synchro
Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4124
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
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Posted on Sep 07 2020 02:09 PM
Tremeloverb wrote:
Man. All this Showman love from you guys makes me want one. A few months back pre pandemic, I was checking 2 out at a guitar shop.One blackface and one brownface. To my surprise, the sales guy actually was talking me out of the Showman heads and steering me into a Bandmaster instead. What I got out of it is performing musicians were preferring the lower wattage to the Showman's muscle. Is this just the prevailing trend now for modern stages these days? Been seeing a few guys ditching their Showmans ( or is it Showmen?
It’s apples and oranges. The Brownface Showman had complex harmonic tremolo and, of course, a quartet of power tubes. The Bandmaster delivered much of the same feature set, but in an amp with less wattage. In today’s world, the Bandmaster is probably more than adequate.
Looking at pictures of Tulagi, and imagining the Astronauts playing three Showman amps in such an enclosed area makes me wonder where they had to have set the volume. I’ve used an 85 watt Twin out of doors and that seems to be its natural element. Indoors, it’s tameable, but hardly necessary.
— The artist formerly known as: Synchro
When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.
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LHR
Joined: Aug 23, 2006
Posts: 2123
The jungle
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Posted on Sep 09 2020 01:32 AM
DannySnyder wrote:
wow 12 year old thread 
My comment above was mainly about black face and later. Having spent a lot of time around Mel Waldorf's brownface showman at low volume, it sounded just great.
Lorezno played through my brown Showman when they swung through the desert once and noted that it was more distorted than he expected. I think he meant that in a positive way. Or maybe it was just a curiosity. Either way I am not sure if they all do that, since I have only owned one and the many other times I have played them, I wasn't paying attention.
At almost any loudness level, my 6G14-A with a single D-130F has a ton of grit on tap. I love that thing. Like Danny said, it sounds awesome at low volume. It may be my favorite, actually. It gets a just-before-breakup tone super early in the volume pot travel, like right out of the gate.
FWIW, YMMV.
Not getting rid of my Showman any time soon.
Enough talk. Time for some porn!
— SSIV
Last edited: Sep 09, 2020 01:39:49
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synchro
Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4124
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
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Posted on Sep 09 2020 09:53 AM
I have heard that they are not quite as loud as one might expect, which is probably a favorable thing, given the realities of playing gigs these days. Besides the obvious Surf examples, I love the sound Freddie King got from his Showman. I don't think that there's anything quite like it; fundamentally clean but with a layer of character around each note.
— The artist formerly known as: Synchro
When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.
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LHR
Joined: Aug 23, 2006
Posts: 2123
The jungle
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Posted on Sep 09 2020 05:00 PM
synchro wrote:
I have heard that they are not quite as loud as one might expect, which is probably a favorable thing, given the realities of playing gigs these days. Besides the obvious Surf examples, I love the sound Freddie King got from his Showman. I don't think that there's anything quite like it; fundamentally clean but with a layer of character around each note.
I would expect Bandmasters of the same era to sound very much like a Showman. I mean, but quieter, obviously. Maybe someone who is lucky enough to own both could chime in?
— SSIV
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natefackler
Joined: Feb 01, 2021
Posts: 6
Athens
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Posted on Mar 29 2021 12:19 PM
I own both a 67 Dual (4ohm) Showman and a 71 Bandmaster Reverb. I used to have a regular Bandmaster but I thought it was a bit sterile sounding compared to the Showman and the Bandmaster Reverb. The Showman has the bigger transformer which gives it more kick and fuller bass. The Bandmaster Reverb has a tube rectifier and I just think it sounds better than a regular Bandmaster. I don't use the reverb on it for surf as I have a Surfybear. The Bandmaster Reverb is great for lower volume gigs while the Showman has the muscle for big outdoor shows.
And both the Showman and the Bandmaster Reverb both have a Middle on the "Vibrato" channel while the regular Bandmaster does not.
Last edited: Mar 29, 2021 13:04:14
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cirecc
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 292
seattle, wa
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Posted on Mar 29 2021 09:18 PM
I was just thinking about getting a louder and cleaner amp and debating between a showman, bassman, or bandmaster. Then, I saw my own posts from almost 15 years ago on this very thread. Crazy.
I still have that tremolux and still get overwhelmed at times live playing lead against louder amps. Is a 64/65 showman the way to go or will it be too much for most gigs? Will it be too “sterile” (my own word from 2006 or so at the beginning of this thread) at lower club volumes and therefore should go for the bassman (65/66)?
What would sg101 be if we weren’t debating which amp is still best after all these years while looking for excuses to buy another?
— -Eric
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cirecc
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 292
seattle, wa
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Posted on Mar 29 2021 09:24 PM
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DeathTide
Joined: Apr 13, 2018
Posts: 1338
New Orleans
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Posted on Mar 30 2021 09:27 AM
Use the Tremolux for quieter gigs, get a Showman for the louder ones. Solved! Or get a power soak or attenuator for the quieter gigs and use a Showman at all times.
Just last night I was trying to play one of the Showmans without earplugs and it was very tough. It’s not that it sounds crappy, it doesn’t sound at all until it is too loud. There seems to be some kind of messed up taper to the volume pot or something. But they are all like that. If there were a master volume it would not be an issue.
— Daniel Deathtide
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cirecc
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 292
seattle, wa
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Posted on Mar 30 2021 09:47 AM
Thanks! I was also thinking of the pulling two power tubes trick. The only thing is that the (non-dual) showman head I’m looking at would go from 8 to 16ohms, and I don’t have or want to get a 16ohm cab just for that purpose. I would likely want that power soak or attenuator.
There’s a Gomez Tahitian for sale that I was also considering (his Princeton reverb but with 100w). Supposedly it has more warmth to it compared to a standard ab763 showman. I could do said power tube trick and go from 100w at 4ohms to 50w at 8ohms (already have a cab for that).
That being said, I could get the vintage showman for considerably less though it doesn’t have the really nice reverb and blonde tremolux style tremolo that the Gomez has. It is a vintage Fender though. . .
— -Eric
New music!
https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases
Spotify
Also:
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https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/
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DeathTide
Joined: Apr 13, 2018
Posts: 1338
New Orleans
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Posted on Mar 30 2021 12:20 PM
So I have a ‘62 Twin that I was trying to use without earplugs, so I pulled two tubes and got a Weber Z Matcher to stick with 4 ohms. It barely made a difference. I did not try it with only one speaker. Instead the Z Matcher allowed me to safely use two speakers. But dang it, it was still too loud. So I ended up getting an SPL Power Soak and now it sounds great with four tubes and two speakers. I’d imagine a Showman would be a pretty similar experience. Pulling two tubes barely does anything!
— Daniel Deathtide
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cirecc
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 292
seattle, wa
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Posted on Mar 30 2021 02:39 PM
Yeah, it’s only a 3db change which isn’t much. I have a cab that’s a 1x12 at 8ohms that can handle the 50w but not 100w, so going down a speaker along with the wattage change should be enough for a noticeable difference (I would hope). I was thinking that I could use that cab for lower volume and a 2x12 at 4ohms for louder gigs.
The showman that I was looking at has some weird things going on with it, so it’s a no go for me at that price.
— -Eric
New music!
https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases
Spotify
Also:
https://theverb.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/
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