A Short Introduction
The Orchestrator circuit is based on the Mullard 1 watt germanium push pull amplifier. This uses germanium transistors, custom made driver and output transformers and carbon resistors. The components are of high quality and are mounted on to a professionally etched circuit board.

Construction The enclosure is typical of a vintage bookshelf speaker size of approximately 12” x 8” x 6”. The production models will have an enclosure made of Mahogany with vintage style grille cloth. On the prototype the enclosure was made of a cheaper wood. There is a trailing lead with a PP9 (9V DC) battery clip and a single jack socket mounted on the rear of the speaker box.

Before and after modifications The Orchestrator surprised us upon our first listen, it seemed to have the wonderful sweet tone but when turned up full, it still sounded somehow attenuated to a point just below where it needed to be. We used a Pete Cornish TB-83 and KZ Pro (fitted with Adeson pick-ups), producing a very hot output so we figured something was not quite right with the Mullard circuit. We wanted this Orchestrator to go to 11! It needed to emulate the sound of a small over-driven transistor amp ‘feedbacking’ but in a controlled way!

The ‘all important email’ had been received detailing a simple modification (which did not alter the circuit with any additional components) that was required to remedy the Orchestrator muted voice. A simple short-circuit link was all it took to transform the otherwise subdued Orchestrator into the powerful, fully saturated book-shelf speaker we were hoping to hear.

Verdict
Initial testing started close to the amplifier. It was found to be perfect when sitting about six feet from the amplifier thus avoiding feedback problems at full guitar volume (as with any amplifiers). Striking a chord with the guitar volume set to full produced a compressed fully overdriven tone with plenty of sustain through controlled feedback.

Trying out different pick-up settings and combinations offered many tones suitable for multi-tracked guitars. The Orchestrator did not appear to take away the natural tone of the guitar; this is one of the defining aspects of this amplifier. Notes played, more or less anywhere on the fingerboard, seemed to be sustained forever. Especially useful for the long ‘violin-type’ multi-tracked textures! The notes were clear and sweet with little additional noise other than what you’d expect from this circuit.

On Test After working our way through the expected repertoire; Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon, Millionaires Waltz, Dreamers Ball, we started to experiment with the ‘coat’, well actually in our case a thick guitar polishing cloth. Positioning the cloth made a big difference in reducing the highs, although I suspect this would have been more subtle if close mic’ing, which tends to produce a brighter sound than when backing the mic off. The overall tone of the amp was a little darker than expected, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it may simply mean a more judicious use of the coat/cloth.

The amp was tried with both the PP9 battery and a suitable 9V DC power supply (observing correct polarity!). The power supply seemed to make the amplifier sound a little too clinical. The battery introduced a kind of warmth and vintage feel of its own. Using a PP9 battery proved to be the best method of powering this amplifier.

Overall sound, look and accuracy.
The sound certainly appears to be there. Unless you had the original to A/B you would be hard pushed to tell the difference when recorded correctly. Having recorded with the Vox “Deacy” (which is quite brittle) this has a much warmer, smoother and creamier tone. The look remains true to the original and we have just been informed that a better vintage style speaker cloth has been sourced.