Monday, May 20, 2013

Bassman tone

Here are three videos, two different players, playing my Bassman amp.  At Ziggies Sunday Blues Jam in Denver on May 19, 2013.





Saturday, May 18, 2013

My 1964 Marvel Tube Amp is for Sale -- $200

***  SOLD ***


These amps were made by Multivox in New York City, the same factories that produced the legendary Premier Twin 8 amps.  It shares some circuit features with the Twin 8, including the single 7591 power tube.





The 7591 in this amp is a vintage Multivox branded tube, almost certainly the original.  It checks out good and sounds great, so no need to replace it.  The preamp tube is a NOS Westinghouse 12AZ7.

The original speaker had some wear so I replaced it with a reconed vintage Oaktron alnico speaker from the mid 1950s.

The amp was serviced by Bruce Collins at Mission Amps in Denver:

-Install grounded power cord
-Remove the "Death Cap"
-Install cathode bypass cap on the power tube. This gave the amp a bit more punch.
-Modify the power supply.
-Test all tone caps for leakage.   Replaced as needed.
-Test all circuit voltages.
-De-oxidize the tube sockets
-install speaker jack
-Install line out

The amp produces a bit more than 6 watts at clipping.  It sounds amazingly big and warm for an amp with a 6-inch speaker.  The small alnico speaker gives it a nice compressed juke joint crunch.  When the amp gets warm it puts out that great vintage tube amp smell, too.

I’ve gigged it and it performed flawlessly.  However, I sell it as-is and make no warranties.  Carry this little less-that-10-pound amp and a cable for the line out and you are ready for anything.

Here is a brief video of the amp playing though a PA via the line out jack.


I’ve had the amp for six months and love it, but it is time to pass it along and move on to the next project.

The price is only $200 plus pro packing and shipping via UPS.  Contact me at bluesharpamps@gmail.com

Thursday, May 16, 2013

For Sale - 1960s Danelectro Reverb Tank



Nice tone!  And I dig the production values...  "Unit ON!"  This vid should go viral.

Larrystick is looking for offers on this very cool vintage gear.  Contact him at:  jwd@6foot6.com

Saturday, May 11, 2013

My 1962 Premier Twin 8 amp is for Sale - $500


** SOLD **




1962 Premier Twin 8, the iconic amp from the heyday of vintage blues harp tone.

This amp is a solid player, not a collector's piece.  There are a couple of scuffs on the amp, as you can see.  This bad boy has got some mojo.  The circuit has been gone over by ace amp tech Bruce Collins of Mission Amps.  Both speakers have been re-coned, one original and one period correct.  

These are legendary amps, and it is time to hand if off to the next player in search of a legend.  $500 plus shipping, professionally packed and shipped via UPS.  Contact me at bluesharpamps@gmail.com.

1970 Fender Bantam Bass Amp


This rather peculiar amp is highly coveted by some harp players and amp collectors.  Nic Clark has one and he played it at his gig last night with Bad Brad & The Fat Cats at Ziggies.



The speaker is a flat trapezoidal thing made of white styrofoam, from Yamaha.  It blew up a lot so it is rare to find one of these amps with the original speaker.  The circuit is the same as the Bassman 10 of the era:  30 watts from two 6L6 power tubes and a tube rectifier.

Nic was playing a Shure 545S mic.  A very interesting combination.  The tone was good.





Monday, May 6, 2013

The Delta Sonic Amp at the Blues Jam



Gregg MacKenzie and Nic Clark show off their old school chops at The Mile High Blues Society Jam at Ziggies in Denver, Cinco de Mayo, 2013.  They are both playing through my rig:  Mission Delta Sonic Amp and 1959 Shure 440SL microphone.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Mission Delta Sonic Amp - Line Out Test



This is the 15-watt Mission Delta Sonic blues harp amp. The first clip is the amp by itself, and the second clip is the amp plus a line out to a PA system: Mackie 808M and Mackie speakers - typical bar band PA system.

I'm using a touch of delay (MXR Carbon Copy) for slap back. There are no effects in the PA channel. The amp is EQ'd in the PA channel with HIGHs and MIDs rolled off and the LOWs boosted.

I played the amp at a gig with a loud blues band last Saturday, and the line out is the big problem solver. Once you get it dialed in it sounds huge. I even had a bit in the monitors.

The amp has a 12AY7 in the preamp socket, and two JJ Tesla 6V6 power tubes. Bruce at Mission Amps made a couple tweaks to the tone stack since the last time you heard the amp. This is the final configuration.