Turret board wiring - discussion topic

[RayL]

I was intrigued by this description for an AC15:
The VOX Hand-Wired Series relies on the painstaking technique of turret board hand-wiring, a method requiring a high level of skill and craftsmanship. The result is wiring that's beautiful in its artistry and ensures an efficient signal path with minimal loss and no restriction in amplitude.

With turret board wiring for guitar amps, the resistors and capacitors are laid side-by-side on a strip of insulating board and soldered to the little metal turrets. Wiring from the turrets to the valveholders and transformers doesn't follow the most direct route. Instead, the convention is that all wiring must be parallel to the long side of the chassis, or at right angles to it. Agreed that it looks beautiful, but does it otherwise match up to the above description?

For example, is it a method requiring a high level of skill and craftsmanship. Well, actually no. The whole point is that the board can be assembled and and soldered by semi-skilled labour. You only have to lay the components in the correct pattern, clip the wires and solder them to the turrets. The wiring loom can also be made separately, again by someone with no knowledge of electronics, simply by following a pattern.

Then there's ensures an efficient signal path with minimal loss. Hang on, though. Instead of each component and its wiring taking the shortest and most efficient route between two points, most are taking a longer route. And because that terribly neat wiring often follows longish parallel paths, there is more likelyhood of cross-talk and loss.

Finally, what about no restriction in amplitude? Compared to what?, one asks. What method of wiring an amplifier chassis reduces amplitude?

The well-known phrase or saying that covers this tosh is 'making a virtue out of necessity'.

The big factor in favour of turret board wiring is reliability (all components securely fixed, not floating) but they don't mention that !

Ray

[ecca]

Much better on a PCB !

[RogerCook]

Much better on a PCB !

Much harder to change components on a PCB

[Twang46]

Turret boards for me as well

PCB's are right for industrial use but for audio turret boards work better with scope for adjustment of signal paths & easy replacement of parts if required (IMHO)

Last amp I built was a "pretty" build using solid core wire to get the curves/angles/runs straight.....measured to the bloody millimetre & took forever to build.
Looked very nice, but to be honest it doesn't sound any better than the other ones I've done recently

Dick.