The HandBox Amplification thread

[MrDinsdale]

Caught the guy who helps set levels etc at our rehearsal space scratching his head while fiddling with getting the bass going. He said the amp DI was crazy hot, not clipping but right up in the red.

 

Think I need to grab an attenuator for the DI!

[wateroftyne]

45 minutes ago, MrDinsdale said:

Caught the guy who helps set levels etc at our rehearsal space scratching his head while fiddling with getting the bass going. He said the amp DI was crazy hot, not clipping but right up in the red.

 

Think I need to grab an attenuator for the DI!

Yep, get one that attenuates a lot 🙂

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, MrDinsdale said:

Caught the guy who helps set levels etc at our rehearsal space scratching his head while fiddling with getting the bass going. He said the amp DI was crazy hot, not clipping but right up in the red.

 

Think I need to grab an attenuator for the DI!

I got mine made by Designacable -20db. Just send them an email or call them and they'll make it up to whatever length of cable you want. I went for 12" cable so i could tuck it back along the side of the amp rather than a solid attenuator sticking straight out the front and then aN XLR  cable hanging off it.

Dave

[MrDinsdale]

PS Its been a few months now with the WB100 and I still love it. Still getting compliments from the band at practice, won out over the SVT I borrowed last week too.

 

I’ve recently started playing more with pushing the input gain on the head too rather than just relying on my pedals for crunch and it sounds excellent. Just a little extra hair on it.

 

Just need a second Baer 112 and I’m sorted 🙌

[RikiB]

Just an update regarding the R-400 incase anyone is interested.

it was one of the preamp tubes.

The red light died and the blue one flickers sometimes but it’s just the bulb.

 

I have it for sale but only because I’ve eyed up something else .. GAS 😂 

[peteb]

10 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I got mine made by Designacable -20db. Just send them an email or call them and they'll make it up to whatever length of cable you want. I went for 12" cable so i could tuck it back along the side of the amp rather than a solid attenuator sticking straight out the front and then aN XLR  cable hanging off it.

Dave

 

I must admit, I'm a little curious about what amps you are using currently? I thought that I saw that you have got a SVT7 (?) recently, in addition to the WB-100. If I remember correctly you also has a Mesa mpulse? I'm just wondering what amps you're gigging and what ones you've kept / going to keep? 

 

Personally, I seem to own / have owned similar amps to you. These include the R-400 that I use for virtually all gigs these days, an mpulse that I love and have no intention of selling, but can't be bothered to lug a 4u roadcase around for road gigs that I generally seem to be doing these days. and a MB LM3 that I tend to use for rehearsals. I also used to have a SVT5 that I used for a bit but moved on several years ago. 

 

[dmccombe7]

4 hours ago, peteb said:

 

I must admit, I'm a little curious about what amps you are using currently? I thought that I saw that you have got a SVT7 (?) recently, in addition to the WB-100. If I remember correctly you also has a Mesa mpulse? I'm just wondering what amps you're gigging and what ones you've kept / going to keep? 

 

Personally, I seem to own / have owned similar amps to you. These include the R-400 that I use for virtually all gigs these days, an mpulse that I love and have no intention of selling, but can't be bothered to lug a 4u roadcase around for road gigs that I generally seem to be doing these days. and a MB LM3 that I tend to use for rehearsals. I also used to have a SVT5 that I used for a bit but moved on several years ago. 

 

Not far apart Pete.

I'm currently using the Ampeg SVT7 Pro for gigs.

Still have the Handbox WB-100 that i may sell at some point but not sure. Its a nice back up to the SVT7. I did find the WB-100 struggled at bigger venues altho i wasn't thru FOH whereas the Ampeg manages same venue with ease.

I still have the Mpulse 600 and like you i don't think i'd ever sell it. I use it for practice at home with my Mesa PH212 cab.

I also have the MB Nano 300W as my gig back up mainly because it fits easily in my bag.

I also have a GK MB200 head that i use as a pre-amp for sound effects in Glam covers band.

 

Have to admit i am loving the Ampeg tone again and the SVT7 is reasonably lightweight. Had an Ampeg SVT4 Pro few yrs back but it kept breaking down on me and it weighed a ton. It was an older one to be fair but moved it on after the last repairs which were mainly poor soldering joints around the valve bases on the circuit board. That kinda put me off Ampeg for a few yrs but friends had bought the PF500 and had no issues at all so thought i'd give them another try.

 

I did fancy the Mesa TT800 but its gonna cost a fortune when they start selling to UK again and i grudge paying it nowadays.

I use Mesa Subway 210 and 115 cabs for gigging.

 

I'm playing 70's Glam covers and other band is classic Punk covers band. Only thing i change is a different bass for each band altho both basses are now Sandbergs. Marlowe with punk and VM4 with Glam band

We do seem to have similar taste in amps. Sometimes i wish i had gone for the R-400 which i reckon would be a little louder than the WB-100. The WB-100 is pretty loud and manages most venues i've played circa 100-150 persons. It struggled at a club venue with around 200 people tho and i had to ramp up the gain a bit more taking it into distortion which i wasn't a big fan off but you can't hear that in the vids i've seen.

Dave

[RikiB]

What’s your Glam band called?

I love all that 70s glam especially Slade. That band were amazing 

[peteb]

11 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Not far apart Pete.

I'm currently using the Ampeg SVT7 Pro for gigs.

Still have the Handbox WB-100 that i may sell at some point but not sure. Its a nice back up to the SVT7. I did find the WB-100 struggled at bigger venues altho i wasn't thru FOH whereas the Ampeg manages same venue with ease.

I still have the Mpulse 600 and like you i don't think i'd ever sell it. I use it for practice at home with my Mesa PH212 cab.

I also have the MB Nano 300W as my gig back up mainly because it fits easily in my bag.

I also have a GK MB200 head that i use as a pre-amp for sound effects in Glam covers band.

 

Have to admit i am loving the Ampeg tone again and the SVT7 is reasonably lightweight. Had an Ampeg SVT4 Pro few yrs back but it kept breaking down on me and it weighed a ton. It was an older one to be fair but moved it on after the last repairs which were mainly poor soldering joints around the valve bases on the circuit board. That kinda put me off Ampeg for a few yrs but friends had bought the PF500 and had no issues at all so thought i'd give them another try.

 

I did fancy the Mesa TT800 but its gonna cost a fortune when they start selling to UK again and i grudge paying it nowadays.

I use Mesa Subway 210 and 115 cabs for gigging.

 

I'm playing 70's Glam covers and other band is classic Punk covers band. Only thing i change is a different bass for each band altho both basses are now Sandbergs. Marlowe with punk and VM4 with Glam band

We do seem to have similar taste in amps. Sometimes i wish i had gone for the R-400 which i reckon would be a little louder than the WB-100. The WB-100 is pretty loud and manages most venues i've played circa 100-150 persons. It struggled at a club venue with around 200 people tho and i had to ramp up the gain a bit more taking it into distortion which i wasn't a big fan off but you can't hear that in the vids i've seen.

Dave

 

I must admit that I wondered if the WB-100 would be loud enough / have enough headroom for bigger gigs. I've been using the R-400 as it is in the same ballpark as the mpulse in terms of sound, but a bit easier to carry round (no rack needed) and sits neatly on a 212 cab. It's just easier to unload in the early hours of the morning after a long drive home, so the mpulse and the Berg 410 stay at home! 

 

As far as the TT800 goes, I did have a Subway D-800 amp (the little one) for a while. However, even though it sounded great in a room on its own, it didn't really cut it for me on a stage with a band. This is something that I've always found with Class D amps, so an amp with a proper A/B power section in a smaller casing was (to me) a suitable alternative to carrying a 4u rack around. The R-400 sounds great, is loud enough and an easy one handed carry. 

 

[dmccombe7]

5 hours ago, RikiB said:

What’s your Glam band called?

I love all that 70s glam especially Slade. That band were amazing 

Blockbustarz is our Glam band. Doing quite well with now that things are picking up after covid.

Dave

[Woody1957]

I've got a R 400 and l use it 95% of the time..it's brilliant and sounds awesome. I also had a subway D800 and it was a complete letdown when l used it on gigs and rehearsals. I soon got rid of it but instead bought a Orange Terror 500 for reheasals and back up. I love this little amp even though its a D class it sounds great and blows the Subway out of the water.

[dmccombe7]

23 minutes ago, peteb said:

 

I must admit that I wondered if the WB-100 would be loud enough / have enough headroom for bigger gigs. I've been using the R-400 as it is in the same ballpark as the mpulse in terms of sound, but a bit easier to carry round (no rack needed) and sits neatly on a 212 cab. It's just easier to unload in the early hours of the morning after a long drive home, so the mpulse and the Berg 410 stay at home! 

 

As far as the TT800 goes, I did have a Subway D-800 amp (the little one) for a while. However, even though it sounded great in a room on its own, it didn't really cut it for me on a stage with a band. This is something that I've always found with Class D amps, so an amp with a proper A/B power section in a smaller casing was (to me) a suitable alternative to carrying a 4u rack around. The R-400 sounds great, is loud enough and an easy one handed carry. 

 

Historically i've been same opinion on class D amps but i have to admit the SVT7 does manage to cut thru pretty well and does sound very much like an SVT. Not as much heft as full valve SVT but pretty close enough for me.

Don't get me wrong the WB-100 is a loud amp but i'm not a big fan of overdriven gain sound in my current bands and prefer a cleaner warmer tone. The WB-100 was set almost flat with gain at 12 and master at very most 12-13 o'clock. If i raised the gain up to the 2 o'clock mark it gave it one heck of a boost in volume but the distortion was creeping in and i could have lived with it and audience wouldn't notice it but i did.

For most decent sized gigs it did cover it all fairly easily without FOH support. The SVT7 just seems to cover it a bit easier altho for a 1000W classD its nowhere as loud as you would expect a 1kW amp to be but that's the same with all class D amps. I reckon its volume is similar to the Mpulse at 600W with everything flat.

Dave

[RikiB]

Yeah I noticed when o briefly had the SVT7Pro that I was at about 3 o’clock on the volume and didn’t feel like I was putting out 700 or so watts.

But with my GK legacy 800 I’m usually at about 11 o’clock and has plenty more volume on tap. I’d say 800 GK watts easily beats Ampegs 1000 watts. I think the Ampeg svt7 should be around 500-600 in truth

[dmccombe7]

5 hours ago, RikiB said:

Yeah I noticed when o briefly had the SVT7Pro that I was at about 3 o’clock on the volume and didn’t feel like I was putting out 700 or so watts.

But with my GK legacy 800 I’m usually at about 11 o’clock and has plenty more volume on tap. I’d say 800 GK watts easily beats Ampegs 1000 watts. I think the Ampeg svt7 should be around 500-600 in truth

Yep had a GK1001RBii at one point and it was one very loud amp but i just couldn't the tone i was looking for.

Dave

[wateroftyne]

Facebook update - it looks like Leszek is listening to feedback. The work that goes into these, man. Amazing.

 

'Works on WB-100 tube heads are underway. In 7-10 days, the first copies of the latest series will appear. We have made minor changes to the appearance of the case, nuances and levels that affect the overall sound of the head have been calibrated. We have improved the signal level at the Line Out output. We corrected the signal level on the third tube in the preamplifier.

These works were purely cosmetic, more for decency than to improve sound.'

 

https://www.facebook.com/HandBoxAudio/posts/pfbid0FVbWoMxgJtQhmdXVruGtNUsMPxfzorNcxaN7xKM2Qup9KVKgAuYCC8Q8GbN6yU2Fl

 

[Daz39]

That's a beautiful box. A lot of thought and detail.

[Woody1957]

Cnc routers are magical and can easily replicate any design you want after it's been programmed in.

Lovely design though.

[jasetbass]

Hi All,

 

Handbox WB100 owner here, hoping for a bit of advice from you lovely Basschatters.

I finally had the need to replace the output valves in my amp (after over 5 years of faithful service - and I got a UK demo model off wateroftyne - hope you’re well, Michael!), so got myself a nice shiny matched set of JJ 6L6GCs. I’ve put them in and I know I have to re-bias the amp, but that’s about as far as my knowledge goes (other than to be very, very careful!).
 

I found the attached on the Handbox website, which says that I should be reading -32v at the test points. Sounded easy, but first off, was a little surprised that, when I opened up the amp (for the first time since I got it), my bias pot was set fully clockwise.

 

I then noticed that this voltage varied significantly depending on whether the amp was in standby or not. Contacted Leszek who said: by

 

Each quartet of tubes from the same company, purchased on the same day, requires individual tuning.

This voltage(32V) is only approximate. BIAS is set only intuitively.

The voltage is observed on a multimeter and the behavior of the anodes in the power tubes is observed.

The optimal operating point is when the anodes do not yet glow red, but any increase in voltage(BIAS), even the slightest, will cause them to glow.
I don't know any other effective method.

 

So I tried adjusting the bias and noticed that, maybe counter-intuitively, that reduction in voltage seemed to cause the valves to run hotter.
 

However I wasn’t really comfortable with what the ‘right’ setting was. So I did a bit of googling and have found myself drowning in information! 
 

Please can someone offer a few pointers?

 

Many thanks in advance,

 

Jase

[agedhorse]

My first pointer is that's not how to set bias, and is one of the more bizarre ways that I have heard over my career actually. 

 

There are different ways, but they all ultimately result in the current through one output tube times the voltage on the plate equal to about 70% of the tube's specified maximum plate dissipation (in watts).  This will vary by tube family, 6L6 is different than EL34, is different from 6550 and KT88.

 

If you don't understand this, or don't have the necessary equipment to do it safely, find a qualified service tech to do it for you. There are different ways to measure the current through the tube (directly and indirectly, with and without screen current contribution).

[jasetbass]

15 hours ago, agedhorse said:

My first pointer is that's not how to set bias, and is one of the more bizarre ways that I have heard over my career actually. 

 

There are different ways, but they all ultimately result in the current through one output tube times the voltage on the plate equal to about 70% of the tube's specified maximum plate dissipation (in watts).  This will vary by tube family, 6L6 is different than EL34, is different from 6550 and KT88.

 

If you don't understand this, or don't have the necessary equipment to do it safely, find a qualified service tech to do it for you. There are different ways to measure the current through the tube (directly and indirectly, with and without screen current contribution).

Thanks for getting back to me. That kind of confirms what I was thinking tbh. I couldn’t square the schematic instructions with what Leszek said or with what I’d read on the web. 
 

I’ll get a bias probe, and see how I get on.

 

Cheers,

 

Jase