I'm at a point where I feel like I need another amp. Right now, I only have a '65 Bandmaster and a DeVille that I never use. Mainly because my Bandmaster makes it look like an idiot, but also the reverb sucks ass. I'll probably end up selling the DeVille someday.
I've had so many ideas about amps, but I can't seem to make a firm decision on what I should do. So I'm enlisting you guyses help.
The Options:
- A local shop has a late '70s master volume twin reverb, the reverb feedbacks but Mike and Filtercap tell me it'll probably be an easy fix. I would probably get a discount because of this and I would definitely check to see if it actually is easily fixable before I buy.
- I'd like to buy a Weber amp kit. Probably a tweed Bandmaster or a Marshall clone. This would be loads of fun to build and probably around the same price as the Twin, but won't have reverb.
- I could also just buy a small tube practice amp like a Musicmaster or a Champ/Princeton and save my money for guitar/effect purchases.
Amp Woes
Moderated By: mods
If you like the Bandmaster sound just fine and aren't needing the Twin for its louder clean sondz, you could buy a standalone reverb unit kit instead of the Twin. Weber has verb unit kits, though it looks like they include tremolo circuitry that may be redundant for you. Other manufacturers might have similar kits without the trem. New-reissue Fender reverb units are expensive, but it looks like you get more control over the sound than just one knob.
the reissue fender reverb is kind of a ripoff. i've seen vintage units go for around $600, while a brand new reissue is like $400 and they don't even use the same tubes or circuit.
I am actually looking at a weber reverb kit. the "add-a-verb" seems like a cool deal. but even then, $300 bucks just for reverb. i'm just not sure.
but my bandmaster does sound amazing. especially at gigging volume. i really like the idea of having a tweed combo, though.
argh, this is why i never bothered to get much into amps, there's just too much stuff that i want.
I am actually looking at a weber reverb kit. the "add-a-verb" seems like a cool deal. but even then, $300 bucks just for reverb. i'm just not sure.
but my bandmaster does sound amazing. especially at gigging volume. i really like the idea of having a tweed combo, though.
argh, this is why i never bothered to get much into amps, there's just too much stuff that i want.
i third this as this is sort of the direction i'd like to take. definitely a tiny terror along the way.Mike wrote:+1.mickie08 wrote:I'd probably skip the twin myself as you have a bandmaster and a deville. I'd build a Marshall to have a different sound. That, or buy/fix the twin, then sell the devill to build the marshall
What can a Twin do that your Bandmaster can't? nothing.
reverb and clean headroom. i really want a good tube reverb and somehow it just makes more sense to spend $500-$600 on an amp than $400-$1000 on just reverb.Mike wrote:What can a Twin do that your Bandmaster can't?
i'm beginning to think that the solution might be to buy some speakers and finish the cabinet i made for my bandmaster, then buy a weber "add-a-verb" kit, then sell my deville and come out close to even, and then take things from there.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
For me, 40 watts is close to ideal for a Fender amp, because the volume level you need to deal with a moderately loud 4-piece band happens right where the amp starts to compress & overdrive.
By the same token, however, 40 watts from 2 6L6's isn't going to stay clean at volumes loud enough to balance with a moderately loud band, at least not with the power supply a Bandmaster has. Biasing tubes cooler and/or using lower-"mu" preamp tubes will give you cleans farther up the volume dial, but at the expense of overall volume. So the amp will break up later but the cleans won't be much louder if louder at all.
Basically, if you took a 40-Watt Fender and start upgrading things to get your cleans louder with less saturation, you'd wind up putting in bigger transformers, 2 more power tubes, and if you have 10-inch speakers switch to 12-inch speakers or add more 10's. You'd essentially end up with a Twin no matter what.
For me, 40 watts is close to ideal for a Fender amp, because the volume level you need to deal with a moderately loud 4-piece band happens right where the amp starts to compress & overdrive.
By the same token, however, 40 watts from 2 6L6's isn't going to stay clean at volumes loud enough to balance with a moderately loud band, at least not with the power supply a Bandmaster has. Biasing tubes cooler and/or using lower-"mu" preamp tubes will give you cleans farther up the volume dial, but at the expense of overall volume. So the amp will break up later but the cleans won't be much louder if louder at all.
Basically, if you took a 40-Watt Fender and start upgrading things to get your cleans louder with less saturation, you'd wind up putting in bigger transformers, 2 more power tubes, and if you have 10-inch speakers switch to 12-inch speakers or add more 10's. You'd essentially end up with a Twin no matter what.
i love my bandmaster and have no plans on changing it. with my jaguar, it's the best sounding combination. possibly ever.
but i also like the idea of a really loud, clean amp with reverb. like the twin.
then again, i would also like to hear my bandmaster with outboard reverb as well. i guess there's just too much stuff to get.
i'm starting to see how mike could cut down to just one guitar, while focusing more on amps. that never made sense to me before.
but i also like the idea of a really loud, clean amp with reverb. like the twin.
then again, i would also like to hear my bandmaster with outboard reverb as well. i guess there's just too much stuff to get.
i'm starting to see how mike could cut down to just one guitar, while focusing more on amps. that never made sense to me before.
Twins are a pain in the ass to carry around. To my mind, they're the type of amp a venue or rehearsal space would have on wheels in a closet for use in-house. loading one into and out of a car, up stairs, on to a stage will make playing miserable.
I say get a reverb pedal like the Holy Grail (or even a behringer) and see if reverb is really important to you.
I say get a reverb pedal like the Holy Grail (or even a behringer) and see if reverb is really important to you.
Naw, I was just hoping to illustrate to certain membersbubbles_horwitz wrote:i love my bandmaster and have no plans on changing it. with my jaguar, it's the best sounding combination. possibly ever.
how, while hefty, a Twin isn't overkill if you need to break through the clean-volume ceiling of a 40-watt two-6L6 Fender. If one were to put together the components needed to break thru that ceiling, they'd inevitably end up with something very much like a Twin, with all the weight and bulk that implies. They are a pain to move around, but so are Vox AC30s and many giggable bass rigs. An Ampeg tube bass head weighs a dozen pounds more than a Twin. You just figure out the best way to lift and carry one, and you're good. Wheels are a big help, whether casters or a dolly. A 70's silverface probably has sockets for snap-in casters underneath. Mine does.
+1 on the try-a-reverb-pedal idea. Not the same coolness factor as a mechanical reverb, but see what your ears think.
Also, if you're building a cab anyway, you might squeeze more volume (hence more clean volume) out of your Bandmaster by loading it with more efficient speakers if possible. Check the "sensitivity" ratings on spec sheets, and look for speakers rated at 100dB or more.
the cab i'm making for my bandmaster is a 3x10". i was just gonna put in jensen ceramics because they're cheap and jensen is the pre-anglicized version of my last name. i guess that second one is kinda stupid, but whatever. i'm not at a point where i really wanna go nuts with speaker options.
i've tried various reverb pedals including dddave's holier grail, and they sound good, but just don't have that warm tube and huge surfy sound that i like.
i've tried various reverb pedals including dddave's holier grail, and they sound good, but just don't have that warm tube and huge surfy sound that i like.