No joy from the 50 watt Bluesmaster clone

[David Root]

Mark I think you could be right about that.

I didn't fizz on it at the time, but when I dismantled one of my AB165 chassis to build my '79s ODS last year, I noticed that the jacks were pretty stiff and the shunt in particular was strong & tight.

Sic transit gloria.... on the altar of quarterly results.

[Dr d]

Hi Mark, thanks for the input. I will try that, though I have a feeling my problem might be earlier in the signal chain....the distortion is taking place both with my dumbleator in and out of the loop. Cheers.

[Mark]

Good luck with your amp.

[Dr d]

Mark, if you're there. My woes turned out to be a faulty Alpha 1M pot (pre vol). I replaced it and my amp came back to life. Not had that problem before.

[Mark]

Great news Dr D. I love a success story!

[Mark]

I hooked up the Dumbleator (DL) to the Bluesmaster (BM). I had initially thought the BM doesn't need any extra girth so what is the point of using it. I don't tend to use delays etc.

Initially the BM sounded worse with the DL, however with some experimentation I found that if I supplied a decent amount of signal to the follower part of the circuit (volume set to 5.) I then set the drive volume to 8 or 9 o'clock engaged the bright switch and the magic happened.

The followers compression evened out the response of the amp and the highs sounded great.

The lack of feedback I was complaining about occurred beautifully.

To my surprise I now get good tones from both humbucking guitars and my Strat.

The DL, it's the secret sauce, again a recommended part of the ODS amp!

[CHIP]

I hooked up the Dumbleator (DL) to the Bluesmaster (BM). I had initially thought the BM doesn't need any extra girth so what is the point of using it. I don't tend to use delays etc.

Initially the BM sounded worse with the DL, however with some experimentation I found that if I supplied a decent amount of signal to the follower part of the circuit (volume set to 5.) I then set the drive volume to 8 or 9 o'clock engaged the bright switch and the magic happened.

The followers compression evened out the response of the amp and the highs sounded great.

The lack of feedback I was complaining about occurred beautifully.

To my surprise I now get good tones from both humbucking guitars and my Strat.

The DL, it's the secret sauce, again a recommended part of the ODS amp!

Mark, Please elaborate on The (DL) settings. Do you mean Bright switch on amp or (DL)?
My (DL) has 3 pots . I assume Drive controls the input signal and the follower is the middle pot . Recovery is the last pot. Correct?
Also the vol. you set at 5. Is this master vol. or pre amp vol.?

[bluesfendermanblues]

The DL, it's the secret sauce, again a recommended part of the ODS amp!

100% in agreement with you - I've been bitchen over my Bluesmaster and its excessive bass etc. and all you need is the Dumblelator. Man have I wasted a lot of time not realising that the D'lator was indeed the secret sauce.

[Mark]

Dear Chip

Thanks for the reply. I suppose my post wasn't very clear, I'll try and clarify it.

I think the Dumbleator generally thicken and sweetens most amps. The Bluesmaster certainly doesn't need extra bass and mids. To digress, I think the mid and bass controls should be used sparingly and not in the same way as you would with a Fender amp.

The Dumbleator I refer to has a drive volume which control the level from the send circuit (cathode follower).

There is a recovery volume control which precedes the control grid the return stage.

The final control is a output volume control which controls the level from the return circuit.

Do you mean Bright switch on amp or (DL)?

The bright switch I am referring to is the one on the send volume control of the Dumbleator. I found this one had greatest effect on the overdrive tones.

Also the vol. you set at 5. Is this master vol. or pre amp vol.?

I am referring to the volume control for the overdrive stage. I set this to "5" to ensure there was plenty of level hitting the cathode follower (CF) to product compression, but not enough to make the CF distort.

BFMB, thanks for the reply. the drive bright switch gives the BM that frequency it seems to be lacking and the CF gives the required compression. I wonder if this was all part of HAD's grand plan or a happy accident that was stumbled upon by users here?

[CHIP]

Mark,
Thanks for the explanation.

[Mark]

I think the thing I learnt from the Dumbleator was that there weren't enough highs in the amp. Today I was also thinking the tone stack with the bass and mid controls set so low surely must cause more attenuation than if they were turned up.

As they are pots I have nothing to lose.

Turning the treble pot up helped but it could realistically only go as high as 12:00 o'clock to 12:30. I turned the bass up (I'm using a 90 watt Celestion Boogie speaker, it doesn't have the warmth or bass response of the Celestion 65's.) I found the amp could sound too bassy, but it was more of a spongy sounding distortion than muffled bass. Again 12:00 seemed to be the spot. Yet again the mid pot seemed to like 12:00. This is quite different to other peoples results, but the speaker and donor amp are different.

The result was easier feedback from all guitars and greater harmonic content. The input trimmer was turned down to eliminate any buzziness.

My Strat sounded like a distorted Strat. The PRS custom was bright with a lot of gain, bright plexi tones, my Les Paul was just huge, classic Les Paul tone!

I hope I feel the same way about it tomorrow.

[da Geezer]

I hope I feel the same way about it tomorrow.

I think we all know THAT feeling!

How many times have I said to self "I've got this amp tuned PERFECTLY", just to have same self hear something different the very next day?

Glad you're getting closer, & hope you're actually "there".........

Geezer

[Structo]

Mark I ended up changing a resistor in my Dumbleator because initially it sort of muffled the tone of my amp.
I believe it was the 220K/500pf filter I adjusted.
I can't remember what value I ended up with for the 220K but I went down in the value in order to let more highs through.

[Mark]

Da Geezer, it is all relative of course. Unless you have the real thing to compare your amp to then the goal can vary from day to day. Basically, I'm using three guitars so I don't tweak it to suit one guitar I'm shooting for a good average sound.

Tom, I thought that adding the Dumbleator to the amp now would make things more complicated as I'd have an additional circuit to tweak. The Dumbleator worked for me as it provided additional brightness via the bright switches. So I thought I would try and get the brightness without the Dumbleator. First I thought of adjusting the pots and then tweaking the amp. I still want to experiment with the 470K with the 47pF brightness cap. I'm wondering how a 470pF will sound in that position.

As far as what I have goes. I'll see how good it gets without changing components or adding the Dumbleator, then I'll start with the area of greatest need.

Living in Australia is a little unfortunate as there aren't any/many D style amps to compare mine to. Still it is a small complaint.

[Mr Dumble]

Hi, I finally converted my Boogie SOB to a Bluesmaster of sorts, that is to say I left the power supply alone. The string is 5.6K, 10K and 6.8K as opposed to 3.4K, 15K and 10K. I didn't think this would make a huge difference though I am starting to wonder.

I find the clean channel to be very pleasing with a Strat, but the HRM doesn't have a lot of gain like a non HRM amp. I find it sounds best with high output humbuckers, though it doesn't easily feedback.

I have the controls set to; volume 5, OD gain 8, OD volume 8, treble, bass and middle on 7 master on 3. The HRM controls are treble and middle at 11 o'clock, bass fully on, the OD drive is set to 10 o'clock.

When I use a strat and HRM overdrive I feel there is a good rhythm tone, but I still need an overdrive pedal to get the lead tones.

I am going to try Tony's set up recommendations, however I'm starting to think the HRM doesn't have the sound.

Thanks for any advice.

I have yet to play a Bluesmaster I have liked in the overdrive. I dont think they have the sound either. Excellent cleans for a D style amp though.