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Thread: Best Amp For Electric Mando

  1. #26
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    How does it hold on a low volume? It is often said that tube amps sound at their best at high volumes?

    are you also using effects?
    I've always been crazy, but it kept me from going insane! (W.J.)

    Syncopation rules the nation! (S.J.)

  2. #27
    Is there a "talent" knob? Christian McKee's Avatar
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    Mine (Fender Pro Jr.) sounds great at low volumes, clean, crisp, warm, everything I could want from an amp. Then I get to crank it and hear the drive sound... Its bliss.

    Christian
    Christian McKee

    Member, The Big North Duo
    Musical Director, The Oregon Mandolin Orchestra

  3. #28
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    I didn't listen to it on low volumes, because it was an acoustic-electric. When I played on low volumes, I heard the instrument over the amp.

  4. #29
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    I've been using a Line6 Flextone combo for my Rigel. I don't use too many of the onboard effects on it though. I have a separate board with the Line 6 floorboard controller, a Korg DT-10 tuner, Morley volume, George Dennis wah, and Visual Sound H20.
    For a few gigs I also split my buddy's Gibson Super Goldtone halfstack, which gave a great range of tones. Of course, all that tone came a heavy weight...

  5. #30
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    A 60s Fender vibro champ #8 watts of tone.
    original #3.5 ohm spealer.

    Its for sale , I see #a spotless one for $600 on mand bros, site , Ill take half that, [a bit of rust,on the top bars and a dusty grillecloth]. >all new fender tubes<
    #even ship , lower 48,
    somebody oughta get some use out of it..

    (mostly use the DSP stomp box and PA away , monitor/mixer at home. (with headphones for my neighbors))



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  6. #31
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    I have a Crate Acoustic anp, their biggest one. Bought on E-bay cheap. It works well for mando or acoustic guitar AND for vocals. Interesting discovery: I hooked my mando to a 'Blues Driver' pedal and Hoo Haw, I sound almost like Jimmy Hendrix! Jack
    smilnJackB

  7. #32
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    At home I use a Champ; on the gig I use a Princeton Reverb II. I love the 6V6 tubes.

  8. #33
    Registered User Dave Hicks's Avatar
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    Princeton Reverb II, huh? I'm thinking of picking one up. How do you like the drive channel?

  9. #34
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    I use a Fender Princeton Reverb. I've used it for 34 years. It sounds warm and clean and is louder than acoustic drums sets. A great all around amp. I've done countless gigs using the mono split imputs for vocal and instrument (mando/guitar). I've seen them for sale at pretty low prices. Just my experience, for what it's worth.
    Mike Plunkett

  10. #35
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    Dave Hicks, I have a Fender Deluxe Reverb II. The distortion channel is not at all like a vintage sounding amp. #These were early eighties amps designed by Paul Rivera and they have a grungy brittle sort of pre-amp tube distortion tone to them. Go over to www.fenderforum.com for lots of amp chat.



    Wye Knot

  11. #36
    Registered User Dave Hicks's Avatar
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    Thanks, Lee - I poked around at Harmony Central, fenderforum and the Telecaster Discussion page, too. #I did buy the Princeton - I really like the clean and it has great reverb (better in both regards than the Blues Jr that has been my main amp for a while). #Also, being point to point wired, it should be comparatively easy to modify or get repaired if need be.

    I agree about the boost "channel". #It sounds OK, and I might use it when playing at a jam just for the convenience of not needing to carry along a pedal, but I don't like it all that much when practicing or recording. #I tried a dirt pedal (Marshall BB II) into the clean channel, and thought that sounded better.

    D.H.

  12. #37
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    Dave, my amp dude says the II-series are great for doing mods, especially on the distortion channel. Plus, a speaker upgrade works wonders.
    Wye Knot

  13. #38
    Registered User Dave Hicks's Avatar
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    What speaker change have you done? I've seen some recommendations at Andrew Waugh's PRII site, but haven't really checked it out any further.

    http://www.geocities.com/princerev2/

  14. #39
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    I tried but haven't liked the Eminence Legend. My fave is the Celestion Vintage 30. The other celestions have weird tubby undertones or brittle highs. I haven't played any Webers. Stock Fender speakers are just itchin' for an improvement.
    Wye Knot

  15. #40
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    For some extra fun I tinker with a Fender VibroChamp; kind of a beach boys sound for electric mando.

  16. #41
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    I just bought a Peavey Delta Blues amp off of eBay. It sounds gorgeous, especially when cranked up, but I have a question:

    Occasionally when I really drive it, I hear this sort of dull thud which is very different from distortion. Anyone have an idea what this could be? I don't know what the age of the tubes is, so could this be a replacement thing? Other than this, there are no other artifacts...

    Thanks in advance,




  17. #42
    Registered User Dave Hicks's Avatar
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    Yes, that could be a bad tube. Preamp tubes can be replaced just by making the switch, power tubes probably need a tech to make sure they're biased correctly.

  18. #43
    Is there a "talent" knob? Christian McKee's Avatar
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    I know that here in Portland, Oregon, I can buy a set of matched power tubes from at least one store. When replacing them, see if you can't find a place that does lots of business in old tube amps, and you may very well be able to buy a matched set, then pop them in yourself.

    Christian
    Christian McKee

    Member, The Big North Duo
    Musical Director, The Oregon Mandolin Orchestra

  19. #44
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    Even if the tubes are a matched set the amp may need biasing. There's a lot of good amp advice at www.fenderforum.com and go to the Amp Mods and Repairs forum.
    Wye Knot

  20. #45
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    Thanks! I ordered a matched set of JJ EL84s from TubeDepot. The amp is fixed bias, and I'm told the JJs work well in it so it should just be plug and play.

  21. #46

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    OK, a more fundemental question for you folks; is it really better for accoustic instruments to go with a solid state or tube amp? I know all about tube amps for electric instruments and I have my own tube rigs as I play blues harp in my other life, so I'm talking about accoustic instruments here. The reason I ask is that I see that many of the amps that are made for accoustic instruments (some of the Crates for example) are solid state. I have a solid state Princeton that I run two accoustic mandos into and it sounds nice with an AKG pickup through a DI. So, this is more of a curiosity; I don't want to get into a tube discussion, believe me I get enough of that in the harp world. Thanks,
    'grouch

  22. #47
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    I too have a Vox Pathfinder 15. It sounds good to my ears with my mandobird, and it's a nice cheap combination!

  23. #48
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    I have one (Vox Pathfinder 15) as well. It's a really warm transistor amp, if anyone is looking for something nice that's cheap.

  24. #49
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    listened to l r baggs pickup in a classical guitar thru an AER alpha, small [10" cube]
    http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/AER1A.htm.
    nice natural tone, he said it goes in the overhead in the airplane, a carry on amp.
    problem: expensive .



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  25. #50
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    Mandogrouch,
    I'm not electrically oriented but I believe the signal coming off a piezo transducer (as opposed to the signal coming off a magnetic pick-up) needs to be "modified" somewhat before entering a typical guitar tube-amp. It's not just frequency equalization but also impedance and gawd-knows-what-else. Again, I highly recommend www.fenderforum.com for authoritative answers/solutions to any amp question, acoustic or electric.
    Wye Knot

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