freddyfingers Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Hi. Wasn't sure where to post this question. I currently play through a fender bassman reissue. Love it. At loud volumes, it has the breakup I need to get a good biting blues tone. The problem, most places i play lately, won't allow , or need that volume level. So, I have been searching, unsuccessfully for a smaller replacement, small clubs and such. In other forums, people are drooling over the new fender excelsior, at 13 watts. I tried it, but out just doesn't have color, and it is loud when turned up enough for bite. My other problem, is that i don't like gain channels. I prefer the natural overdrive. I think thats where my problem lies. Is it going to be impossible to get a good full sounding small, low watt amp, under 400 dollars or so? In the meantime, I use my bassman with a Tim pedal, so that i can get the bite sound at low levels. Any suggestions? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenderGuy1 Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Try a blues junior by Fender :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manse Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 You could do worse than try a Marshall class 5...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyfingers Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 I had a blues junior. Great little amps. I thought they were a bit tinny, due to the one speaker. I am guessing that part of my problem is comparing the fullness of the 4 tens in the bass man, to what i am trying to get in lower wattage. It might not be possible to get both worlds together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manse Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I had a blues junior. Great little amps. I thought they were a bit tinny, due to the one speaker. I am guessing that part of my problem is comparing the fullness of the 4 tens in the bass man, to what i am trying to get in lower wattage. It might not be possible to get both worlds together. It sounds like you love that amp..... so :THD make the (Gold) Hotplate - an attenuator for the Bassman, rated at 2 ohm - you ever try one of those? In the UK they are expensive and hard to get - I was going to get one for my Bassman '59, but gave up! I have only used the attenuator that they build in to their Univalve head - seems to work ok - but the more the reduce the volume, the more impact there is on tone - which is not suprising. Might be a compromise that works for you.... cheers, Manse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyfingers Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 It sounds like you love that amp..... so :THD make the (Gold) Hotplate - an attenuator for the Bassman, rated at 2 ohm - you ever try one of those? In the UK they are expensive and hard to get - I was going to get one for my Bassman '59, but gave up! I have only used the attenuator that they build in to their Univalve head - seems to work ok - but the more the reduce the volume, the more impact there is on tone - which is not suprising. Might be a compromise that works for you.... cheers, Manse I have looked into those when I had a twin. The bass man 59 reissue, like yours, is hard wired, so i am not sure if I want to undo that to hook up the device. HEard good and bad things about them, no one will warranty an amp after you add one, Yet fenders new Eric Clapton twin has one built in. If I had 2000 dollars, it would solve my problem. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I run the Aracom Attenuator..... Very transparent at full attenuation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Swart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 For 400 bucks, I am having a hard time thinking of anything that would be suitable for what you are asking. Mainly because the reissue Bassman, while not being of the quality of origonals or high quality copies, it still has a certain level of quality that is going to be hard to match for 400 bones. Using a pedal and turning the amp down might not be the ideal tone in your head, but it might be a lot closer to it than what you will find in another 400 dollar amp. There is a few things you could try with the Bassman RI to get the power down. You could disconnect one of the speakers. With 3 speakers, the impedence and power handling is nearly identical. If it has the Italian Jensens, 2 of the speakers should easily be able to handle the power. It would result in a 4 ohm load instead of a 2 ohm load, but if it were me I would be inclined to go for it. You could also look into different speakers, such as some webers or maybe some c10r's instead of c10q's. Webers are a lot less bright than the reissue speakers, and sound very close to the origonal Jensens. You could also replace the power tubes and rectifier tube. A 5y3 will work and take the power down quite a bit, and 6L6's instead of 5881's will as well. You would want to re-bias, but so long as the plates don't glow it is usually safe, so the point is to TRY it and see if it changes some of the sound to see if it is going the direction you want. Trying these things may or may not get you where you want, but what it will do is get you closer, and get you a little experience for when you look for another amp and what to look for, especially when dealing with overdrive and power levels, as well as tonal qualities. If you DID find a cheaper low-powered amp, you might do some of these tweaks as well to dial in. Eventually, you might be selling the 2 cheaper amps and getting one high-quality amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1998StandardSG Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I play a Boss Blues Driver and a Hardwire CM-2 through a Super Reverb RI and it handles them quite well around 2. Even better around 3 so maybe give those a try??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Bone Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Some really good suggestions above (including most of the ones that came to my mind, and then some). One that hasn't been mentioned yet. A lot of smaller amps have an external speaker jack. The Marshall Class 5 may or may not suit you, but it does have one. Even those without could easily be modified to include one (bringing the Blues Jr. back in the mix, though the amp used is about at your budget, and then you still need an extension cab.). Similar budgetary issues with the Class 5 (and most other decent solutions). If your band carries their own PA system, you could consider one of the current trend of super sounding micro amps (Blackstar, etc. etc.), and simply mic it through the PA (yeah, I know, sounds less than appealing, and even more so if you are using whatever house sound is available, far too much screwing around unless they supply a decent sound man with the PA). Done right it can be a great sound (seen/heard it done well). Which in my mind, brings us to either the Mods to tubes/speakers listed above, or an attenuator as mentioned early in the thread. Is the warranty still in effect, and if so how long? Really should be able to hook it up fairly easily, you could have a set of jacks placed in line to make switching back and forth a breeze. Gets you your familiar tone at an acceptable volume level, and should easily be done within the budget even with the mod for the jacks. Perhaps worth considering a bit more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky4 Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Swart He said $400, not $1,400 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 He said $400, not $1,400 Buy used. I got a 6V6se for $550 and I'm up in Canada where these things always cost more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I like the Jet City JCA20 for anything from blues to rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57classic Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Weber attenuators. Work great, much less $ than some of the the other attenuators out there. Here is the link: http://www.tedweber.com/atten.htm Read the"Understanding Attenuators". It's really informative and easy to read. There are different types of attenuators Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyfingers Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 You guys make some good points. i have two left thumbs when it comes to modding, soldering, etc. I think the brake is a good idea, as if I could bottle up the sound of the amp when its pumping at 5 or 6, into a usable volume. Then i need to find someone can trust to put it in. I will cause a house fire. I think I am prohibited from using a solder gun in the star of Virginia, and florida for that matter. As I read these posts, its becoming clearer that there is no amp that does both of what I want, at least not in the price range i am looking for. I know fender now makes the clapton model with the brake built in, but even after selling the bass man, I am no where near the cost of one new, and there are no used available yet. Either way, you guys are helpful. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyfingers Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 Weber attenuators. Work great, much less $ than some of the the other attenuators out there. Here is the link: http://www.tedweber.com/atten.htm Read the"Understanding Attenuators". It's really informative and easy to read. There are different types of attenuators Checked out their website, thanks. My speakers are hardwired. 4 of them. Not sure how i would disconnect them, but i will look into it. It runs at 2 ohms, so they only have one that will work with my amp. It does seem like a good option. I don't run my amp at 12, ever, I love the sound at 5 or 6. So i think this is a good option,as long as it doesn't color the sound. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57classic Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Checked out their website, thanks. My speakers are hardwired. 4 of them. Not sure how i would disconnect them, but i will look into it. It runs at 2 ohms, so they only have one that will work with my amp. It does seem like a good option. I don't run my amp at 12, ever, I love the sound at 5 or 6. So i think this is a good option,as long as it doesn't color the sound. Thanks! I have one I use with my Victoria amp and I don't think it colors the amp to any noticeable degree and it has a toggle to boost the treble from flat to 3 or 6 db if you have it heavily attenuated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Hi Freddy,don't completely write off the Blues Jr.,try out one of the Special Editions with the Celestion Vintage 30-it really opens up the tonal possibilities of the amp and for just a few dollars more you have an amp that sounds like a million bucks.There are also several schematics for upgrade mods that provide low-cost but profound improvements to the amps available on the net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-sport Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Anyone have an Orange TIny Terror? I'm thinking about one of these, as had to sell my MArshall when left uk. So now need a 110v amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon S. Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Weber attenuators. Work great, much less $ than some of the the other attenuators out there. Here is the link: http://www.tedweber.com/atten.htm Read the"Understanding Attenuators". It's really informative and easy to read. There are different types of attenuators +1. I've used the Mini Mass almost daily for the past 3-4 years and it works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 +1. I've used the Mini Mass almost daily for the past 3-4 years and it works great. A quality endorsement right there.......... [thumbup] ........ Also, check out the H&K Tubemeiser Heads......18w and 5w versions....)...... [thumbup] ......... ( Sure, the 18w sells for $599.00, but, that's not what they can be bought for new................................ .............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 There's plenty of them out there. Lots more that there used to be. Obviously you need a smaller amp. IMO, it's very difficult to get a decent blues tone out of a non master volume amp except in a really narrow range of volume. I also don't like using pedals to get my breakup. Overdrive and distortion pedals sound way worse thru my DR than with any other of my amps. They don't sound that good thru any amp, really. Maybe for a little bit of extra push, but that's about it. You're better off getting a modern tube amp with a master volume so you can get tube distortion instead of pedal distortion. I mean, "tube saturation" doesn't sound very good when it's being smothered by an overdrive pedal, right? Another thing. Large amps with attenuators won't give you any speaker breakup. Big amps with attenuators are horrible for blues, IMO. Blues Junior, Egnater Rebel, Vox ac15, tiny terror. There's lot's of them, depending on your budget. But you may need to make your budget more like 600 to 700 for a new amp in this range. The most important thing is to have a master volume. If you don't, you'll be sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyT Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 May I suggest a Carvin V3 Combo? I have the head and 2x12 and a 4x12 cabinet, but the combo ones can be had with 1x12, and you can expand by adding a cabinet to them too. Tube amp, master volume so you can crank it up to get tube distortion at low volume setting by turning down the volume. Three channels, with one clean, two can get dirty. Three wattage settings too at 7, 20, and 50 watts. Most who have the V3M amps rave about them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5KJPy9Gx2o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyfingers Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 A lot of great tips guys/ i will look into the amps mentioned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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