Amplifiers
Amplifiers seem to hold a certain mystique for many players. This is understandable because they are electronic devices and therefore filled with characteristics that are not easily understood without technical training and experience. Because of this all sorts of legends, myths and outright falsehoods have arisen. Still, amplifiers are a fascinating subject, one that is every bit as rich as the subject of guitars.
An amp that sounds great with humbucking pickups may not sound so good with single coils. Tubes, transformers and speakers can all flavor the sound coming out of an amp. Even the brand of capacitors is said to have an effect on the overall sound. In the final analysis it comes down to whether or not we like what we hear. These are the amps I've used over the years and a little information about each one of them.
1967 Silvertone 1483 Bass Amp:
Every band needs a bass player so my logic in the early days of my musical quest was to work towards versatility. I knew that my folks weren’t going to spring for a bunch of gear so I went with a bass amp so that I could cover more situations.
My mother worked at Sears Roebuck so the brand name of my amp was chosen for me. I knew very little about amps but according to the grapevine at my junior high school “piggy-back” amps were cooler than combo amps so the specifications had to include a piggyback design. Slivertone made a pggyback bass amp with 23 watts of dazzling power and that is what I ended up with. The head fit into the back of the speaker cabinet making it a convenient if somewhat lopsided package to carry.
All in all this was actually a pretty cool amp. It had a cool ‘60s modern look, understated in its gray tolex covering and shiny faces on its control knobs. The sound was solid and clean. I understand that these made pretty good hard-rock amps if you cranked them up far enough but I was content with a clean sound. With no reverb or tremolo, this amp was as basic as you could get. I sold it in 1976 at a yard sale when it was no longer wanted or needed. Too bad for me.
Fender Deluxe Reverb (Silverface)
(Year of manufacture unknown.)
This amp is an object lesson in the transient nature of monetary value. I bought this amp for less than it was worth and sold it for even less than I had paid for it. Although the Silverface Deluxe Reverb is highly desired today in 1977 I did not fully appreciate its charms. This amp went with me to the first gig I ever played and that was its doom. I was right on the edge of breakup and being a Jazz fanatic I didn’t want the overdriven sound. I decided to get a more powerful amp. I traded it in during the summer of 1977 and got $100 for it. If it is still in existence and intact it is probably worth several times that much now.
The Deluxe Reverb is sold as a reissue these days and although I’ve heard some people complain of the reissues sounding too brittle but the example I recently played was very nice sounding. There is a simple modification that will help reduce the brightness of the amp on the reverb channel but of course you will void the warranty if it is a new reissue. One other “cure” that I’ve heard is to do a thorough break-in of the speaker by playing a couple of CDs through the amp at moderate volume.
1977 Randall RB 120
The Deluxe was not quite powerful enough to remain clean on my larger jobs so I traded it for this 120-watt bass amp with a single 15” speaker all packaged in a single closed-back cabinet. It was a decent amp for my gigging axe, a Gibson Johnny Smith archtop. It had plenty of low-end for the rich sound of my jazz axe and the closed back cabinet helped me to control feedback. One night after a gig, as I struggled to carry it up the stairs at 3AM I decided to look for something a bit smaller.
1977 Yamaha G50 112
There’s not much that can be said about this amp. It was a sterile solid-state amp from the first generation of Yamaha amps imported to the US. It was competent, loud, compact and nearly antiseptic in its sound. It was also cheap, $150 used, but like new. I played a lot of gigs on this amp and took particular satisfaction at being able to carry my gear into a job in one trip. Guitar in one hand, amp in the other and a cord stuffed in the open back of the amp. This was a good little amp in many ways but as I said before, it had a very sterile sound.
1978 Yamaha Practice Amp
These are cute little fellows, with wooden cases and a plastic grill. I think that they listed somewhere around $50 and I got mine for $30 or $35. With perhaps 6-watts driving through a tiny speaker this was not anyone’s powerhouse but it was a decent little amp for around the house. A band rehearsal, even at moderate volume, put this amp into breakup. It was cute but not really of much use but I wouldn't mind having another. As I recall, I sold it for $25.
1982 Acoustic 212
Originally I purchased this amp for a Fender Rhodes piano that I had acquired. It did serve mainly as a home practice amp for my piano. I also used this amp with both my Johnny Smith and my Ovation Country Artist. This was actually one of the better solid-state amps I ever owned. I wish that I had the complete details on this but I’m afraid that I don’t at this time. This is another piece of equipment that got itself sold or traded with no particular memory on my part of when or how. It must have just up and left.
1992 Crate 2 x 10:
This was an early attempt at a hybrid amp. It had a 12AX7 preamp tube, a solid-state power amp and a lot of extraneous noise. In a very short time I decided that the noise was too much and back to the store it went. The store said that they would trade me up into a new model Crate that was supposed to arrive any day so I waited, and waited and waited. After a few weeks I finally told the dealer that I would challenge the item on my credit card if he didn’t issue a refund. Once that bit of unpleasantness was over with I left and went straight out and bought a new . . . .
1992 Fender Deluxe 85
This was a fairly decent little amp. A single 12” speaker and channel switching capability gave this amp some very useful capabilities. While I am not big on distortion I know enough about it that I have at least some appreciation for its finer points. As solid-state amps go it distorted nicely. The drive channel was designed to provide a warmer overdrive sound than you would expect from a solid-state amp. This amp was not spectacular at anything but competent at many things.
2002 Behringer GX 210
In 2001 I bought a Boss BR-8 and did some home recording. I was impressed with the built-in effects that could be patched into the individual tracks. I wanted to experiment with some effects, especially chorusing and digital delay. Good quality effects don’t come cheaply and it occurred to me that an amp with built-in effects would be cheaper than buying the effects I wanted to try individually. Shortly thereafter I heard a great sounding amp being played at a local music store. It was warm and mellow when that was asked of it. This amp was a Behringer and it fit the bill well. It has a broad range of built-in effects which were MIDI controllable. An accessory MIDI foot controller completed the package. Although I strongly prefer a tube amp for public performances this is still one of my favorite amps for around the house or low-volume playing situations.
2002 Ibanez IBZ10
This little amp is strictly for practice or bedroom use. It has an 8” speaker and 12 watts of solid-state power. Somehow, I like this amp and it sure comes in handy at times. It only weighs a few pounds so I can grab it on the fly and take it anywhere there is AC power. For an amp that cost roughly $50 it sounds pretty good. I don’t use it a lot but it’s nice to have around for the odd amplification task. This amp is marketed towards the young player and as such has abundant distortion available at the push of a button. It's cheap, fun and nearly disposable to boot.
Fender Hot Rod Deville 2 x 12:
Tube amps have an underlying strength that cannot be equaled by solid-state amps, at least in my opinion. There are basic differences in the architecture of tube amps that affect the way the power is delivered to the speakers. Tube amps also respond differently through each stage of amplification. Characteristically, tubes respond linearly, so that the signal is accurately amplified. Tubes respond in a non-linear fashion, however, when driven into saturation but the resulting distortion can have a pleasant effect. I wanted to buy a fairly simple, straightforward amplifier that would earn its keep by the virtue of the character of its sound. The tone circuit in the HR DeVille has at least a basic similarity to that found in the original Fender Bassman, an amp praised for its tone and character.
This is certainly not a collector’s piece or a top of the line amp but it is all tube (in the signal path) and in my opinion it is a very competent amp that can be had in a 4 x 10 or 2 x 12 speaker configuration. I thought that I would prefer the warmth of the 4 x 10 model but when I got to the moment of truth I chose the 2 x 12. It has a great balance between the classic Fender sound and a sound that has a somewhat British character. It is a powerful amp with enough wattage for anything I’ll ever do. Some people argue that these amps with their printed circuit boards are not the real thing but I don’t see it that way. This is a good amp and worthy of the Fender logo.
2004 Fender Blues Jr.
After buying the Hot Rod DeVille I came to realize that tube amps and I were a good mix. I like the responsiveness of them as well as their sound. I wanted to learn more about these creatures and their nuances. I had visited a number of Internet discussion groups dealing with music and I soon found myself posting to a couple of groups that discussed tube amps. One day I received a private message from someone on one of these threads asking my opinion on a way to reduce the power of a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I suggested the Substitube, a device that allowed you to install small EL84 tubes into an amplifier designed for the larger 6L6 or EL34 power tubes. I even mused about trying them on my DeVille. A short while later I heard a sound sample comparing the differences between the sound of an EL84 power tube and a 6V6 power tube when played through a custom built amp that was designed for testing various power tubes in an otherwise similar circuit. Now I was hooked, I loved the sound of the EL84. I had been planning on building a tube amp that combined an old tweed style preamp and tone stack with a set of 6V6 power tubes but when I fell for the EL84 I decided to go in a different direction. The Blues Jr. sounded like a good compromise, achieving my desired sound in a portable package. I bought a new Blues Jr. and absolutely love it. Once again, it has a mix of Fender and British sounds. It reminds me somewhat of a Vox AC-15 or AC-30, both classic sounds from the British Invasion era. All of this for under $400 and weighing a mere 31 pounds.
My Blues Junior has been modified over the years and these have made significant improvements in the utility of the amp. If you'd like to read about them please click here.
2006 Fender Twin Reverb Reissue
Having a sibling 8 years my senior I was exposed to many of the influences of youth culture early on. Even though I was born in 1954 I can actually remember some early '50s Rock 'n' Roll when it was new. To a much greater extent I remember the youth culture of the early '60s in all of its glory. The Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, 409 Chevies and the reverb laden sound of Surf music all stand out in my mind as icons of an era.
If you played electric guitar during that time period the Fender Twin Reverb was the amplifier equivalent of a 409 Chevy. It was a four-speed, dual quad, positraction, big-block muscle amp from the olde school, had power to spare and was too cool for words. Ever since, I knew that the Twin was the amp for me and I was right.
One fine day I had a chance to buy a Twin for a good price and my Hot Rod Deville was actually welcomed as a trade-in. While the Twin is heavy it earns its keep with that great classic Fender "blackface" tone. The reverb is tube driven and as good as you can get without going to an outboard reverb tank. Best of all, my Gretsches sound great through it . . . GREAT! This is the sound that I have loved for decades, a bright, but never harsh, guitar played through a clean amp with great reverb. I couldn't be happier with this choice of an amp.
