Epiphone Valve Junior

McSwaggerty

bandmaster188 said:

Not sure what this fella’s using but it’s fat as f**k! Get one of those.
https://youtu.be/K4J0NS5HJe8

Great sound  - the more speakers you can get to break-up, the fatter the sound will be.

This is why a Fender 4 x 10 Bassman is a terrific blues harp amp .Its not about volume, its all about the sound -  if you can overdrive 4 x 10" speakers you are going to get a much fatter sound than you would with a single 8" speaker.

 Swap the 12AX12 pre-amp tubes for 12AY7 or 12AU7 and with the correct mic and technique you will achieve a fat sound at much lower volumes. The Bassman can then be mic'd up to the P.A if required....

Bridgehouse

A bassman is outside my budget by a considerable way

McSwaggerty

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honkin-Toms-Vintage-Style-15W-Tweed-Harmonica-Amplifier-Harp-Amp-Blues-tone-/142547776141

Bridgehouse

McSwaggerty said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honkin-Toms-Vintage-Style-15W-Tweed-Harmonica-Amplifier-Harp-Amp-Blues-tone-/142547776141

Honkin’ 

ICBM

McSwaggerty said:

Great sound  - the more speakers you can get to break-up, the fatter the sound will be.

This is why a Fender 4 x 10 Bassman is a terrific blues harp amp .Its not about volume, its all about the sound -  if you can overdrive 4 x 10" speakers you are going to get a much fatter sound than you would with a single 8" speaker.

You can't get speakers to break up or overdrive without volume.

That's not what you're hearing at all anyway - and actual speaker break-up usually sounds awful. If you run a low-powered amp through a big cabinet you're getting pure amp overdrive, the big speakers just give a wider frequency response and move more air.

McSwaggerty

o

ICBM said:

McSwaggerty said:

Great sound  - the more speakers you can get to break-up, the fatter the sound will be.

This is why a Fender 4 x 10 Bassman is a terrific blues harp amp .Its not about volume, its all about the sound -  if you can overdrive 4 x 10" speakers you are going to get a much fatter sound than you would with a single 8" speaker.

You can't get speakers to break up or overdrive without volume.

That's not what you're hearing at all anyway - and actual speaker break-up usually sounds awful. If you run a low-powered amp through a big cabinet you're getting pure amp overdrive, the big speakers just give a wider frequency response and move more air

Ok, fair enough.

Maybe not the correct terminology - but what I said , is what I do and it sounds grand to me.

I agree 'Honkin' Toms amp, sounds honkin - but its as cheap as chips and maybe ok mic'd up for a jam.

 I also use a small 7w Boutique built 'Harpgear' amp for small pub gigs, it sounds good but not a patch on the Bassman......

http://harpgear.com/ ;

57Deluxe

Alnico said:

There was a GA5 head and cab on FB Marketplace last night for £100.

I think it was in mid/north Wales.
Is that a good price?

It looked barely used.

I had both the GA5 head and combo at different times. The head was only £69 from Thomann in 2008 ! The combo was £16 more and at the time the Epi head was about £104.

If you can get one cheaper than £100 it may be worth it but don't expect any tonal genie to jump out. They do sound open and sparkly but drive is only from an external source and akin to early 60s blues artists addressing electric for first time. Is a guy on ebay who offers tone kits and has done for years - search out his vids.

ICBM

McSwaggerty said:

Maybe not the correct terminology - but what I said , is what I do and it sounds grand to me.

Sorry, it's just one of my pet peeves .

'Speaker breakup' is largely a myth. Speakers don't break up until they reach the limits of their mechanical compliance, which is usually at or near their power rating (depending on the frequency) and usually doesn't sound good at all - farty or with odd overtones. Which some people do like!

They do produce harmonic distortion from quite low levels, and thermal compression from about half the power rating upwards, but that's not the same at all.

In fact, the reason why using a big cab sounds bigger and fuller than a small speaker is the exact opposite - it's because the speakers *aren't* being pushed hard, so they can respond properly. It's the small speaker that is being pushed hard and might be overdriven, which is why it sounds honky and often farty if you put too much bass into it.

Even a Bassman isn't going to be pushing the speakers hard unless it's really cranked - that's exactly why Fender used four 10s, so they wouldn't be overdriven by a bass.

McSwaggerty

ICBM said:

McSwaggerty said:

Maybe not the correct terminology - but what I said , is what I do and it sounds grand to me.

Sorry, it's just one of my pet peeves .

'Speaker breakup' is largely a myth. Speakers don't break up until they reach the limits of their mechanical compliance, which is usually at or near their power rating (depending on the frequency) and usually doesn't sound good at all - farty or with odd overtones. Which some people do like!

They do produce harmonic distortion from quite low levels, and thermal compression from about half the power rating upwards, but that's not the same at all.

In fact, the reason why using a big cab sounds bigger and fuller than a small speaker is the exact opposite - it's because the speakers *aren't* being pushed hard, so they can respond properly. It's the small speaker that is being pushed hard and might be overdriven, which is why it sounds honky and often farty if you put too much bass into it.

Even a Bassman isn't going to be pushing the speakers hard unless it's really cranked - that's exactly why Fender used four 10s, so they wouldn't be overdriven by a bass.

OK Thanks,  - Everyday is a Schoolday.  Have a wee 'wisdom' on me ! 

FatPete

Not that anybody asked, but as it's just had a cosmetic upgrade, my modded GA5 now looks like this:



I know the new sci-fi stylings don't really match the tolex and grill cloth, so I really need to make a new cab now, don't I?

munckee

FatPete said:

Not that anybody asked, but as it's just had a cosmetic upgrade, my modded GA5 now looks like this:



I know the new sci-fi stylings don't really match the tolex and grill cloth, so I really need to make a new cab now, don't I?

I think that's cool as it is mate.