Bugfan
48 posts
Jul 31, 2016
6:05 AM
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My apologies for a long post!
So I had a vht special 6. Great little harp amp ( widely acknowledged by many). It was even better once a few easy mods were done.I thought it would be great if it just had a bit more oomph and I prefer separate bass,mid,treble rather than the simple tone control. I took the plunge on the special 44 head . Not much on the net on these except some reports of someone buying 3 of them (at the same time)and having problems with all of them.
I got the schematic from vht and have been looking at it for mods. What surprises me is how that the basic architecture is very much the same as the special 6 and also of course early fenders. I like the sound already from it - particularly the variable watts. ..this is not so much a variable output but more of a breakup control . The texture control actually is a 3 position variable negative feedback control and the depth switch a stepped high cut. All the sort of things we like to have in a harp amp but are usually fixed values rather than being able to vary them. This i think makes the 44 less of a one trick pony.
Just like the special 6 though it could be even better. I am starting the exact same mods as the special 6. They are: Get rid of a bright cap across the vol control, change input resistor to 5 meg,change the tone stack values for more bass and less treble . Then additionally I will change the 2 main coupling caps to "harp values" 0.1 uf.
Because the variable watts actually change the power valves voltage and bias I can run 5881 valves instead of 6l6 for a more "brown" sound. On top of that it has the bias jacks and adjustment so i can still play with that later. I am staying with my plan to use this head in a combo with a 15" alnico to essentially make a sort of 1952 fender tv front pro amp...that has the ability to dial in clean or dirty at different volumes.
Last Edited by Bugfan on Jul 31, 2016 3:20 PM
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ValleyDuke
80 posts
Jul 31, 2016
11:08 AM
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I have a speaker cab I want to use with a VHT Soecial 6. The speaker is 16ohms. If I plug the speaker into the 8ohm connection, will the Special 6 be running at half the watts? Is this a good way to get an overdriven sound?
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Barley Nectar
1246 posts
Jul 31, 2016
1:27 PM
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What you will get is an impedance miss match. It will decrease the power output and give you a little less high end. This may also stress the output transformer due to increased reflected impedance. Some amps can run like this without damage, some will go up in smoke. From what i remember of the SP 6 that i checked out, it was well built so you may be alright but I'm not making any promises.
Also, you should start your own thread on this.
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Bugfan
49 posts
Jul 31, 2016
3:31 PM
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+1 in agreement with BN . the sp6 has 3 ext speaker outlets 4,8,16 ohm. These are set up so the amp "sees" the correct impedance . Remember the internal speaker is 16 ohm and is still running when you plug any speaker into these jacks. 16 ohm should go into the 16 ohm outlet. I am sure it will work and the amp won't be damaged but there will be nothing to be gained sound quality or volume wise ...and the transformers now operating outside their intended design. The only way to get it overdriven more is to have a hotter mic really - but there is a limit to that also....or you could try the SP44 like I am - its sort of why I upgraded as well.
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ValleyDuke
81 posts
Jul 31, 2016
7:42 PM
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Thanks @Barley and @Bugfan - these amps are so versatile, I thought it might be another tonal option, but probably not worth it. Have fun with the mods!
Another similar amp I like is the Vox AC4TV - 3 gain levels with a speaker out. It's like the British version.
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