Tiki
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 55
Las Vegas, NV
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Posted on Feb 25 2025 02:03 PM
Looks like Canopus in Japan is selling Don’s stage amps. At this time it looks like they have a number of them. Including, what looks like Don’s amp from the demo video. Duct tape with settings in marker and all. They are all crazy expensive. But, there was a head & cabinet that was about half the price. Getting a tax refund, I jumped on it. It’ll be interesting to see what actually arrives.
FYI
Canopus Don Wilson Amp on Reverb(https://reverb.com/item/87448645-used-by-don-wilson-himself-signature-amp?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=87448645)
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Tiki
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 55
Las Vegas, NV
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Posted on Mar 08 2025 11:40 AM
Just wanted to follow up for anyone interested. I received my amp this week and it’s heavy. It’s a really nice amp. Very clean and loud. Oh, btw, it’s solid state with a tube in the reverb driver section.
One interesting thing I noticed is that it has two reverb tanks. One with two springs and one with three. A five spring reverb! Fun!
Here is the requisite gut shot.
I also did a video.
I really like this amp! It’s a different sound from my Showman but very usable. Even though I got mine for about half price, I still think it’s very expensive.
UPDATE:
Sadly, it died about an hour after I got it going. The speakers hum when turning on and ultimately blows a fuse. A Canopus tech is supposed to get ahold of me next week but i think it might be the power transistors. I’ll
Update when I know more.
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19355
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Mar 08 2025 11:52 AM
Wow that's pretty amazing Phil! Seriously hope you can get it up and running again, best of luck!
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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synchro
Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4567
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
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Posted on Mar 08 2025 11:33 PM
Cool amp. I hope you get it going again.
— The artist formerly known as: Synchro
When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.
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JohnnyMosrite
Joined: Jun 14, 2006
Posts: 913
New York City area
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Posted on Mar 09 2025 09:11 AM
I looked up the prices for this on REVERB.com. ==> with shipping and taxes (and some probable import duty), it's a $5,000.00+ amp.
$5K for a solid-state amp??!! And it blew some critical component(s) after an hour's play??!!
I, for one, would be livid - with myself. And figure diagnosing the problem and (hopefully) fixing it will cost more than a dollar.
So - politely - what has this thing got over a $2-$3K Showman vacuum tube amp stack that makes it worth the difference and aggravation?
J Mo'
Last edited: Mar 09, 2025 09:13:54
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Tiki
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 55
Las Vegas, NV
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Posted on Mar 09 2025 01:03 PM
Thanks. I’m sure it’ll be back up and running soon.
So, I paid less than that for it. For some reason, Canopus had this one listed for about half the price. Like I said above, I had some tax money and thought it would be a unique piece to own. You don’t see these too often. I bought it used, I knew that. I was expecting something to be wrong with it. Hell, compared to the others amps they had listed (and the pricetag) I didn’t know if I was getting a working amp at all. It’s fine. I knew what I was getting into. I was thrilled to get any playing time with it.
It shipped from Japan so maybe something got damaged during shipping? Who knows.
After playing it, would I recommend it to anyone? Nope. It’s crazy expensive for what it is. But I wouldn’t recommend a blonde showman either. You really need to turn them up for them to sound right. Way too loud for anywhere. I even tried using attenuators with it and those presented their own issues.
So, to answer your question. It doesn’t.This isn’t a practical amp for anyone. Even at a third of the price there are better options. For me, it was opportunity to own something different. And I thought the people here would like to see something about this amp other than the two very vague videos on YT.
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JohnnyMosrite
Joined: Jun 14, 2006
Posts: 913
New York City area
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Posted on Mar 09 2025 02:01 PM
Tiki,
With the commitment you made, maybe see if you can score the three PCB boards pictured as spares. I think I see "chips" in at least one of them. Diagnosing, unsoldering/resoldering chip pins is a royal P.I.A.
I say that as this is probably leftover stock produced when Don Wilson was alive that they want to unload. And spare parts will probably go the way of Don Wilson and the Ventures in the near future.
Good luck with it
J Mo'
Last edited: Mar 09, 2025 14:07:44
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SixStringSurfer
Joined: Sep 23, 2014
Posts: 1433
Memphis, TN
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Posted on Mar 09 2025 04:30 PM
Amp sounds great, I hope you get it fixed soon.
— MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New EP Louder Than Life available on bandcamp and website. Taking guitar lessons from Jimmy Dale.
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Tiki
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 55
Las Vegas, NV
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Posted on May 20 2025 07:34 AM
Just a quick update. It’s fixed.
After dealing with an incompetent amp tech, it turns out two of the four power transistors blew. Canopus says it’s because I didn’t use the Japanese voltage standard of 100v AC for power. Another tech said it was probably just a part that went bad. He doesn’t see where the amp is absolutely needing 100v. Of course, I purchased a step-down transformer just to be sure it’s not voltage related.
If you’re curious, my Vegas based surf band, Generic Surf Band will be doing the June 15th pier show in Huntington Beach. I plan on bringing it out (along with my Don Wilson Model 2001 40th Anniversary Aria guitar). It’s a fun set up. We will also be playing the Saturday before in the area.
Yes, I will be bringing my Quilter head as a backup, just in case.
Last edited: May 20, 2025 07:36:19
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19355
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on May 20 2025 09:55 AM
Glad you got it sorted out Phil!
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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DeathTide
Joined: Apr 13, 2018
Posts: 1382
New Orleans
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Posted on May 20 2025 10:56 AM
Wow that sounds incredible! Solid state doesn't usually sound that good! That reverb is amazing, awesome drips. How is the responsiveness? Does it play similarly to the Showman? It sounds friggin glorious.
Fyi - I have a beautiful variac called Amp Maniac made by Vintage Sound Workbench and it's easy as pie to dial down the voltage to whatever you want. And unlike most variacs, it only goes to 100% so you can't go over the wall voltage.
— Daniel Deathtide
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Tiki
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 55
Las Vegas, NV
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Posted on May 21 2025 06:46 AM
Thanks Brian. And thanks Daniel!
It’s a totally different feel from the Showman. Not better but just different. I think the reverb sounds good due to the dual reverb pans. I’ve not seen anyone do that before. Did I mention it’s loud? It’s like JC120 loud. Where the Showman’s tone changes as it get louder and more distorted, this one doesn’t. It just gets louder.
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Tiki
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 55
Las Vegas, NV
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Posted on May 27 2025 01:34 PM
Just a quick follow up. We do a Surfin Sunday Brunch show, from noon till 3pm here in Las Vegas and I finally had a chance to test drive it.
A couple of thoughts. It’s way different than a Showman. It’s really more like a good sounding JC120. It’s got a crazy EQ. Very little knob changes results in big tone shifts. It was tricky trying to dial it in but I think by the third set, it sounded close to where I like it. The reverb was awesome. I’m thinking 5 springs is the way to go. The classic drip with a big full (adjustable) wash. I wish it had reverb presets! lol I can see using different wetness/depth for different songs, but really, no one in the place cared except for me.
I was told after that I sounded the best I ever sounded. I attribute that to the amp. Ha! I’ve brought the Showman, Bandmaster, Quilter, Magnatone, Standell, among other various amps to the gig and I thought some of the others sounded better. One thing I did notice it’s really HiFi like. Like surgical precision. There is absolutely no where to hide. To me, wrong notes really stood out. Again, no one in the placed noticed but me. Lol
I’m lucky enough where I have a venue that I can experiment with different things and this is a really fun amp. Crazy heavy and difficult to move but fun!
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