A Blues Harp Guide to Amplifiers – Amp Picks
Keith’s Amp Picks
For those of you that are still confused or need to be hit over the head, here are my suggestions on what amps to consider.
Small Amps
Every Bluesman needs a small practice type amp that is light weight and still sounds good.
My choices.
Any amp with a 5Y3, 6V6, and a 12AX7 tubes with an 8 or 10-inch speaker.
Examples:
Fender Champ – Tweed is best because it sounds raunchy, but all before about 1970 sound good.
Gibson Skylark – The white tolex kind from the 50′s are my favorite, the later ones are not as loud or nasty sounding. I got mine for $75 and will never sell it.
Premier 50 with the 12AX7 tube about 1960 – This is my favorite amp.
Small Valco amps from the late 50′s and early 60′s – This includes Harmony, Silvertone, Supro, Danelectro and National amps. I have a Valco National that has the exact same circuitry as a tweed champ.
Medium Power Amps
These are Fender Tweed Deluxe style amps from the late 50′s and early 60′s. They have usually two 6V6 tubes and a 5Y3 rectifier. They have 2 or three 12AX7 tubes and a good one will have reverb. These can cut through the guitar players at a jam, but may have to be miced. They have a 12-inch speaker or 2 10′s.
The best choices are:
Fender Tweed Deluxe – This is way out of my price range.
Fender Princeton – Not the Princeton reverb, but the smaller amps based on two 6V6 tubes. The silverface amps are even good for harp. These are too tame for many guitar players and can still be had for under $500. The silverface might go for under $300.
Premier Model 120. The ones from the early 60′s are the ones I like best.
Gibson GA-40 from the mid 1950′s – This is a killer amp.
Big Amps
If you have to cut it with guitar players, your best bet is to get something with 2 12-inch speakers or 4 10-inch speakers and 2 6L6 tubes.
1959 Fender Bassman. This is the holy grail of harp players. It had a 4×10 speaker configuration and minimalist circuitry. I found the one I played through to be too sensitive and got a lot of feedback, but everyone swears by them. This amp is the basis of most boutique harp amps.
Sears Silvertone 1483. I have been told this is the best alternative to a ’59 Bassman that you can get and the heads go for about $75. The cabinets are very cool and you can slide the head into the back of the cabinet for transportation. For $150 you can get an amp combo that sounds even better than the bassman.
Premier Model 71. This is a buttery smooth amp that breaks up nicely and resists feedback. This is my favorite big amp.
Older Ampeg Jets and ReverberRockets. These are great harp amps and readily available at affordable prices.
Gibson GA90 – I am told this is one of Kim Wilson’s favorites. It has 6 8-inch speakers. They are way too expensive for my wallet.
I agree with the majority mentioned, and have used most all the above, but my
favorites are the Skylarks, Princetons,and Premiers as you have mentioned. The Commando and Maestros are pro choices.
Don’t forget a few newer models. Frederico Di Mambros makes his “Little Boss” or HarpGear products. So many to try, if you have the bread. But, a sympathetic sound
is so essential, go with what you can afford.
Let them amplify your sound. I have heard wonderful tone coming through traditionally terrible amps.
Howdy folks, I use a peavey classic 30. I’ve swapped out the tubes and run jj’s which I found greatly decreased the feedback drama and have swapped out the speaker and put in a weber silver bell. The speaker swap was quite mind blowing, so much more bottom end and the highs went from being shrill and ice picky to sweet and rounded.
The mike I run is an AKG D88s dynamic vocal mike. My main reasons for this particular mike is that it gave me the most gain without feedback and has a great bottom end response. I run the amp on the clean channel and for my dirty sound I use a boss ds-1 that has had some mods done on it. Other pedals I use are crybaby wah wah, boss chorus and a boss noise suppressor. The noise supressor I’ve found gives me a bit of compression and helps with the feedback side of things as well.
I’ve found that I can hear myself no worrys at all with a full band with virtually no feedback issues, even when running the amp at full volume. I do use an amp stand when with a full band. This helps get my sound out to the crowd and to my ears as well especially when the guitarists are going for it.
If your’e after a traditional blues sound and only play in a blues band/setting then this rig may not be to your taste. I’ve gone down this road due to the fact that I play in rock covers bands, blues bands, jazz bands and trios etc, hence the fact I need a rig that has a distinct clean sound when I want and, with the use of a pedal, a dirty sound. The other thing I’ve found is that with the use of a pedal for my dirty sound, I can adjust the tone and the amount of distortion to suit particular songs or situations.
Hope to be getting a digital video cammera soon and will get some clips done to put on youtube or whatever for anyone who might be interested.
Hope this helps in some way to somebody out there.
I’ve had a few amps over the years – one of my faves was a Gibson GA70.Two 6l6′s ,1 15″ alnico speaker. It’s a LOUD amp!! Played onstage with a guitar player with a tele & a twin reverb!!! This amp still cut through the mix! It’s got beautiful greasy tone & a big bottom end. (gotta have that!!) Picked it up 20 years ago for $150!!! Small bucks- BIG tone!!
I have owned a ’61 Fender Bassman 4×12, a 60′s Silvertone head, a ’74 Pignose, and I have played through a Gallien Krueger for a while. The older tube amps get soft when you crank them on the low end to get crunchy chord rhythm riffs. I achieved enlightenment with a Blue Tube preamp [1 12AX7 with control of bias, contour, drive, low, mid, high], driving just about any solid state amp. More sweetness, more power, more gain before feedback.
now playing with a line 6 HD500 amp modeller. It models the ’59 Bassman and gives the exact same problems and the ’61 Bassman! Great tone again using a pre-amp only, modelling the DrZ pre, running the signal into the PA. Can play louder than anyone needs direct.
No one seems to mention the red knob ‘evil’ twin.
I know it’s heavy but this rig played on the low power setting has such great low end and power w/o feed back, when used with a low-z mic, that I can stay with the guitar players that are using small suitcase amps no problem.
I use a Presonis pre amp to switch the low to hi z, and an SM57 to get the 40hz lows.
Just bought a Silvertone 1483 Amp Head to play harp through. I’m interested in any modification or tube swap recommendations that might bring this unit to it’s full potential.
Can anyone help with info?
-Buck Mooneyhan
Silvertone 1483 Amp Head
Has their been any responce to Buck’s questions about…any modification or tube swap recommendations that might bring this unit to it’s full potential.
I know all you players are purists and rightly so for those
real honkers. However, I thought I’d risk an onslaught of
abuse by asking if anyone has tried the Fender Super Champ?
Since it has 1 12AX7 tube and 2 6V6 tubes, a built in
preamp, delay and voice settings, it occured to me that
Fender may have broken the code for new harp amps.
I’ve tried some of the older lunkers but it would be nice
to have something more portable for these aging joints.
“Sears Silvertone 1483. I have been told this is the best alternative to a ’59 Bassman that you can get and the heads go for about $75. The cabinets are very cool and you can slide the head into the back of the cabinet for transportation. For $150 you can get an amp combo that sounds even better than the bassman.”
Right now on e-bay these are being offered for $400-780.
That was written about 10 years ago. As soon as I say an amp is good the price goes up. Nobody ever heard of the Premier Twin-8 until I reviewed it here. I bought my first one for $35. I then bought another one for $95. Now you can’t touch them for under $500 and the go for much more.
Keith
Hey Keith, good to see you’re still here all these years later! You have a scan of the “manual” for my old Twin-8, since sold for a profit. My one constant has been a 1957 Magnatone Varsity Deluxe I’ve been gigging for 15 years. 8 watts on a good day, but everyone loves it when I use my baby (mic’d of course). Like you said, 6V6, 12ax7, 5y3. I just replaced the tired old Jensen 8″ with a Weber reproduction, Chicago Vintage Alnico, and I’m digging it. I was just starting to gig with a Traynor ’69 Reissue Guitar Mate when our band fell apart, but it was sounding pretty good. Take care, and keep up the good work.