Scott Henderson Discussion

[bigscottfan]

Redplate amps

[peter_heijnen]

Peavey Classic 20 MH:

https://peavey.com/products/index.cfm/item/801/118739/Classic20MH

Nice features and maybe it even sounds real good. I read a very good german review about it.

[Scott Henderson]

I checked out a few of the suggestions on this thread, and though I'm thankful to everyone for their ideas, I discovered I don't like small amps. Some of them had nice tone, but in my opinion they sound small. To me they sound like practice amps - maybe there's not enough air space in the cabinet, or not enough bulk to connect with the floor. I prefer the HRD, even at softer volumes than it's meant to be played.

My solution to using the HRD on softer gigs was to buy a Dr. Z Brake-Lite attenuator which mounts inside the amp and allows me to turn it down a bit without changing the tone.

http://drzamps.com/product/brake-lite/

[countandduke]

Thanks so much for closing the loop Scott. It's really cool to know that we, as fans of your music, can have "some" kind of interaction with you. I don't think ANY of my other favorite guitarists/musicians reply to threads like you do do thank you so much...

Best,
Chris

[Robert]

Hey Scott,

I had the same experience with small amps, thats why i chosed the Badger.
But it doesn't like any of my fuzz pedals much so i need to trade.

I just wonder why you prefer HRD? whats the different between the Bella, HRD and let say the fender deluxe to you?

Thanks,

Robert

[Scott Henderson]

I don't like the Badger either - it's class A so it's great for twangy blues but it can't get fat notes like a class A/B amp.

The Bella is awesome, but it's not a master volume amp so it needs to be cranked up - it's way too loud for my jazz gigs but not loud enough for my trio, so I mainly use it for recording. The HRD sounds good and I can turn up the clean channel to about 8, and put my SVC volume control in the FX loop to turn down the master volume. I also bought a Dr. Z Brake-Lite for it so I can lower the volume even more if I need to.

The re-issue Deluxe isn't a master volume amp either, so it has the same problem as the Bella for live gigs. The volume of the band needs to fit with the volume of the amp because the amp isn't flexible. The re-issue sounds better than the HRD in my opinion, but that doesn't do me any good if it's too loud for my gigs.

[peter]

Hi Scott,

My understanding is that the SVC in the effects loop allows the preamp section to saturate without being too loud, but then the lower master volume prevents the power tubes to become hot and juicy. On the other hand, the attenuator comes after the power section so it would affect the tone less at lower volumes.

Do you notice a sonic difference between the two?
Does using both achieve better tone than just using either one?

I have the SVC but I'm gassing the Dr. Z now thinking it would improve my tone and wanted to know your opinion before I buy one.

Thanks!

Peter

[Scott Henderson]

Your understanding of how everything works is correct. Putting a volume control in the FX loop allows preamp gain at a lower volume, but the amp doesn’t sound as good unless the power tubes are working a bit. Under normal circumstances I can turn the HRD up loud enough to make that happen, but I’ve played a few gigs with acoustic bass & drummer playing with brushes, and at my daughter’s concert - a duet with accoustic piano. That’s why I got the attenuator - a few clicks down and the amp sounds much better at really low volumes. Unless you’re playing those kind of soft gigs, the HRD works fine without it.

[peter]

That's perfect because it's for my bedroom 60 watt 6L6 amp. I also have a 25w/10w el84 amp, but it doesn't sound as big and fat compared to the 60w even though it breaks up better at low volumes.

Thanks for the great ideas and answering all our questions Scott.
Much respect,

Peter

[Scott Henderson]

Dammit! I owe you guys an apology because I wrote about the Dr. Z Brake-Lite before it arrived in the mail. I didn't think it would change the tone of the amp, but even just one click down makes everything sound horrible - loss of clarity, bass, and high end. Don't buy one - it's a gigantic waste of money and whoever designed this box and says it doesn't change the tone is full of shit.

I'm too lazy to sell it and it's a tax write-off, so if anyone wants it, PayPal me 20 bucks for shipping and I'll send it to you, so you too can discover the the reality of false advertising.

[peter]

Thanks for the heads up.

I've been doing some research and found out that high's get cut in most attenuators.

Apparently human perception of higher frequencies diminishes as loudness decrease.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher%E2%80%93Munson_curves

This is pure physics and an inherent fault of attenuator design in general.

You should ask John Suhr and try their Jim Kelly attenuator which seems to address this issue with a treble boost to compensates for high's getting cut.

[Scott Henderson]

If it was just highs getting cut I'd turn them up on the amp - it's far worse than that. The bass gets cut as well, or to be more specific, it moves to a higher frequency which I'd describe as low mids, not real bass. Because of that, the notes on the G and D string get woofy and unmusical - everything sounds smaller because the low bass is cut. The notes are a bit less fizzy because the power tubes are working harder, but turning the amp up fixes that problem - if I can't turn up, I'd much rather deal with a little fizziness at ultra-low volume than make the amp sound like shit in general.

[Travis]

I've been using the Fryette Power Station for attenuation purposes. It is also a 30 watt power amp as well as a reactive load (that sounds the most like a real speaker load). Resistive attenuators always change the tone of the amp, no matter what the application, but particularly if you use it for a load. It also has a pedal level and line level effects loop that works great. That means you can use an effects loop with your vintage amp (I know you use a w/d for the majority of your gigs...except this one). It has multiple speaker taps, so I can use my vintage Fender Pro Reverb Amplifacator (sic) that runs at 4 ohms and play my 16 or 8 ohm cabinets if I want. It can BOOST a smaller amp. Say you have a tweed champ that doesn't have enough low end or volume; you can use the power station at its power amp through whatever cabinet you please. I have the first version but the new one will probably be just as fantastic. It's THE best attenuator I've ever heard...because you DON'T hear the attenuator.

http://www.fryette.com/power-station-integrated-reactance-amplifier/

See ya around!
T

[Scott Henderson]

Thanks, I know about this and was considering it, but I'd have to play 14 jazz gigs to pay for it... Actually last night I played a duet concert with acoustic piano using my HRD. I turned the preamp up to 8, used my RC Booster with an SVC volume control in the loop (turned way down), and a lot of my friends commented on how good my tone was - I know it would've been better if I could turn the amp up a bit more, but that's OK. Most of my jazz gigs with the HRD are loud enough to turn it up.

The offer is still good for anyone who wants my Dr. Z Brake-Lite. I'll give it until Tuesday and then it's got an appointment with the trash can.

[dizzy]

Thanks for being honest about gear Scott. People (including me) waste so much money on gear that doesn't work as advertised and when you are younger and haven't played a lot of stuff it is hard to figure out what to buy.
I have spent so much money buying gear that sucks. Like the 2000.00 amp that sounded like a dark muddy piece of shit and the effects loop only accepted pedals so they advised that I put my rack reverb in front of the dirty amp and not in the loop. 😡