Amp Overhaul! Potential Amp Project! Laney LC-15R

[whee]

Hello!

I've got a Laney LC15R at home, have already done some mods to it previously when the tranny blew - my fault for using a 5A fuse when it said 0.5A or something.

In any event, I've already replaced the tubes with recommendations from DougTubes, changed the tranny, and I believe the caps have been replaced as well.

I've been reading up, and it appears that this is one amp that is quite popular for modders to work with, so I'm open to suggestions. Here are the changes / mods I've seen:

1) Stand-by switch
Q: Is this necessary? Would I derive any tonal benefits? My laney seems to warm up fairly quickly, as I tend to turn the amp on first before playing anyway.


2) Some Penthod / Triode Thing toggle switch
Q: what's this?

3) Speaker upgrade
I like the way the amp sounds actually, pretty sweet overdrive when the tubes are pushed. However, the amp does sound pretty boxy and so I believe an upgrade here is in order. An option is to buy a 10 inch speaker - I see I can get either an Eminence Ramrod for $149, or a Celestion Greenback for $199... However, I'm concerned about the boxyness so, this may not solve the problem - still 10 inch!

The alternative is to get an extension cab with a 12 inch speaker. I see vox has a nice v112 extension cabinet which ain't too pricey, anyone with thoughts about this? And this brings me to my next point...

4) Converting the LC-15R into a head.
I'm open to this option, but what does it involve? Would be expensive to house the guts of the amp in an amp head (I suppose I could email Nik from Ceriatone to see if he's got a suitable chassis)?

I like the way it sounds when its pushed, so I was thinking of maxing the gain / vol on this amp for a natural amp distortion / overdrive, thus using an amp selector to toggle between this and my JCM2000 for dirty/clean. However, my concern is whether doing this would speed up the tube decay and that of my transformer, if so, how much faster?

My other concern is whether a head-version of the LC-15R would be able to power a regular 2x12 Cab (This option may be on the cards, esp if I take this baby out for gigs).

5) Any other mods?

I'm not interested in getting another amp - I already have one. But as this is my first tube-amp and I played a couple of memorable (if not bizarre) gigs with this amp, I'd like to keep it. Not to mention the fact that it sounds pretty good to me as it is!

Cheers

 

[Godspeed64]

1) Stand-by switch is just what it is, a stand-by. When you want to heat up the tubes and in between breaks, it saves the trouble of switching on/off.

2) Pentode is 5 diodes, triode is 3 diodes. Typically it acts as a half power switch, taking your amp down from 15W to perhaps 7W. More comfortable to achieve break-up tones at bedroom levels. Though there is a difference in tone.

3) The boxiness can sounds from the construction of the cabinet; open/closed back? The speakers will play a role too, but like you said, I still prefer 12" speakers, and better yet 2x12". Research on the speakers to find the optimum ones for your amplifier; eg. Alnico Blues typically for Vox, Heritage 30 typically for mid-rangey Marshalls, etc.

4) Head option of the amp is to try out with different cabinets, but primarily for CONVENIENCE in the forms of transportation.

5) None that I know of. But if you're satisfied with the amp, why bother changing it?

 

[dodgethis]

1. First time I heard anyone say a stand-by switch would affect an amp tonally. This has to do with the operating life of the tubes than tone.

The switch is meant to help the power tubes come up to operating temperatures properly. The main power switch warms up the power tubes slightly by running a smaller than normal voltage through them. Taking the amp off stand-by introduces normal operating voltages to the tubes. This is meant to prolong the life of the power tubes. Thinking of it like starting a car engine on a cold day. Cranking it up without warming it would damage the engine, sames as the power tubes.

Yes, there are people who think that this is bullshit but there is a reason why majority of amps with a power tube section have such a switch in the first place and their accompanying literature emphaszie on following the proper power-up procedure without fail. All. The. Time.

4. You can always cut down the combo to a size without the speaker.

Running the gain and master volume at max is plain torture on your tubes mainly. It's like running a car engine full bore for long periods of time. You are going to wear out the tubes very fast How long they would last? No one can give a definite time before failure. Just be prepared to change them very often.

Why would 15 watts be not enough to run a 2x12 cab? I have seen people running 5 watt amps on 4 x12 cabs without any issues.

 

[J.custom]

Hi sorry to bring up an old thread but I was wondering whether you managed to install those mods on your amp and how much they cost? Thinking of getting the same amp as well.