working on an amp. But a mystery ...

I am a sucker for small single-ended tube amps. I know, I've said this before but it needs to be said again. I am not opposed to pp amps (in case anyone would like to give me a Deluxe reverb or Princeton reverb). It's just that single-ended amps are beautiful in their simplicity and deliver such great tone. Having established that, let it be known that I am an ampaholic of the first degree. My wife swears (often) that I am in serious need of therapy. My "music" room is filled to the ceiling ...

As mentioned earlier, we collect amps with several motives in mind. Some of us are in it for the (future) money. We pursue and purchase amplifiers with an eye toward our retirement. For this reason, we want only the pristine examples of ampdom. Intact tolex, scratch-free control panels and unmolested innards. Others of us are in it for the education. We seek understanding of technology that has had its day. We do not weigh a potential purchase based on its future marketability. We gravitate to the ...

I recently re-read an interview with Ted Weber written years ago. In it, he tells of his life and career up to that point. Something he said triggered a memory about Leo Fender and his approach to design and development.
Ted mentioned that his skills as a speaker designer were sharpened by participating in an early version of an online forum. There, he said, he received some of his best feedback and ideas about what was missing in the speakers currently offered. Armed with this feedback ...

In my quest to experience the small, single-ended (mostly) amps, I have run into some odd tubes. Initially I read the posts from fearless souls who lamented the NOS prices of 6EU7's and proposed to rewire the circuits to utilize 12AX7's in their place. After all, the 12AX7 is the preamp tube of choice for small amps. It has the power to slap you in the face with force. I suppose if one is good then multiple 12AX7's would make one whale of a racket! And they are being manufactured still.
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