peavey windsor 120 watt head schematic?

[guitar_joe]

anyone got one?
thanks

[nhuwar]

Try here

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/....php?t=2027572

Nick

[Geek]

Wow, pretty generic pre circuit. The concertina PI in an amp of this class is unique though.

How does it sound?

Cheers!

[nhuwar]

Ya I know, but you can't find a tube half stack for that cheap form any other company.

I does have some room for improvement though. I don't know how it sounds in person but I have watch demo's of it on youtube and it does sound pretty good. The only issue I can see is it's hard to get clean tone out of it though. But some mods can fix that.

Nick

[Geek]

Originally posted by nhuwar
The only issue I can see is it's hard to get clean tone out of it though. But some mods can fix that.

I'd start by reengineering everything from the PI and after

Cheers!

[Sloan]

I've been wanting to experiment with this head. It would be a great bargain if you can get it to clean up, which I'm pretty sure it possible.

My goal is to lower the gain, possibly make it switchable, and then lower the output to 50w or less. Another option is to basically turn it into an JCM 800 since, from what I can tell, it's helluva close already.

Peavey Windsor schematic:
http://bestnetworx.com/uploader/file...0SCHEMATIC.pdf

Marshall JCM 800 (2203 100w) schematic:
http://bestnetworx.com/uploader/file...0SCHEMATIC.pdf


I'm a definite newbie when it comes to electronics, but I work with a retired electrical engineer and old hi-fi equipment all the time, so I'm learning a lot.

Here's a suggestion from the engineer dude to possibly lower the gain:



Also, suggestions from another friend to make the preamp like JCM800:

Remove R14 - replace with Jumper
Remove R5 - replace with 820 ohm
Snip C28
Remove C18 - replace with Jumper
Remove R56 - replace with Jumper
Snip R70
Snip C41
Remove R65 - replace with Jumper
Remove C6 - replace with Jumper
Remove R21 - replace with 100K
Snip R36

All these should mean the pre-amp is like a JCM800 - apart from the low gain input needs fixing also. Will look into this.

I don't actually own the amp yet, but figured if I could lower the gain and power, it would be practical for me and would warrant a purchase.

[Sloan]

Also, here are my GO-TO clips for anyone asking what the Windsor sounds like:

Windsor:
http://www.spectresound.ca/stuff/Windsortestdrive.mp3

Windsor + 5150:
http://www.spectresound.ca/stuff/windsor5150.mp3



Here's a whole demo with real drums, bass etc...:
http://d5.mikseri.net/m/35d/90007724...%20Control.mp3
http://d2.mikseri.net/m/96c/30012078...al%20State.mp3
http://d1.mikseri.net/m/432/20007724...0Isolation.mp3
http://d2.mikseri.net/m/63b/30007724...our%20Name.mp3

GUITARS
- EMG81, I don't remember anything else
- TS808 clone
- Peavey Windsor (cheap as hell!)
- Marshall 1960 cab
- Shure SM57 & Sennheiser E606
- D&R Mic Amp

BASS
- Peavey Windsor
- Mesa Vintage PowerHouse 1000 bass cab

I didn't record these, but trust the people that did and they really like the Windsor for heavy stuff like this. Unfortunately, you can't really tell how the Windsor responds to lower gain styles etc....

[Sloan]

Well, I got a Windsor in the mail yesterday, I really dig it so far.

Here's a few soundclips I threw together with some speaker simulation from Peavey's Revalver MKIII. I just put them in a short youtube video with a picture of the Windsor. Seems people are more inclined to check out a youtube video rather than higher-quality mp3 clips. haha.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnhcPotvt0A



Here's a post from another forum, I'm new to electronics so I'm trying to help explain what I'm doing to other people new to electronics as well.



I have removed C27, and C28. These are cathode resister bypass capacitors (I also removed C5 earlier), they basically let more signal pass by the cathode resistor and into the next gain stage, therefore contributing to higher gain. I definitely noticed a difference this time, the gain was lowered a bit, but it still doesn't really "clean up", still kinda gritty. Also, note that all this so far, is with the master WAY WAY down, so these changes may actually be working at practice/gig volumes. haha.



Changed R4 (1K) to a 10K.
This is the cathode resistor on the second gain stage (second half of the first 12ax7).

I think this made an "improvement" in the cleans so far, the preamp gain knob stays clean until about 12 o'clock now and the clean seems to be more natural without the 'grit' that was there previously.

[Sloan]

After experimenting for a while, it seems the best way to add a "clean channel" is to just set it up similar to a JCM-800, and skip the first gain stage and change the cathode resister value for the second gain stage. I've got this all setup through a DPDT switch and just put it all on a RadioShack PC board earlier.



All I need now is a 3pdt switch and another pot so I can have a master volume for the clean channel...

[dskowron]

Hi All,

I'm new here. Found this thread after doing a Google search for the Peavey Windsor. I just ordered one from GC. I thought it was a fantastic value for what you get. I ordered the half-stack. Having built a tube amp and refurbed several I figured this would be a great pro9ject amp. Like many, I want to mod it for better cleans while maintaining the ability to get dirty when necessary. I was wondering if anyone had followed through with any of the mods that can accomplish this.

I think it can probably sound very good as is, with the right tweaking of the various controls. It would be great though, to have that 100 watts of clean if one so desired. So, I've resurrected this thread in hopes of finding out if anyone has done it.

Cheers!