Lunch Report Monday, 15-Oct

[RickT]

I'm Ricky Thompson and I've been on this forum since the early 90s after I purchased my first G&L. That guitar was a sunburst George Fullerton Legacy with skinny fret wire and very pronounced v-neck. It was a great sounding guitar and steered me into a brand that I still own today.

I'm a project manager by profession. In fact, I just attended a weekend training seminar on a new project scheduling application called Merlin. Merlin runs native on the Mac platform which is good because now I don't have to launch a Wxp VM just to run Microsoft Project.

In my spare time, I play guitar in a Blues and Classic Rock band called TightSqueeze. We've had a busy schedule this year and have already played 31 gigs. For us that is a lot.

Today's topic is going to be amplifiers. I love amps, and, at one point had way more amps than guitars. I sold off most of my amps over the years and have recently started building back the inventory. I posted this picture last week of my current amp collection. Missing from this is an additional Super Champ and a Top Hat Portly Cadet.


The Top Hat on the end is my most recent acquision and is a Club Royal. It is an EL84 1x12 combo voiced somewhere between a Marshall and a Vox. It has the chiminess and shimmer like a Vox but very ballsy in the midrange like a Marshall.


Here are some of my previous G&L guitars and amps:


The only guitar in that picture that I still have is the Legacy HB in Red Mahogany. I had a matching ASAT but could never take to it so I sold it.

Let's see your amps!

RickT

[jonc]

Most of my amps are now gone although I still have a blonde Tremolux, Uni-Music era Ampeg G12 and G20 running 7591's, Supro T16, and Gibson GA-8T. Ed might know a couple of these

[darwinohm]

Rick, you have had quite an assortment of G&Ls and also a good assortment of amps. The Top Hat is really cool as is the wood cabinet Mesa. Fortunately for me, I have not had the eye for amps that I have had for guitars or we would have needed anew home to store them.

I have mostly owned Fender tube amps over the years and they are good for clean. I am also a bassist so that gets me off the hook for a bit. We recently tested an ASAT Alnico through a Bad Cat. I didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary and it was $1700. Here are a pictures of my guitar amps:

The little Valve Train setup



The Cyber Twin SE



And the Custom 15



I also have three bass amps, a Carvin RS-1000 and two SWR 200 watt amps , one of which I carry the head as a backup.

Jonc, that is quite an assortment of amps that you have owned.-- Darwin

[RickT]

...The little Valve Train setup...

I like that Valve Train set up. What is in those cabinets?

RickT

[RickT]

...Tremolux...

There are some cool amps in that mix. What became of the Magnatone? And, how does that Tremolux sound?

RickT

[jonc]

Rick: The small maggie was sold off on TGP a few years back and the Titano, which is actually a Maggie 213/214, to a pal of mine in OH. Both have that great Maggie vibrato and the Titano at around 20 watts is both loud and full sounding. The smaller one had the advantage of a 10" speaker instead of the more typical 8" this size amp generally came with from other makers, and the speaker size really makes a difference. The Tremolux was my first good amp and I would usually pair it with a 2x10, which was stock for that amp, a 1x12 or 2x12 depending on the gig. The Tremolux is typical Fender clean up to around 4 or 5, which is plenty loud given that it's a 35 watt amp, and then it's gets more and more saturated as you turn the volume up, with a nice grind due in part to the tube rectifier. The 6G9-B circuit, which this has, uses a power tube bias modulation type of tremolo, which both sounds different from, and doesn't load down the tone circuit like the later AB763 circuit did. Of all the Fender amps, the blonds are my favorites in terms of tone and natural overdrive.

Darwin: I kind of wish I had kept pics of them all since I went through many, many amps. Working in a music store put me on the spot to buy, sell and swap a whole slew of amps and guitars, and I sure made good use of it. Now if only I had held onto that 69 Strat, the wide-panel Fender Tweed, the Marshall BluesBreaker, the... well, you get the idea. Now it's all about going the opposite direction of which I'm about 3/4's of the way done.

[darwinohm]

Rick, the cabinet on the top is a "Spring Thing" , a reverb tank and the best I have ever heard. The bottom cabinet is the amp, a Valve Train 205, a 5 watt amp based on a 1955 Fender Princeton. It has an 8" Weber Signature and the tone is awesome. Tese are from the Valve Train custom shop which no longer exists as such.They build their Valve Train products but no custom shop any more. This particular unit has a flamed maple cabinets with the flame paint to match the custom Gadow. This is an amp that could be miked and used in a large venue. it is a one off and will be here as long as I am. You almost have to be crazy to buy something like this but I did! -- Darwin

http://www.valvetrainamps.com/vt205.htm

[yowhatsshakin]

Hi Rick,

Great to see your amps and the nice variety of G&L guitars you used in the pictures.

I won't be able to outdo your or Jon's collection, but here is are my amps:

The big rig:


The Express 5:25 mini-stack:


Boogie Subway Blues


The small stuff:


- Jos

[louis cyfer]

here is my humble input on amps



forget the 59 pedals in the 2 cases in front.

[suave eddie]

Hi Rick,

Great to see your amps and the nice variety of G&L guitars you used in the pictures.

I won't be able to outdo your or Jon's collection, but here is are my amps:

The big rig:


The Express 5:25 mini-stack:


Boogie Subway Blues


The small stuff:


- Jos

Are those Mesa cabinets in the first picture the Thiele cabs with the EV12Ls? If so have you tried using one of them as an extension speaker for the Subway? That's what I use and I think it sounds great. I have the original first generation Subway blues with the 2 separate inputs and the brown jute grill--I don't have any photos right now.

[jonc]

Louis, love the "picture frame" Reverberocket (?). Like the Golden Glo's, only made with that styling for a short time. Is that an Echo Twin or Super Echo Twin?

[louis cyfer]

Louis, love the "picture frame" Reverberocket (?). Like the Golden Glo's, only made with that styling for a short time. Is that an Echo Twin or Super Echo Twin?

it's actually a 40th anniversary reissue 65 twin. indeed a reverberocket II, from 67, and i have not seen many with that styling. by far the best reverb i have on any amp.

[RickT]

Wow! You all have some nice amps indeed. I see a great mix of vintage and modern. Thank you all for sharing.

RickT

[Dave_P]

Nice collection of amps Rick! Jon that Tremolux is exactly what I've been after for a few years now, came very close to getting one but the guy changed his mind at the last minute. I'm still hoping to come across another at some point before they get too expensive.

Here are my current amps


1966 Bandmaster with matching 2x12 cab, Lil' Dawg Dlux (25 watt version), 1968 Fender Bandmaster 2x12 cab(larger one in back), home built 1x15 cab with a Weber alnico in it.

the small '65 2x12 has a pair of these in it


Better pic of the '68


Cab I built for the DLux, it's actually further along than this now but still not finished. Has a 15" Weber Blue Dog (ceramic).


Right now my favorite combo's are the DLux through the '65 2x12 (those EV SRO's are fantastic) and the '66 Bandmaster through the 1x15 weber alnico

-Dave

[jonc]

Dave, have to agree on the EV's but if you ever come across a set of the original "Force 10" or "Force 12" speakers then grab em. These were highly disregarded when they came out because folks thought they weren't "real" EV's. Later when they changed the voice coil, etc., and finally stopped making them, then everyone wanted the original ones and prices hit the roof. Great speakers for guitar and a really good match for your rig. Certainly nothing "wrong" with a BF Bandmaster, although I know some guys insist you have to change out the small PT for one from a Bassman to make the amp sing. The one I had was fine as is. The Tremolux, as least for me, hits a sweet spot in both volume and tone/grind. It's a great blues/rock amp with a lovely, gooey sag that gets into dripping overdrive goodness as you turn the volume up, but it can do the clean Fender sounds as well. I've seen heads in good shape going for $800 - $1300 which isn't cheap, but worth it if you can swing it. Chris Guitars has a head and head/cab on his amps page if you want to check em out. They've been up for a while and as Chris loves doing guitar trades, you might be able to make a good deal.

[Dave_P]

Chris Guitars has a head and head/cab on his amps page if you want to check em out. They've been up for a while and as Chris loves doing guitar trades, you might be able to make a good deal.

Thanks for the tip on the Tremolux and the force speakers, I'll have to look into that.

-Dave

[yowhatsshakin]

Are those Mesa cabinets in the first picture the Thiele cabs with the EV12Ls? If so have you tried using one of them as an extension speaker for the Subway? That's what I use and I think it sounds great. I have the original first generation Subway blues with the 2 separate inputs and the brown jute grill--I don't have any photos right now.

No, they do not have EV12L but Black Widow 90's.

- Jos