Mac Daddy wrote:I would be really interested to hear your opinion on the differences between the modded (ultraPhonix? La Tostada? El Guacamole? ) Dual Showman and Bandmaster.
Thanks
Rog
I've never heard the one's you've mention , only the UP[/quote]
OK, La Tostada is apparently real - El Guacamole is not but that's what my modded Deluxe will be called when I build it
Please tell us as much as you can about the UP Showman and Bandmaster.
I'm sure there are many members on here who would like to build one but getting enough info together to produce an accurate layout or schematic is proving, let's say, tricky.
I don't think you need a HAD amp, I think the trick is to work out mods that are meaningful to you.
I think Matt Rae could play through a Twin Reverb reissue and it would sound great. I've had this experience where the great player grabs your guitar and somehow there are great tones there I've completely missed. Now that is a lesson!
The amp described could have been achieved by simply changing the 12AX7 in the vibrato channel for a 12AY7. This is a lower gain audio tube. Mind you, I think this is unlikely to be the total sum of the modification. However I do think it is probable that the first filter caps on the Showman were increased to 110uF ( two 220uF caps in series.)
Well only speaking for myself here but I would know instantly if an amp or a pedal would cut the mustard and inspire me to play things beyond my reach...
They either have IT or they do not.
All I know is I either have interest in the amp or I dont and Id know in about 5 min flat..
I bet we all could agree that certain amps make us feel better about the sounds we are chasing in our heads...
Some amps are really inspiring and some are really not..
That is subjective though and not my place to say who is deserving of
one style amp or the other..
My take is this what if you play a certain amp and music just pours out of you and the amp right next too it is just so so ?
For me id be setting the guitar down if nothing inspiring was coming from within dying to get out.
I believe my own ears though and I know which amps will give it up and which ones do not.
Ive heard some Dumbles I did not care for
then I have stood right in front of others which were being played by
inspiring players and I was attracted to that...
Everyone is different though some people were crying at those tones while others were talking through it so one mans junk another mans treasure..
I guess what I am saying is with the superman amp I feel more like reaching for the stars and suddenly music pours out of me vs
the mild mannered amp just is not so spectacular.
Can I play like Matt Rae no will a dumble or any clone make me play those lines no.
But I bet we all have that one thing in common which is certain amps
inspire us individually to become better players and to even try to play as good where as other amps are un inspiring and lack luster and speaking for me I loose interest quickly if the amp has no Huevos or umpf to borrow a phrase.
Even tubes alone in the right Boost pedal can change the entire approach of how I play..
Some things pour out only when you hear them coming from your fingers
playing through something inspiring..
I recently sat with about 40 NOS 12 ax 7 tubes and
tried every one of them through a boost pedal..
Some instantly sounded like British classic sounds some more so
American some were musical where you could play about any style music with them..
Some were special some not so much.
I think that might be the common illness guitar players share..
We have this sound in our heads and we want to hear it come from our fingers and when it does not we sell or begin the search again.
When you hear the difference and your standing in its presence then
things change you either find that magic or you keep looking and looking till you do.
Perhaps its all in our heads or in mine..
For me though if the sound is short of glorious Im going to suck playing
I wont have any inspiration to reach for the stars otherwise..
So I am basically jaded and ruined
because I heard the difference and Ive been chasing that
for 35 years now..
I found some of those sounds but music has changed and perhaps they dont mean anything to the new crowd now..
But that never stopped me from chasing them.
Id love to own a Dumble do I think I deserve one or could play like Matt Rae overnight ?
Yes and No.
Yes I deserve one and No I wont sound as good as Matt does cause I dont know how to play that style if at all but that does not mean Id not be reaching to learn it..
Guitar Player Magazine: "Can you "Dumble-ize" a Fender amp to the point that it shares the Dumble philosophy and sound, or would it be a compromise?"
Alexander Dumble:
"It's a compromise. The actual physical construction of the Fender limits what can be done. In fact, after the last Steel-String Singer mod I did to David Lindley's [Max: ODS] amps , he no longer uses the Fender Bassman I Dumbleized for him. He wanted this luscious transparency and response--like floating in white clouds--and I came up with special circuitry. I can use a Fender chassis, but you have to rip everything off of it, fill in all the holes, and re-drill it. They're just a little bit too squashed. A distance of half a centimeter makes a big difference in the way something sounds. It's a science involved with what's called circuit constants."
Interestingly the Showman and Bandmaster are virtually the same amp but the Showman has a 100w power amp compared to the 50w Bandmaster.
Layout and components are the same other than the power amp.
I have to disagree with your statement Tom
While they both have different power structure's
The main difference is the Showman has a mid range control
with that said , HAD does have a few tricks he use's with the bass control
What I mean is , Depending were you dial in the bass control , He tap's in some mid range into the bass structure
What I' trying to say is
He makes the the bass control interactive with the mid's on the channel's that don't have a mid control ...Lol
Last edited by Mac Daddy on Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:31 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Ah you're right, I missed the mid pot on the Showman.
I was just comparing the AA763 schematics noting the similarities.
Of course I have no idea what HAD did to the circuits or how much of the stock circuit even remains.
I have noticed in the past that certain circuits such as the AA763 can be found in several different models.
In fact the best sounding Fender amp I ever had the pleasure to play was a blond AB763 Super Reverb.
Max wrote:Guitar Player Magazine: "Can you "Dumble-ize" a Fender amp to the point that it shares the Dumble philosophy and sound, or would it be a compromise?"
Alexander Dumble:
"It's a compromise. The actual physical construction of the Fender limits what can be done. In fact, after the last Steel-String Singer mod I did to David Lindley's [Max: ODS] amps , he no longer uses the Fender Bassman I Dumbleized for him. He wanted this luscious transparency and response--like floating in white clouds--and I came up with special circuitry. I can use a Fender chassis, but you have to rip everything off of it, fill in all the holes, and re-drill it. They're just a little bit too squashed. A distance of half a centimeter makes a big difference in the way something sounds. It's a science involved with what's called circuit constants."
) Dual Showman and Bandmaster.
