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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Having a boutique amp built

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I don't blame you. I had a DR RI one time, but it broke up way too early, and could not keep up with a drummer. I know I keep saying it, but I can never go back to a black or silverface amp again. I have become addicted to the brownface Showman sound. Laughing

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

SixStringSurfer wrote:

I don't blame you. I had a DR RI one time, but it broke up way too early, and could not keep up with a drummer. I know I keep saying it, but I can never go back to a black or silverface amp again. I have become addicted to the brownface Showman sound. Laughing

I have a Winfield Elizabeth, which is a tweak on the Deluxe or Pro Reverb amps. Mine had 6L6s, so it’s in the 40-45 watt power range. If I had the last rehearsal to live over again, I would grab the Elizabeth.

I like the ‘68 Custom Deluxe Reverb for its tone stack, which gives it more midrange. It’s not in Brownface territory, but perhaps more like a Super Reverb. I have very mixed feelings about this amp. It was an impulse purchase, after I used it to test a looper pedal and fell in love with the sound. However, it has been a checkered relationship from the start, with terrible noise problems caused by the ultra cheap reverb cables which were OEM. Now, it sounds good, unless you dig into some bar chords, which make it sound like it’s been overindulging in the beans.

The Elizabeth has basically replaced it and sounds better than the Fender. Even if I rebiased for 6V6s, it would still the advantage of a Bright switch or also has a three band EQ, so I can control the midrange scoop and really don’t need the ‘68, now that I have the Elizabeth. Maybe I’ll sell the ‘68 CDR.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

The Winfield sounds nice, I would probably play that if given a choice between the two. Nothing like a hand made tube amp!

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

SixStringSurfer wrote:

The Winfield sounds nice, I would probably play that if given a choice between the two. Nothing like a hand made tube amp!

I have four Winfields, and they are great amps.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

I really like adding a little clean boost to this amp, it sounds fantastic. My chain goes guitar > EQ pedal (slight boost) > tank > amp. It really enhances that gorgeous brownface tone, and it's different than just turning up the volume.

What gave me this idea was when I hooked up a my Brownfacer pedal. I only did that once, as I don't need the Brownfacer pedal for this amp. However, I noticed there was a slight boost and I liked it.

I was just curious if anyone else uses a small amount of clean boost with their 6G14/A amp?

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

Last edited: Dec 09, 2021 16:18:33

I feel bad posting this because it's a first world problem. However, I had a new cabinet built for my 6G14 head. It looks a lot better to me, as the other one was too tall and had vents in the grille.

It was partially my fault the original cab wasn't correct, as I should have been more specific about what I wanted. Anyway, I had Will at Armadillo Amps build it for me, and I am very please with his work. Here are a few pics so you can see what I am talking about.
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MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

Looks great! Glad you're loving it. Makes me want to commission Will @ Armadillo Amps a new combo shell for my Vibro-King. Congrats! Cool

The doofus formerly known as Snorre
Surfysonic on YouTube
World Famous Philistines: 2014 - 2015
K39: 2013 - 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv9JADQ4ukw

SixStringSurfer wrote:

I appreciate you looking out for me, but that is a 175 watt 15" Weber California. It sounds great!

I think the speaker you have is 80 watts actually.
https://www.tedweber.com/cali15f/

Thanks Surfysonic, he does great work! I still watch your YT videos, love it when you play "What'd I Say." dannylectro, it is actually 175 watts! Click the "power" drop down box, and you will see where it says 175 watts. Big Grin

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

SixStringSurfer wrote:

Thanks Surfysonic, he does great work! I still watch your YT videos, love it when you play "What'd I Say." dannylectro, it is actually 175 watts! Click the "power" drop down box, and you will see where it says 175 watts. Big Grin

That's the bass voice coil version. I wonder how that sounds for guitar?

SixStringSurfer wrote:

I feel bad posting this because it's a first world problem. However, I had a new cabinet built for my 6G14 head. It looks a lot better to me, as the other one was too tall and had vents in the grille.

It was partially my fault the original cab wasn't correct, as I should have been more specific about what I wanted. Anyway, I had Will at Armadillo Amps build it for me, and I am very please with his work. Here are a few pics so you can see what I am talking about.
image
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That looks absolutely amazing.

The taller case had the benefit of moving the transformers away from the reverb unit in the base to cut down on humming. But if it hasn't got reverb it can be a lot more compact

http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/

Last edited: Apr 13, 2022 06:41:34

SixStringSurfer wrote:

I feel bad posting this because it's a first world problem. However, I had a new cabinet built for my 6G14 head. It looks a lot better to me, as the other one was too tall and had vents in the grille.

Hey Six, can I please see a gut shot or two? I recently opened up my recently built 6G14 clone and the wiring layout is completely different from the fender one. I was kind of bummed. There is no dog house, but there are several giant caps in various places. It is point to point though, thank goodness. It kind of bummed me out, because I was hoping to open it up and see something very similar to the real ones. The harmonic tremolo started adding a weird base note, making it very offputting and unlovely. When I asked him about it, he basically said I need to send it back to him, because there is no way he can diagnose long distance. He also didn’t quite remember what he did, and apparently did not make his own layout or something. The whole thing was pretty unsettling, and from now on I will insist that any builder make a real clone, that is exactly like the old ones.

Luckily, it still sounds utterly fantastic.

Daniel Deathtide

Hey buddy, sorry you are having problems with your amp. I hope you get everything worked out. I don't know if mine is an exact replica of the Fender schematic, but I couldn't be happier with this amp. It has 100% nailed the tone and look I am going for. Anyway, let me know if these photos help.
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MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

Hi guys, I want to add a second "compact" 1x15 cab for my 6G14 amp (4 or 8 Ohm switch on the back). My current 1x15 is an 8 Ohm Weber California. I want my second speaker to be the Quilter Eminence that Surfer Joe uses. What Ohm should my second 1x15 be? Is it OK to mix match like this? Also, how do I connect it to my amp? Thank you for your time.

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

SixStringSurfer wrote:

Hi guys, I want to add a second "compact" 1x15 cab for my 6G14 amp (4 or 8 Ohm switch on the back). My current 1x15 is an 8 Ohm Weber California. I want my second speaker to be the Quilter Eminence that Surfer Joe uses. What Ohm should my second 1x15 be? Is it OK to mix match like this? Also, how do I connect it to my amp? Thank you for your time.

If you put a second 8 ohm speaker in parallel, the resultant load will be 4 ohms.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

I wish it were that simple. I want to have 1x15 behind me on the left, and 1x15 behind me on the right. My current Weber Cali is 8 Ohm, and I believe the new 1x15 Surfer Joe uses is 4 Ohm. I may need some kind of special adapter to connect both speakers to my amp. There is a band on this site that does something very similar to this. I believe it's the one band with the belly dancer.

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

Never mind... I am being told what I want to do cannot safely be done.

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

Last edited: Jun 22, 2023 12:34:15

I think you can do it. If both speakers were 4-ohm, or 8-ohm, it'd be a breeze. I think Fenders could handle what you're talking about without a problem, because the output transformers are so hefty. Fender installed an external speaker jack which halves the impedance as soon as you use it, creating a potential mismatch. Those OTs can easily handle what your load would be, roughly 6 ohms instead of 8. They can handle a 100% mismatch, which would be either a 4 or 16 ohm load. This however all depends on whether or not your output transformer is beefy like an old Fender. Is your OT super fat? It's great that you have a switch for four or eight ohms! You could use either switch, but I'd use the 8. Doing this however would only utilize about 75% of the power of the amp, so you might be missing some headroom (likely not noticeable).

I purchased a 4-ohm 275 watt 15" speaker from Quilter, the Steelaire. Is that the one you're talking about? It might behoove you to reach out to Quilter and see if they can swing an 8-ohm version? I couldn't be happier with mine. it was extremely pricey though.

Daniel Deathtide

Last edited: Jun 22, 2023 17:55:34

DeathTide, thank you for the reply. I am buying the new speaker that Surfer Joe did a long youtube review on. It is lightweight, 300 watts, and 4 Ohms.

I spoke with the guy who built my amp yesterday, he told me I would not be happy mismatching the two speakers (he explained everything in technical terms). I am just going to buy the new Quilter 15", and see how it goes.

Eventually, I will buy another Showman, and play through both of them at the same time (with a 1x15 on each side). Thanks again for the response.

EDIT DeathTide, I do have a beefy OT. I told the amp builder to get me the best there is. It is a Mercury Magnetics, but I don't know much more than that.

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

Last edited: Jun 23, 2023 14:51:48

Amp is beautiful and I’m sure it sounds awesome. I do like the larger cabinet for the head though.

J

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