“Roland Cube w/ Tweed” Thread and Fender SS Amp

[FirstBassman]

I didn’t want to hijack the original thread so I started this one about similar experience and to get feedback.

This also kinda relates to the threads where Billm states that a Blues Junior is sort of a Blackface/Tweed half-breed so to speak.

I played electric guitar in public last weekend for the first time in a while. I hate to admit it but I was afraid to take my Blues Jr. along. She has never been out of the house and I was concerned about dropping, breaking, loose tubes, scratching, etc. you name it. I know I have issues that I have to work out.

Anyway, so I took my Fender SS amp ‘cause, well if it breaks, who cares, right. To play, I took along my Rondo SX SST62 (“Strat”).
A few songs needed to be clean and a few needed some gain. I used only one particular amp setting for the clean and one other for the grittier sound. When I got home, I noticed that, in the manual, both settings are described as “Bassman / Tweed” (as opposed to the others which say “Blackface”).

“Interesting,” I thought. So I tried to do a little A/B comparison at home between the two. And I definitely prefer the Bassman/Tweed side of the house. If I had to put it in words, I’d try to say that the Bassman/Tweed sounded smoother and the Blackface sounded scratchier. Whether anyone else would use those terms or whether or not it accurately reflect those original amps’ qualities at all, I have no idea.

So, I guess one of my questions is, how do I get the Junior to sound more Bassman or Tweed-like. Or, is there an economical alternative to the Jr?

Thanks!

[wbm68]

Originally Posted by FirstBassman

I didn’t want to hijack the original thread so I started this one about similar experience and to get feedback.

This also kinda relates to the threads where Billm states that a Blues Junior is sort of a Blackface/Tweed half-breed so to speak.

I played electric guitar in public last weekend for the first time in a while. I hate to admit it but I was afraid to take my Blues Jr. along. She has never been out of the house and I was concerned about dropping, breaking, loose tubes, scratching, etc. you name it. I know I have issues that I have to work out.

Anyway, so I took my Fender SS amp ‘cause, well if it breaks, who cares, right. To play, I took along my Rondo SX SST62 (“Strat”).
A few songs needed to be clean and a few needed some gain. I used only one particular amp setting for the clean and one other for the grittier sound. When I got home, I noticed that, in the manual, both settings are described as “Bassman / Tweed” (as opposed to the others which say “Blackface”).

“Interesting,” I thought. So I tried to do a little A/B comparison at home between the two. And I definitely prefer the Bassman/Tweed side of the house. If I had to put it in words, I’d try to say that the Bassman/Tweed sounded smoother and the Blackface sounded scratchier. Whether anyone else would use those terms or whether or not it accurately reflect those original amps’ qualities at all, I have no idea.

So, I guess one of my questions is, how do I get the Junior to sound more Bassman or Tweed-like. Or, is there an economical alternative to the Jr?

Thanks!

First I want to state that the Cubes are great little SS amps.

Next, what I write below is if you do NOT play with full blown distortion all the time. It applies to clean/semi clean and crunch tones.
It also implies that you let your tube amp come alive by setting it at least to 12 o'clock on the volume.

Ok, now no solid state amp will ever be close to a tube amp. The reason is that it is not only about the the sound. Let me repeat that, the point of using a tube amp is NOT only about the sound, but how an amp reacts to your playing dynamics, this is called touch sensitivity. A tube amp will clean up better and overdrive smoother depending on your picking attack. This means, that a tube amp is not only about tone, but about how it interacts with you and your playing.

Blackface vs. Tweed is really simple, tweed has more midrange and has a dirtier crunch than a blackface. A bf distorts smoother and has a cleaner more bell like clean tone.
Your Blues Jr will start to get its' amp tone when you go past 1/2 up on the volume. At that volume the amp will come alive and I doubt you would say that your Fender SS will come even close in sound and feel.

Now to answer your question.
There are two types of overdrive pedals. The mid range hump ones and the flat eq ones.
Mid range hump pedals are e.g the Ibanez Tube Screamer or HBE PowerScreamer types
Flat Range OD pedals are the Boss Blues Driver or Fulltone OCD

If you want the more mid range type like a tweed, get the hump type, if you want the flat eq type go for the OCD.

Now many people who have a BF amp, will use a hump type pedal to get two different tones, the semi clean bf sound and the mid range heavy lead tone with the pedal on.

But, all this will really only make sense if you play your tube amp with at least past 12 o'clock on the Volume. Then use your guitar volume pot to change the crunch level, and the OD pedal to kick it over the top.