Got my amp fixed (finally)!

[porsche911girl]

Well I took my amp to the amp guy at Sam Ash (hey, don't yell at me, it went well).

He quickly solved the 'no reverb' problem straight away by pointing out that my reverb tube had a crack in it, so d'oh of course it wasn't working! I stood there feeling like a huge idiot.

He found a replacement reverb tube for it, installed it, and turned the amp on and it sounded great. The reverb sounds like Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" sound...very sweet, pure, and clean.

Then he opened the amp up to check the transformers, caps, etc, and checked the bias on it. It was running a bit high, around 41-42, and he told me it should be in the mid-upper 30s range, so he lowered it to 35, and tried it. I couldn't tell a difference in sound/tone quality, still sounded good to me.

He also showed me detailed schematics of the Fender Deluxe AB763 (I think) circuitry and explained what each of the tubes did, which was very helpful. I must've spent close to an hour and a half there, talking about amps and the various mods he can do to them (he custom-builds tube amps). He's got me thinking of adding a mid-boost kit with a push/pull knob to control both the middle-tone control and the mid-boost separately on one knob.

We also share a love of classic and vintage cars as well, he's quite knowledgable about them as well; he drives a 1966 Mustang coupe.

But the best part of the whole thing? He didn't charge me a thing! I think he likes me, but it could be cos there probably aren't too many young girls with vintage tube amps who come there...

Anyway, just thought I'd let you all know of the status of my amp. I think it sounds better than ever now, and if I had the proper equipment, I'd record some riffs thru it and post them on here.

[WolfeMacleod]

SAM ASH??

HOW COULD YOU!?

Just kidding..

Next time you have amp trouble, may I suggest giving Reinhard Amps a call? They're in your neck of the woods, and the guy knows him stuff.


I remember living in Danville, VA for awhile. I needed my amp biased, so I took it by the "music stores" in town...and they looked at me like I was crazy. Didn't even know what biasing was!

[deathpunk dan]

Love old fender amps but they just don't break up enough without - the horror - pedals in front of them...so its JCM800, JMP MKIIs etc for this guy.

But my old tele into my old twin reverb sure sounded pretty.

[azasadny]

Good news, I'm glad the tech treated you well...

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally posted by deathpunk dan
Love old fender amps but they just don't break up enough without - the horror - pedals in front of them...so its JCM800, JMP MKIIs etc for this guy.

But my old tele into my old twin reverb sure sounded pretty.

You should try a 57-59 Deluxe some day.

[porsche911girl]

Originally posted by deathpunk dan
Love old fender amps but they just don't break up enough without - the horror - pedals in front of them.

Hey, I use a variety of 11 different effect pedals in front of my Deluxe Reverb! And sometimes I'll just crank the volume up to between 5 and 8--plenty loud for in the house playing, and nice tube overdriven tone to boot!

[deathpunk dan]

My idol as a teenager was the infamous Johnny Thunders, who played (this is why I have 2 yellow les paul jrs) an LP jr via a variety of old fenders. He got amazing sounds out of them...and I finally know how he did it.

I read somewhere that a huge Thunders fan made it down to NYC to see him play in the early 80s...JT staggered on stage, picked up his guitar, then ran the palm of his hand across the knobs, turning them all to 10. Yow!

[scottmandue]

Porschegirl has a boyfriend... Porschegirl has a boyfriend...

[MOMO3.2]

Hey Katie, you drive a Porsche 911 and play guitar too! You definitely got it goin on girl!!!

I just purchased a new Tophat Club Royale 2X12 last week. It is circa 1999, so it has a real vintage Vox vibe (only it sounds better than an AC30 IMHO). I decided to put off the seat re-upholstery in my 911 and spend the money on an amp. I am looking to buy a nice used 52 Reissue Telecaster too. Good decision so far.

Good luck with your Fender Amp!

Mike

[porsche911girl]

Deathpunk--I'm also a Thunders fan. I like Personality Crisis and Pipeline.

Scott--don't believe the rumors--I don't have a boyfriend.

Momo--thank you! That amp sounds killer! Anything with a vintage Vox vibe is A-OK in my book! I have a Vox AD50VT, and I'm not 100% in love with it. It does get some nice sounds, but IMO it's not as versatile as my Line6 Spider, but to each his own. Of course, my Fender is my favorite amp I've ever heard. I would never get rid of it!

[scottmandue]

Originally posted by porsche911girl
Scott--don't believe the rumors--I don't have a boyfriend.

Awww come on... he works in a music store! Think of the discounts you could get!

Just messing with you!

[MOMO3.2]

1999 Tophat Club Royale

[porsche911girl]

Yeah I know Scott. I've been thinking about working part-time in that music store this summer because of the discounts, but also b/c I go there so much that I know half the people that work there, so it'd be kinda cool. It's retail, tho, so I'm sure the pay will be crappy...but it's better than no money, right?

[scottmandue]

I don't know if Sam Ash works like this but guitar center pays commission to the salesperson on all sales. I have a friend that is a very talented keyboard/guitar/drummer and he did a ton of sales just because he actually knew what he was talking about or if someone came in looking for something specific he could help them find it... after awhile he had a clientele that would only buy from him.

You seem talented and friendly (and being a pretty girl doesn't hurt) chances are you might do very well there... and you get to play with all the newest guitars and amps all day!

[nostatic]

my advice: get rid of most of the pedals. The sound is in your fingers. And the amp is an instrument (at least a good tube amp is).

Unless you're having to try and cover/copy a lot of different player's sounds, find a couple tones/effects you like and toss the rest. I use a good chorus (sometimes), either a Fulltone overdrive or Keeley compressor (though rarely the compressor on guitar), and an old Vox wah.

Toys get in the way of the tone and the feel.

I also wouldn't mod the amp until you know what you want out of it...and really get a feel for what it truly sounds like.

[rouxroux]

Originally posted by nostatic
my advice: get rid of most of the pedals. The sound is in your fingers. And the amp is an instrument (at least a good tube amp is).

THANK YOU!!! I have too many students who go for "talent in a box"... Work on technique and timbre, then go get the best amp you can afford (but please don't fall into the neverending downward spiral of buying Dumbles and Trainwrecks ).

[MOMO3.2]

oops!

[MOMO3.2]

I never use pedals.

My personal "tone quest" followed a relatively direct path that lead to a single coil guitar plugged directly into a high quality, simple, point to point, class A amplifier.

A great musician could plug a tennis racket into a tin can and make it sound amazing. For a mere mortal like me, spending my music time playing a fine guitar through a fine amplifier can make for a sublime experience.

Mike

[Sonic dB]

Amps and tone are cool.. but its all about songs. Writing
great songs...and playing them. Not too many guitarists
or musicians can do this. It is not an easy thing.

[Az911]

Originally posted by nostatic
my advice: get rid of most of the pedals. The sound is in your fingers. And the amp is an instrument (at least a good tube amp is).

Unless you're having to try and cover/copy a lot of different player's sounds, find a couple tones/effects you like and toss the rest. I use a good chorus (sometimes), either a Fulltone overdrive or Keeley compressor (though rarely the compressor on guitar), and an old Vox wah.

Toys get in the way of the tone and the feel.

I also wouldn't mod the amp until you know what you want out of it...and really get a feel for what it truly sounds like.

The best guitar players (john petrucci, joe satriani) in the world have huge racks full effects. Yes you need to have alot of talents but the effects can greatly improve tone/over all sound.