Specifications

Applications
The laboratory environment is nice, but field experiences
better determine success. Therefore the true test of a good amp is how well it performs “in
the field”. The following are some of my favorite field proven gigging and recording hints.
– Run this amp wide open! Let it breath, let it sing. It wants to be heard.
– Insert the guitar or harp mic into the BRIGHT #1 jack. With a short (6”) 1/4” to 1/4”
patch cable; insert one plug of this cable into the BRIGHT #2 jack. Then insert the
remaining plug into the NORMAL #1 jack. This “channel jumping” arrangement is
amazing. Start by turning up the NORMAL channel volume control until a desired
tone / response is met. Then bring up the BRIGHT channel volume control to add
more sizzle into the sound. Oh my gosh! This ol' Marshall JTM45 trick works here too.
– With the amp wide open, control the level of distortion with the guitar's volume control.
– Try recording this amp by putting a microphone in front, slightly off axis of the speaker
to get a crunchy, bluesy tone. Relocate the microphone to directly in front to get an
upfront rock tone.
– Instead of one microphone, try recording with two microphones, one in front (straight
phase) and another in back (reverse this microphone's phase at the preamp). This will
make the amp sound huge when recorded!
– Run the amp into different cabinets (2x12, 4x12, 4x10). It is surprising how different
speaker set ups will respond to 18W. Just set microphones to taste and enjoy.
– Record the amp in the bathroom close to the tub. Tubs ring wonderfully when excited.
– A little slap back echo goes along way so try a delay pedal between the guitar and
amp.
– A vibrato or tremolo pedal in front is perfect for soulful coolness.
– Run an overdrive pedal set clean in front of the amp. Now crank up the pedal's output
and hit the amp hard with this signal. I love this arrangement!
– Harp players can get control of feedback (as well as tone shaping) by putting an EQ
pedal between the harp microphone and the amp input. Cut out the offending freq.
– Guitar players can benefit from an EQ pedal in front as well. Just a little more shaping
can make everyone happy.
– The low end response can be maximized by situating the amp's cabinet as firmly
against the floor as possible. Or, the low end response can be reduced by picking it up
off the floor onto a chair.
– Run your guitar / harp microphone into the #1 input and then come out of the #2 input
of this amp and go into the front end of a different amp. This way you can run two
amps at the same time. The sound of this amp mixed with another is very good.
– Connect the output of this amp to a speaker load box with a line out and this amp
becomes a great preamp in which to drive another amp or straight to the board.
– Run a vocal microphone (through the appropriate impedance matching devices) and
record the most deliciously distorted vocals ever. No modeling can touch this sound.
– Install a solid state rectifier and get an extra couple of watts of power and an animated
dynamics in tone. Use the durable JJ 6V6 power tubes for reliable operation.
– Replace the 6V6's with 5881's or 6L6's for a more expansive sound scape and a to-
die-for low end punch. It is best to only run the 5881's and 6L6's when using the solid
state rectifier in place of of the tube rectifier. This extra power transformer headroom is
needed for the 6L6's and their higher filament requirements.
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