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Post by Kris on Feb 18, 2020 20:28:48 GMT
Which electric guitar, well that is more of a bottomless pit than the reso world Lee View AttachmentYep!! It’s a nice feeling being able to ID most resos at a glance and knowing exactly what you like the sound and feel of. Nobody can talk you in or out of anything because you just feel comfortable in your choices. The electric guitar world feels very imposing and bottomless pit is a very apt description! It’s a very personal thing finding your sound! I do love Jack White’s sound, albeit he is slipping more into the region of garage rock!
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Post by leeophonic on Feb 18, 2020 20:33:48 GMT
My Dave King Tele Thinline has a lightly radiused board, Bonnie Raitt would have a radius on her strat so do not let it be a stumbling block. There are more to try out than your recent reso quest so get trying... I would go to Coda music and try some of there interesting electrics. Lee
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Post by gaucho on Feb 18, 2020 20:38:13 GMT
I'm agreeing with Fred on an electric for slide... I love my little ES125, the student 3/4 size model. Been playing it a lot lately!
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Post by leeophonic on Feb 18, 2020 20:42:30 GMT
Lucky Benn....
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Post by pete1951 on Feb 19, 2020 6:50:13 GMT
Any Celetion speaker made for guitar will I’m sure sound good. One thing to think about is speaker efficiency. If memory serves me the Alnico speaker will sound much louder than a Greenback, so the amp will sound louder with the Alnico. Pete There are some more technically advanced members of the forum who may have more to say.
Most of my amps (of which there are many) are too loud at the point where I like the tone, most of my speakers are too efficient, I would love to find a good sounding , inefficient speaker . Yes there are power-soaks and such but I have always wanted as simple a rig as possible , then there is speaker distortion which , on a 15watt amp may not happen at comfortable volume....
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Post by Stevie on Feb 19, 2020 8:04:59 GMT
Valid points about loudspeaker compression and efficiency from Pete. The Celestion Blue Bulldog is a very efficient 'speaker. Remember that an AC30 running at just a tad north of 30 Watts is served by only two such 15 Watt loudspeakers and it's a match made in "heaven", even if that is too high a power level example for our purpise here. At the sort of power levels we're thinking about, it has to be the Celestion Blues from that choice. The Greenbacks are probably better suited to 4x12 cabinets? I'd go with MM's assertion that a 10" loudspeaker may be better suited for this application. Finally don't discount physical.cabinet volume- it's key to a good design.
e&oe ...
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Post by coach on Feb 19, 2020 8:24:02 GMT
My Dave King Tele Thinline has a lightly radiused board, Bonnie Raitt would have a radius on her strat so do not let it be a stumbling block. There are more to try out than your recent reso quest so get trying... Lee I wouldn't even worry too much about the radius on a Fender guitar as you can get a Warmoth or similar neck custom made to your exact spec and (hopefully) bolt it right on. I always wanted a Strat but can't play well on narrow fretboards, so my 'Fender' Strat has a neck with a 1-3/4" nut width and a flatter radius. Regarding amps, I echo Mr Messer's thoughts on power - if you want this amp to break up without bringing the house down then the 5w has a single 6v6 which will turn quite nicely at sensible volumes. My advice on speaker choice would depend on the primary aim of the player, if cleans are important then the more transparent speaker less likely to colour the sound might be preferable. Dirty sounds can almost always be achieved way easier than a really good clean sound - I tend to start with the clean and work back, even if you'll be paying 10% clean I would still make it a priority to get right as it's the one thing that can really make or break how a guitar sounds, especially anything with single coils.
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Feb 19, 2020 8:54:46 GMT
A Matamp MiniMat is also worth looking at.
I have a Matamp First Lady Combo fitted with a Celestion which is the larger version - amazing amp for lap steel but is loud and clean.
With a Zendrive "Dumble in a box" pedal, it's a great sounding amp.
I tried the MiniMat before and I was very, very close to buying one as it breaks up nicely but I went for more headroom with the Lady.
Should have bought both, I suppose.
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 19, 2020 9:08:03 GMT
This thread is twisting and turning, which may be a little confusing for Kris and any other readers wanting information about small valve/tube amps.
I thought we were discussing amps, not guitars. Unless I am mistaken, Kris is planning to use her two new National guitars which are both fitted with pickups?
Choice of guitars is of interest, but should be in a thread of their own.
Shine On Michael
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Post by pete1951 on Feb 19, 2020 10:49:52 GMT
There are also weight considerations, a well built 5watt amp is about the same as a guitar and case, go to 15 watts and it could be twice as heavy. The larger speaker will also add weight. A solid state rig with a modern neodymium, (? ) speaker would half the weight but (at the moment) just don’t sound as good a valve amp. At low volume I love some of the sounds I get from my Roland Cube, if you can stand the compromise solid state amps are relatively cheap, have lots of built in effects and are light.
Pete
I gig with a 67 Fender Princeton (about 25lbs) or a homemade 4-8watter at about 20lbs, both are ‘all valve’ even at only 20lbs they seem too heavy for my old back! The AC30 has not left the workshop for over 10 years.
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Post by Kris on Feb 19, 2020 15:12:55 GMT
This thread is twisting and turning, which may be a little confusing for Kris and any other readers wanting information about small valve/tube amps. I thought we were discussing amps, not guitars. Unless I am mistaken, Kris is planning to use her two new National guitars which are both fitted with pickups? Choice of guitars is of interest, but should be in a thread of their own. Shine On Michael It’s my fault Michael, I am very curious about guitars for electric slide too and am to blame for taking it off piste by touching on that area! You are right, a thread solely about electric guitars for slide would be fantastic. Once I digest all this I will start one, unless someone beats me to it! All the information here has been read by me with tremendous interest and appreciation. I am so grateful to everyone who has weighed in! In order to bring it back to my particular specifics I have to say that I am very drawn to the Milkman and that is going to be the direction in which I will proceed. I’ll need a listen in the flesh for the final decision but it’s hugely likely I’ll be going for the 5W. It would be great to discuss which speaker everyone would prefer in a 6V6 tube amp such as the Milkman. The choices I have been offered are between the 12” Celestion Greenback Speaker and the 12” Celestion Alnico Blue Speaker, as Milkman don’t offer a 10”. Indeed, I will be using Nationals with either a National slimline (duel coil) or a National Hotplate (Lollar single coil). I totally appreciate I can’t expect too much from my guitars and that an electric guitar will have to be on the horizon to achieve the full punch from the amp. One day soon! For now, I’d be interested in any further thoughts on these two available choices.
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 19, 2020 17:01:26 GMT
Hi Kris, My advice, if you can't have a 10", would be the 12” Celestion Alnico blue speaker. I know more about Jensen Alnicos than Celestions, but I am sure you will be very happy with a Milkman amp and that speaker. If after a while you feel you might want to try a Jensen; armed with £200, four screws and a soldering iron, it only takes a few minutes to fit a different speaker. You can also change the sound and maybe warm up the sound by fitting an old stock 6V6 valve. It can make a lot of difference and luckily with only one, you don't need a matched set. Changing a valve is as easy as changing a light bulb and can really change things. I have old stock valves in my amps. Watford Valves has an amazing vault full of this stuff; watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=353watfordvalves.com/search.asp?search=6V6I am sure that with your Nationals and a Milkman that you will get a great sound. Shine On Michael
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Post by Kris on Feb 19, 2020 17:24:20 GMT
Thank you so much Michael. I always agonise over such choices but as you say I can always switch out the speaker. Very much obliged!
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 19, 2020 17:28:59 GMT
My pleasure.
I look forward to hearing your Milkman amp.
Shine On Michael
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Post by snakehips on Feb 19, 2020 17:41:56 GMT
Hi there !
I can vouch for the RatValve amps guy. I have two Fender Blues Jnr's rebuilt by him : Both rebuilt with fully handwired, eyelet board design and larger output transformers, valve-driven reverb and valve rectification (that basically adding another two valves into the Blues Jnr) One has been totally rebuilt to run on 6V6 valves.
I might be selling them soon as I've been buying some US vintage valve amps (Masco MU-17, Lectrolab R600, and a 4-channel Stromberg-Carlson AU-57 PA amp). All amps got their power transformers changed to run on 230V, and the PA amp head has been modded to work great for e.guitars and high-impedance mics like bullet mics for harp. (still waiting on the PA amp head and then need to think about what speakers to use with it). I'm a fan of Jensen alnico speakers too - and they just happen to cost a good bit less than Celestions !!
Another thing to consider trying out with whatever valve amp you go for, is not just trying different brands of valves, but the type of pre-amp valves within the same family of valves - eg. swap out a 12AX7 for a lower gain 12AT7, or even a 12AU7. Harmonica players often use their amps with lower gain preamp valves, as "the standard" 12AX7's tend to cause too much feedback. You might suffer similar issues with a hollow-body reso and magnetic pickups. I take it you will be using nickel-wound strings ??
It's been a long time since I had a reso with a magnetic pickup (a 1999 NRP Radiotone Bendaway, with a soapbar P90 pickup I installed myself) - and finding the right sort of strings was difficult - as nickel-wound strings were too grungy on the bass strings, phosphor-bronze wound strings didn't work great and the unwound strings were much louder. I found DR Zebra strings to be pretty good (alternate windings of nickel and phosphor-bronze). I didn't know anything much about valve amps in those days, that I could have tried lower gain pre-amp valves. Not entirely sure that would have helped, to be fair though, but in theory I think it would have.
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