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These Go to 11 - The Guitar Amp Thread

dcbc

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Chad Fuck
Chad Fuck

This just came home with me on the way to the shop.

noharleyyet
noharleyyet

Do amps still go here . . . NAD...  

AnotherUTFan
AnotherUTFan

Fuck ya!

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dcbc

dcbc 14644

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15 hours ago, tbone_ said:

What’s the best 5e3 clone?

Mine is made by Magic Amplification.  Mike, the builder, does a great job and uses very good components.  My Harvard is by Lil Dawg.  Jim (the builder) there is great to work with and will build you what you want, how you want it.  Clark is great too, but I don't think he's building as much these days.  Speed Shop also is very well thought of, but I haven't had the chance to play any of his amps.

I've posted this before, but here is Mike demoing a Magic 5e3 with a Celestion Blue in it.

 

 

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dcbc

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22 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

That’s cool. What’s he whack you for on one of those?

Looks like new will run you $2,199.  I got mine used for $850.   If you want excellent quality at a reasonable price, go with Lil Dawg and don't do any upgrades.  The guy is a legitimate pleasure to deal with and you'll get a great amp that sounds like it should.  I think my Harvard was about $1,250 new.

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Buzzrock

Buzzrock 15136

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On 12/3/2021 at 2:33 PM, BrickHorn said:

And the whole football board is devoted to the same sport. But no one’s suggesting we merge it all into a single omnibus football thread.

I started this thread on TOS because it seemed like a worthy stand-alone topic. It did well there and has generated a decent stand-alone conversation here as well.

If people feel like they miss posts on this thread because of lower traffic, I get that. But the “Follow” button below is a good solution to that problem. Unfortunately, there’s no easy solution that would allow us to sort out amp-specific content within a merged thread that would be dominated by random guitar talk. 

I have zero problem if people also want to discuss amps in the Guitar Pron thread. Feel free to do so. But don’t push your All Things Guitar Must Be Glommed Together worldview on the few of us who are interested in separately discussing amps on their own merits. 

But pushing one’s worldview is what Surly is all about. 
 

You don’t really think merging all the football threads would be the same thing. A better analogy would be merging all the music topics into one thread, which no one is suggesting. 

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dcbc

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13 hours ago, Napoleon said:

I like that the Esquire in this video doesn’t have a toggle switch. 

The way it should be. 

I'll admit that I've never played one, but I thought the 3 way toggle on the esquire gave you a a variety of tone options (although I couldn't see myself using the bass option in position 3 much).  But position 1 is supposed to be kind of a hot lead setting, no?

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Napoleon

Napoleon 8833

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1 hour ago, dcbc said:

I'll admit that I've never played one, but I thought the 3 way toggle on the esquire gave you a a variety of tone options (although I couldn't see myself using the bass option in position 3 much).  But position 1 is supposed to be kind of a hot lead setting, no?

The back is straight pickup. 

The middle engages the tone knob. 

Forward has a different capacitor… and has the possibility of getting smacked if you don’t adjust your strumming from acoustic strumming. 

This guitar gets rid of the fucking toggle switch. 

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dcbc

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• Position #1. This corresponds to the solo bridge-pickup position on a Tele. On the Esquire, however, the pickup is routed through the volume control only, with the tone control bypassed for a hotter and louder lead sound with even more high-end.
• Position #2. In this middle setting, the Esquire's pickup is routed through the volume and tone control—identical to position #1 on a standard Telecaster. It sounds a bit warmer compared to the Esquire's #1 position.
• Position #3. Here, the tone control is again bypassed and the Esquire's pickup is routed through the volume control and a fixed “treble roll-off " capacitor/resistor network for a very dark tone that also has a slightly decreased output. Leo intended this as a “bass preset" that would allow the '50s guitar player to enter bass territory by simply flipping the 3-way switch.

 

I can see ditching the selector and just wiring for Position #2.  Or, if I were the type who played bright, biting leads, I could see its usefulness to have #2 be the rhythm setting with the tone adjusted and hit the switch for the lead (if rolling the tone up on the knob isn't your thing.

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dcbc

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1 hour ago, Deej said:

Position #1 is where the magic lives. You can have the tone rolled all the way up in #2, and it still is missing the extra little pop the pickup has with the tone control out of the circuit.

I feel like a demo is in order.

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Napoleon

Napoleon 8833

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3 hours ago, Deej said:

Position #1 is where the magic lives. You can have the tone rolled all the way up in #2, and it still is missing the extra little pop the pickup has with the tone control out of the circuit.


Sounds like we forget about #3, we do away with the switch, and we install a push/pull pot an we’re good. 👍

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Foggy Notion

Foggy Notion 1202

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I’ve never owned a tweed before but there’s a chance it could happen. I responded to a Craigslist ad for a guitar yesterday and asked the seller for some pics. He texted me some pics and then asked, “how’s that Deluxe Reverb doing?” It was the same guy who sold me the 64 Deluxe Reverb project that I restored over the past couple years. I sent him a video of the 64 so he could hear how it sounds and also sent him a pic of the 64 BFDR next to my 68 SFDR. He responded, “Now you need to buy my old 50s tweed deluxe to complete the set.”

He said he hadn’t thought about selling it until he saw what I did with the 64 BFDR that I got from him. He said the tweed sounds great but it was recovered in some kind of tweed looking tolex before he got it. That’s not ideal, but it might drop the value down to something I can afford and I don’t mind doing a restoration. He said he’s not certain about the year or circuit, but it’s not a TV front and he thinks it might be a 5E3. I’m waiting for him to send me some pics and hoping he’s not regretting the thought of parting with it. 

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dcbc

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On 1/14/2022 at 4:12 PM, Foggy Notion said:

I’ve never owned a tweed before but there’s a chance it could happen. I responded to a Craigslist ad for a guitar yesterday and asked the seller for some pics. He texted me some pics and then asked, “how’s that Deluxe Reverb doing?” It was the same guy who sold me the 64 Deluxe Reverb project that I restored over the past couple years. I sent him a video of the 64 so he could hear how it sounds and also sent him a pic of the 64 BFDR next to my 68 SFDR. He responded, “Now you need to buy my old 50s tweed deluxe to complete the set.”

He said he hadn’t thought about selling it until he saw what I did with the 64 BFDR that I got from him. He said the tweed sounds great but it was recovered in some kind of tweed looking tolex before he got it. That’s not ideal, but it might drop the value down to something I can afford and I don’t mind doing a restoration. He said he’s not certain about the year or circuit, but it’s not a TV front and he thinks it might be a 5E3. I’m waiting for him to send me some pics and hoping he’s not regretting the thought of parting with it. 

An original 5e3 would be really cool.  Not a more versatile 3 knob amp, almost frustratingly so.  That is to say, each knob makes a difference no matter what input you're in and they don't behave how you'd expect.  While it's not my favorite tweed (every model is so different), it and the bassman are probably the most iconic. 

 

This video is good for demonstrating the differences between the eras of tweed deluxe.  If it's not TV front, look to see if it's wide panel or narrow panel.  Narrow panel is the 5e3.  I think the wide panel is the 5D3, which definitely is cool too.

 

 

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tbone_

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I got a Spark for Christmas, it's pretty fun. I find it much easier to use than my Katana. If I could swap the brains and power into the Katana I would. But I'm extremely dumb when it comes to anything beyond volume/gain/EQ/reverb.

What do you like about the spark Moe than the Katana? I’m not super familiar with the Spark.
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Buzzrock

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42 minutes ago, tbone_ said:


What do you like about the spark Moe than the Katana? I’m not super familiar with the Spark.

With the Spark I can control it from my phone, and there are a ton of sounds I can load up instantly. I can save four of them into memory at a time. Like the Katana you can use it wiithout software because there are a half dozen amp models and basic amp controls right on the amp.

With the Katana you have to hook it to a computer with USB and then I found the software interface to be difficult and finding tones I liked to also be difficult. I'm not smart enough to design and tweak my own effects. I've never figured out DAW software either.

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Scooter Monzingo

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2 hours ago, AnotherUTFan said:

Howard Dumble has passed away, taking a lot of amp building secrets with him. If you couldn't afford a Dumble already, doubt you ever will now.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/howard-alexander-dumble-death?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=musicradar&utm_medium=social

It reads strangely similar to Randy Smith’s journey. Just change the names to Carlos, Richards, and Jerry Garcia.

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Gil Bang

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I intend to take the time to read this entire thread, as I've got an old Vox that I intend to restore.  Meanwhile, I need to replace the input jack on a little squire practice amp.  What's the go-to source for do-it-yourself amp parts? 

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dcbc

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2 hours ago, Scooter Monzingo said:

It reads strangely similar to Randy Smith’s journey. Just change the names to Carlos, Richards, and Jerry Garcia.

The guy was a pioneer in modding amp circuits like Smith was.  In reading a bit about him this morning, beyond the hype it seems he was one of those guys who just had a great ear, which he coupled with a strategy of testing all of the components and understanding how each of them would affect the sound of the amp.  But in my limited experience, the ear is the most important attribute of a good amp builder/modder/tech.

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AnotherUTFan

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I intend to take the time to read this entire thread, as I've got an old Vox that I intend to restore.  Meanwhile, I need to replace the input jack on a little squire practice amp.  What's the go-to source for do-it-yourself amp parts? 
I use Antique Electronics Supply. Always been solid and prices are reasonable

https://www.tubesandmore.com/
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Buzzrock

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53 minutes ago, Superhero said:

Any recs for a small amp I can play at home without waking up the kids?  I have a 20+ YO Fender Blues Junior. Dime the volume (gain) and it's too loud even with the master at 2. 

Looking to spend no more than $250. $200 would be even better.

If you poke around you can probably find a 5W Blackstar for close to that. There’s a 1W version too. The Spark is $269 and has a Dumble setting which I’m sure is just as good as the real thing. 

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dcbc

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1 hour ago, Superhero said:

Any recs for a small amp I can play at home without waking up the kids?  I have a 20+ YO Fender Blues Junior. Dime the volume (gain) and it's too loud even with the master at 2. 

Looking to spend no more than $250. $200 would be even better.

Pignose.  It was good enough for Zappa.

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Foggy Notion

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5 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

I intend to take the time to read this entire thread, as I've got an old Vox that I intend to restore.  Meanwhile, I need to replace the input jack on a little squire practice amp.  What's the go-to source for do-it-yourself amp parts? 

How old is this old Vox? Which model? And what does it need to be restored?

North Coast Music is the authorized replacement parts distributor for Vox in the US. Check em out.

http://www.voxampparts.com

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Gil Bang

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15 minutes ago, Foggy Notion said:

How old is this old Vox? Which model? And what does it need to be restored?

North Coast Music is the authorized replacement parts distributor for Vox in the US. Check em out.

http://www.voxampparts.com

Cambridge Reverb 45 watt.  Model V1031.  Speaker is shot, grill material is shot.  Otherwise in good condition, as far as i can tell. 

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dcbc

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10 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

Cambridge Reverb 45 watt.  Model V1031.  Speaker is shot, grill material is shot.  Otherwise in good condition, as far as i can tell. 

Cool.  So it's like the solid state Vox Princeton Reverb?  Do you have the footswitch?  Does it still have the Oxford alnico speaker?  Would love to see some pictures.

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Deej

Deej 77830

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Off to warranty repair for the Black Magick. Installed new tubes, fired it up, volume seemed low, turned up the tremolo and volume bumped back up and amp started crackling. One of the new tubes started red plating like the old set. 

 

Grrrrr...

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Bogeywon

Bogeywon 2548

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11 hours ago, Deej said:

Off to warranty repair for the Black Magick. Installed new tubes, fired it up, volume seemed low, turned up the tremolo and volume bumped back up and amp started crackling. One of the new tubes started red plating like the old set. 

 

Grrrrr...

This happened with my fender 2x12 hot rod deluxe. It was about $100-175 fix I can’t remember. 

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Deej

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Both Sweetwater and Supro said they would handle it free of charge. I just have to pay to ship it, which is about 90 bucks. 

Sweetwater said they would repair it. Supro said they'd repair it or just replace it, depending on the issue. I guess I'll send it back to Supro. 

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