From quar–(at)–printmail.com Thu Apr 3 12:44:29 CST 1997
Article: 44069 of alt.guitar.amps
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From: Steve
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.amps
Subject: Re: Naylor Amps
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 1997 23:33:16 -0800
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Ron Cook wrote:
>
> Anyone who owns a Naylor amp care to comment on it. Does the master
> volume scheme work as well as advertised? Can you maintain a good tone
> and feel at lower volumes? Comments on the reverb?

Although I don’t own a Naylor amp, I also was curious about the so-called “miracle
master volume” circuit. So I e-mailed the guy who designed the non-reverb series and he
sent me the following explanation:

>> The funny thing about that term “miracle mastervolume” is that is was the invention of one those guitar-mag reviewers,
Guitar World I think. I don’t remember exactly. Anyway, the master
volume itself is really nothing out of the ordinary. The configuration
is the commonly used pre-phase type. The distortion ahead of it is
generated by the commonly used Marshall/Fender cathode follower and tone
control arrangement that has adorned hundreds of aggressive, hard-rock
style amps over the last 20 years or so. However, by plugging into this
amp, you will immediately become aware of the lack of overt hardness and
buzzyness which is generally the character associated with such a
circuit arrangement. Apparent also is the fact that the tone is still
remarkably present and clear despite the absence of the icepick-in-the
forehead ultra top end. (actually, that tone can be dialed in somewhat
by dimeing all the tones.) Lastly, the overall sound of the amp is
remarkably consistent regardless of the master setting. All this was
achieved by paying lots of attention to the circuitry surrounding the
master control. The preamp was voiced to create more twangy spank and
less grunge. The phase-inverter was designed with high headroom to
minimize smooshing at full master setting. The maximumum output
available from the master control was limited to the point of reaching
the output tube “sweet spot” without being able to exceed it. The
presence control is really the “miracle control” because it is a
variable-frequency brick-wall low pass filter that removes only the
highest, most offensive, artificial sounding high frequencies, while
leaving everything else untouched. Other than the ultra-high frequency
range, the amp employes no negative feedback to impair the
“breathability” of the tone. Lastly, the cabinets are all of a
semi-open back design resulting in even more “critical air” being added
to the tone in real space. A few changes have been made to the voicing
since my involvement (brighter) but otherwise this desciption is about
as thorough and accurate as you will find anywhere.-Dan

Hope this is helpful

Steve