went to Lark St (Rambler content)

[DrSax]

For any jersey-ites who haven't been to Lark St. Music in Teaneck, it's a pretty cool place! I went specifically to try out a Carr Rambler, but also spent alot time playing their great selection of archtops and acoustics.

So I spent about an hour with the Rambler, both with a Les Paul (my main guitar) and a strat. I was really hoping to fall in love with it, as it's such an attractive package (fairly light, really well built, non master volume, a nice 20something watts, etc.) It's a nice piece, but I had real issues with the bass response. Very flubby/flabby. I spent a long time tweaking knobs, but could not get a nice tight bass. That is the ONLY thing, to my ear, that was lacking. The tremolo and reverb were both sweet. Overall the tone is very sweet, but once you start chugging some Chuck Berryisms on the bass strings, for example, it's a mess. I wonder if a speaker change would help with that? I wouldn't completely give up on the Rambler if I heard this is something that could be improved somehow.

[Shemp]

I dropped a Cannabis Rex and then a Weber Cali in mine. Both cured the problem. The Kingpin is a POS.

[DrSax]

well that's good news! As I say, I really love everything about the amp otherwise.....

[Mr.Hanky]

Last time I was in Lark Street, may have been the LAST time I was in Lark street. Nice stuff, but a really creepy vibe from the staff, no one wanted to help me and they do not (that I saw) have a blast room. I was playing a Bad Cat that was in the acoustic room, all the guitars and dobros were ringing, plus I was afraid to turn up cause it was like a library in that place. I have had other friends with bad experiences there as well, and they bought some substancial gear.

[cr8z4life]

Yea, strange vibe there.......The owner spends all his time on the web looking for vintage gear, and most of the gear there is not well taken care of......the guitars are all badly adjusted, old strings...bang into each other because they are too close together.....not my favorite spot....its not as if they love what they do there

[davebc]

Man,I'm shocked.Buzz might have appeared slightly aloof that day,but I can assure all of you that he truly a straight up great individual.I know he would be very concerned to think customers actual were getting that kind of vibe.

I've know buzz for probably 20 years.Lark Street Music was originally located on Lark Street here in Albany,Trust me,there isn't a musician within a 100 miles who doesn't miss it.It was literally like walking into a museum,an absolute dream.Where else could you walk in, plug a 59 burst into an old Bluesbreaker or tweed Twin,put it down and pick up a pre-war Martin,or DeAngelico?

Buzz has a very laid back,extremely low pressure selling approach.He figures if your interested you'll ask him for help.It's very unusual in the day and age of high pressure sales.Try not to confuse it with not being interested in doing business with anyone.

[tclardy]

I have had one for about two years. I love the amp except for the loose low end. After doing some research and consulting with Ted Weber I decided to try a Weber California in it.

I have only played it about 4 hours but so far results are good. Much tighter low end. I am going to run a looper on it all day tomorrow to help speed up break in but it looks good so far.

I don't know why Steve Carr stays with the Kingpin, I didn't like it either. Maybe it is that he sells them to monstly blues players and the ones I know seem to like real smokey, flabby low end.

Tim

[sanhozay]

Originally posted by davebc
Buzz has a very laid back,extremely low pressure selling approach.

I like Buzz.

His bro is quite a picker, too.

[sanhozay]

And I like the Carr Rambler as it ships.

[DrSax]

Originally posted by davebc
Man,I'm shocked.Buzz might have appeared slightly aloof that day,but I can assure all of you that he truly a straight up great individual.I know he would be very concerned to think customers actual were getting that kind of vibe.

I've know buzz for probably 20 years.Lark Street Music was originally located on Lark Street here in Albany,Trust me,there isn't a musician within a 100 miles who doesn't miss it.It was literally like walking into a museum,an absolute dream.Where else could you walk in, plug a 59 burst into an old Bluesbreaker or tweed Twin,put it down and pick up a pre-war Martin,or DeAngelico?

Buzz has a very laid back,extremely low pressure selling approach.He figures if your interested you'll ask him for help.It's very unusual in the day and age of high pressure sales.Try not to confuse it with not being interested in doing business with anyone.

Yeah, I have to agree with this. I actually loved his laid back approach. He set me up in that room with all the banjos, sure it rang but I was able to crank it without being interrupted by any sales pitch. I was in there for an hour testing it out and loved being left alone (I knew what i was looking for!). When I did ask questions, he was great.

So, anyways, I may check into buying a different speaker. It's a great amp, it's a shame the flabbo bottom end stopped me from pulling the trigger.

[ericb]

I miss Lark St! I went there from about 1978 til the late 90's (20 years!!) when it was in Albany ,and then they moved.. As for Buzz being laid back , yep you guys are right. I could go in that Albany store and never have anyone ask me anything at all. That's what I like.. I HATE salesmen that won't leave you alone , or say things like "this one's great , it's what I have at home!" .. When I'm in a store I want to be left alone unless I ask someone a question. Anyway, Lark Street was just like the old Daddy's (before they expanded) and then the Guitar Gallery in NH ,etc where you used to be able to get great deals.. That was PRE INTERNET and PRE -everyone using the internet. . There are NO MORE deals in stores like those.. They have the same prices as anyone else and lots of times the little stores even have higher prices. MAJOR BUMMER.. Anyway, just reminiscing as I loved that store for many years

ERIC

[davebc]

If I wasn't for Lark Street Music in Albany,I would have never had the opportunity to play so many unbelievable amps and guitars,old bursts,old plexi's,every old tweed amp ever made,old Vox's,Old Martins all years all models,old Strats,Teles,old Blond 335's,$150,000.00 archtops..Now we have a Guitar Center.

Buzz,I'm beggin you,,come back!! So what if the neighborhood has completely turned to shit!
Get your friggin ass back here!

[Big Dan]

Originally posted by ericb
Anyway, Lark Street was just like the old Daddy's (before they expanded) and then the Guitar Gallery in NH ,etc where you used to be able to get great deals..
ERIC

I went to Lark St. last year for the first time ever! I was down in NY and a friend of mine took me out to all the great local guitar stores. Buzzy seemed real cool to me. He had some awesome gear, that's for sure. I spent quite some time in the acoustic room with an old Gibson Tweed, a '66 Guild Duane Eddy Semi-Hollow, and a '59 Epi LP Jr. I wanted to take them all home, but settled on a $15 shirt instead.

Guitar Gallery is still a cool place too. Your not gonna find any great deals there, but the staff is great.

Dan

[cold_fusion]

personally, I can't stand any clean to semi-clean amp that is weak in the low end department.....I like a nice punchy thick compressed sounding lows that can stand up to palm muting and jazzy low cords like 2x22xx 1x12xx 020200 x02220 which is the first four chords to a great early 70's tune....:confused:

[Den]

Before you try a speaker change, you may want to try a solution that works great for me. I've found that the EQ on My TIM pedal does a great job fattening and tightening the low end on my Rambler. Works great with all my guitars as well as stacked with other pedals.

[joel]

Cold Fusion,
Which amp does deliver for that tone? thnx, /jd

[cold_fusion]

My $520, before mods " vintage '71BFed Fender Bandmaster Reverb Head does...with the right caps, tubes and speakers :D
Once you figure out how to EQ it, which is really simple...treb and mids on 5ish and bass on 2 to 3..crank it to the edge which is about 5 or half way...and you're set!!! With a humbucker switch the bright switch on and turn it down a little and with singles leave the bright switch off...put the verb on 3ish and add a little trem for certain thing and your set!! However I'm excited to AB it with a '60s 30 watt Ampeg Gemini II G-15 with a 1-15 speaker and the weird tubes to see what all that fuss is about... esp regarding the verb and trem as well as the darker tone... hoping to run them in tandem for the ultimate clean tone setup!!!!:
cowabunga!!!!

[Tag]

Originally posted by DrSax
For any jersey-ites who haven't been to Lark St. Music in Teaneck, it's a pretty cool place! I went specifically to try out a Carr Rambler, but also spent alot time playing their great selection of archtops and acoustics.

So I spent about an hour with the Rambler, both with a Les Paul (my main guitar) and a strat. I was really hoping to fall in love with it, as it's such an attractive package (fairly light, really well built, non master volume, a nice 20something watts, etc.) It's a nice piece, but I had real issues with the bass response. Very flubby/flabby. I spent a long time tweaking knobs, but could not get a nice tight bass. That is the ONLY thing, to my ear, that was lacking. The tremolo and reverb were both sweet. Overall the tone is very sweet, but once you start chugging some Chuck Berryisms on the bass strings, for example, it's a mess. I wonder if a speaker change would help with that? I wouldn't completely give up on the Rambler if I heard this is something that could be improved somehow.

Same problem I had. Even with a Strat or Tele, it flubs. It sounded great until I put it next to a few vintage blackface amps, a HR deluxe, and a Bruno. Then it was all over.

[Tag]

Originally posted by davebc
Man,I'm shocked.Buzz might have appeared slightly aloof that day,but I can assure all of you that he truly a straight up great individual.I know he would be very concerned to think customers actual were getting that kind of vibe.

I've know buzz for probably 20 years.Lark Street Music was originally located on Lark Street here in Albany,Trust me,there isn't a musician within a 100 miles who doesn't miss it.It was literally like walking into a museum,an absolute dream.Where else could you walk in, plug a 59 burst into an old Bluesbreaker or tweed Twin,put it down and pick up a pre-war Martin,or DeAngelico?

Buzz has a very laid back,extremely low pressure selling approach.He figures if your interested you'll ask him for help.It's very unusual in the day and age of high pressure sales.Try not to confuse it with not being interested in doing business with anyone.

Buzz is one of the nicest guys I have ever done business with. A true gentleman. Just crank the amp up! I have been there when guys were flat out whaling, and not a peep from Buzz. He is so laid back, he almost seems shy. Totally a NO pressure, play whatever you like, kind of guy. That is A1 in my book! :AOK

[Guy from Idaho]

Originally posted by ericb
I miss Lark St! I went there from about 1978 til the late 90's (20 years!!) when it was in Albany ,and then they moved.. As for Buzz being laid back , yep you guys are right. I could go in that Albany store and never have anyone ask me anything at all. That's what I like.. I HATE salesmen that won't leave you alone , or say things like "this one's great , it's what I have at home!" .. When I'm in a store I want to be left alone unless I ask someone a question. Anyway, Lark Street was just like the old Daddy's (before they expanded) and then the Guitar Gallery in NH ,etc where you used to be able to get great deals.. That was PRE INTERNET and PRE -everyone using the internet. . There are NO MORE deals in stores like those.. They have the same prices as anyone else and lots of times the little stores even have higher prices. MAJOR BUMMER.. Anyway, just reminiscing as I loved that store for many years

ERIC

oh yeah, I used to go to the old Daddy's in Portsmouth NH, back in the late 70's, like walking into the world's biggest music gear yard sale :dude

[jokerjkny]

Originally posted by davebc
(...)

Buzz has a very laid back,extremely low pressure selling approach.He figures if your interested you'll ask him for help.It's very unusual in the day and age of high pressure sales.Try not to confuse it with not being interested in doing business with anyone.

yea, buzz is rather quiet, but he's just letting you do your thing. he will ask you turn to down, but if you ask to try the amp at full bore, he's more than accomodating.

also, his customer service is terrific. he'll search his entire store, basement, whathaveyou to make sure you get what you want.

as for the Rambler, one man's flub is another's fattening. :)

[Sanj]

Have had two transactions with Lark Street ( both were National Resonators :) ) .... took forever making up my mind on the 1st , the 2nd guitar was an impulse buy .. in each case Buzz was totally cool and supportive .. we even worked a trade (Blonde Blues Deluxe) to help offset the cost of one of the deals . ..

In each case I must say that Buzz and Lark Street were great to deal with ..

[RickC]

Aw man, Lark Street is the coolest. Guitar shops like that used to be common; not anymore unfortunately. Buzz is straight up, nothing but good experiences with him or his shop.

His brother is pretty cool too: http://dukelevine.com/

/rick

ps and don't forget Noah's Ark Deli, a few doors down; a trip to Lark Street wouldn't be complete without it :dude

[jokerjkny]

OMG,

Buzz' brother is DUKE FREAKIN' LEVINE?!?!?!?

[Mike K]

Regarding the Rambler. Mine is a 2x10 combo so please take that into account. I never thought of my amp as flubby/flabby but I did think that there was too much low end content.

First I took the advice of another forum member (sorry, can't remember who) when dialing in the Rambler. Turn the bass, mid, and treble controls to zero and then start gradually increasing them. Somehow this method made it seem like I had more control over the tone.

Second, I tried a pair of TAD small bottle 6L6WGC tubes. For me this was the change that really worked. This was a huge improvement over the SED's.

For those that keep saying that the Rambler does not have the extremely tight bass - well its not really supposed to. Its not going to sound like an XTC with the excursion switch set to 'tight' through a 4x12 cab. Get it?

[Tag]

Originally posted by Mike K


For those that keep saying that the Rambler does not have the extremely tight bass - well its not really supposed to. Its not going to sound like an XTC with the excursion switch set to 'tight' through a 4x12 cab. Get it?

The problem is, (for me) I thought the Carr was suppose to be very blackface oriented. The Carrs bass is not nearly as tight as a blackface. When I plugged into a Super reverb after playing the Carr, it was as tight as a drum. Me likes tight bass with an elastic feel. :)

[RickC]

Originally posted by jokerjkny
OMG,

Buzz' brother is DUKE FREAKIN' LEVINE?!?!?!?

Now you know where Duke gets all those cool guitars ;)

Not only that, I saw Buzz and Duke's older brother, Rick, gigging with the Prairie Oysters last Friday night. He's the one Duke credits for getting him started playing. Lotta guitar vibe in that family.

/rick

[RickC]

Originally posted by Tag
The problem is, (for me) I thought the Carr was suppose to be very blackface oriented. The Carrs bass is not nearly as tight as a blackface. When I plugged into a Super reverb after playing the Carr, it was as tight as a drum. Me likes tight bass with an elastic feel. :)

Have you checked out Fargen yet? In particular the Blackbird? I found out about them via Jim Soloway's website; they look promising in the "modern blackface with a tighter bass" mode.

/rick

[Mike K]

Originally posted by Tag
The problem is, (for me) I thought the Carr was suppose to be very blackface oriented. The Carrs bass is not nearly as tight as a blackface. When I plugged into a Super reverb after playing the Carr, it was as tight as a drum. Me likes tight bass with an elastic feel. :)

It would be cool to hear how Steve Carr would describe the Ramblers voicing. Correct me if I'm wrong Tag, but I thought the blackface sound was/is a very bright sound. The Rambler is definately not a bright amp, even though it is a little brighter in the Pentode mode. I may be wrong but I'm not sure that comparing the Rambler to a blackface is a good comparison.

[aeolian]

I don't think you can compare a Rambler to a Super Reverb. Maybe to a Deluxe or Princeton, both of which have loose bottom ends as well. I sat in with a buddy who had his Rambler while I had my slightly souped up DR (David Allen transformers and JJ 6V6s) and he could walk all over me. Especially with a boost pedal. I had a Klon Centaur and any sort of apprecialble boost would just cause the DR to wimp out at those volumes (DR was set around 6 or 7), while the Carr handled an RC booster and just sang out with solid tone while being louder.

[Tag]

Originally posted by aeolian
I don't think you can compare a Rambler to a Super Reverb. Maybe to a Deluxe or Princeton, both of which have loose bottom ends as well. I sat in with a buddy who had his Rambler while I had my slightly souped up DR (David Allen transformers and JJ 6V6s) and he could walk all over me. Especially with a boost pedal. I had a Klon Centaur and any sort of apprecialble boost would just cause the DR to wimp out at those volumes (DR was set around 6 or 7), while the Carr handled an RC booster and just sang out with solid tone while being louder.

I like the Carr amps. For me, blackface is better.

[Tag]

Originally posted by RickC
Have you checked out Fargen yet? In particular the Blackbird? I found out about them via Jim Soloway's website; they look promising in the "modern blackface with a tighter bass" mode.

/rick

Fargen.....http://www.fargenamps.com/Blackbird1.mp3

Bruno..... http://www.brunoamps.com/sweet2.ram

For me, the Bruno is the best there is.

That Bruno clip is even very old, and the newer ones sound 20-30% better than that. I played the old and newer one side by side at Ultra. :)

[tedzepplin]

Originally posted by Shemp
I dropped a Weber Cali in mine. cured the problem.

Was it the Alnico California or the Ceramic Califorina? Which dome did you get? Aluminum, paper or large H screen?

[ericb]

Originally posted by jokerjkny
OMG,

Buzz' brother is DUKE FREAKIN' LEVINE?!?!?!?

Yessir! Now ya know!

ERIC

Woops just saw RickC's post... sorry for the redundancy. When he was in Albany ,he used to sell Duke's tapes/cd's or whatever there! ERIC

[smiert spionam]

I've only played Ramblers in shops a couple of times, but I loved what I heard. It looks like a tweed power section coupled to BF tone controls -- I didn't expect or want it to be as tight as a BF. I like a little softness -- it's often part of why a cathode-biased amp sounds so good to me.

Tone Kings seem generally to have a much tighter bottom and sharper attack -- but that's why I don't care for them as much.

Horses for courses, I guess!

[Den]

Originally posted by smiert spionam
I've only played Ramblers in shops a couple of times, but I loved what I heard. It looks like a tweed power section coupled to BF tone controls -- I didn't expect or want it to be as tight as a BF. I like a little softness -- it's often part of why a cathode-biased amp sounds so good to me.

Tone Kings seem generally to have a much tighter bottom and sharper attack -- but that's why I don't care for them as much.

Horses for courses, I guess! +1 The Rambler is not intended to be a blackface clone ... it's a great amp that does it's own thing. It's the "softness" you describe that makes it feel more like you're playing both the amp and the guitar.

[Tag]

Originally posted by Den
+1 The Rambler is not intended to be a blackface clone ... it's a great amp that does it's own thing. It's the "softness" you describe that makes it feel more like you're playing both the amp and the guitar.

Gotta disagree again. For me, when an amp flubs, I lose all feel, and am out of touch with the amp. I can't control it anymore. I like some softness for sure, but I do not like flub at all. Many amps have a great feel, but are flubless. To each their own. :)