West Coast Blues Thread - Version 2.0

[dukeh62]

Hey folks!

Looks like our original sprawling thread has vanished. I emailed the administrator and he said they don't know what happened to it. They are working on it.

In the meantime...here we go again!!!

[dukeh62]

I picked up the 2003 release "Blue Avenue" by B.B. & the Blues Shacks last week. I have a few of their earlier records that I love, but man, this one is SMOKIN'! Alex Schultz is on quite a bit of it and they really find some interesting ways to weave the two guitars together, including some cool unison fills where they switch back and forth between who is playing an octave higher and lower. Check it out!

[fretshop]

Eric, I'm blocked on this computer as far as posting photos. do you have time to post the amp pics?

[dukeh62]

Originally Posted by fretshop

Eric, I'm blocked on this computer as far as posting photos. do you have time to post the amp pics?

Here are some pics of the KILLER Pro George and Karl have been working on. Might have to go this route one day myself!

http://home.everestkc.net/jgehring/gg/gg.html

[fretshop]

The amp was built by Jeff Gehring with lots of input from Karl. Also, It was Karl's idea to add the cathode bias switch which from what Karl told me, will allow me to have the option either the voicing and performance of a narrow panel, or an early Pro

[mikelaw]

got a live bootleg from a friend chris ruest from dallas. anson/nulisch '79. lots of tbirds covers but amazing guitar tone, tweed bandmaster with reverb tank. killer tone. anyone have any old live blues bootlegs they want to trade for it let me know.

[straightblues]

Originally Posted by fretshop

The amp was built by Jeff Gehring with lots of input from Karl. Also, It was Karl's idea to add the cathode bias switch which from what Karl told me, will allow me to have the option either the voicing and performance of a narrow panel, or an early Pro

What does it cost to get a chasis like that built?

[nmontz]

Man that looks great George. Jeff is truely an artist! He worked on my 58' tweed pro about a year or two ago. Added a bias pot, new electrolytics, wired the heaters to BF style, got rid of the selenium rectifier. I wish we would have thought of the fixed bias/ cathode bias switch cause I would have done that too. When you are in KC you can a/b it with Karl's pros. Maybe Karl can help you dial it in with tubes too. The man is a genius about stuff like that. He also has a tube stash that makes me drool! Last time I was down it was a vintage np tweed pro summit of sorts cause we had my amp, which I was leaving for Jeff, Karl's, and sideman had his there that Jeff had just finished. I thought it was interesting hearing how different the 3 amps sounded all through the same cab. Karl's was the best sounding of the 3, sideman's was the cleanest, and mine sounded pretty mushy, but part of that was the tubes I had in it. That was before I had a ga-20 and wanted it a lower volume.

George, what are you gonna use for a speaker?

[fretshop]

NMontz: I'm using a P-15N pull from a Hammond Cabinet. I'm thinking of checking out a C-15N as well. See you in K.C. You'll get to play an axe with my non-stick vintage finish. Nothing like the Fender "fly paper" finish.

Straight Blues: I just gave Jeff the go-ahead and told him to bill me later. BTW, Paul at Mercury Magnetics told me it'd be no problem to run an extension speaker with his trannies.

Thanks to Jetlag for coming through with the Foil in oils and all the other good stuff.

[valcotone]

hi George - What a killer-looking amp. The build-quality of that looks just outstanding - big time kudos to Jeff. I bet it will sound as good as it looks. FYI, after chatting with Jetlag via email about Pro and Bandmaster amps, I installed a cathode/fixed bias switch in my homebrew 5E7 Bandmaster and it's a useful mod. I went with no cathode cap to increase the difference between the two settings... it's still subtle in some ways, but in c/b mode you definitely get a looser bottom end and little less headroom. As expected, f/b mode is tighter sounding. They are both good!

Is that a 500-ohm 10W cathode resistor Jeff used? I'm interested in the value since the original c/b Pro amps used 250-ohms, which is what I used but it runs pretty HOT!

One more question - are those ferrite beads for filtering on the shielded leads to the first pre-amp tube?


Eric - Thanks for kicking off this thread!


Jeff Scott is on KUCI.org right now... Mr. Lynwood Slim is supposed to be stopping by.

[valcotone]

In the just-demised WCB thread, Jetlag posted about Junior Watson and the boys up in Canada using the Valco Duo Supreme amps... here's a short exerpt from a tune I did with one of these tasty amps using an ES-330 (both parts)...

http://www.kilback.net/tunes/duo-supreme.mp3

[jetlag]

Originally Posted by skilback

hi George -
Is that a 500-ohm 10W cathode resistor Jeff used? I'm interested in the value since the original c/b Pro amps used 250-ohms, which is what I used but it runs pretty HOT!

One more question - are those ferrite beads for filtering on the shielded leads to the first pre-amp tube?

Jeff Scott is on KUCI.org right now... Mr. Lynwood Slim is supposed to be stopping by.

Sean, yeah I was sayin' that about your setup - you are running things HOT w/that 250 ohm resistor! I looked thru the Pro pics and it's 560 ohm. It's probably the same resistor that he put in my GA77, which really, runs a little cool - maybe a hair under 60% when using TAD 6L6WGCs. On a past project, I went with an adjustable power resistor in my Pro Reverb and think it was set around 375 ohms in that particular amp. So I'd look for a fixed resistor somewhere between 250 ohm and 500 ohm. And yes, apparently Jeff did use ferrite beads. Intense stuff, I've never heard of that. BTW, he mentions the ferrite thing a little in the text.

Thanks for the KUCI reminder!

[mikelaw]

Cruelty To Young Harp Player.

Q-what Key Is This One In?
A-b#, So You Would Want To Use Your E# Harmonica.

Lol!

[aja]

I don't know how I found this but I guess I did. Can't believe their is actually footage of the red devils I thought they were super super unknown rare.

[S.W.Erdnase]

Originally Posted by mikelaw

Cruelty To Young Harp Player.

Q-what Key Is This One In?
A-b#, So You Would Want To Use Your E# Harmonica.

Lol!

Oh mah aching sides.