Conference napalm::guitar

    What is a "M.A.R.S. MIDI relay system"?  Is that like a MIDI patchbay
    or what?
    
    Greg

    I would guess so.  There isn't any info on it except for what's on the
    price list.  Their # is in 1421.* 
    
    Mike

    Has anyone used any of their stuff? Good? Bad? Smooth saturation?
    Chainsaw buzz distortion?
    
    I've seen ads in music rags on their stuff, but never "listened"
    to any of it.
    
    Can anyone offer any comments?
    
    
    		Thanks in advance,
    				  Fred
    
    

    UNLESS THINGS HAVE CHANGED, THE 'MOSVALVE' UNITS DO NOT USE TUBES,
    BUT HAVE THE CIRCUIT 'SOUND' LIKE TUBES...UNLIKE THE 'MOSCODE'
    HI FI AMPS OF OLD.  IF YA WANT A SCHEMATIC OF A TRUE TUBE/MOSFET
    UNIT, EMAIL ME.
    

    
    All right ......... I love being the first person with a new
    toy..........
    
    Friday I went an purchased a MosValve Power amp to use with my ADA MP1 
    and DSP128. It's fantastic ! First let me give you the Techie info on
    it.
    
    Power: 160 watts RMS at 4 ohms, or 80 watts/channel with both channels 
           driven.One nice feature is that it will automatically bridge the 2 
     	   channels if you only have 1 input.  Each channel has 2 speaker
    	   outs,  a line out, and a line in.
    
    Controls: 2 Volume and 2 Presence controls on the front pannel
    
    Cooling system: Built in Constant-turbulence fan
    
    Size: 2 space unit
    
    Weight: 13 lbs
    
    Pice: $450
    
    	I love this unit. I've been looking for a while for a powerful but warm 
    power amp for my rack. I've checked out the ADA, SP1000, Peavey ....and
    though all are good units (some better than others) I liked this one the 
    best.
    
    	According to the manufacturer, the MosValve produces even order
    harmonics. It achieves this by using the output MOSFETS in a tube like 
    manner. They claim their design is unique to the industry in that the 
    Mosfets are not part of the standard close feedback loop as in standard 
    ss amps. The output stage in the MosValve is an open loop design (no
    neg. or pos. feedback) which is suppose to interact directly with your 
    speakers much like output tubes and transformers do.
    
    " MosValves power Mosfets are allowed to create an output signal rich
    in even-order harmonics (like tubes) but unlike most tube designs there
    is no power robbing and distortion producing output transformer. This
    tends to make the amp subjectively much louder and open sounding. Even
    when the MosValve clips, no harsh square waves are produced."  
    
    
    	I'm no technical wizzard so I don't know what half that stuff
    means. I can tell you that the unit itself is amazingly quiet. With no
    inputs connected and the volumes turned up to 10 and the presence turned
    up to 10 there was almost no noise comming from the speakers. I had to
    stick my ear into the speakers cone to hear the hiss. The sound from it is
    incredible. In a side by side test with my all tube Marshall I prefered
    the MosValve for punch, and clarity. And to be honest I could find no real 
    warmth or tone difference. I know I'll get bashed for this but I
    believe with the MosValve there is finally a SS head that can compete
    with and in some instances surpass tube power amps.  
    
    	In my opinion the MosValve is the best sounding  power amp
    on the market today for under $ 500. I'd even put it up against alot of
    the Tube and SS amps over $500. It really sounds that geat.
    
    If anyone is interrested in trying the unit out for themselves give me 
    a call. I live in Northboro Mass.    
    
    
    
    	Brian    DTN:    291-0071
    		 Home:   (508) 393-9209

    The last reply was music to my ears !  I was reading up on this little
    ditty, but all advertisements claim their product will do everything
    but perform oral .... welll, you know.  This is great !  Santa may have
    to swing by the Tube Works factory for me !   8^)
    
    Scary ... who's in the mood to blow a lot of $$$$ on some equipment !

    I was also looking at this amp.  It may be the rack power amp of choice
    now that the SP1000's have become vaporware.
    
    Mike

    
    To be honest....even if the SP1000s grew on trees and could be had in
    every store I still would have bought the MosValve......It really just
    sounded THAT GOOD  ;^)
    
    B.

    HUSH !  You're making my mouth water !   8^)
    
    Scary (who'll have one of these pups after the 1st of the year)

	Well, I picked up the little gem Saturday .... $399 with 2-6' 
	Monstar speaker cables !    8^)

	Before I hooked it up in my rack (I am *not* a rack puke ...),
	I read all the literature with it, which is about 6 pages of "how
	great this amp is - conventional specs are of no use here ...", and
	1 page of specs.  Sounded like it would do everything, including 
	perform various sexual acts !  I figured, what the heck, it ain't
	in the rack yet ....   ;^)  It's got a slight overbite, but we got 
	around that ... heh heh heh heh ...  8^)

	This amp is GREAT !  With a Chandler Tube Driver straight into it,
	I got a better tone (there's that "T" word again ...) than I used 
	to get with my Kittyhawk M3 !  I could go on for 100 blocks about 
	how the amp made my gear come alive (finally !).  It's advertised
	as a "colorful" amp - no truer words were ever uttered.  The 
	harmonics are definitely there.  Plus, there is next to NO hum, 
	even with the single coils on my Strat.  

	The manual says NEVER to run it into anything but a 4 ohm load, but
	my cab is 8 ohms and I *had* to fire it up.  I did notice less 
	power than what I was expecting, but I'll rewire the cab tomorrow
	and I feel sure the volume will be there - don't get me wrong, it 
	was still kicking pretty hard.

	The "Presence" control is a nice feature - I run it at 5-7, which 
	gives my strat a real warm tone but allows for some great pinched 
	harmonics too.

	This is *the* power amp to beat ....   8^)

	And I personally don't think it can be done !!!

	Scary  (tickled pink ...)

    
    That's what I was going to say but I payed a dollar more; $400
    
             Does this mean I will sell my Metaltronix, well...........
                                                  
                                                                  Mark
    

    Anyone ever try a Quattro thru one of these?
    
    Mike

    It'd be awesome !  My GP-8 is pretty sterile on the
    distortion/overdrive effects, and this little amp CRANKS the tones out.
    I can't say enough about this baby ...  8^)
    
    Scary

>        I read all the literature with it, which is about 6 pages of "how
>        great this amp is - conventional specs are of no use here ...", and
>        1 page of specs.  


Scary,


	I am still on the trail of obtaining a set of schematics for this 
magic beast......

Do you have access to any??

These beasts cost an arm and a leg over here in the UK and my new 50's tele
has put a stop to my spending for the next six months !

In anticipation........

Dave

    Nope - they didn't enclose any in the "propaganda" sheets.  You could
    possibly call the toll free number and see if you could land a set.
    
    Scary

    I think that toll free number is only valid in the US.  (Sorry Dave)
    
    Greg

    They're real nice folks too.  I talked with one of their Techs about
    wiring up one of my cabs - real helpful.  He aqsked me what kind of
    gear I was using, just for his own info.  He said the most popular rig
    using that amp was an ADA-MP1 along with a DSP-128.  
    
    Scary (who's gonna rewire his 4x12 tonight and boil the neighbors
    blood !)

    Re: -1
    
    That's interesting (most popular rig based on MOSValve)!  Kind of makes
    sense though.  The MP1 is probably one of the best stereo preamps.
    
    Mike

    Yeah - the guy was only talking about Mosvalve users.  The MP-1
    probably does give the most bang for the buck ...
    
    Scary (who's spent more bucks ...)

    Scary,
    
    	The manual actually says never use "LESS" than a 4 ohm load. An 8
    or 16 ohm cab will work fine. I use a 4 ohm 4x12 and an 8 ohm 2x12 in
    stereo for a more balanced sound.
    
    Brian 

    I rewired my cab to work as 2 2x12's at 4ohms each.  This thing will
    eat your lunch now !    8^)
    
    Scary (who can't wait to hear this beast live this weekend !)

Do any of you satisfied Mosvalve power amp users have specs handy?  I'm 
specifically looking for frequency response numbers.  I'm considering using
one in a system with a bass preamp, and want to know if the power amp can
handle it nicely.

Also, anyone out here in the Springs know of a local dealer?

Thanks in advance,

-- Sam

    Tom got his MOSvalve in Denver for something like $325 brand new.
    A steal for sure.  I can ask him for the freq-response stuff, but
    knowing Tom, he'd say "Huh?".  :)
    
    jc

    As I recall, TubeWorks used to say something about how well it worked
    for bass in their ads.
    
    FWIW, TubeWorks is based in Denver.  Stevie J. and I were going to go
    up and take a tour once, but never ended up working it out.
    
    Greg

    FWIW - Also, Dave at ABC makes their cabs for 'em !!
    
    MOSvalve also makes a reasonably priced 500wt power amp !!
    jc
    

    
    ....just what we need: Coop w/ 500 watts. Goodbye neighbors!
    
    
    							-B()()M- B-} -

    I played a "Tube Works" 100 watt combo this past weekend and to my
    surprise it had a great sound. It was a "TD752" model that I found
    small, very compact with a 12" speaker, effect loop, channel switching,
    channel "combine" (I like this feature the best because it really
    warms up the overdrive channel) and a line out. The reverb alone blew 
    away a Fender Super 60. It's lead channel also sounded better than the
    Super 60! Another thing, it weighs less than the Super 60 (~30 lbs)
    and alas no power tubes to replace on this because it has a solid state
    power amp. The preamp uses a couple 12AX7's. Less expensive than a new
    Fender Super 60 or compact GK combo and 100 watts to boot!
    It's not a Mesa, Marshall or Super Reverb, but if someone's looking for
    a compact, "very" lightweight, warm sounding 100 watt combo amp in the 
    (less than) $450 price range it would be worth them checking this one out. 
    
    If I didn't already have 4 guitar amps, I'd seriously think about
    picking one of these puppies up!
    
    
    Rock on,
            Fred

    I've been seeing a *lot* of people playing through TubeWorks rigs on
    TNN lately!  They seem to be making serious inroads into what was
    previously dominated by Peavey.
    
    Greg

    Al just picked Tubeworks up as a line and has a single 12" 100W amp in
    the store. It's a major blues machine, sounds great and is very
    portable. Looks like a nice line to be added to his shop, and besides
    when my metaltronics sp-1000 dies (if it ever does) I can get a
    mosvalve for the rack...
    
    dbii

    
    
      The TD752 looks like a repackaged model of the combo they had last
    year. All the features are the same, just a different look to it.
    The other model had a black face plate with yellow lettering just like
    the MOSvalve power amps. These new "Tube Driver" combos use a beige
    faceplate w/ black lettering.
      I am also impressed with this companies products. I did a demo for 
    a kid buying a Tube Works 1 X 12 combo in a music store and he was 
    too chicken to play in front of people in the store, so the owner 
    asked me if I'd show him what it was capable of. He bought it!
      
      One thing dbii - IF my SP-1000 ever dies, I'm probably gonna check
    into a Rocktron Velocity 300 Power Amp.
    
    							-B{}{}M-
    what it can