Robben Ford Discussion

[patocaster]

I?ve been poking my nose in and around various forums searching for opinions and information on combo tube amplifiers and because I respect this forum so much I am announcing here that I?ve commenced the search for a new amp. It?s going to be a fun project.

Here?s my essential data: I am a veteran musician of over forty years. I saw Hendrix in 1969 and knew that I wanted to play the guitar for the rest of my life. I first heard Robben Ford in 1972 at DeAnza College, Cupertino CA in what used to be called the Cellar below the college bookstore. I think the bookstore has long since taken the cellar over. Anyway, Robben, Hendrix, Bloomfield, Clapton, Roy Buchanan, BB King, Freddie King, Jerry Garcia and Terry Haggerty are the guitarists that have influenced me. I play blues, rock, jazz even a little country for good measure; just tell me what key and we?re good to go. I don?t play out as much as I used to, maybe only 5-6 gigs a year but I am available for more. My main axe is a custom telecaster clone with a rosewood neck. My backup guitar is a custom strat clone with maple neck. I have a 1970 silverface Twin Reverb recircuited to blackface with orange basketed JBL?s. The Twin sounds great and its weight matches (You need a twin to lift it! ). I am also the original owner of a 1986 Boogie .22 Caliber for practice and small gigs. I've recently retubed both amps but they're kind of outdated and at opposite ends of where I would like to be, that is, a 30-50 watt combo that sounds good. Pretty wide selection criteria. I started my search a couple of days ago.

I went to Guitar Center in Santa Clara (not my favorite place) and played a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue for $849. I?ve heard so much good stuff about this amp but to me it was only mildly interesting. I liked the vibrato and it is clean, clean, clean and has no channel switching so I would have to continue with my love/hate relationship with my stomp box which is a TubeWorks RealTube distortion box (I never got on the waiting list for the Zendrive.)

From there I went to Guitar Showcase in San Jose (great store, some of those guys have been working there for as long as I have been going there) and I saw four more than interesting candidates:

Marshall DSL401 I forget how much - I think less than $1000. It was pretty cool, a different vibe than I was going for but I think I could learn to dig it.

Mesa Boogie Rect-O-Verb 50 for $1479. I loved it! Sounded great in the store. Great versatility (maybe too much) but it weighs almost as much as my Twin.

Mesa Boogie F-50 for $999. Really nice and the least expensive of the Mesa stuff I saw, seems like a real good value.

Mesa Boogie Lonestar at $1699 (ouch!). It costs more than the Rect-O-Verb because it has casters on it.

I have a good friend in North Carolina that owns and raves about his Dr. Z. Gelb Music in Redwood City offers them and I plan to go there sometime this week. I need to bring my own tele as I used a house tele at both GC and Showcase the other day.

The Guitar Hospital in Los Gatos carries Kustom Amps and a local boutique amp builder King Amplification that appear to be kinda pricey. Other boutique builders I?ve been hearing about: Victoria, BadCat, Bogner. I look forward to hearing any and all opinions this forum has to offer so please share your vast knowledge and expertise on this subject.

Thanks for listening,

-Pat
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Silver Surfer Reviews

[frank0936]

Hi Pat,
Good luck with your search. I've been playing about as long as you have and I average 6 gigs a month right now (Always hoping for more!). We play mostly restaurants and my current amp is a Blues Jr. miked with a Sennheiser E609. I rely on a Keeley modded Sparkle Drive for my overdriven tones. Last fall I had the opportunity to play a Chicago Blues Box and it sounded really good. I also have a 60 watt Concert 112 from the early 80's that I like a lot. I'm really jonesing for the '57 Twin Ri but that $2K price tag is a little steep! I do like the Blues Deluxe which is a lot less coin. I've also been looking at the THD heads. Both the 15W and the 30W have a built in Hot Plate so you can get some drive without blowing the hair off the first three rows. I also like that you can swap tubes out until you find your dream team. I hope that gives some more ideas to look at.
Frank

[Red Suede]

I live in San Jose. I bought a Rectoverb 50 Combo from Showcase 2 years ago. Very versatile, I really like it. Recently picked up a Music Man RD 50. Must weigh thirty pounds but sounds really good and has more than enough power for most applications. My new love is a Mesa Boogie MkIII with no reverb and an EVM 12L which sounds really good with my Heritage 535. You're welcome to come down to JJ's to play through any of the three. I run the jam every other Monday but I play there each Monday at the late jam.

[bluesman]

Hi Patocaster,

Try KOCH MULTITONE 50 combo. Tree channels, you can use it with four 6V6 or two EL34 - 6L6. Clean is best Fender, crunch is SRV and lead is better then Plexy.

[FatTeleTom]

> Mesa Boogie F-50 for $999.

I like those F-series amps, especially the cleans on the F-50. I've tried a few, but the best sound was out of an F-50 head through a 2x12 Mesa cab.

However, I think they are being replaced by the new "Express" series, which have a switch to reduce the output power. I think the 50-watt one is called 5/50 express. Worth checking out. You might also be able to get close-out deals on the F-series, if they are in fact going away. .

The Dr Z amps I've tried have all sounded fabulous. I've tried the Maz Jr and Maz Sr combos, and the Z-28 head. Unless you can crank them, you'll want a pedal or two for overdrive, but the Dr. Z's really take pedals well. If I was looking to spend $1,000 to $1,500 on an amp, several of the Dr Z line would be at the top of my list.

Speaking of pedals, I've raved about David Barber's pedals here and elsewhere. If you're still searching for the "right" pedal overdrive, you should check his stuff out. I'd particularly recommend the Small Fry (or for more $$$, the 2-channel Burn Unit) as a very versatile overdrive. Check out:

www.barberelectronics.com

I recently posted a clip of the Small Fry on the tpngear forum, which is linked from Barber's website.

[patocaster]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate all your comments and it gives more food for thought. I am planning on spending $1000 - $1500 or less if I can get away with it. I am meeting a buddy at Gelb tomorrow and hope to try some of their Dr. Z's. I'll keep you posted.

Red, thanks for the invite to JJ's. I sat in with some friends there a few months back and it's fun to play in that room.

-Pat
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VAPORIZER WHOLESALER

[telefunk1]

Pat - indeed go check out the Dr. Z's. They are a good value these days. And I really appreciate the simplicty - who needs more than 2-3 knobs anyway!

If you are looking to spend a bit more take a look at the Bogner line. By far the best amp I have heard recently was a Bogner Shiva 1-12 combo. Amazing sound in a small package, and it has the channel switching capability that the Dr. Z lacks.

Have fun shopping!

[telefunk1]

... and another vote for a MusicMan if you are looking for a good solid older amp (and affordable). I have an older model than Red's, the 65 watt 1-12 combo, which is a killer small amp. Great clean tones with a lot of power for small - mid sized rooms. Not too crazy about the over drive sound, but a good pedal will work wonders. I don't use mine hardly at all but only because I just got my 69 Deluxe Reverb back in shape - almost a perfect amp for most situations. I used it on a country gig over the weekend in a huge dance hall and it and it just blew me away.

[patocaster]

TF1 thanks for your comments. I really do appreciate it.

Over the weekend I went to Gelb Music in Redwood City and I played Dr. Z, Fender, divided by 13 and Fuchs. Holy cow! The Fuchs Overdrive Supreme was extremely impressive until my buddy said, " "No wonder we like it. It cost 33 hundred bucks!"

The Dr. Z Maz 18 Junior combo w/reverb was talking to me. Compared to the other amps, it's a great value. It does have a Vox/Marshall vibe which is different for me as I mostly gig with my Twin.

Even though I have sworn not to sell any of my gear, I am considering parting with my Boogie .22. It's just not doing anything for me other than sitting in a closet. I pulled it out yesterday and man, it sounded tired and muddy.

As I write this based on what I've seen so far, I am thinking that maybe it's the Rect-O-Verb. Well, I am having fun trying out new amps and really I'm no hurry. I have a gig on Saturday where I'll use my Twin and it'll be fine.

-Pat
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FORD DURATEC ENGINE

[telefunk1]

Pat - my pleasure , amp shopping is great fun, especially if someone else is spending their money!

Two other thoughts. Have you considered turning your Twin into a Dual Showman? I have an early 70s Pro Reverb that I just bought a head cab for (JD Newell makes nice ones) - I am going to put the chassis in the new cab and basically have a Bandmaster head that I can use on different speaker cabs. The Pro as is is just too damn heavy, like a Twin. But I love the sound so this is going to be a good compromise, I hope.

The other thought was to try out the new Vox AC30s. They make a 1-12 combo that is kind of heavy, but nothing like a Twin. I used one for a gig a few months ago and it sounded pretty good. I think they are discontinuing the 1-12 versions so they were going for a good price.

[Les]

If you are looking for good Dumble style sounds, you might try


1) Glaswerks ODS
2) Bludotone

[Richard Harris]

After a hiatus for more than 20 years I got back into this game. Currently playing a 1993 Fender Super. Not a Super Reverb although it has reverb. I also have a 1966 Fender Bassman and a Reissue 65 Twin. I keep going back to the Super. Heavy yeah, sounds perfect with a zen drive. Cabinet is loaded with 4X10's Alinco. When I saw Robben in Grass Valley his brother used the same amp for his harp. My axes, one American Tele Deluxe with Humkbuckers, one American Deluxe with Single Coils and a Rick 360 that I wouldnt give up for anything. Gotta love that Rick sound. If you can find a used super try it you'll like it. But its that game of needing help totting the thing around. We all need a Dave in our arsenal. Go Dave.

Richard

[JohnnyZ]

Pat,

I own a DrZ Maz-18 Jr 2x12 combo with reverb and 2 different Celestions. A very sweet sounding machine, and excellent build quality. Heavy as hell, as are all/most "boutique" amps. As mentioned in a previous post, it's a great value. Single channel only, if that's a concern. But, LOUD too! And many "dial-in" tones...

Re: Glaswerks ODS

I believe this is a creation of one of our forum members, Gary Glasman (?). Would love to know more about it...

[Groovecross]

I just did a comparison clip on my site -- a well known artist using a Dumble, then I created a comparable clip with the Fuchs. See how close it sounds here: http://www.michaellewismusic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2030

Michael Lewis
MichaelLewisMusic.com

[patocaster]

On Saturday I played an outdoor gig with my '70 SF Twin and it must know I'm looking for a new amp because it never sounded better! We opened the gig with Robben's "Prison Of Love" and four hours later closed with Freddie King's "Same Ol' Blues". Sorry no recording of it. Anyway after the gig I was thinking "do I really need another amp?" The answer is, of course I do! I may check the Mesa's one more time because I didn't use my own axe at that store. Dr. Z is still calling my name and the Fuchs too. Maybe the 30-watt Overdrive Supreme.

More shopping...

-Pat
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Gm 60-Degree V6 Engine