Los Angeles, An interview with Jeff Aragaki of ARACOM AMPLIFIERS, Jerry Rosen

Integral to the sound and vibe of the classic electric blues of the fifties and sixties (and beyond) are the instruments used by the musicians.  The great blues artists of the classic era started out playing in small clubs, using low wattage tube amplifiers.  Low wattage amps, when cranked, distort in a manner that most blues guitarists (and harmonica players) find appealing because it adds to the grittiness of the overall sound.  Of course, the amps had to be sufficiently loud so that the guitar player (or harp blower) could be heard over the drums and the noise in a club.  There were several amplifier manufacturers in the fifties including, Gibson, Ampeg, Silvertone (and others), but the amp of choice for most working musicians was the tweed Fender series.  Leo Fender, who is most famous for his Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars, was also a master of creating brilliantly designed amps.  Fender had an entire line of amps, in the fifties, from the tiny 5 watt Champ (Duanne Allman and Eric Clapton are said to have recorded their guitar parts for Layla on Champs), to slightly more powerful amps, such as the Deluxe and Tremolux, that could be used in small clubs, to the most classic amp of all, the 59 Bassman.  The 59 Bassman is considered the gold standard in the history of amplification design and it has been copied for fifty years. 

 As rock bands, such as Hendrix, Cream and Zeppelin started playing much louder rock blues in arenas, there became a need for even more powerful 100 watt amps.  The British builder Jim Marshall created Marshall Amplification for this purpose.  They produced 100 watt amps and huge cabinets that could be heard over the roar of thousands of people.  Marshall also created an entire line of lower wattage amps that used different tubes from Fender amps and produced sounds that were, perhaps, more rockish than the Fender amps.  It is difficult to describe the sonic difference between vintage Fenders and Marshalls, but both sounds are amazing.

 In the eighties and nineties, concomitant with an increase in popularity of more rootsy types of music, there was a huge resurgence in interest in vintage amps.  The prime vintage amps were Fenders and Marshalls.  However, there were problems with purchasing these amps; they were somewhat hard to find, needed servicing, not always reliable and, worst of all, quite expensive for ordinary musicians.  In 1995 a friend of mine sold me an old tweed Fender Vibrolux amp. He had modified it in a way that significantly lowered its value, but I simply loved the sound of that amp and craved buying more.  I wanted to buy a Deluxe or a Bassman, but couldn’t come up with the money. Around the mid nineties, several small manufacturers started building amps that were either exact copies of Fenders and Marshalls, or were based on those old circuits.  These are called boutique amps because they are not mass-produced.  Builders had analyzed what made the vintage amps so desirable to musicians and they came to realize that using quality components and hand assembly were two of the keys. Boutique amps are not cheap, but they are reliable and sound infinitely better than mass produced cheaper amps. Also, you can choose the brand/model that best suits your style.

 Today there are literally dozens of boutique builders in the U.S. and Europe.  I have owned several and have played hundreds of gigs with them.  I recently purchased a boutique amp from Jeff Aracom (of ARACOM AMPLIFIERS - www.aracom-amps.com) who is a builder in Northern California.  His line of amps received outstanding reviews and had certain features I was look for.  The amp I purchased from Aracom was the BB 18R model.  Its output is 18watts, has reverb and tremolo and used two EL84 tubes. It is based on an old low wattage Marshall amp.  I have used the amp on many gigs with my blues band (the Kara Maguire band) and it sounds awesome. I have played it in small clubs and larger rooms.  It projects well and can easily be heard over the drums and other guitarist.  It sounds a bit different from the Fender based boutique amps and this was why I bought it.  It has a switch in the back that allows you to cut the power in half.  It doesn’t lower the output by half, but what it does, is cause the amplifier to break up at lower volumes.  It really produces a sweet sound.  The amp also has two channels, the reverb and tremolo channel and the drive channel; both sound sweet.  I have gotten many compliments on the sound.  Also, it works equally well with my old Gibson Special with P90 pick-ups or my new Tele.  I haven’t tried it with Humbuckers yet, but I would bet anything it would sound phenomenal with those too.  Also, the amp was priced well below similar boutique amps. I paid $1450 for it.  Most of the top line boutique amps cost well over $2000.  Also, FYI, an old fifties era Fender Deluxe will set you back anywhere from $3000 (for one in rough shape) to well over $4000 (for one in original condition). Old Bassmans go in the $5000-$6000 range. Old Marshalls can be even more expensive.

 If these weren’t enough reason to buy an Aracom amp, then here is one more; Jeff is a great guy who stands strongly behind his products.  I have communicated with him regularly over email and have spoken to him several times.  He loves music and he wants you to be thrilled with his products.  When buying an amplifier through the mail, this feedback is crucial. 

 I asked Jeff several questions about amplifiers and I think you will find his answers quite informative. If you are a guitarist, at any level, I would highly recommend giving strong consideration to his line of amplifiers.

 

Jeff, tell us what inspired you to get involved with amp building?

 Growing up in the Northern California’s Silicon Valley, I have been involved in the high tech electronic industry my whole life.   I hold a degree in Electronic Engineering and had previously worked for many years in high tech companies.  Prior to college I had an assembly job for a manufacturing company where I was involved with wiring and soldering.   I began playing the electric guitar in the early seventies and I love the tone and simplicity of the tube amplifiers that were available back then.  A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to focus on my passion, which is designing and building guitar amplifiers.  So ARACOM Amplifiers was formed and it is now a full time endeavor for me. 

 What older amps did you base your designs on? What characteristics were you looking for?

 In my amp collection, I have a few original 60s Marshall Amplifiers.  The early Marshall Amplifier circuit design was very similar to the Fender’s Bassman circuit.   Like many players, I love the tonal range of these vintage amplifiers; from bright cleans, gritty blues, to their classic rock distortion.  I believe the simplicity of these vintage amplifiers is what contributes to their great tone.  It is these tonal characteristics that influence the design of the ARACOM products.   

 The heart of many of our amplifier is based on these early classic 60s circuits.  We use the original Marshall Amplifiers to sonically compare their tone against the ARACOM amplifiers.

 Can you tell us about your product line?

 Tribute Series

Our Tribute Line of guitar amplifiers are modeled after the 60s Marshall JTM45, JMP50 and 18-watt amplifiers.   Reverb is available as an option for the Tribute Series amplifiers.

 Custom Series

The Vintage Rox Series VRX18 (EL84) and VRX22 (6V6) amplifiers.

These amplifiers are of my own design and include 2 channels, a clean channel and a hotter lead channel.   The Vintage Rox Series is priced for the current economic situation, with prices starting at $895.

 Evolver Series

The Evolver offers a Marshall "Plexi" or "JTM" tone in a custom handwired amp, with the versatility and convenience of having Channel Switching with simultaneous Master Volume Control bypass, along with a built in Tube Overdrive feature.

 All of our amplifiers are offered in Head or Combo cabinet configurations.  A half power switch is available on all of our amplifiers, which allows the user to cut the output power by half.

 We also offer a Power Rox PRX150-Pro Power Attenuator.   This product goes between your tube amplifier and speaker cabinet and allows you to crank up you amp, while reducing the power level to your speakers.   The PRX150-Pro is highly transparent allowing you to lower the volume level while maintaining the amplifier’s tone and dynamics.

 Could you briefly explain the sonic differences between tubes such as 6v6, 6L6, EL84 and EL34?

 This a very good question, since power tubes are one of the key factors that determine the tone and personality of the amplifier.   When selecting an amplifier you will need to decide how much clean head room you want and the how loud or quite you expect the amp to be when it is cranked up.   The power from a pair of these tubes in typical push-pull arrangement can be: EL84/6V6 15 to 25 watts, 6L6GC/EL34 40 to 60 watts, KT88/6550 up to 90 watts.  In a quad arrangement, the power would be approximately double these figures.   Amplifiers at 50 watts or more can provide a decent amount of clean headroom. While a lowered powered 20 watt amp might not provide a lot of clean headroom, it will provide tube distortion at lower volume levels as compared to the larger amps.

 I would say that sonically there are similarities in tone between the 6V6 and the 6L6GC.   These tubes provide a warm clean tone and an open distortion, where you can still have a lot of pick definition.

 Likewise with the EL84 and EL34 there are similarities in their distorted tone.  They both can provide thick, tight and heavy distortion.    Their clean tones can be quite different from each other and a lot of it has to do with the biasing methods and power output differences.

 Once you have settled on the tube model designation number you prefer, you can then have fun trying different brands of tubes.  If you have the cash, you also try NOS tubes, which are usually worth the extra money.

 In an ideal world, we would own many amps that covered all of the various popular tube models.   Then we can pick the amp for the exact tone we want for that moment.   Being an amp builder, I am fortunate in having the opportunity to play through all of the various power tube types.

 While on the topic of power tubes, there are 2 popular ways that builders can bias the tubes: fixed bias and self biased.   These biasing methods will affect the tone, dynamic response, and power output.

 Do you have help building the amps?

 I design, build and test all of the ARACOM Amplifier products myself.   This way I can be certain about the quality of our products.  For prototypes, I use several guitarists who test and evaluate the amplifiers. 

 How long does it take you to build an amp?

 Based on having all of the components and material in stock, it takes about 2-3 weeks to complete an amplifier once I begin working on your order.   This does not include highly customized amplifiers, which can take much longer.  When I can start on your order depends on the backlog.

 Do you make your own cabinets?

I build all of our head cabinets and some of our smaller combo and extension cabinets.   For our larger 1x12 and 2x12 combo cabinets, we use Jeff Earl of J Design cabinets, located in Northern California.  Jeff does excellent work and offers a wide range of cabinet designs including hardwood finishes.

 Has your business suffered at all from the downturn in the economy?

 I believe most people will agree that the economic downturn has hurt all industries.  Also there is an abundance of new amp and pedal companies, so there is plenty of competition.However, we have introduced new products that are more affordable to more people.   We are actually having a very good year and I am working full time on building products to fulfill the backlog of orders.  I am very grateful for all of the customers who have purchased products from ARACOM Amplifiers.

 What is your profit margin, per amp?

 Our product pricing is based on the current economic situation.  For example, our handwired Vintage Rox VRX18 and VRX22 amplifier series is priced at a sub $1,000 level.  Naturally at these prices, our mark up is low.  We are offering our customers a lot value for their money spent.  

 

Are there any influential guitarists who use your amps?

 I consider every guitarist playing ARACOM amps as being influential to the development of the ARACOM Amp products, since they all provide me with important feedback. The most well know guitarists are John Garcia and Gene Baker.  John is a veteran bluesman who performed many years with John Lee Hooker and is currently the lead guitarist for the John Lee Hooker Jr.’s band.   He has also performed with Bo Diddley, B.B.King, Johnny Winters, Huey Lewis & Paul Simon. Gene is the founder of Baker and b3 electric guitars and he is well known on the music industry.   He gigs weekly with an ARACOM Amplifier.   Gene has been very instrumental in the development of our products and feature. A couple of other guitarist that have been involved in the testing of our products is Brendan Delumpa and Pat Curtis.

 Do you sell any amps through music stores? If not, do have any plans to do so?

 There are a handful of music stores in the Northern California where our amplifiers are for sale, but the majority of our sales are direct.  With the current economic situation, our philosophy is to sell direct and pass the savings on to the customers.

Are you willing to do custom orders?

Perhaps Custom Shop is an overused phrase, but that is what ARACOM Amplifiers is, a “Custom Shop”.   We have customized or personalized many amplifiers.  Some customers request additional features such as: Reverb, Effects Loop, Channel Switching, or an extra gain stage.  Other are looking for cosmetic changes such as a particular tolex color or grill cloth design.   While others request custom cabinet designs. We also benefit from customer’s special request, since some ideas are incorporated as standard features in our amplifiers. There is a page on the ARACOM Amplifier’s website that dedicated to the custom amplifiers we have built.

 In your experience, what are the most common characteristics/features that guitarists are looking for in boutique amps?

 The top priority for most guitarists when evaluating a boutique amplifier is its tonal quality.   Some people turn to boutique amplifier companies because they are looking for an amplifier that can replicate the tone of a popular vintage amp such as a Marshall JTM45, or a Fender Black Face Deluxe Reverb, or perhaps a VOX AC15.  Others turn to a particular boutique amp manufacturer for an original designed amplifier that offers a unique tone, which is exclusive to that manufacturer’s model.

 

Why is it that most effects (pedals) detract from the basic, organic sound of an amp?

While some overdrive/distortion pedals can sound real good, in my opinion nothing can replace the natural tone of a good overdriven tube amplifier.  In some cases, the amplifier alone does not generate the desired distortion level.   This is where a good clean boost can be used to overdrive the amplifier into distortion, while maintaining the natural sound of the amp. From an electrical point of view, there is also fact that the extra cables involved in connecting a few effects pedals in series affects the tone and signal level from the guitar.  Even with the pedals switched off, there is a negative effect on the signal quality before reaching the amplifier. A lot of customers have mentioned that they want to reduce the amount of pedals on their board and get as much as possible from their tube amplifier.

 Are there any brands that you can recommend that excel at retaining the natural sound of an amp?

Now days it seems that there are thousands of pedals on the market and the selection process can be overwhelming.  Therefore, I passed this question over to Brendan Delumpa of www.guitargear.org, a guitar gear review site.   At guitargear.org, Brendan has personally reviewed 100+  effects pedals.   Brendan’s recommendation for pedals that retain the natural sound of your tube amplifier are the KASHA KA-ODP-A Overdrive pedal and the Creative Audio Labs MK 4.23 Boost pedal.   

 What components in an amp most affect its sound?

 Just about every component in the amplifier has an effect on tone.   The components have to be selected for their quality and tonal properties.   The transformers have to be from a company that specializes in designing and winding guitar amplifier transformers, which are different than audio amplifier transformers.   For a guitarist who is interested in exploring the tonal possibilities of his amp, he can experiment with trying a few different brands preamp and power amp tubes.  

 

Finally I asked Jeff to explain the relationship between loudness and wattage.  I think you’ll find his explanation interesting and worth reading.  Here is his response:

 

Loudness VS Power Level

Differences in power levels are often referenced as differences in dB (decibels). Doubling an amplifier’s power or reducing its power by half would be a difference of 3dB.  For example decreasing a power level of 100 watts to 50 watts would be a -3dB reduction.  Reducing 100 watts to 25 watts would be a -6dB reduction.  While reducing the output power by half seems to be a lot, it might be hardly noticeable by ear.   The reason is, decreasing the power by half (-3dB) does not provide an audio perception of half the loudness level.  In order to perceive a 50% drop in the audio loudness level, the power would have to be cut by 90% or -10dB.    Therefore, a 100 watt amplifier would have to be reduced to 10 watts in order for an audio perception of a sound level to be cut in half.  Keep in mind that 10 watts can still be too loud for some applications.  Some people even consider even one watt to be too loud for “bedroom” use.

 The speaker’s efficiency determines the Sound Pressure Level (SPL), how “loud” the volume will be.  The speaker’s efficiency is rate as a sensitivity specification, which is based on the sound pressure level measured in db the speaker produces with 1 watt of power applied and measured at a distance of 1 meter from the speaker.   A typical 12” guitar speaker will have a sensitivity rating around 100, however this rating does vary and is specific to each speaker model.

For example, a speaker with a sensitivity rating of 100 will produce 100db at 1 meter (3.3’) with 1 watt of power.   A speaker with a sensitivity rating of 97 will produce 97db at 1 meter with 1 watt of power.

 An amplifier providing 50 watts of power into a speaker with sensitivity rating of 100 will produce the same SPL as an amplifier providing 100 watts of power into a speaker with a sensitivity rating of 97.  Therefore, the volume level depends on the sensitivity of your speaker and the power applied to it.

 The following chart compares examples of loudness VS power level.  The SPL is based on a speaker with a sensitivity rating of 100.   The approximate loudness is based on the subject standing one meter (3.3’) in front of the speaker.

POWER VS. LOUDNESS CHART

 

Watts	SPL (db)	Loudness
0.0078	79	Passenger car at 10 (60-80dB)
0.0156	82
0.0312	85	Vacuum cleaner
0.0625	88	Major Road Noise (80-90dB)
0.125	91	Noisy factory
0.25	94
0.5	97
1	100	Jack hammer at 1m
2	103
4	106
8	109	Accelerating motorcycle at 5m
16	112
32	115	Hearing Damage (short term exposure)
64	118	Rock concert
128	121
256	124
512	127	Jet at 100 meters (110-140 dB)
1024	130	Threshold of pain

 

 

As you can see, based on the above chart, if your amplifier is cranking out 32 watts of power, into a speaker with a sensitivity rating of 100 and you are standing 3.3’ in front of the speaker, hearing damage due to short term exposure can occur.

The distance you are from the speaker of course affects the SPL.   If you are in a space where there is no reflected sound, such as outdoors, then each time the distance from the speaker is doubled, the loudness of the sound pressure level is reduced by 6 dB.

 

 Feet From Speaker        dB-SPL

-------------------------      --------------

       3                              94  (reference)

       6                              88

      12                             82

      24                             76

      50                             70

     100                            64

 

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