A Great Amp Tested | Victoria Ivy League Part Three

[@PsionicAudio]

I’m trying to figure out why far fewer people watch the playing tests of the finished amps than watch the diagnosis/repair videos. I have great players, shot well, recorded well, just not a ton of interest on any of the playing videos. Is it that people are watching at work and don’t want guitar coming out of their cubicle? Should I just focus on dad rock lead solo stuff? What do you guys think?

[@bluflaam777LSA]

I'm listening as I'm typing but can only speak for myself; I was drawn to your channel for the tech vids. (I'm not a tech or an engineer) But as a musician, I've learned a lot of basic maintenance on amps and guitars that has saved me time and money by watching your vids and others as well. So, the play-thru' vids are entertaining - but limited to just playing b/c the 'tone' is lost in YT translation (or cheap pc speakers) I'm not sure if that answers your Q?

[@liquibyte]

I do sometimes. The problem is that you offer so much knowledge and experience, we really come here for that. I was interested to see what this sounded like however. I'm going to be doing a traditional 5E3 and figure if I don't hear something like this, I'm bad at building.

[@johnwilliamson467]

Well to me it is two very different events . Tech is teaching and playing is learning . This is to say first is fixing and the second is testing . Two different types of thinking right vs left brain work . Some like words rather than art . playing has two parts the player and the amp where tech is the fixer and the amp both are need for a result . Just my view.

[@rzbach23]

Please no more Dad rock. LoL. The playing was great. I had to remind myself even if I had that guitar and amp I wouldn’t sound this good. I don’t understand the KZbin. This surprisingly didn’t show in my feed like usual. I went to your page looking for the update.

[@Calvin-xu5pw]

Because we like your soothing deep relaxing voice. I'm not kidding.

[@oldguy5381]

Coffee and the blues in the morning, amp sounds great but of course you already knew that. Big thanks to the player nice touch!

[@martinreid1740]

A really nice sounding amp and great playing. Really nailed that BB King tone at the start of the video with the 335.

[@Bluesky5553]

That amp sounds fantastic. Great work, sir. Joe's playing is very good, amd the Tele sounds good through that amp.

[@TheBasementMusician]

Really enjoyed listening to this. It's awesome to hear such great tones gotten by simple means. Great work! (and great playing by Joe)

[@michaelploucha]

Great speaker choice. Really liking just pure guitar and amps qualities. Thanks for the videos giving us information and a look at Amps from an unvarnished perspective.

[@bluebirdamplification3026]

I like your demo videos, because they are honest! You use some great players and you let them show the amps in a very accurate way. You give us the clean and slightly pushed tones as many if the amps were designed to do and not some high gain widdle fest that tells us nothing about the amps real tones. There are far too many video demos out there that fall into that trap. As for why fewer people watch them..maybe they are more interested in the nuts and bolts tech stuff, maybe they think they know what the amp will sound like or maybe because many folks listen on their phones and dont use headphones so dont get a true impression of what the amps sound like. I really am mystified as to why more people dont follow these things to their natural conclusion. Personally I find it nice to hear the end results of your excellent and proffesional work, and learn lots along the way! Thank you for what you do Lyle, it is truly invaluable👍😀🖖

[@Ajoshy]

Creamy. Its beautiful when it all comes together; a good tech, a good player, and some awesome gear! Thanks for the video, Lyle!

[@defh2o]

I love the whole process from what’s happening or not, to here’s what we do to make it better or original to heres the finished product. A before and after video of an upgrade especially. Keep rockin until otherwise notified!

[@endoalley680]

After watching the repairs progress, these amp demonstrations are like the icing on the cake. I admit I sometimes skip ahead during the repair video to hear what the finished amp sounds like.

[@michaelmenkevich5712]

What I love about this video, and your work is how much you love the pure sound of the guitar and the amplifiers. Showcase how great a guitar sounds, and how an amplifier can contribute to the experience.

[@sgt.grinch3299]

Magnificent work by both of you. I really appreciate the playing. Great way to start my day.

[@rzbach23]

Nailed that Memphis sound! Love it!

[@Strumbum01]

Nice sounding amp, especially with the 12” speaker. I may have to look into getting one. Great work, Lyle!

[@reedmillermusic]

Joe is such a bad dude!!! Thanks for taking the time to bring in such a pro to demo this amp. Consistently impressed with stock Victoria amps but your mods took this to the next level. As far as the comment section goes, people must really not be used to the sound of a close-mic'd 57! Sounds killer listening back with Sony MDR7506 headphones.

[@dustinthiessen]

Nice work on this one! Thanks for getting Joe in to demonstrate 👍🏼

[@mikewolfe9458]

This is awesome! I’m digging this format for testing/tone showcasing

[@paulwatson8809]

I, for one, love the player vids when it's someone great like Joe. Grabbed a coffee and some earphones to do this one justice and i was not disappointed. I'd go for a higher fidelity mic with truly great players as I'm not interested in a standard reference - i want the pistachio gelato...

[@PsionicAudio]

Thanks for the gelato reference. But you might be surprised how good a 57 into the right mic pre is. I didn’t choose it for low cost. It really is a great mic for this application. Anything “high end” would let you hear my very small room with parallel everything and lots of reflective surfaces.

[@paulwatson8809]

@@PsionicAudio I hear you - when my sound mentor recorded Carlos Montoya, they both chose a saltshaker dynamic over a u67. Tastefully dressed is often sexier than stark naked.

[@paulwatson8809]

Maybe people are less interested in the playing vids because they're not looking to buy that particular amp. Perhaps underscoring great performances in the title e.g. '64 Deluxe in the hands of a master' might attract more views?

[@PsionicAudio]

Good point.

[@PsionicAudio]

As for “hands of a master” Joe is that, but I handicapped him a little here. I asked him not to “play” like he does in other videos on here, but to slow down and let people hear subtle changes, different pickups, different volume/tone knob settings, different pick attacks, etc. So he was thinking about the video instead of just playing. Observing yourself playing instead of just playing is a very different thing. I mean, he still sounds great. But it’s a different experience for him. And I’m very grateful that he humors my video coaching.

[@danielmargolis3210]

Since I found a used Victoria 20112 (5e3) in February I have barely used my vintage Fenders. Including a real ‘55 tweed Deluxe.

[@davidreyesvalencia9489]

Hello, I have not seen videos of a Roland Blues Cube BC-60 amplifier on your channel.

[@murrayguitarpickups9545]

You certainly kept us hanging Lyle. Good work mate, sounds amazing.

[@patshep68]

Sounds good. I keep thinking about one of these amps. Just can’t decide

[@jeffharper2661]

love the playing videos!!! On this I love the ES-335!!!!!!

[@Pooch1069]

Sounded like God Gave Rock and Roll to You by Argent there at the end! Either way I haven't heard it in years. Legendary song.

[@kunkmiceter]

That Xotic t-style guitar was made for that amp. The tone is absolute 🔥

[@halhawkins7641]

EXCELLENT!!!

[@kbb149]

That sounds amazing.

[@smithcustomguitarco]

was it the phase inverter input capacitor that was changed? i'm thinking of doing this with my 12" spkr harvard clone. I'm thinking .01uf, is that what you went with? thanks!

[@PsionicAudio]

I changed all four caps in the signal path, but the PI input cap is especially crucial. I went with 4.7nF (.0047uF).

[@fredcoston6580]

Lyle this is great playing

[@smithcustomguitarco]

@@PsionicAudio Thanks, Lyle! If I may, what value would you recommend for coupling caps in this circuit if sticking with a 10" speaker?

[@PsionicAudio]

I went with 4.7n 4.7 22n 22n in this Harvard. I would do the same with a 10”.

[@PsionicAudio]

It is great playing! Cuz it’s not me! ;)

[@Deuce_Luminox.]

I have one of these amps. They are very versatile.

[@domonicshain2834]

I’m loving your channel! Can you tell me your opinion of bugera amps? I have a 333XL 2x12 Combo and I’m having issues. I want to know if it’s worth sinking money into repair or should I cut and run? Thanks in advance

[@aeynghus]

That Xotic Tele sounded schweet.

[@Satchmoeddie]

If a meteorite smashed into the shop 50:1 odds are that Shure SM57 mic will survive and still work. I have had a few Victoria amps come across the bench. Super nicely made Fender type amps but there are some smallish things I'd do differently, but very darn few amps can escape that category. I have a Komet on the bench. That is a very very sweet amp head, but for $5000+ it should be. It is getting some new caps including some film caps in the signal chain that are lots closer to the old Ken Fischer 418 orange drops. In fact a few are 418s, and my dwindling supply is reflected in the steep price. I got a Rivera era Super Champ in that had 418s in the signal chain. It sounded lots better side by side against my old Super Champ. I don't think Rivera actually designed any single one of those Fender amps. His job was in marketing at Fender, not design. He'd have surely have had to sign a non-compete agreement if he did do any real design work. At least the Rivera era _____IIs and Super Champs had wood (ply) cabs instead of MDF chipboard. I have 3 Champs Princeton Reverb and a Vibro Champ and those are all MDF particle board. One spent time in a beachfront guesthouse and the grille frame is severely warped & very badly degraded. Saturday is Home Depot day for some new 3/8 inch plywood to make a new grille with. Two free panel saw cuts, and the opening will be zipped out with a router in about 2 minutes. 5 more minutes with z-special paint, a staple gun, some Velcro and the old Fender badge & that one is done.

[@coldacre]

oof T Bone Walker feel to that: lovely 👌🏻

[@JoanRuthazer]

Will a stock Ivy League sound that good?

[@douglascrawford4791]

Amp is awesome and the gentleman playing guitar is chris

[@PsionicAudio]

No, he’s Joe. I promise.

[@MaxPower-js1sk]

A lovely amp.

[@defh2o]

As far as the components inside of the Victória, versus a mojotone 583 kit: are there any major differences that you see?

[@PsionicAudio]

I don’t know what’s in the Mojotone kit. But I doubt it’s NOS CC resistors and the polypropylene orange drops.

[@mattrorke7536]

Sounds great! Question: I noticed that you changed the resistor values coming off pin 7 of the 12ax7. It looks like you’ve got two 470k in series. One by the pin and the other on the board. Previously it had been one 1M resistor. Can you say why you made the change?

[@PsionicAudio]

The bootstrapped PI input has roughly twice the impedance as the resistor value. So the stock 1M creates @2M impedance there. So in conjunction with the input cap that creates a crazy low -3dB frequency. I decrease the cap and change that leak to 470K which puts the impedance @1M. So that’s step one. Step two is giving the cathode follower triode a good grid stopper to limit grid clamping artifacts. That’s the 470K going to the grid.

[@mattrorke7536]

Great. Thanks for the reply.

[@mattrorke7536]

One more: I can’t quite make out the colors on the resistor heading to the speaker jack. I see you changed that too. Is that 370k ? Thanks!

[@mattrorke7536]

I looked at it with a bigger screen. Looks like 100k….

[@ditchgator1]

Tasty😉👍👍 😎✌👍❤🖖

[@cognoscenticycles4351]

Thanks for posting this demo. The player was great, but the amp was totally one dimensional and lifeless. I was actually considering buying this amp and I am now thoroughly convinced that this is not the one! You saved me a lot of money and time. Thanks!

[@roberthurless4615]

Don't play that fourth chord. If you do you will anger the spirit of Robert Johnson, and he will come to you at midnight and put a curse on you so will only be able to play Justin Bieber "music" for an whole year. lol

[@Jhyewood]

This does not sound good... he's a good player. Amp sounds flat, brittle and uninspiring. Maybe its the mic....

[@kuttermclaughlin3631]

I disagree, I mean it’s boxy but it’s a Harvard clone so it’s gonna be…. But the highs sound thick, mids are nice and supportive, the lows aren’t overly boomy. There are especially nice things going on with the mids. Maybe woody and chewy Harvard tweed tone isn’t your cup of tea?