Who really needs 100w amps ?

ICBM

No, it's a black and white one with the head on top of a cabinet. There are wires and resistors hanging out of the back of the amp.

Although even in that one above you can see the amp isn't stock because there is what looks like a pot at the left-hand end. No idea what that does!

impmann

Also, if you notice there is one of those wireless receivers that Angus swears by to boost old Marshalls. There is clump of wires going into 'something' in front of the amp that appears to be plugged into the output of the amp.

ICBM

impmann said:

Also, if you notice there is one of those wireless receivers that Angus swears by to boost old Marshalls. There is clump of wires going into 'something' in front of the amp that appears to be plugged into the output of the amp.

The problem is that you can't see the critical bit of that tangle of wires! I'm not sure it's the same clump though, since the blue-taped bundle under the Dano has three cables, and the blue-taped plug in the amp seems to be a figure-8 cable - actually more like a proper speaker cable… unless the third wire goes somewhere you can't see closer to the camera.

It's an amazing Heath Robinson lash-up though, whatever's going on!

ICBM

Aha - I still haven't found the pic I was thinking of, but I did find this very interesting evidence…

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a7/87/db/a787db4a4cd6943d239a0883c7814524.jpg

Note the burned back of the cabinet - that's where the load resistors were hanging.

impmann

Whatever that pot was in the pic I posted, its been removed in that pic... so it wasn't "critical"

ToneControl

I meant this link
http://wwwc.dcns.ne.jp/~epi/witnesses.html
no idea if this is accurate

cosmiccarrot

ToneControl said:

Would an 240v-configured amp even function at 110v/120v ??
surely not?

If you bring the variac up from zero the sound will come in around 90v although very low then increase, the pilot light at about 120 from what I remember? I used to run mine at 170v and it's actually reasonable down in overall volume.
Have a listen to this clip... he's running a pretty much stock amp wide open with the variac at 185v and into a clinch preamp pedal (echoplex simulation) and a powerbrake.

cosmiccarrot

impmann said:

Also, if you notice there is one of those wireless receivers that Angus swears by to boost old Marshalls. There is clump of wires going into 'something' in front of the amp that appears to be plugged into the output of the amp.

Behind the amp is Ed's echoplex which is where the leads go to. Yes, the Schaffer wireless system was used by Ed in the recording of both VH 1 and 2

cosmiccarrot

ICBM said:

Aha - I still haven't found the pic I was thinking of, but I did find this very interesting evidence…

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a7/87/db/a787db4a4cd6943d239a0883c7814524.jpg

Note the burned back of the cabinet - that's where the load resistors were hanging.

That pic is from 95, the cab is ripped and coloured in with black pen/paint. Cameron was one of the first of a few before him that had there hands in Ed's main marshall he's the guy, plus a few others that said about the ohmite load stick picture, but no one can find the pic? The other internal wired resistors on the power valves you mentioned are the Cerrem mod. It's all been pretty much documented at metroamp which is where I've followed this stuff there for the last 8 years (how sad!)
This might help with his early live rig, there are B&W's of the back of the amps somewhere burried in the posts in metro but no load resistor pic.
http://forum.metropoulos.net/viewtopic.php?t=30570&start=45

Cacofonix

The Tolex peels,upwards, indicating,melted glue, so the rip appears to be heat-derived.  Otherwise the Tolex would be torn but not necessarily lifted.

Edit: found this link: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/eddie-van-halen-reveals-his-biggest-lie/

On topic, you can clearly hear the difference in headroom if you switch my stiletto from 50w to 100w on the fly.  It immediately becomes more 'open' sounding and clear.  I don't use the 50w setting even though I run it into a 50w cab, as I keep the volume low enough to not be concerned about the speaker blowing.  Try it. You'll notice the difference.

ICBM

cosmiccarrot said:

a few others that said about the ohmite load stick picture, but no one can find the pic?

It seems to have disappeared, at least from online. It was definitely there *somewhere* in the fairly early days of TGP (or possibly the old PRS Forum it split off from) though. It's a black-and-white studio pic, not very clear, but you can see the head on top of one cab with its back towards the camera, with the load resistors hanging out of the back in exactly the position of that burned tolex.

If I remember rightly there is a triple stack cabs in the pic too, beyond the amp and Ed - some are the stripped cabs, but what's most amazing is that the lower row are angled cabs, the middle row are straight, and the top row are angled cabs balanced *upside down*! As if to make more speakers point directly at the mic which is in the middle… I don't think I'm remembering this wrong.

DulcetJones

In the 80's I was using a 35 watt Fender Vibrolux tube amp in a 5 piece rock band in the days when we didn't mic everything, we played small to medium bar rooms.  We started getting booked into bigger rooms and my sound was getting lost so I got a 100 watt Yamaha combo with 4 10" speakers(transistor) and never had a problem with volume again.  It didn't sound quite as good, but not bad either.  Now they mic everything, or use a line out and you can get away with much lower wattage.