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Post subject: Tweed Twin tone at a fraction of the wattage/price? Ideas?
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 7:14 pm
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Hey folks, first off: It's good to be back. I ventured over to the dark side coughGearPagecough and ended up with a pedalboard the size of my garage, boutique amps, etc. and I've since sold it all and returned to earth :D

As a bedroom bluesman I'm getting in to the small stuff (5-8 watts, practical stuff I can crank at bedroom levels). I've been listening to the Crossroads Festival Blu-Ray since I got it and I'm wondering your thoughts on achieving Clapton's current strat tone (from his '57 Custom Shop Tweed Twins) at low wattage?

Can I even hope to come close? I really don't want to shell out high dollar for a Twin and an attenuator if I can approximate that tone at a more manageable (and more portable) wattage.
I currently have a Clapton Sig w/ Vintage Noiseless and I have a Champion 600 coming in to mess around on.

(Please no "Clapton's tone hasn't been the same since the Gibson/Marshall days IMHO" crap. I have an account on The Gear Page to hear that. Haha)

Thanks for any input!


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Post subject: Re: Tweed Twin tone at a fraction of the wattage/price? Idea
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 7:30 pm
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5E3

No question about it.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Tweed Twin tone at a fraction of the wattage/price? Idea
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 8:10 pm
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Thanks for your reply, Arjay.

I was worried you would say that haha. I love the 5e3 but 12 watts is even pushing it for me since I don't use pedals the overdrive has to come from the tubes. I had the Blues Jr. NOS and 15 watts was simply too much to crank at home. I don't know if you have any experience with the Vintage Noiseless and/or Clapton Midboost but if you do, do you think these would allow me to achieve overdrive tones at manageable levels? It's hard for me to say because when I owned the BJr I mainly played a Mayer Sig through it (extremely low output) and the guitar did nothing to help push the tubes.

Hmm. Now I'm perplexed.
I guess my two routes are 1. 5e3 w/ possible attenuator or 2. forget Clapton's tone and stick to the low-power 5F1 and 5F2A types.

Thanks for your help!


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Post subject: Re: Tweed Twin tone at a fraction of the wattage/price? Idea
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:30 pm
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Well I suppose you could take a look at that Champion 600 thread and see if any of the ideas there float your boat. Or conversely, save your money, time, and aggravation and just find yourself a nice silverface Champ, Vibro Champ, or Bronco. That's an honest 6-watt platform with true class A operation and represents Leo's most versatile single-ended design. About five bills should buy a righteous example and, unlike any chicom-built product, will retain most if not all of its value ten or twenty years down the road when you decide to unload it. I wouldn't swap my '68 Bronco for ten Champions.

But then you're conversing with a known Luddite whose extremist neanderthal views have all been discredited......

:lol:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Tweed Twin tone at a fraction of the wattage/price? Idea
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:45 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
Well I suppose you could take a look at that Champion 600 thread and see if any of the ideas there float your boat. Or conversely, save your money, time, and aggravation and just find yourself a nice silverface Champ, Vibro Champ, or Bronco. That's an honest 6-watt platform with true class A operation and represents Leo's most versatile single-ended design. About five bills should buy a righteous example and, unlike any chicom-built product, will retain most if not all of its value ten or twenty years down the road when you decide to unload it. I wouldn't swap my '68 Bronco for ten Champions.

But then you're conversing with a known Luddite whose extremist neanderthal views have all been discredited......

:lol:

Arjay



+1...except if you want to go a little cleaner, then go for a vintage Champ (black or silverface)

As for those extremist neanderthal views...that why we love hearing from you :lol:

T2

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Post subject: Re: Tweed Twin tone at a fraction of the wattage/price? Idea
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:19 pm
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Thanks for all your help, guys. I've been eying Champ, Princeton, Harvard, Vibrolux but Bronco is a name I hadn't heard. I thought that was only a guitar. Hmm. Oh well, regardless I'm in the right ballpark and it's hard to go wrong with any '57-'60 Fender tweed.


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Post subject: Re: Tweed Twin tone at a fraction of the wattage/price? Idea
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:56 pm
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The Bronco Amp was sold as a companion piece to the Bronco Guitar, sometimes in sets. It is functionally identical to a Vibro Champ (same AA764 circuit) with only minor cosmetic differences -- a red "surround" to the control panel (which matched the Bronco Guitar's sole color option when it was first introduced) and the red silk-screened amp name. Early Bronco Amps actually used the Vibro Champ tube chart but eventually received their own purpose-designed label.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Tweed Twin tone at a fraction of the wattage/price? Idea
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:04 pm
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Wow, neat. Okay, gotcha. Vibro Champ, of course, I said Vibrolux oops.

Amongst all the Luddites, you are my favorite! Thanks, Arjay.


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Post subject: Re: Tweed Twin tone at a fraction of the wattage/price? Idea
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:12 pm
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NeedForTweed wrote:
Amongst all the Luddites, you are my favorite! Thanks, Arjay.


I gotta find me some wooden shoes!

:lol:

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Tweed Twin tone at a fraction of the wattage/price? Idea
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:37 pm
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I have a Champ 600 that is stone stock and I just picked up a Hughes and Kettner Tubeman preamp/overdrive (the older 4-channel version made 2005 or 6) and it really broadens the tone of this little amp. It truly improves the Champ 600 at all levels, but especially the low and mid range. I play in my livingroom only and I have a wife and family, so there won't be any 4X10 cabs in my arsenal... EVER. I'm a big fan of low watt tube amps and the Champ 600 with the H&K Tubeman in front of it, I can dial in a real nice tweedy-tone. Nice cleans, nice overdrive with very natural breakup. I totally dig it!


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Post subject: Re: Tweed Twin tone at a fraction of the wattage/price? Idea
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 8:05 am
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Tweed champ with 2x12 cabinet or Victoria 5112.


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Post subject: Re: Tweed Twin tone at a fraction of the wattage/price? Idea
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 5:45 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
5E3

No question about it.

Arjay


or an old Oahu. Youcan find em in good shape for less than 500


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