Ceriatone Overtone Special - Finishing It Up

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[@dangitdan9938]

“Oooooooh, I’m touching the glass…” 🤣🤣🤣👍🏼

[@roncarter2188]

I work a unrewarding job during the day for insurance and to buy more amps......my wife will not read this I hope.. But working on amps is a great hobby for me, very therapeutic and Lyle I appreciate your work and insight, I've learned a lot watching your videos thank you for putting it out there for everyone to enjoy.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Feeling the burnout thing. There are only so many consecutive days you can work 15 hours while getting told that you're not working hard enough.

[@ernestschultz5065]

I appreciate all you do for us.

[@matthewf1979]

I just finished up an amp build. Grafting an AB763 and a 2204 is not only possible, it sounds killer. I even kept the Fender reverb circuit and it’s dead quiet. Of course I ran the mixing resistors of both channels into the reverb, unlike the 68 Custom’s. It all fit into a DSL2K 201 chassis too. It was a lot of work plugging the factory holes and drilling all the holes for the 9 tubes, transformers, jacks, can caps, etc but it looks bone stock from the front! I used a lot of your tips, tricks and wisdom. So, thanks for what you do here. I greatly appreciate it.

[@brentstewart59]

so very happy I stumbled on this channel Lyle. Another great video with tons of great information. Thank you for sharing

[@TeleBlaster]

What a great sounding amp. Thanks for the honest comments. We all come here because we trust in your experience and knowledge. Keep the vids coming Lyle.

[@gamjammallota78]

Really enjoyed seeing that one. Anyone in their right mind has got to love that amp. Or at least appreciate what it emulates, and it seems to do it fairly well. The overdrive nails that right on the cusp break-up while maintaining great note/string separation and sustain to boot. Plus, it nicely compliments the clean side. I use a Caline Pure Sky as my poor-man's version of a Klon/Timmy OD for my Crush 100 clean channel. It also gives me a middle channel that way. I highly recommend that pedal to anyone looking for a clean OD pedal on the cheap.

[@jspingau]

I do own the same setup as two separate units. A few tips that I found just in case. 1. Trying to setup the clator at unity gain is good in order to keep it transparent. You can as well set drive at 2pm, in at 3pm and out at 9am and crank the amp’s master, this will create a very nice compression that responds to finger playing in a very dynamic way. (But won’t achieve unity) 2. I found out that the drive channel is best sounding when setting drive to 6 and ratio somewhere between 4 and 8 in order to retain some cleans to taste and then after adjust your base drive with the trim pot. Then you can fine tune the drive with the drive knob between 4 and 8, for whatever reason I feel it sounds better to crank drive to 6 and trim down as opposed to set drive to 3 and trim up. I hear less harmonics when doing the latter. Yes this means you’ll loose the possibility of wide drive ranges but it sounds better overall.

[@jamesjones8480]

I've been looking at these amps, gonna go ahead and order one

[@DeadKoby]

Neat to see inside. I have assembled plenty of tube amp kits from various vendors, and have thought about doing a Ceriatone kit. It appears that they are using many premium parts.

[@artysanmobile]

This is a great sounding amp.

[@Curtislow2]

I enjoy looking up the Amps you feature on Reverb.

[@joedinsmoor2127]

Solid video Lyle! I’ve been considering a ceriatone 2203 for a while, and seeing most of what Nik does inside his amps makes me think I’ll be making a good purchase.

[@lordgraga]

HeadFirst had a rundown of a Marshall style Ceriatone amp the other day, and the build quality of that one seemed very good also.

[@sgt.grinch3299]

I could never do what you do. I have severe hearing loss from military service. That’s why I enjoy your videos so much. Learning from a professional is a blessing.

[@PsionicAudio]

Thank you for your service. I SAID THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!

[@kmichaelp4508]

And I thank you! USAF myself and on the flight line, with no hearing protection in the early seventies, really devastates .

[@sgt.grinch3299]

@@PsionicAudio thank you Sir.

[@sgt.grinch3299]

@@kmichaelp4508 thank you for your service. CH 53E with three engines are just loud. Cranials never helped.

[@kmichaelp4508]

@@sgt.grinch3299 , launching B52’s was incredible 😟

[@theshyguitarist]

I love it. A Ceriatone rolls into the shop. And it’s not the amp. It’s a tube.

[@RockDrillSuite]

Man that amp sounds and looks amazing. Thanks for the tour!

[@goodun2974]

The snarling tone of that amp reminds me a bit of Rod Stewart and the Faces doing "you know I'm losing you", or Bowie with Mick Ronson.

[@russellesimonetta3835]

Cool amp. They come as kits so upgrades are easy and source american iron.

[@johnwilliamson467]

Film projector light bulb where the do not touch skin oil came from . FR-4 board with turrets is a fine design very nice thickness on the board also . The silicon on the electo caps is a bit over the top for their size . Makes changing them a bit more than it needs to be. Less warranty repair I would guess. Low noise fets are few that can take a large signal . The power supply for them need a lot more attention than they usually get for a low noise source.

[@aristocaster]

They have always looked really well made, wires are run quite beautifully, really bang for the buck if that is the sound you want. Never tried one though, but they have sounded good.

[@goodun2974]

Ennui (points for using the word!👍) is a normal occurrence for those with functioning minds and hearts. Everyone should take a periodic break from using their brain and just do something that's kind of repetitive and physical. I like carpentry projects for clearing my head, it's a form of therapy. Every now and then I get in a funk and I don't feel like like thinking about complex stuff for a few days or a week. This might have something to do with having a mother who basically weaponized enthusiasm; my response to that has been to weaponize sarcasm instead!

[@weschilton]

I agree, I work at a computer 10-12 hours a day and I find cooking and working on my motorcycle to be really great ways for my brain to recuperate from the drudgery of virtual work.

[@eriksantana7249]

That one lick you play always reminds me of the Golden Girls theme song or the sax intro to Overkill. Lol. Love your videos man! Cool to see you working on a dumble style amp.

[@PsionicAudio]

Thank you for being a friend of the channel ;)

[@eriksantana7249]

@@PsionicAudio ha! Well played 🤣

[@paulj0557tonehead]

No it's not just you. Actually I bought a black Guild Bluesbird electric guitar from 2016 at Music-Go-Round in brand new condition. In fact it still had all of the clear vinyl on the pickups, pickguard and control plates on the back. I just couldn't figure why it was being sold for $450. So I plugged it in and quickly discovered it had an inferior 3-way toggle switch. It worked intermittently enough to know the Seymour Duncan pickups were good. Then I bought the guitar. It is an extremely fine, great sounding/ playing, well built guitar! Except for that lame toggle switch. Every other bit of hardware and electronic controls are excellent. So I was the winner in this deal, paying less than half ( 2/3's off list!). I took it home and immediately threw a Switchcraft 3-way toggle switch in. Those garbage $9 3-way PU switches with the leaf springs are garbage people. It's a bad design first off, and secondly it's crappy metal. In the case of the Guild the flat spring metal literally split at the seam along the sandwiched joint. I've since played many guitars, even other $1,000+ guitars with that same switch. I feel it's inferiority right away. They'll even bind in rapid toggling. Maybe they thought since mostly jazz players buy Bluesbirds they are more gentle or something.

[@kmichaelp4508]

And here’s another that’s been considering one of those. But I still need to review the other options they offer in this vain. ??? Good video ole buddy.

[@jutukka]

Send output buffer is a very nice thing to have, but if the send is not buffered, it doesn't cause much problems if you understand the situation and use very short, low capacitance cable (and high impedance effect input) or a external buffer connected to amp's send using a short cable.

[@ThadBrown]

This is sacrilege, of course, but I've never been a huge Dumble fan. But that amp sounds pretty sweet. Agreed that it has a lovely clean in any case, so I could stick overdrives in front of it. Nice demo and nice review. Thanks again, sir!

[@tedmich]

check his videos with Henry Kaiser! Theyre a hoot!

[@goodun2974]

@@tedmich , I've watched one of Dumble's videos with Henry Kaiser. If anyone thinks Dumble is controversial, Henry Kaiser is even more so. He gets a ton of hate online, but if Henry is paired with other musicians who have more discipline and are better players, he sometimes contributes interesting things. I quite like the two records he he did as part of French Frith Kaiser Thompson (I am a big Richard Thompson fan), as well as the "World Out of Time" series of records that Henry and David Lindley recorded in Madagascar with local musicians. It seems as if there is something to or about Henry Kaiser that Lindley and Thompson "get" but the majority of the guitar-music world does not.

[@tedmich]

@@goodun2974 Fred Frith is awesome, I caught him many years ago in college. Henry is a goof, his real job is far more interesting than his playing IMHO. He's a Antarctic Diver out of McMurdo!

[@el0blaino]

The Killing Jar is a great track!

[@godbyone]

Real dumbles are awesome. Got to play. They get a lot flack gif cost. But what’s weird. Any string orchestra any city orchestra. $50,000 for a violin bow not the instrument just the bow the instruments are like 1 million and even the third chair has instruments there a couple hundred thousand it’s only an Guitar an electric music take flip out about price but a Dumbo as a work of art. The guy took a year to build one you know what you’re talking about a 3 month 6 month year of his life to make an amp

[@jutukka]

That screw through the noval tube socket is a goid feature but it could (or very often should) be grounded, to achieve shielding effect.

[@PsionicAudio]

Wouldn’t matter in this application.

[@Mpcoluv]

IIRC folks use the Dumbulator as a way to increase gain.

[@alexwoolridge94aw]

You could always be a body shop, service tech or a roofer. I've got experience in all three and I'd prefer not doin any of them as well as being an amp tech. All shitty jobs but someone has to do them right? I've built 4 amps and was able to gig a bunch on two of them and those two are still fine. Amp techs are somewhere between crazy and genius. Leaning more towards genius. Good work as always mane

[@brucehayes7251]

I've done,and still am doing the shitty jobs,fitter,grave digger and long time donkey/ floorsander,got to know your place in the world. Every job becomes a chore sooner or later,that's why I play guitar

[@syrup_drinker]

That waitlist for a JM50 about to stretch out another month.

[@goodun2974]

My losing argument against soldering tube sockets directly to a PCB isn't just because it tends to cause cracked, broken-down solder joints, but also includes the fact that the tube socket contacts no longer "float" inside the socket housing and therefore don't self-align with the tube pins as the tube is inserted into the socket. Floating contacts would actually tend to remain more tightly bonded mechanically to the tube pins as the tube vibrates from playing the amp or when subject to transport shock; if the pins can float and move with the tube, instead of the tube and tube pins moving in opposition to the contacts, connection reliability is improved over the longterm.

[@weschilton]

Ah thats a very good point!

[@goodun2974]

@@weschilton , Unfortunately, as I said in my earlier post, my "very good point" as you put it is a losing argument because pretty much any modern guitar amps that are made with printed circuit boards do indeed solder the sockets directly to the boards, sigh....

[@cactus-mcjacktus]

would you recommend, after buying a Ceriatone amp, taking it to a tech and giving it a once over?

[@nix.2811]

Fyi the transformer just went out on this exact amp so…. You were right about the quality.

[@PsionicAudio]

Ouch. Dude, I’m sorry.

[@timothybaumann7191]

What cab are you using! Thanks for great content as always!

[@PsionicAudio]

Thanks. My shop cab. Open backed 212 with ET65 and Veteran 30.

[@billybudd45]

I have a Ceriatone SSS and it quit working after about 5 hours of use. It's been collecting dust for two years. I would love to get it repaired. I remember it was killing preamp tube , don't remember which one . I will send you email

[@GCKelloch]

Is it worth paying extra for a TAD 7025? Is it just a rebranded EHx 7025EH?

[@michaelbennett1883]

I went into my local music store a while back and bought a 12ax7. The guy behind the counter was lecturing me on not touching the tubes . I laughed to myself . I wonder what that guy would think if he watched on of shango066's tv resurrection videos. Don't touch the tubes but it's ok if you leave them in the desert for 30 years they will work just fine lol.

[@GCKelloch]

The Ratio is just to balance the Clean and OD level. You'd want the Ratio down lower for a better balance and to drive the next gain stage with the OD Level for better sustain and harmonics.

[@eriksantana7249]

I’ve actually tried and A/B’d a ceriatone overtone against my modded vht d50 with Mercury transformers and there’s no doubt that some of the hardware components in the vht were just better quality than the VHT…. Especially the jacks. Insanely Cheap plastic things in the VHT. The VHT sounded better though…. Like alot better. I was honestly surprised considering the price differences. I mean, caps and transformers were upgraded in mine.

[@rustymohican8280]

It's not just you! Is this a good amp for the price? Is my 69 Drip-Edge Fender Bassman a better place to start?

[@buzzcrumhunger7114]

Those interested in Ceriatone amps for purchase should be aware that the waitlist is getting pretty long. I've heard over a year, but I haven't contacted them myself. I'm wondering if they can ship out kits that require no assembly on their part (or Nik's) in a reasonable amount of time.

[@godbyone]

Two rock, bludo , red plate all great. Beautiful. Workmanship

[@aquilarossa5191]

Does this Dumble style thing have a clear circuit lineage from something like a Deluxe, Plexi, or AC30, or is it a mix of different common circuits, or something else entirely and quite unique? To my ear it is a hot rodded Fender sound, but with the harmonic content an AC30 is famous for.

[@gavinw5469]

It is a hot rodded fender blackface amp. Plenty of info out there on these amps surprisingly despite their rarity. Lots of harmonics. Listen to Robben Ford's song called talk to your daughter. He used his dumble for that song and it might be one of the best guitar tones ever recorded.

[@TheAxe4Ever]

I think the reason people might get upset if you point out something on a Ceriatone that you think could be done better is because Nik is just a really nice guy who is very helpful and always quick to answer any questions you have on his amps. I bought one of his Chupacabra 100’s and so far so good. It seems built well and makes the sounds I was looking for. I’m very happy with it. I don’t have a crystal ball, so I will see how it goes years in the future. But I don’t get why some people get so upset with you pointing out a difference of opinion on how something should be done. I’ve never heard you slag on anyone unnecessarily or with malice on your videos. You just give your opinions based on your experiences. People need to relax.

[@0megalul309]

Or it could just be American pride. Ceriatones are more repairable than Friedman's at ¼ the cost but I can't see him being as critical to any boutique American stuff apart from mesa.

[@MarioV689]

Hello, i just recently found your channel so im catching up. Not sure if you see posts on these old ones. I just had 1 question regarding that screw in the pre-amp tube socket. I could not see but is there a stand off underneath it to keep a user (or overly zealous tech) from over-tightening and squashing the leads? Thanks and keep up the great content!

[@PsionicAudio]

I don’t remember now, sorry. But thanks!

[@MarioV689]

@@PsionicAudio that's OK. I forgot what I had for dinner yesterday. 😁

[@JacobYoces]

Can I send an amp for you to fix? It's been at my local shop for a year now and they still haven't been able to fix it. 🙃

[@jaymills1720]

Would you recommend this for someone chasing that John Mayer tone or is there a similarly priced alternative that’s better

[@PsionicAudio]

Honestly? Any good Fender, a handful of basic pedals, and tons and tons of practice.

[@russellhltn1396]

I hear what you're saying about physical labor. After a few hours of that, you realize your office job isn't so bad after all.

[@guitarguru4492]

Do you think this amp is worth the price?

[@Sol7Studios]

What is the best Dumble Clone you've heard? Or should I say most like an original Dumble(I know pick whichever Dumble)

[@PsionicAudio]

Welagen.

[@Sol7Studios]

@@PsionicAudio which model and configuration(50 or 100watt, 6L6 or EL34)

[@Sol7Studios]

@@PsionicAudio Thanks for your reply

[@PsionicAudio]

I think it was one of his 50w ODSs.

[@AbcDino843]

If someone was to buy one of these and send it to you right away for improvement, what would you do it? I am speaking about the improvement to the sound of the amp primarily.

[@0megalul309]

Transformers

[@gavinw5469]

Well for starters it's gonna take a year to get it right away.

[@rashidrani2333]

CERIATONE means Happy Tone...

[@aaronhiggs]

In your opinion is the VHT D50 a good dumble clone, or should I continue to save for a Ceritone?

[@danielcgomez]

if you can live with the effort of saving to get a Ceriatone ...then go for it. I have had one of these amps for nearly 4 years, and I have not had any issues with it. And I built it, so that should say a lot, ha!

[@aaronhiggs]

@@danielcgomez I do have the means. It shouldn’t be but 6 months of saving. Sounds like that is the plan. Thanks!

[@steveburchfield5576]

I have a D-50 and like it quite a lot. So did about 50 pages on the Gear Page. You get what you pay for is often the case with amps,too.

[@gavinw5469]

@@aaronhiggs then it's gonna take a year to get one. Many people have said it was worth the wait.

[@Soloist1983]

"You can tell by the clean channel sustain how good the amp is"; ok, well, all the Mesa's I've ever tried just moved to the absolute bottom of the "good" list. Man, I still just don't get Mesa's at all, hardest amps in the world to play on, they just feel terrible under the fingers, even when they sound "ok".

[@williambock1821]

Don’t touch your weed lights.

[@richclayton5785]

For those who subscribe to blind product loyalty to the point they can’t handle honest critical analysis; find another amp repair channel with gushing reviews that suit your loyalties. There’s no shortage of them here.