More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

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Lacking Talent
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More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by Lacking Talent » Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:55 pm

Hey wait a minute, am I reading the manual correctly? Control over the T. Dynamics level is not included as an optionally adjustable parameter when writing and saving preset patches, only as a global control available from the "Power Dynamics" knob in the "Master" section on the amps' front panel?

Rob22315
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Re: More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by Rob22315 » Fri Jan 15, 2016 6:05 pm

Yes, it's the pot next to the volume knob. Is that a problem? It doesn't seem to have a huge effect on the tone.
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Lacking Talent
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Re: More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by Lacking Talent » Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:32 pm

He there, Rob.

Here's why I think it would have been great if Peavey had made the amount of T.Dynamics variable, and writable, to every saved patch of the Transformer...

While the Transformer amps don't offer an onboard compressor effect (the way more modern -- i.e., digital -- "modeling" do, like, for example, the Vypyr), if you read what Hartley has written about T.Dynamics --

"Most people ASSUME that our TDynamics control is nothing more than “master volume”… WRONG! The TDynamics variably engages a clipping circuit in the output stage that effectively lowers the power amp’s headroom, thus emulating a lower powered amp. When the TDynamics control is turned down, it is not just acting as a volume control for the amp, it actually decreases the available voltage swing just as a smaller/less powerful amplifier would do while retaining all the vital TransTube overload characteristics that so effectively emulates a tube amp’s sound and feel."

-- and then review with the late, great Peavey electronics engineer Jack C. Sondermeyer's patent paperwork about T.Dynamics --

http://patents.justia.com/patent/5675656

http://patents.justia.com/patent/5524055

-- it's clear that many users have misunderstood what T. Dynamics is about, and think it doesn't have much, if any, effect on tone: T.Dynamics is not an attenuator-style function that, on its own, simply allows one to achieve "power tube"-style distortion at lowered volume (in fact, it hardly lowers output volume at all, that's what the amp's Master volume knob is for); what the T.Dynamics or Power Dynamics knob does do on Peavey amps I've sampled that sport this feature is -- by lowering, or raising, the amp's amount of available clean headroom -- act like a studio-grade compressor. Set the knob low? Attack is squishy, notes "bloom" and sustain as if the power supply of a small, "pushed" Tweed amp was sagging. Set the knob high? Initial pick attack is much more articulate, and sustain decreases while touch sensitivity increases; notes "bloom" less but are very full-bodied with lots of bottom and more sparkle, like on a high wattage tube amp with big iron.

Long story short? Since T.Dynamics works interactively with every amp model, being able to write and save its values to every individual patch (like a player can do with all the other effects the Transformer has to offer) would be like having a programmable compressor handy that has its settings fine-tuned to every amp model and speaker cab sim you've used to build your presets.

I just checked the Transformer patch editing software Peavey still makes available from its website in the hopes that maybe it provided the ability to adjust T.Dynamics as a part of patches (since the amp won't), but unfortunately, it doesn't.

Having T.Dynamics as only a "global" control seems to me like something of a wasted design opportunity back in the day, as making its level assignable on a patch by patch basis would have made an already very versatile amp that much more versatile. I wonder how technically difficult (or simply more expensive, from a manufacturing -- and therefore, consumer -- standpoint ) it might have been to implement the feature in a more extensive manner... Oh, well.

Rob22315
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Re: More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by Rob22315 » Sat Jan 16, 2016 5:29 am

There are more tweaks with the 2.0 chip (did you get yours yet?). Some of the new ones include:
- Bright
- Presence
- Resonance, and
- Preamp Lows

The revised tweak table is published here:

http://virtuososo.com/Tform/TformV2.html

Those might give you some desireable tweaks - but T. Dynamics isn't one of them :(

I found that those tweaks have significantly more impact on tone than T. Dynamics but T. Dynamics does lower headroom and give a small sense of sag.
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Lacking Talent
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Re: More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by Lacking Talent » Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:07 am

It is shame the V2.0 EPROM and the final version of the updated editor didn't add the ability to assign individualized T.Dynamics settings to each saved patched.

The other kind of a drag thing -- for me, anyway (YMMV, of course) -- is that it seems you can only run one choice of the amp's available modulation effects -- chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, rotary speaker -- at a time. Darn.

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Re: More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by Rob22315 » Mon Jan 18, 2016 11:26 am

You might be happier with a Vypyr if you're concerned about having a bunch of features. I've been very impressed by what Peavey's engineered into the Vypyr series. The VIP and Pro versions all have some killer tweaks and reportedly sound great but I've never actually tried either. You'll lose the ability to do things in stereo though plus the Vypyrs are all-digital AFAIK.

I can't say for sure because I'm not the designer but I'm under the impression that there are really just three effects in the Transformer - Phaser, Chorus, and Tremolo. The other effects seem to be a combination of those three -

Flanger = Phaser+Chorus
Rotary speaker = Tremolo+Phaser

The 2.0 chip adds another effect - Octaver - but it's a bit quirky.

Also, the Power Dynamics on the Transformer is an analog circuit effect. I suppose they could have designed it to be digitally controlled similar to what was done in the power section but they didn't.

One other note - the solder joints on the big memory chips are known to go bad. If you start getting random pops when using memory-enabled effects like delay and chorus, you might want to send the head in for Peavey to fix it. It looked like Peavey bent the pins on the big memory chips underneath the chip then soldered the bent pins onto some pads on the circuit board.
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Lacking Talent
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Re: More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by Lacking Talent » Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:40 pm

Extra thanks for that last paragraph, Rob -- did not know that!

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Re: More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by Rob22315 » Tue Jan 26, 2016 5:59 am

Lacking Talent wrote:Extra thanks for that last paragraph, Rob -- did not know that!
That was one of many great tips John (MidiMan) gave me along the way. One of my 3 T-112s had that popping noise. The connections between the memory chips and the circuit board go bad and the memory data connections become intermittent. I tried to re-flow the solder joints myself but was unsuccessful. The Peavey techs did it for a reasonable price and I haven't had a problem since.

I guess you'd call it a quasi-surface mount technique. Peavey took normal through-hole components, bent the pins under the bottom of the chip, then mounted the bent pins to pads on the surface of the board. Over time, the solder joints go bad, probably due to vibration and poor mechanical alignment, and have to be re-soldered. There's not much clearance between the chips and I apparently didn't have the expertise to do it.
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Re: More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by MidiMan » Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:08 pm

We didn't bend the pins on those parts. They are surface-mount and are made that way. It is a little weird and most chips these days that are trying to save space are BGA (ball grid array). I don't remember what they called that style of chip, but apparently our solder process for that chip could have been better. Luckily the parts stay good and a little reflow gets things in order.

The T-Dynamics under preset control? We decided against it because we thought it would be more of a per-gig kind of thing. Like "this is a 50-watt gig" and "this is a 10-watt gig" so you could get the desired amount of pushback at the volume level for the room. We definitely understood the argument, but we decided global was better (and it would have taken significant extra cost to put that function under continuous digital control). But to be clear, it wasn't a cost-cutting decision. We really thought it made more sense that way....and also knew that not everyone would agree!
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Rob22315
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Re: More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by Rob22315 » Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:46 pm

MidiMan wrote:We didn't bend the pins on those parts. They are surface-mount and are made that way.
Alright, I believe you guys bought them that way but I looked at those parts, those are through-hole components that SOMEBODY just bent the pins under the chip. IMO.

Reminds me of the one vehicle I owned that had a computer controlled carburetor. It was a terrible hybrid that was basically the worst of both worlds.
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Re: More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by MidiMan » Thu Jan 28, 2016 12:44 pm

Possibly. Never thought about it. But they did come that way. See page 13 here:
http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/198/61LV6416_L-258368.pdf
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Rob22315
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Re: More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by Rob22315 » Thu Jan 28, 2016 3:44 pm

MidiMan wrote:Possibly. Never thought about it. But they did come that way. See page 13 here:
http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/198/61LV6416_L-258368.pdf
I sit corrected, it looks like the industry term is "J-lead" so it's an actual thing (I believed you). From a NASA website:

"J" Lead Packages have termination leads that are formed into a J pattern, with the lead's tail folding up and under the package body (instead of flat and outwards like a "Gull-wing"). "J" leaded terminations are considered to be the second most reliable termination style of the leaded SMT devices.
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Lacking Talent
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Re: More Transformer 112/212 amp questions...

Post by Lacking Talent » Fri Jan 29, 2016 11:43 pm

MidiMan wrote:The T-Dynamics under preset control? We decided against it because we thought it would be more of a per-gig kind of thing. Like "this is a 50-watt gig" and "this is a 10-watt gig" so you could get the desired amount of pushback at the volume level for the room. We definitely understood the argument, but we decided global was better (and it would have taken significant extra cost to put that function under continuous digital control). But to be clear, it wasn't a cost-cutting decision. We really thought it made more sense that way....and also knew that not everyone would agree!
Interesting, John -- also good to know I'm not nuts -- thanks for the insight!

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