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Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 4:43 pm
by Bg
how do the prices compare to mercury magnetics?

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 4:48 pm
by jeremyb
OUCH!

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:01 pm
by RectifiedAmps
Bg wrote:how do the prices compare to mercury magnetics?
Their website gives USD$250 for a DR504 OT, which is not THAT far off TSL's prices for a new custom build, especially when you factor in overseas shipping costs for a tranny of this size.

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:22 pm
by jeremyb
Plenty of trannies going cheap on queen st in auckland...

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:25 pm
by Bg
jeremyb wrote:Plenty of trannies going cheap on queen st in auckland...
wrong road mate, you mean K Road... I know most of them ;)

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:23 am
by RectifiedAmps
Wow, what a difference - Brian Smith says he still builds and rewinds transformers. Ballparked $110 for a rewind! Still going to check around to see who else does it, just for the record, but I doubt that price will be easy to beat.

jeremyb wrote:Plenty of trannies going cheap on queen st in auckland...
Reminds me of the housing market in Wellington - the nice image lures you into thinking you're getting somewhere sweet to lay your head, but in reality you just get screwed in the end.

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 11:22 am
by bender
RectifiedAmps wrote:Wow, what a difference - Brian Smith says he still builds and rewinds transformers. Ballparked $110 for a rewind! Still going to check around to see who else does it, just for the record, but I doubt that price will be easy to beat.
I think that's the guy Clarry sent mine to. Similar price. Is he based in Foxton?

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 1:44 pm
by Optical
Sadly it costs less than half that to simply import one from Hammond etc

There used to be a Russian guy in Te Atatu that would do rewinds from his garage really cheap. Was a good dude. He was fairly old 10 years ago when i was last in contact with him so unlikely to still be in business.

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:32 pm
by RectifiedAmps
Optical wrote:Sadly it costs less than half that to simply import one from Hammond etc
Hammond was my first thought, but general opinion seems to be that the OT lends a lot to the Hiwatt 'sound', so I thought a similar replacement would be better. If it was a JCM800 or a new-production Hiwatt I'd just use a Hammond but this beast deserves something special.

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 3:31 pm
by Optical
I have only used Hammond power transformers so not personally familiar with the sound of their OPTs
http://www.hammondmfg.com/guitarLineOT.htm
There are Marshall specific OTs, are you saying these still have a particular sound? Curious...

Edit - sorry, midread. You're looking for a HiWatt sound, hmm you'll have to look at Mojo, Mercury or TAD sources I guess?

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 4:31 pm
by willow13
Optical wrote: There used to be a Russian guy in Te Atatu that would do rewinds from his garage really cheap
was going to say that might be Aquila but probably to old to be him :moresarc: :moresarc: :moresarc:

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 4:35 pm
by RectifiedAmps
I think it all comes down to primary impedance plus things like primary and leakage inductances affect the bandwidth and frequency response of the OT:
http://www.aikenamps.com/index.php/outp ... -explained
Partridge transformers apparently had super wide bandwidths and flat-as freq response - some say even beyond usual hifi standards - whereas Hammonds have medium-fi width more typical of most guitar amps' sound. Again, this is me broadly interpreting other's opinions, so take it at whatever value you like. I don't by any means think Hammond OTs aren't good, just that they might run the risk of dulling down the immense cleans that Hiwatt's are capable of.

As for Partridge clones, TAD and Mercury both make them for around NZD$250 plus shipping but I haven't found any impedance specs at all to accompany the 2xEL34/50W versions so it's hard to assess how true they are to the originals. I still think rewinding is the best way to match the original, provided attention is paid to wire gauge & turns ratios.

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:10 pm
by Optical
willow13 wrote:
Optical wrote: There used to be a Russian guy in Te Atatu that would do rewinds from his garage really cheap
was going to say that might be Aquila but probably to old to be him :moresarc: :moresarc: :moresarc:
Guy's name was Ivan, worked out of his garage on Yeovil road

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:12 pm
by Optical
RectifiedAmps wrote:I think it all comes down to primary impedance plus things like primary and leakage inductances affect the bandwidth and frequency response of the OT:
http://www.aikenamps.com/index.php/outp ... -explained
Partridge transformers apparently had super wide bandwidths and flat-as freq response - some say even beyond usual hifi standards - whereas Hammonds have medium-fi width more typical of most guitar amps' sound. Again, this is me broadly interpreting other's opinions, so take it at whatever value you like. I don't by any means think Hammond OTs aren't good, just that they might run the risk of dulling down the immense cleans that Hiwatt's are capable of.

As for Partridge clones, TAD and Mercury both make them for around NZD$250 plus shipping but I haven't found any impedance specs at all to accompany the 2xEL34/50W versions so it's hard to assess how true they are to the originals. I still think rewinding is the best way to match the original, provided attention is paid to wire gauge & turns ratios.
It's not just impedance unfortunately. Audio transformers have a range of cores and the windings are arranged in different orders to create their response. See the image on the right for an example

Image

Re: Transformer winding in NZ

Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 5:14 pm
by goldtop0
Brian Smith is the man, he's done a few for me c/o Clarry over the years.