Re: 'Feedback' on Pickle Plug

[Mike Curtis <wd6ehr@xxxxxxxxxx>]

> 
> > <Pickle Plug>
> >gives an amp without a line-out a line-out capbility without by merely
> >plugging into your external speaker connection. It is just a plug with
> >a male end for the ext spkr and a female end to connect to a 1/4" cord
> >that would plug into a PA or recording device. It serves the purpose of a
> >direct box without the transformer, expense, or need for an effects loop.
> >It is better than any device wired to a speaker because there is only one
> >way to connect it correctly and it can be done in the dark. I have another
> >version that gives one many line-outs and an extra ext spkr connection on
> >the female end of the pickle plug.
> 
> This piqued my interest, but I couldn't respond a few days ago.  Good luck
> with your Pickle Plug, J.E., but maybe others would be interested in this
> simple solution. Mike Curtis also does something like this with his Champ
> to go directly into the PA.

Mine is a little more complicated than this, but I designed it for a 
specific application (the effects loop of my Music Man 112RD)

> FWIW Bruce Zinky had a very simple circuit (3 resistors) in Fender's
> Frontline brochure a month ago that took the ~Extension Speaker~,
> attenutated it a bit, and put it into another ~Slave Amp~ (use ~Power Amp
> In~ or ~Line In~):
> 
>                             560 ohms
> 
>               |----|-------/\/\/\----\--------------|----|
>         ------|    |                 / 100 ohms     |    |-------
> Extension Sp.      |                 \              |     Slave Amp
>      1/4" jack   ----------/\/\/\----/------------------  1/4" jack
>         ------|    |                                |    |--------
>               |----|        22 ohms                 |----|
> 
> 
> His purpose was to allow you to use your favorite small amp in all gig
> situations for a consistent sound; if high power was needed, hook your
> favorite small amp up to a bigger amp like this for a ~staged effect~
> (NPI). More power can be had by splitting the master into more slaves (usu.
> not a concern for playing in clubs). I don't see why you couldn't extend
> this concept to what you are talking about, but perhaps the ~Pickle~ has
> some better matching (?)
> 
> Zinky also talked of a dry /wet configuration that gets around the watered
> down sound of the effects processors, namely to set the master amp
> absolutely dry (no effects) and then send it through the effects before it
> goes to the slave (power) amp.  The two sources of tone end up much richer
> sounding (dry master, wet slave).  Presume the power of each amp would be
> comparable in this set-up.

There is a lot to be said for "dry master/wet slave", especially if you 
drive the master (a smaller amp in my case) into distortion.  When I use 
a slapback echo, it becomes more intense as I drive the master more into 
distortion.  For example, if I set slapback level to 20%, but clip the 
signal at the 40% level, the slapback is now at a whopping 50%.  By using 
the slapback on the (clean) slave, the level is fixed, and the echo is 
much more "natural" sounding.

Many other effects sound better post-distortion, such as chorus, reverb, 
gated delay, etc.

Others sound better pre-distortion, such as octave dividers, envelope 
followers (volume actuated wah-wah effect, popular with funk bass 
players; Mutron, EH Dr. Q, etc.), and probably pitch shifters and 
harmonizers.

Using a "direct box" (which is what the Pickle would in fact be) is better
for minimizing feedback than micing (and given the price of an SM57,
cable, desk stand, and possibly a transformer, cheaper, too - my box cost
under $10 for all new parts), but it bypasses the sound of your
speaker(s), something many consider to be of great importance, especially 
in vintage amps.

                            -o-

A comment on tubes vs transistors:  When you run these "clean", with _no_
peaks in the nonlinear region, a solid state amp will be able to compete
favorably with tubes.  Many feel that tubes running linearly have an edge
in warmth, but I personally have not found this to be significant.  When
any peaks as seen on an oscilloscope hit the nonlinear region of the amp,
tubes _do_ in fact start sounding noticeably better. 

However, when you distort them, there is no comparison.  Unprocessed
transistor distortion sounds terrible.  Remember the "fuzz tone" of the
1970's (boy, was it 25 years ago?  Time sure flies - I still have a Jordan
Boss-Tone and original EH Big Muff!), and how it sounded like 7 inch
fingernails on the biggest blackboard ever made?  Tube distortion is
infinitely easier to listen to.  It sounds better and is much less
fatiguing to listen to. 

This has been shown scientifically.  (Summary:  Transistors create more
high order harmonics and odd order harmonics e.g. 3rd, 5th, etc., and lack
the lower order harmonics necessary to make these palatable.  Tubes create
more low order harmonics, and even harmonics, e.g. 2nd, 4th, etc., and are
much more pleasant to the human ear.)

Simple explanation: Transistors "clip" abruptly, creating a more shrill
distortion.  Tubes "clip" much more softly and gradually, creating a
distortion with a "fuller" and "fatter" sound.  Perhaps the easiest way to
visualize this is to drop your sons marbles onto the floor (or better yet,
get him to do it, and clean 'em up when he's done :-) If it's carpeted,
the sound is a dull "thump". If the floor is marble, granite, or other
hard flooring material, it makes a very shrill and harsh "crack!" 

(And be nice to the poor kid; no jokes about "you lost your marbles :-)

Of course, there are other factors involved, and some solid state amps (in
particular, VFETs) sound better than others.  But tube amps are definitely
the way the smart money bets. 

Many of us use solid state equipment, and it will work, even if
overdriven.  There are steps we can take to make the sound more
listenable, such as facing the speakers so the highs don't hit the
audience directly (speakers are directional at higher frequencies),
cutting the tone controls so that more low frequency sound is fed to the
speakers, etc., so please don't construe this as "You can't use solid
state amps", because the obvious fact is, many do in fact use them.  If
you have a good harmonica tone, you're going to sound great through
whatever you use, be that a vintage Bassman and vintage JT-30 or a Pignose
and $5 replacement mic.  (Of course, you'll sound great-ER- through the
Bassman :-)


 -- mike