DonB wrote:

WR wrote:

and then there's speaker efficiency. face it, JBL's have lousy efficiency - though they were loud at the time. there's no doubt in my mind that a bassman with a pair of highly efficient Jensen neos will blow a showman with a single JBL right out of the water. I haven't A/B'd them, but Ive heard them both, and it's what theory dictates - though Im the first to admit that reality doesn't always conform to theory.

I realize that I am responding to an extremely old post here but evidently, unless this poster is being ironic, I do not understand efficiency of speakers or I do not understand JBL speakers, either of which are possible. I have always thought that JBLs were among the most efficient of speakers. I have a D130F in a Custom Deluxe Reverb (Gretsch Executive) and it sounds fantastic to my ears. Very efficient with a low powered amp. What am I missing here? After 12 years the poster may never see this but could someone dumb this down for me.

As far as I know, you are correct. An efficient speaker should require less power to drive it. My home speakers are JBL 4311 studio monitors, which are known to be quite efficient, and they only require a minimum of about 5w.

I use a Traynor YSR-1 Customer Reverb and I LOVE it. I couple it up with a nice '64 Lansing 15" speaker cab and this set up is a beast! Originally designed as vocal amp, it's got a 2-input regular channel and a 2-input bright channel. A pretty cool thing this amp lets you do it to jumper the two channels so you can use them in conjunction. Rated at 40watts, this puppy has a lot of output and fantastic for gigs.

The Men in Gray Suits (Montreal, Canada)
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Last edited: Nov 30, 2018 14:11:16

Fender studio bass head paired with a 15" Jensen neo equipped tone ring cab. For both bass and guitar. Period.

Cheers,
Andy

www.LosVenturas.be

Any one of Ran’s amps.

Rev

Canadian Surf

http://www.urbansurfkings.com/

IvanP wrote:

That really surprises me, Ivan. I had you for a Vox guy.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

SixStringSurfer wrote:

That is a very interesting setup... I like it! Do you still have it?

Yep still got it and still love it! I did a little re-do of the grill & faceplate and added some lighting but otherwise its still the same.

Bill S._______

HELLDIVER on Facebook

Leonardo1949 wrote:

I’m a newbie to this group Always loved surf music. I have several Gretsch guitars and a custom Jazzmaster. Here is my favorite amp, 1964 one owner Fender Bandmaster with 2 JBL D-120 speakers

That is absolutely gorgeous.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

There's a 60W one on Reverb right now, for $150.
And near you Ivan!
https://reverb.com/item/14960703-dean-markley-rm-150dr-1980-s-tan-vinyl

Paul
Atomic Mosquitos
Bug music for bug people is here!
Killers from Space

Ah... I figured something was different about it.

IvanP wrote:

skeeter wrote:

There's a 60W one on Reverb right now, for $150.
And near you Ivan!
https://reverb.com/item/14960703-dean-markley-rm-150dr-1980-s-tan-vinyl

I already saw that, Paul! And I'm going to be within 20 miles of it tomorrow. AND it's super cheap! However, that's not the all-tube amp - that's the hybrid version, with the single 12AX7 in the preamp but the solid state power amp. My research has indicated that while these are fairly good sounding amps for what they are, they're just not as good-sounding as the all-tube CD series. So, even at that very low price, I think I'll have to pass. God knows I don't need another amp or even have the space for it! But thanks for thinking of me, Paul! Now, if I could just find a CD-30, CD-40 CD-60 or even CD-120 for that price...

Paul
Atomic Mosquitos
Bug music for bug people is here!
Killers from Space

IvanP wrote:

synchro wrote:

IvanP wrote:

That really surprises me, Ivan. I had you for a Vox guy.

Pay no mind to me, I was just being naughty. I don't actually have that amp, but have gotten interested in the past week in the '80s Dean Markley tube amps, which are pretty rare nowadays. The one above seems like it WOULD make for an incredible surf amp! 4x6L6 tubes, 120W, great-sounding built-in reverb (with 17" reverb pan), 2x12" speakers, and even blonde tolex!!! I've listened to a few YouTube demos of the CD series (all-tube) amps, 30W, 60W and 120W, and was pretty blown away by both the clean and the overdriven tones.

BTW, I've used Fender (or Fender-style) amps more than Vox AC30s through the years, though I do really love the Vox amps and recently have started using them more again. I always record with both a Fender and a Vox. For the live work: with the Cossacks I started with a Vox AC30 for the first year or a bit less, but then switched to a Vibrosonic Custom. With the Madeira I again started with an AC30, but then switched first to a Fender Dual Professional, then a '64 Showman, then to a Gomez Surfer w 2x15" cab, and in the past couple of years to a '62 Bandmaster and again to AC30. Been trying to keep the volume more under control lately again, though the Madeira naturally just wants to get REALLY loud! All of these are such great-sounding amps, though! Can't go wrong with any of them for surf, I think.

I remember seeing the Marley amps, but didn’t know much about them. I know that I’ve heard several solo videos you’ve made with a Vox.

I realized that (unless I’m missing something) I haven’t weighed in with regard to my amp choices.

I have a Twin RI, broken into a piggyback with a 15” Eminence Commonwealth speaker. Putting the Twin chassis into a short, Showman style cabinet only left room for a 9” pan and, surprisingly enough, it has a great reverb sound. When we were doing lots of outdoor shows, the Twin got a workout. It’s got a very decent classic Surf sound, albeit the amp really doesn’t come into its own unless it can be cranked up in a larger venue.

My “big three” are all Winfield amps and as different as night and day.

The oldest, is a Winfield Cyclone, which is a refinement of the old EF 86 Vox AC 15 circuit. Most often, I use it with a 2x12” cab fashioned after the Marshall 2061 cabinet. With a closed back, it has a very tight lower end and surprising punch for 15 watts.

I also have a Winfield Elizabeth, which is a 1x12” combo amp, similar to a Fender Pro Reverb and once again uses a 9” reverb pan. This replaced a Deluxe Reverb RI and has a bit more punch. With the Bright switch on, it’s Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, but switch it off and it has a sound that is still very Fender-ish, but with a bit more body than a Deluxe.

Last, and certainly not least is a Winfield Tremor, which is basically the Tweed Tremolux/Brownface Princeton circuit in a 1x12” cabinet with a Weber Blue Dog speaker. The bias varying tremolo works with a fairly sinusoidal curve to the tremolo. It’s a great tool for creating the very early sounds of Surf, as in the Brownface Fender sound. This circuit, which has an adjustable fixed bias, is low gain in nature, using only 1/2 of V1 for the entire preamp stage, the other half of that 12AX7 being used for the tremolo circuit. The power section is a pair of 6v6s which are hardly breaking a sweat and put out about 14 watts.

I use this amp a lot, mostly in conjunction with a EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master (hall) reverb/delay pedal. It also loves the spring reverb emulation sound of my Topanga. Maybe, one of these days, I’ll find the gumption to hook my tank up to it. I’m sure it would really sing.

While I appreciate all of the amps I’ve listed above, the Tremor seems to have really won my heart and ears. It’s docile and forgiving. It seems to sound good in a lot of different genres and it just plain sounds good. It’s not at all mushy or vague sounding, but it’s forgiving.

Leonardo1949 wrote:

I just got a Catalinbread Topanga Reverb to use with the Bandmaster. Nice drippy splash. BTW, the 1964 Bandmaster was recapped and serviced at Aztec Audio. Very nice vibe and inspiring.

Sounds good just thinking about it. the Topanga is one very nice sounding pedal. One thing I like is that you can back down the Dwell and Mix and it functions well in genres other than Surf. Played through a Bandmaster; that has to be a great combination.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.