My amp search continues.. 1959RR

Si_

I'm still looking for my perfect Plexi (which isn't easy when you only have trades) , the latest offer I have is for a 1959RR Head. Anyone used one? Its tempting due to rarity value, but I've read mixed reports on them. I know there super loud but I can get a removable MV added to it as part of the deal.

Any thought? anyone actually compared it to a vintage Super lead (or even a reissue).

webrthomson

The 1959RR is going to be hotter on the 2nd channel inputs as Randy had the Marshall factory cascade these for more gain on his heads and the reissue was faithful to that mod:

"Cascade mod in depth Unlike a standard Marshall 1959 Super Lead amplifier the Randy Rhoads model contains a modification that increases gain and therefore extra distortion within the circuit. This modification 'hot rods' the amplifier making it easier to push it into the saturation levels necessary for the sound that Randy needed. The change involves 'cascading' (feeding the output of the first stage into the input of the second stage) the two halves of tube 1. Traditionally each half would serve as input buffer/first gain stage for the two channels i.e. one half for channel 1 and the other for channel 2 from there they would separately feed the respective signals to the next stage which would mix them further amplify them and feed them to the tone stack. Cascading tube 1 results in the guitar signal being increased by around 36dB or 60 times much larger than it would normally be at this point in the circuit. Subsequent stages then try to amplify this larger signal by similar amounts and quickly run out of headroom causing the waveform to distort severely. The two channel volumes still remain functional after the modification but adopt different roles for their affect on the tone allowing control of the extra gain and volume. Plugging into channel 2 routes the guitar signal through the whole cascade circuit while plugging into channel 1 allows you to bypass the cascade and use the amp in its standard format where 'Volume 1' will function as it normally would. Standard Channel 2 format is sacrificed due to the modification."

First channel inputs are same as normal and should (in theory) sound like a 1959 (or appropriate reissue).

ICBM

Si_ said:

I'm still looking for my perfect Plexi (which isn't easy when you only have trades)

What exactly is your perfect Plexi?

What do you have to trade?

fretmeister

Suhr SL68 sounds amazing. Not cheap though.

exocet

Depends on what you're after, but if you want something that gets close to classic Plexi through to Hot Rodded, this is a good bet. I picked one up for £700 S/H in the UK. They are around £1100 new after charges imported to UK.

It has gain controls in 3 places that gives you a lot of control over how much gain is present and where.

Deijavoo

Si_ said:

I'm still looking for my perfect Plexi (which isn't easy when you only have trades) , the latest offer I have is for a 1959RR Head. Anyone used one? Its tempting due to rarity value, but I've read mixed reports on them. I know there super loud but I can get a removable MV added to it as part of the deal.

Any thought? anyone actually compared it to a vintage Super lead (or even a reissue).

Weren't you tooled up with Friedman amps???

Si_

That Ceriatone sounds great 

I sold the Friedman a month ago.. Fantastic amp but too much cash to be held up in an amp I'm not using.

TimmyO

exocet said:

Depends on what you're after, but if you want something that gets close to classic Plexi through to Hot Rodded, this is a good bet. I picked one up for £700 S/H in the UK. They are around £1100 new after charges imported to UK.

It has gain controls in 3 places that gives you a lot of control over how much gain is present and where.

Sounds great

exocet

I don't know Friedman amps but I suspect that there is a lot in common with the Ceriatone Yeti as both use the Jose Arassando mods. There is no fancy footswitching with the Ceriatone to boost gain or volume but it is quite flexible from the EQ switching options on front panel plus the Resonance control to add some thump.