Have received one of these amps in trade, and am pleasantly surprised... i'm think i'm one of THOSE people who "get" these amps. Seems one either goes for the 9/15 or this one . Very, very nice clean sound , and delivers a really nice blues rock OD with little effort. Some questions, though; 1- what's with the shelf between the chassis and the speaker? In order to change tubes with it in, you have to take out the chassis! Also, it seems to me that w/o the shelf in place the amp would run a lot cooler, eliminating the need for the muffin fan mounted in the shelf. 2- There seems to be a TON of bass, way more than i'd ever need. I plugged the amp into one of my 2x12 cabs with RI GB's (a Buzz Feiten cab, which is very bright and articulate), and had mucho booominess at anything over 1/4 on the bass control. This isn't that much of a problem, IMO, as turning the Bass almost completely off seems to sound just great to my ear... just seems a bit unbalanced. 3- Does the neg. feedback switch do anything? I can't seem to hear any difference. Is it a trick? 4- i see Fred has taken a page out of Tony Bruno's book, and not provided any tube chart. Grrr.. 5- BTW, i love my Weber p12n in the combo! Can't wait to try out the Goodman... I think a G12H , GB, or blue might make this amp sound a little harsh... though undoubtedly a Rock monster. I just don't think this amp needs any more aggresiveness, and would benefit from a little finesse in the speaker department. 6- ok, so the two 8 ohm outs are for (if using both), two 16 ohm loads, right? 7- mine is dated july /03, i wasn't aware that they were making 10/20's back then? Anyway, cool , simple amp... i can see what the fuss is about, but was glad my expectations were low, as others on this board had owned, and were somewhat lukewarm on this amp, proving once again that you can't please everybody, we're all different, and that's the way it's supposed to be! Still think the shelf is goofy, and Fred, don't put screws into the end grain of 1"x1" pine!
I'm still loving my 10/20 head into my 4x12. Cool rock tones for sure, and cooler cleans. I feel the same about the amount of bass. I run mine almost off in high gain situations. No construction worries on mine, but it's at least a full year older than yours. My negative feedback loop switch makes a pretty big difference. It's blatantly obvious when it's on.Looks like Fred is refining as he goes. I wish it had a tube chart as well. I love this amp. Sam edit- my amp is full year younger than yours. Sorry for the confusion.
I had the same observations about the bass response., but I agree with Sam, the mini toggle on the back(Dampening/neg. feedback) made a huge difference in gain and aggression. Mike
I may be able to help with a couple: - Do you have the combo? I'm gonna guess that the shelf is there to help tune the cab. - I have a FTR37 and usually run the bass at about 10:00 when cranked. Though I run it higher at lower volumes to help fill things out, but still never get past 2:00. I guess it depends on the speaker, guitar and the cab alot. I notice on the click channel especially, the lower the volume the more bass you need. It's about right for me. - Call Fred on the tube chart thing. He'll probably just tell you over the phone. (or do a search here, I think I've seen a post on it before). - Yes, you would run 2 8 ohm outs for 2 16 ohm speakers.
Count me as one of those who get the Divided by 13 thang too. Both my SJT 10/20 and my FTR37 are at the top of my favorites list. And if you love your 1x12 combo you will be floored if you run it through a good 2x12 or 4X12!! I run my SJT head through a matching /13 2X12 with Blues and it sounds amazing. But through my Bruno 4X12 with Blues it's flat out incredible. The biggest 10-20 watts I've ever heard! And not just big but incredibly toneful and tasteful. Steve
I would definilty put an order in for this amp if you could use both channels with an A/B/Y switch. I love the clips of the FRT 37 but it is just too powerful for me. The 10/20 would be perfect power but you can only use on channel at a time.
She cleans up so well by simply rolling back on the volume and or flipping to a low output neck single coil I really don't feel the need for being able to switch channels. Honestly! And the reverb works really well.
I like both my cabs a lot (old Ampeg V4 2x12 Extension cab, Buzz Feiten cab) through everything else i've played, but they are both sealed cabs, which tends to add bass (though the BF is a bright, clear sounding cab). While the sound is "bigger' through the cabs, i would call it less useful for all round playing. Perhpas i need to investigate an open cab- i've been looking for an excuse to buy a Bob Burt cab! I'll check out the amp through some blues first chance i get, but as i stated above, i think this amp needs no help in the aggression department, but perhaps in refining and sweetening the top end, which to me spells Jensen (vintage or Weber, not the new jensens)
Completely agree. No need for channel switching, set this thing for 1/2 on the amp volume, and you get a very nice clean sound with guitar vol. knob turned down, and aggresive blues /rock territory with vol. knob maxed. Simple, but effective.
Hadn't thought of the tuning aspect... anyway, it's even worse than on an AC30, which at leasts allows you to slide the chassis out halfway while the amp is standing up (to change tubes), whereas with the 10/20 you actually have to take the chassis and board completely out. I'd be curious to know if this was a "feature" that was deleted on the later combo models. I got help on the tube placement already. I just find it kind of thoughtless when builders overlook this detail. Fred is not the only one. Jim Mcgourty( Alien speakers and tx) had an interesting comment on modern amps, and the OT's they use. He said they are all wound to produce more bass than the old vintage transformers, which has given him problems when some of his speakers are being used, as they can't handle the bottom end. The only option is to overbuild the speaker, which results in an inferior tone. I think Matchless was the first amp that i noticed the big bottom end on, but the Brunos certainly have it, as do the /13's.
Yeah that doesn't really work for me. In a live situation I need to be able to switch without messing with the guitar volume.
Mebbe the Ftr 37 on 1/2 power and a Switchbone ? They are two completely different channels, i believe, and i think the FTR is similar to the 10/20 in tone.
"Seems one either goes for the 9/15 or the 10/20" is so true. I'm a big fan of the 10/20 and not such a big fan of the 9/15. The 10/20 is a manageable version of the FTR 37 and that is just a wonderful thing! I wonder if the 9/15 is the same of the 33? The 10/20 NEVER ceases to 'kick my butt". Yes, Fred does put screws where they shouldn't be at times but I think we can forgive him for that. :RoCkIn
It seems to me that the 10/20 is the amp Leo Fender would've made after the tweeds if he was into Link Wray instead of Country.
