Ok, I think I know what I want out of a new amp

Chad said:
Remember, there are 2 different MM amps, one with 6v6 and one with 6AQ5 tubes. The ones with the regular black knobs are 6v6 and the silver knobs are 6AQ5s. They are really light.
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I looked up the 6aq5 and it seems relatively common. So I would be ok with either. Any thoughts on how they break up differently?
 
I decided to walk to work this morning with my guitar and pedalboard. It's a mile and a half through beautiful, scenic, industrial Long Island City. The amps now in the running are: Fender Pro Jr, Fender Musicmaster, and Quilter mini head/cab (if I can find one in a store). Anything heavier than 20 pounds is out the window.
 
I stopped by Sam Ash on 34th St last night before rehearsal. No Quilter, but they did have a Pro Jr. As suspected, it's either off or it's loud. With the Dimarzio VPAF humbuckers in my PRS, it started breaking up around 3 on the dial. After that, it's just more distortion. Turned down, and using the parallel settings on my guitar, I got some nice clean tones. I can use a 5751 and a post-dirt volume pedal to tame the input. So that's an option if I find a deal.

The Blues DeVille I tried at rehearsal was pretty roached out, so I switched to a JC120. It worked well with my Skreddy HFD and Turbo RAT. It also got me thinking about whether I really want to futz around with a Pro Jr. Quilter is in the mix, I would like to try one first though.

Another thought is the Fender Musicmaster. They're not as gainy as the Pro Jr, easier to work on when something goes wrong, and still only 25 pounds. Plus, it could replace my old Peavey Bandit as a living room amp.

Lastly, Smurfco bought a Monoprice 15 watter in yesterday's deal. So now I can try that one too.
 
The MM is super simple. When I took my old one out to put into a head cab, I was surprised at how little there is to it. It isn't very gainy either. it does break up, but not like a pro junior.
 
Chad said:
The MM is super simple. When I took my old one out to put into a head cab, I was surprised at how little there is to it. It isn't very gainy either. it does break up, but not like a pro junior.
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There's a bunch of mods to the Pro Jr that can make it less gainy. The two no-brainer mods are lowering the bias and the input gain. Each mod means swapping out one resistor. There's also 3 chassis screws you can remove to make the amp less noisy. Apparently, their existence makes the amp more microphonic than it should be. A new speaker, baffle, and the right tube complement also go a long way. So if I can find one for $200 that isn't completely roached out, it's worth modding.

Course, if I found a Musicmaster for $300, I'd just do that. Even if I needed to replace the tubes and speaker, it'd be easier in the long run.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
There's a bunch of mods to the Pro Jr that can make it less gainy. The two no-brainer mods are lowering the bias and the input gain. Each mod means swapping out one resistor. There's also 3 chassis screws you can remove to make the amp less noisy. Apparently, their existence makes the amp more microphonic than it should be. A new speaker, baffle, and the right tube complement also go a long way. So if I can find one for $200 that isn't completely roached out, it's worth modding.

Course, if I found a Musicmaster for $300, I'd just do that. Even if I needed to replace the tubes and speaker, it'd be easier in the long run.
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Most likely, if the previous owner hasn't already, you'll need a cap job on a MM. Mine was like $75.
 
I love my crate power block. It sounds like shit, but since I've owned it and put in my vehicle for emergencies, none of my amps have crapped out on a gig.
 
I have the 6AQ5 MM. Great sounding amp, but it took some doing. Granted, I found mine pretty cheap. Cap job, tubes, new speaker, new grill cloth and it's a cool recording/bedroom amp. It's still a little quiet for me for gigging (my drummer's a pretty hard hitter) at probably 12 watts. It's honestly not much louder than my Vibro Champ, just a bit bigger sounding with the 12 vs the 8. It's also similar in that it stays clean up to about 6 or 7 on the dial then breaks up nicely after that. It was light until I put a JBL D120F in it, which gives it some more headroom. I have a V30 that I might try in it. I'd be happy to let you borrow it to try out, but that would probably be a longer ride than you want to take. There's got to be one in the city somewhere.
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Well so, yeah. I got all excited and bought a Musicmaster Bass amp on Reverb. I think the listing was up for all of an hour. 12 watts, volume, tone. Looks to be all original, except for the 3 prong plug. I figure it'll need a cap job and a new speaker. But I'd rather mod a Musicmaster than a Pro Jr, if only due to build quality.
 
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