DC/MD/VA 6L6/6V6 Tone Fest - 4/29

[FlyingVBlues]

Mark your calendars for Sunday, April 29th, from Noon to 6 PM. Babaji and I will be hosting a 6L6/6V6 Tone Fest in Vienna VA. This event is being held in the same facility as the one we used for the EL-84 Tone Fest 2 years ago. I will post directions when we get a little closer to the 29th. The facility we are using can comfortably accommodate about 40 people, and hopefully we'll get a good cross section of players from DC/MD/VA to participate. Please send me an e-mail (and not a PM – I never check them) if you are interested in attending.

We’ll have 2 rooms available, one for trying out amps and one for a comparative A/B demo between a Bruno Cowtipper 45 and a Fargen Blackbird 40.

For the Cowtipper/Blackbird comparison Babaji will be doing the demo. He will demo each amp using several different guitars (a PRS, a Les Paul, a Tele and a Strat). We'll also throw a few OD pedals into the mix to see how pedal friendly each amp is. This will be a true blind A/B comparison. We'll use an Axess Headswitcher to switch between two different amp heads into the same speaker cabinet. The head switcher will be controlled by a remote footswitch and only Babaji and I will know which amp is A and which amp is B. There are a lot more details as to how we’re doing the comparison, which I will detail in another post. Our overall goal is to make this scrupulously unbiased and as useful as possible

After the A/B demo is completed each participant will be asked to fill out an evaluation form to assess the amps. I am going to devise something along the lines of the form used at the TampaTone Fest. After the forms are completed we'll announce which amp is A and B, etc. I will post a summary of the evaluation forms on TGP after the demo is completed. I will also scan and make available to anyone who is interested in them all of the individual forms

We’re trying to make this more of a Tone Fest than a "shootout". In my opinion the value of a guitar, amp or pedal is almost entirely player dependent. The only "best" is what is best for you and your particular application. I'm not interested in declaring "winners" or losers". What we hope to accomplish is that people come away with a better understanding of what each amp has to offer, and which amp might best fit their needs.

The Bruno Cowtipper 45 and Fargen Blackbird amp demos will be recorded and I will post the clips on my website. There will also be a DVD available from Babaji.

Once the demos are completed the Cowtipper, Fargen and the other amps will be available for about 3 hours for test drives. I will have several vintage Blackface Fender amps available for comparison. A few other people have Bruno's in the area and have indicated they can bring them. Are there any Fargen owners in the DC/MD/VA area who can bring their amps? Also, I encourage anyone who has a 6L6 or 6V6 amp they would like to share with others to bring it. Several amp makers will tentatively be sending amps for us to try out. This includes a very cool prototype from Pete Cage that I had the opportunity to try last weekend. It’s loosely based on a Princeton Reverb and sounded killer.

Whether you bring a guitar (or pedals) is totally up to you. People tend to be pretty cool about sharing their stuff, but you’ll probably get a much better sense of an amp if you play through it with a guitar you’re very familiar with. Same thing for pedals. Using your own gear takes one variable out of the equation.

If anyone needs additional info shoot me an e-mail.

FVB

[FlyingVBlues]

(1) Babaji (Bill Holter) will be doing the Bruno Cowtipper 45 and Fargen Blackbird 40 demos. He will demo the amps using several different guitars (a PRS, a Les Paul, a Tele and a Strat).

(2) This will be a true blind A/B comparison between a Cowtipper 45 and a Blackbird 40. We'll use an Axess HS-2 Remote Head Switcher to switch between two different amp heads into the same speaker cabinet. The head switcher will be controlled by a remote footswitch and only Babaji and I will know which amp is A and which amp is B until after the demo is completed. A 1966 Pro Reverb will be played separately through its own speakers, and will be presented as an example of a classic Blackface tone for reference purposes.

(3) The Cowtipper 45 is a recent model, and has the bright switch option installed. It has RCA Blackplate 6L6's and a nice mixture of NOS preamp tubes installed. The Blackbird is a new head that Ben Fargen is sending me for the comparison. We’ll be using a Bruno 2x12 cab with English made G12H-30's 70th Anniversary Celestion's for the A/B comparison. The 1966 Pro Reverb was just gone over by Pete Cage, and is all original with the exception of a cap job and a new 3-pronged plug.

(4) If time permits, we can also do comparisons through several other cabinets. I have a Bruno 4x10 with Eminence 102 Alnicos, a Two Rock 2x12 with Celestion G12-65's, and a Jenkins 1x 2 with a Jensen Neo available.

(5) I will select a good recorded BF tone we can use as a reference tone. We will try to dial in each amp as closely as possible to that tone. After the initial comparison using the reference tone we can then adjust the dials on each amp to demo the full range of tones available at different volumes.

(6) Pete Cage mentioned a study on psychoacoustics that found that volume was an important determinant in assessing audio amps in blind comparisons. Even when the differences in dB levels were similar, slightly louder amps were almost always selected as the preferred amp. To try to minimize this factor a digital sound level meter and a analog tone generator will be used to set the volume of each amp so the output is 85 dB.

(7) In order to hear each amp in the context of a mix we’ll have a Talos amp setup with a Boomerang looper. Babaji will play some solos over some looped chord patterns played back through the Talos.

(8) We'll throw a few pedals into the mix to see how pedal friendly each amp is.

(9) Once the demos are completed the amps will be available for about 3 hours for test drives. A few other people in the DC/MD/VA area have Bruno's and have indicated they can bring them. We'll also try to find a couple of extra Fargen’s for people to try. If you know of any Fargen owners in the DC/MD/VA area please let me know and we can invite them too.

(10) Each participant will have an evaluation form to assess the Bruno and Fargen amps. I am going to devise something along the lines of the form used at the Tampa Tone Fest. After the forms are completed we'll announce which amp is A and B, etc. I will post a summary of the evaluation forms on TGP after the demo is completed. I will also scan and make available to anyone who is interested in them copies of all of the individual forms.

(11) The amp demos will be recorded and I will post the clips on my FTP site. I'll use a Shure SM57 and a Audio-Technica ATM29HE to close mic the demo amps. I will also use a Palmer PDI-09 to record a direct-to-console track. Also, a video will be recorded.

FVB

[Bergle]

Do you need a BFTR? Let me know.

[GreenTea]

Nice offer. See you then. My 6V6 offering includes a quasi-tweed Champ. I have a Victoria 5112 with a celestion blue which I can bring. I'll bring the NOS RCAs and the GTs to swap for a tonal comparison (if there's time). Might be fun for others to hear the difference.

[Blue Strat]

Sheeeeit! I'd bring my '68 Deluxe Reverb ("blackface inside") but I'll be out of town

[FlyingVBlues]

Originally Posted by Bergle

Do you need a BFTR? Let me know.

Bergle -- definitely bring your Twin Reverb.

FVB

[FlyingVBlues]

Originally Posted by GreenTea

Nice offer. See you then. My 6V6 offering includes a quasi-tweed Champ. I have a Victoria 5112 with a celestion blue which I can bring. I'll bring the NOS RCAs and the GTs to swap for a tonal comparison (if there's time). Might be fun for others to hear the difference.

GreenTea -- Yes, please bring your 5112. I've never had the chance to play through a Victoria amp. I've been thinking about getting a tweed Champ or Deluxe, so getting to try one would be very cool.

FVB

[GreenTea]

Originally Posted by FlyingVBlues

GreenTea -- Yes, please bring your 5112. I've never had the chance to play through a Victoria amp. I've been thinking about getting a tweed Champ or Deluxe, so getting to try one would be very cool.

FVB

Thanks. Can do. Pretty you might find a pretty interesting difference re the blackplates and groove tubes. The 12" blue can get loud and the 5112 does sing... the Deluxe version will, of course, have more headroom. But, I really like this 6V6-based amp for it's simple tone stack. Fits my needs to a "T" (the "T" obviously standing for tweed If it's not too premature, what's the intended venue?

I really look forward to hearing that Blackbird.

[ToneDog]

Any chance of finding out where this is taking place? At least the name of the town...? Thanks.

[ROKY]

Originally Posted by ToneDog

Any chance of finding out where this is taking place? At least the name of the town...? Thanks.

It's in the first post:

Mark your calendars for Sunday, April 29th, from Noon to 6 PM. Babaji and I will be hosting a 6L6/6V6 Tone Fest in Vienna VA.

[Ldavey]

I should be in town, and would like to attend. Looking forward to hearing a Cowtipper in person, particularly in the hands of Babaji.
I've still got the DVD from and good memories of the EL84 amp-a-thon' you hosted a while back.
Larry

[lhallam]

As per conversation w/ FlyingVBlues I'll be bringing my older (no bright switch) Bruno Cowtipper 45 3x10 combo.

Also will bring my TR Onyx & de-tuned 1x12 cab.

I've got a '77 Mesa Boogie 1x12 combo that was modded by Randall yrs ago, so I don't know if it's Mark ii or iii or a one-off. I'll bring that heavy piece of iron only if anyone is interested.

[Jon Silberman]

Sadly, I'll miss it (am taking my family to the Nats-Mets game).

[EunosFD]

Sounds like a very cool event which I wouldn't mind attending either assuming I'll be able to make it. I guess it's not really in the same league as the other amps mentioned, but I currently play through a 6V6 powered tweed Bassman (RI w/Emi blues; Pete Cage did the tube work and such) which I really dig. I'm definitely curious about all of the above mentioned amps so it def sounds like it'll be great for those who attend.

[FlyingVBlues]

Originally Posted by ToneDog

Any chance of finding out where this is taking place? At least the name of the town...? Thanks.

I'm in Vienna VA 22182 -- we're a 5 minute walk from the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.

FVB