Tag: fender amp

Amp Nerd Post

Okay… bear with me on this one. It’s going to be a guitar amp nerd thing.

I’ve been running two amps together for most of the last year and it’s awesome. I’m thinking about changing things though. Why? I don’t know, leave me alone. What I want to do is play through my Fender Deluxe Reverb, but that’s still at the band’s rehearsal space. It’s been there for 13 months. Missing me. My Fender Bassbreaker 18/30 is here though, and that’s sort of a Deluxe Reverb just with the wrong tubes (at least that’s how Fender sort of described it). Unfortunately, when I was using that amp a year ago it was too loud and my family complained. Is there a way that I can get around that now?

My first thought was to get an attenuator. I have one for my Deluxe. I place it between the amp and the built in speaker. There’s a 1/4 inch cable that standardly connects the speaker to the amp so I can just use that. The 18/30 can’t do that for a bunch of reasons. First, it’s a closed cabinet so I would have to take it apart to get to the plug and I ain’t doin’ that. Second, it’s not a plug, it’s hardwired… at least as far as I can tell it is. Again, I ain’t takin’ it apart. Third, where the Deluxe has one speaker, the 18/30 has two. What does that mean? Would I have to get two attenuators?

I think I still have options though. First, let’s look at what we’re dealing with:

I do have an extension cabinet. It’s one 12 inch speaker. It’s currently plugged into the little Vox MV30 which is plugged into the electric keyboard in the living room. Harry hasn’t used it in ages though, he usually wears headphones when he practices. I have an impedance select so I should be able to use it without worry. I think it’s eight ohms but it should say on the back of the cab. Now if I use the Main Speaker output it will bypass the two built in speakers. What does that mean for volume? Will going from two speakers to one speaker give me the volume reduction I need? I don’t think so. It might be a little lower volume but it will probably just mean the speaker will distort at a lower volume than the combo speakers do. I don’t know. I’ve never done this.

Assuming the Main Speaker into my 1×12 cab works, and assuming it doesn’t reduce the volume the way I need, I should be able to get a cheap attenuator, similar to the one I bought for my Deluxe. I bought it on Reverb.com from a guy in Tyngsboro, MA who builds them (I think) in his house. Unfortunately I don’t remember the name of the seller or the company. So… I bet I can find it on my Reverb history. It’s the only thing I ever bought there. If that fails then I am positive I have a picture of it somewhere. Give me a minute…

There it is! Carl’s Custom Guitars Speaker Soak. He makes them at different resistance levels. I’d have to get the right one.

So there you have it. The next recording project, whenever or whatever that may be, might be a one amp setup. Stay tuned.

Woah!

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The pedals are for the stay-at-home/back up rig. The amp is more fluid. My 26 year old Fender Stage amp is dying a slow and painful death. That is one of the reasons I haven’t been recording much lately. It’s just not working all that well, and when it does work it is not very reliable. So I was definitely in the market for a new amplifier. I’ve been dying for a Fender Twin Reverb forever. Back in high school, the music department had a silver face Twin and that has always been my standard for clean tones. It was beat to hell and probably died a fiery death, but it was great. The problem is, the Fender reissue Twin Reverb is amazingly expensive. I could never justify throwing out that much money.

This week I started looking at the smallest of the reissue tube amps, the Princeton Reverb. It seemed like a smart way to go for a leave-at-home amp, but even that was seriously expensive. I started thinking about worst case scenarios though. If my Marshall should die, the Princeton would not really be a powerful enough replacement. The Twin would definitely work, but that damn price.

So I compromised I went with the Deluxe Reverb. It’s big enough to handle most of the places the band could possibly play, and it’s still small enough that it wouldn’t blow out the windows in the cellar if I wind it up while playing at home recording.

Now I just need to find some time to actually plug the bad boy in and play with it!

Happy New Pedal/New Tube Amp Day!