Fryette Power Station tube power amp

[eljodon]

Hi, I have a PS and am wondering what mod you did and it possible to get the same "air and sparkle" without doing the mod?

Thanks,
D

Sorry to respond to you so late. I asked them to remove the low pass filter because as soon as brought it home and tried it, I knew it had one because I wasn't getting the sparkly sound that I'm used to. I also asked him to modify the presence control to act like a plexi. Now I get more than enough highs and the "air I was missing. I believe that your speaker cabinet should be the "low pass filter" I live 35 min away from the company so it was easy to get it done. I hope this helps.

 

[eljodon]

Anyone using the Freyette with a real amp as attenuator, it's loop and the axe fx for effects? When I hook up in 4CM I get a very loud squeal when I put the volume of the amp up past 2 or 4. Have checked all connections, cables etc. happens using any amp so it's not the amp.


Interestingly if u just use the axe fx for effects before the loop it's fine, or just in the loop it's fine but both together.... Also works fine with normal stomp boxes before and in the loop

Really like the power station for using axe through a cab or for with an amp as an attenuator with loop.

What I do to minimize the "squeal" with the PS, I use a "humdinger" (from The GigRig) either in from of the amp or in the loop(it depends on the mp) I like to put an eq and a noise reduction unit in the PS loop because I was getting that high pitch noise you're describing. I use 2 Marshall plexi's with no master volume and since I crank them all the way so I get the most squeal or high pitch noise from them as oppose to my high gain amps. I believe that the problem is ground loop.

 

[dschaaf]

Sorry to respond to you so late. I asked them to remove the low pass filter because as soon as brought it home and tried it, I knew it had one because I wasn't getting the sparkly sound that I'm used to. I also asked him to modify the presence control to act like a plexi. Now I get more than enough highs and the "air I was missing. I believe that your speaker cabinet should be the "low pass filter" I live 35 min away from the company so it was easy to get it done. I hope this helps.

Thanks, Is there anyway to minimize the impact of the low pass without actually doing the mod?

 

[bke]

What I do to minimize the "squeal" with the PS, I use a "humdinger" (from The GigRig) either in from of the amp or in the loop(it depends on the mp) I like to put an eq and a noise reduction unit in the PS loop because I was getting that high pitch noise you're describing. I use 2 Marshall plexi's with no master volume and since I crank them all the way so I get the most squeal or high pitch noise from them as oppose to my high gain amps. I believe that the problem is ground loop.

Thanks, don't have an axe fx anymore but am on the list for an ax8, so that may be useful to check out if I run into the same problem. I don't have that issue when using regular stomps was only ever a problem with the axe fx, and only in 4cm. Using it for effects just up from or just in the loop was fine.

 

[eljodon]

Thanks, Is there anyway to minimize the impact of the low pass without actually doing the mod?

No there's no other way unless you know someone that can do it for you by looking at the schematic. To me it was crucial to do it because although it sounded good, I knew it could sound better especially when lowering our volume on your guitar to get a cleaner tone . It will be brighter but you'll just have to dial your top end down. But I rather have top end to spare than not enough plus it really helps with dark sounding amps.

 

[dschaaf]

No there's no other way unless you know someone that can do it for you by looking at the schematic. To me it was crucial to do it because although it sounded good, I knew it could sound better especially when lowering our volume on your guitar to get a cleaner tone . It will be brighter but you'll just have to dial your top end down. But I rather have top end to spare than not enough plus it really helps with dark sounding amps.

Thanks

 

[dieghe1984]

Hi, Anybody knows if the power station can be used in a frfr setup?
I have axe fx II and matrix fr212 cab (frfr cab), I was going to buy matrix gt1000fx but today I discovered the fryette power station and I'm really interested about it.

Thank you

 

[paulmapp8306]

Selling my GTFX after I bought the PS, but Im going real cab. I cant see why it wont work FRFR - there are people using it as a valve amp for music so?

 

[dieghe1984]

Selling my GTFX after I bought the PS, but Im going real cab. I cant see why it wont work FRFR - there are people using it as a valve amp for music so?

That's exactly the info I was looking for. Thank you!

 

[eljodon]

Thanks

I spoke with Steve and he's going to add a switch to the PS that will disengage the low pass filter. I don't know what he'll do with ones that has been already been sold, but it wasn't expensive when he modified mine.

 

[dschaaf]

I spoke with Steve and he's going to add a switch to the PS that will disengage the low pass filter. I don't know what he'll do with ones that has been already been sold, but it wasn't expensive when he modified mine.

Thanks

 

[Alex EShadow]

I've been using the Power Station as my power amp, and own a Matrix GT1000FX 1U. The Power Station just sounds better to my ears. I love having direct access to the presence and depth controls as knobs, and for low volume playing the switches on the front come handy to compensate for the loudness curve. If you leave all controls at noon, it's decently transparent, at least to my ears.

There's something about it that sounds deeper, tighter and "rounder" than the Matrix somehow. I guess it's the interaction between the output transformer and the load from the speakers. Been in love with my tone ever since I bought it, was not satisfied before.

Edit: I should add that I use it with a Mesa Traditional 4x12 cab and a Blackstar 1x12 cab, not with any FRFR speakers. Can't vouch for how well it does with that, as my monitors are all active.

 

[j8stringer]

Hi everyone, It's been a while since I posted about my use of the first PS in my Ultra wet/dry rig. The dry side taps off after the amp and before the cabinet with an exf send to output 2 into the PS. This has worked out great for me, but I have two things to post about that might be of interest. 1, I started having the high pitched squeal on some high gain amp models...and it was just a very few. I had been running my send from the AF into the FX Return jack...set at the Hi position with the AF Output 2 pot dialed way back. After trying many of the fixes posted about in this thread, swapping the PI tube (12ax7) and moving the AF send to the Line In jack did the trick. You do need to adjust your gain staging accordingly, as the Line In is not as hot an input as the Fx Return. I think I could even put back the original 12ax7 PI tube and things would be OK...but I have not tried it yet. I bought my PS second hand, so the PI tube was an Amperex (Orange Globe, probably made by RTF, not Philips), so I question if that was original or the previous owners swap-out. 2. The PI tube has a great deal to do with how the Power Tubes sound and respond to what they are getting hit with. The Power Tubes in mine are Ruby STR 6l6's, new production tubes that are bold, punchy, and clear, with not a lot of added color....just what I want for vintage Fender, Dumble and High Gain amp models. By trying a number of different PI tubes, I found what tube you use can have a big effect on the feel, dynamics and enhancing certain frequencies over others. The Amperex Orange Globe give it a warm mids and soft and giving feel...balancing well with the Ruby's bold punch. A favorite of many, the Sovtek 12ax7LPS did not work well for me ( I love it in other tube amps), to bright and stiff in feel. I settled on a Mullard CV4004, a military, box plate tube that is in the 12ax7 family. A great feel with just the right amount of give for clean, lo-gain and high-gain amps. It does the warm, round note Mullard thing on a Strat neck pup and warm with bite and growl on a bridge Seymour JB pup.

I have some time today so I may try a Telefunken and then a Philips Amperex just to see. Its a little bit of effort to swap them out, but it is a result you hear & feel when you get the right match...and don't worry about getting a tube that has perfectly balanced sides...try what you have and let your ears and fingers decide.

BTW....I like to hit the input of the AF with a strong signal, so I have two boxes before the AF input: a Sarno Black Box with a 1958 Amperex long plate 12ax7 in it. That will give it tube tone and sag before the AF digitizes the signal. I wack that tube with an Ethos OD pedal used as a preamp ...two channels, clean and OD. It does not overload the front end and adds the color I want and touch sensitivity. Good luck....explore !!!

 

[Ben Randolph]

I have one and it's fantastic. I use mine with a vintage '76 Marshall JMP non-MV. It provides the attenuation I need, plus (and this is a biggie), the effects loop lets me run my time-based effects after the saturation without having to modify my amp. I love it.

I'm sure it works fantastic with the AxeFX.